Tomato is a popular and favorite vegetable growing crop. Fruits of the most diverse shapes, colors and sizes have great nutritional value. However, with all the love for tomatoes, not every gardener, experienced or beginner, is ready to devote all their time to growing them. After all, everything begins in early spring with the preparation of seedlings, and the process of care continues throughout the summer. Modern selection, however, offers a huge selection of varieties that are not so demanding, but at the same time quite fruitful. In particular, the French grape tomato, which will be discussed later.
You may be misled by its name, but the variety belongs to the domestic selection and was bred in Siberia. This fact says a lot, it is acclimatized to difficult climatic conditions, short and cool summers. The reference to France most likely refers to the high flavor characteristics of the variety.
Tomato “French bunch”: variety description and general information
This variety belongs to the category of mid-season and high-yielding. In one season, up to 20 kg of tomatoes can be collected from the plant bush. It is universal in terms of cultivation, you can use this variety for both greenhouses and open ground. In the first case, the plants will actively bear fruit until the first frosts, in the second, in the middle zone of Russia - until the end of August.
This is a determinant variety, that is, the bushes stop growing in height in a natural way, after tying a certain number of brushes, usually 4-5. This contributes to the friendly simultaneous ripening of the crop. The plant is quite large, up to 1 m high. The French grape tomato has a finger-shaped fruit shape, sometimes not quite even with extension to the bottom, color is bright red, average weight is 80-100 g. The peel of a tomato is dense, strong, flesh juicy, seed boxes are not very pronounced. The compact size and shape of the fruit make this variety the most suitable for commercial cultivation with subsequent transportation, canning in general.
Seedling preparation
Planting calendar dates are a strictly individual concept, depending on the climatic conditions of the region. It is important to remember one thing - sowing of seeds is carried out 2 months before the expected date of planting the plants in the ground. The preparation of planting material should include several stages.
Seeds must be protected from possible diseases that can destroy the plant at the germination stage. Use a light pink solution of potassium permanganate for this. Soak the seeds in it, wrapping them in a bag of cotton or gauze, for 5-10 minutes, but not more than a quarter of an hour. Then place them in warm water for 18 hours, you can add certain drugs to it, for example, "Ideal". Such processing is subjected not only to the French grape tomato, but also to other varieties.
Sowing is carried out according to the scheme 1.5x3 cm to a depth of 1 cm. Until the seeds germinate, maintain the temperature of + 25 ° C in the room, after germination it must be lowered to +18 ... + 20 ° C.
Keep in mind that the cause of the death of a sprout may be infection of the seeds, excessive density or acidity of the soil, in-depth sowing, excess moisture, low air temperature.
Cultivation agricultural
Pickling young seedlings in separate pots is carried out at the moment when they have two true leaves. Tomatoes at the age of 55-70 days are subject to landing in the ground. If you use this variety for open ground, then you should wait for the time when the threat of return frosts passes. As mentioned above, the French Grape Tomato belongs to the category of tall, it is not stepson (but must be tied), and, therefore, the bush will require quite a lot of space. Therefore, do not land on 1 square. m area of more than two plants. The larger and larger the bush, the more abundant the crop. However, do not forget that the fertility of the soil also affects the quantity and quality of fruits. The soil should be saturated in advance with peat, sand, humus or compost, ash, as well as complex mineral fertilizers.
Tomato nutrition
In order for the plant to develop rapidly, and the fruits to be tied at the same time and ripened together, it needs a lot of strength and resources, and the tomato variety "French bunch" is no exception. Fertilizers can help in this matter. Feed in three consecutive steps.
- When landing. Pour the landing pits with a solution of nitroammophoska at the rate of 1 tbsp. l powder per 10 liters of water. Each hole takes up to 4 liters of liquid, so the plant is planted almost in the dirt and sprinkled with dry soil.
- During the build-up of green mass. This period occurs approximately 21 days after disembarkation. Pour the plants with a solution of superphosphate and potassium nitrate in accordance with the dosage indicated on the packages.
- Flowering and fruiting. During this period, under the tomato bushes, it is necessary to add organic matter in the form of mullein infusion with the addition of urea and superphosphate (1 tbsp per liter).
Diseases: Prevention and Treatment
Note that the tomato variety "French bunch" (the description of the variety is given above) belongs to the category of resistant to various diseases and pests. For prophylaxis, plants should be regularly treated with solutions of special antiviral and antifungal biological products, for example, such as Fitosporin. Also, do not forget to ventilate the greenhouse, especially immediately after watering, so as not to create excessively high humidity in it, tomatoes do not like this. These measures will help you prevent the appearance of the main enemy tomato - late blight. The disease affects not only the stems and leaves, but also the fruits. It develops as a result of excessively high humidity in combination with sharp changes in temperature during the day. Especially often phytophthora appears closer to autumn, when nights become cold, and the heat is still in the afternoon. To prevent the disease, treat the bushes with Bordeaux liquid, collect the fruits on time, remove the lower leaves from the plants.
Tomato "French grape": reviews
In order to understand whether this or that variety of tomatoes is suitable for you, it is necessary to study its characteristics, especially agricultural technology. But to make sure the choice is right, to take into account some of the nuances, reviews of gardeners help. You can find them on popular portals. This variety is responded very positively, it has a total rating of 4.5 points out of 5 possible. All who cultivated it, as the main advantages, emphasize high resistance to diseases in comparison with other nearby growing tomatoes, the abundance and stability of the crop, the absence of need for pinching. The reviews also emphasize that French grape tomatoes are perfectly stored until December and are great for transportation.
The variety has practically no drawbacks. It is only mentioned that in open ground it does not ripen completely, therefore, in central Russia and in Siberia, it is best to collect the fruits half green and bring to ripeness at home in a dark and dry room.
"French bunch" is an ideal variety for beginner gardeners and those who want to get a good tomato crop, but do not have much time. There are practically no problems with it, it is enough to tie up the plant, properly water and periodically feed it.