Tomatoes are plants that can be grown not only in beds or in greenhouses. There are varieties that can delight with their beautiful views and delicious fruits on the balconies or on the windowsills. This list includes Pinocchio tomato. Reviews about him are only positive, otherwise it cannot be. A small compact bush is strewn with fruits that can ripen even in winter.
Pinocchio is a tomato that looks very nice in a flowerpot on a windowsill. So they grow it not only with the aim of obtaining a tomato crop, but also as an ornamental plant. This “balcony miracle”, as tomato lovers call this variety, pleases the eye and benefits.
Tomato Pinocchio: variety description
The Pinocchio tomato variety is unusually harvested. On each cluster with which the bush is crowned, 9-11 fruits flaunted. The size of each tomato is like a walnut. The approximate weight of these small bright red fruits is 30 g. Plants with red bunches of tomatoes look especially beautiful in winter on the windowsill, in the background of white snow.
The fruit of Pinocchio (tomato) tastes sweet, slightly reminiscent of cherry. This variety is pain-resistant, it is only a pity that dwarf plants do not live long. Pinocchio is no exception: when the bush reaches a height of 28-32 cm, clusters are tied, and new flowers no longer appear. Having given its last crop, the tomato begins to turn yellow and gradually "dies." Uninformed people try to revive the bush, but such efforts are completely in vain, because he did not get sick, but simply lived his short century. If you want to have such beauty again in your home or garden, then just plant a new young plant.
Growing tomatoes
You certainly won’t have to regret planting a Pinocchio tomato. Growing these small bushes is very simple, you just need to know some simple rules for planting this plant:
- Pick up fertile soil.
- Add humus to the soil.
- The earth must be permeable, loose and moist.
- The roots of tomatoes do not tolerate stagnation of water, at the same time, these plants need sufficient moisture.
- Growing Pinocchio tomatoes in a pot, you need to make a good drainage.
- You need to choose the right amount of flowerpot so that the plant has enough space for growth and nutrition. Pinocchio - a tomato that does not grow above 30-40 cm, on the basis of this, it can be planted in a pot of 6-7 liters.
Sow tomato in a permanent place you need one seed. If you want to have several plants, it is better to take one small container and sow the right amount of seeds there. Watering with warm water, the crops are covered with a film. After the shoots appear, remove the film and put the container in a cool place (up to 18 degrees). When the plants appear 2-3 real leaves, you need to select the most powerful tomatoes and plant them in separate pots.
During the transplant, seedlings are buried in the ground to cotyledon leaves. Thus, the plant will be able to form more roots, making it stronger.
Plant care
Pinocchio is a thermophilic and photophilous tomato, like all its relatives. These dwarf plants do not tolerate a shortage of sunlight and feel great in direct sunlight. If you strive to get a crop in the winter, provide your green pet with backlight, otherwise you risk being disappointed that the tomato bush did not form a flower brush.
You need to water the tomatoes abundantly so that the ground is completely wet, but this is often not required. Watering is recommended 2 times a week before lunch. Water should be warm (22-24 degrees). It needs to be poured not under the bush itself, but around the plant.
Top dressing
The first time you need to feed tomatoes with organic fertilizers after planting bushes in a permanent place. It is recommended to do this with mullein (1: 5), 1 liter of solution is required per bush.
Subsequent top dressing is done during the fruiting period with mineral fertilizers. Foliar top dressing is also well established when the leaves of tomatoes are sprayed with a nutrient solution. This “treat” helps plants grow and promote growth. Another indisputable plus of this top dressing is the prevention of flowers shedding.
Tomato Pinocchio: reviews
Gardeners who have experience growing dwarf tomato varieties speak only positively of Pinocchio. If you "settle" such tomatoes in the beds, then you do not need to take care of the supports, they grow like small, steady trees sprinkled with small bright tomatoes.
Fans of large yields at low cost of time, place and effort also extol this tomato variety. Judge for yourself: with one bush of Pinocchio, with proper care, you can collect up to 1.5 kg of the crop.