Tomatoes are the most beloved and common vegetable that can be found in every garden. They are grown both indoors and outdoors. And at any time of the year there is a demand for them both in fresh and canned form. Thanks to modern selection, tomatoes can now be grown even in areas with cool and short summers or in cottages with limited watering. Tall tomatoes began to enjoy great popularity among summer residents, and there are reasons for this.
The advantage of high-grade tomatoes
Each gardener dreams that he will have high yields of tomatoes with minimal time and effort. This was made possible thanks to the fact that breeders developed semi-determinant and indeterminate tomato varieties.
The indeterminate species of these vegetables are more suitable for industrial cultivation, as their bushes exceed 2 meters in height. Harvesting in a greenhouse at such a height is not always convenient, but semi-determinant ones is another matter.
Tomatoes of these varieties reach a height of 100 to 180 cm and have clear advantages over ordinary species:
- Firstly, they significantly save space, since on each such bush grows up to 10 brushes of juicy fruits at the same time. With such a high yield, you can plant less seedlings and save space on the plot or in the greenhouse for anything else.
- Secondly, the high productivity of medium-tall and tall varieties such as tomato Spasskaya Tower F1 is unique, for example, is already known to many summer residents.
- Thirdly, plants evenly receive light and are well ventilated, which favorably affects their resistance to major diseases.
- Fourth, such varieties bear fruit for up to six months, and if you apply the correct agricultural technology to them and grow them in a greenhouse, you can harvest the crop for a whole year.
In addition to these advantages, they are also an adornment of a garden, greenhouse or arch. Of particular popularity among summer residents is the tomato Spasskaya Tower F1. Reviews about him are the most enthusiastic, both about the fruits and their quantity. With 1 m 2 you can collect more than 30 kilograms of tomatoes.
The Spasskaya Tower
Many summer residents before buying seeds or seedlings of tomatoes are concerned about the question of how selected the variety will be productive. The dream of any gardener will be the tomato Spasskaya Tower.
Its description speaks for itself:
- super mobile;
- medium early;
- for any weather;
- tall plant with a stem up to 150 cm;
- easy-to-care variety, since almost half of the nodes do not have stepsons;
- forms brushes of 4-6 fruits weighing from 200 to 500 g each;
- well tolerates the difference in temperature;
- the variety develops even in low light conditions;
- resistant to diseases such as fusarium, gall nematodes, cladosporiosis and TMV;
- suitable for both indoor and outdoor use;
- different incredibly tasty, juicy and sweet flesh.
This tall variety should be fixed with props, as its stem may break under the weight of the fruit.
Soil preparation
Each gardener can give his own recipe for growing tomatoes, but tall varieties require a slightly different approach than their undersized counterparts.
Due attention should be paid to preparing the site and the ground. It is better to do this in the fall, but if for some reason it did not work out, then in the spring it is important to make all the necessary preparations no later than a month before planting the seedlings.
Tomato Spasskaya Tower, whose height can reach 150 cm or more, like other tall varieties, loves well-fertilized soil, so the addition of peat, humus or compost is necessary. Potash and phosphoric substances are recommended to be applied in the autumn, followed by digging the site, so that by spring they will soak the soil.
But nitrogen fertilizers are added in the spring, so it is so important to divide the preparation of the site into 2 stages, for which the tomatoes will thank the high yield.
Clay soil
If the soil in the garden is clay, then you should first dilute it with river sand with manure, which will make it more loose. Many summer residents use the most beneficial fertilizer method for the land - planting green manure. For tall tomato varieties, rye or mustard is best , which should be dug up immediately after they have sprouted and grow slightly. This is the healthiest type of soil fertilizer.
In addition to preparing the site, an important role is played by the proper planting of tomatoes.
Seedling growing technology
Tall tomato Spasskaya Tower F1 (reviews of those who grew it, confirm this) should be planted correctly, but first you need to grow seedlings. Start sowing seeds should be 2-2.5 months before transplanting it into the open ground.
Seeds of tall tomatoes must be soaked in advance in a solution of 1 liter of water and 1 teaspoon of either Agricola Vegeta or Effekton liquid fertilizer. You can apply wood ash or nitrophosphate. It is better to pack the seeds in a bag of natural fabric or cheesecloth and hold them in liquid for 24 hours at a temperature of +25 degrees. After that, send it to the shelf for a couple of days in the refrigerator, having previously wrapped the container with the swollen seeds in cellophane. These manipulations will temper them and make them strong.
While the seeds are hardened, it is necessary to prepare the soil for them. To do this, peat, earth and humus are taken in equal amounts, everything is thoroughly mixed and 1 tsp is added to the bucket of this mixture. urea, potassium sulfate and superphosphate.
This soil mixture needs to be warmed up, which can be done in the oven by setting the temperature to +100 ... + 115 degrees, for 20 minutes. For this, a regular baking sheet is suitable, where the soil mixture is covered with a layer up to 5 cm thick.
The day before sowing, the prepared soil is poured into boxes and moistened well. The seeds of tall tomatoes are thrown into previously made shallow grooves to a depth of 1 cm and at a distance of 1.5-2 cm, sprinkled with earth without additional watering. The gap between the rows should be at least 5 cm.
Boxes with future seedlings are recommended to be placed on the sunny side, where there is a lot of light and the air temperature is from +20 to +25 degrees.
Transplanting
Summer residents who know how to grow tomatoes in open ground, transplant plants 2-2.5 months after sowing seeds. To protect them from possible diseases during the adaptation process in a new place, experienced gardeners recommend seedlings of tall tomatoes to be sprayed with copper oxychloride per 10 l of water 30 g of the drug.
Tomato Spasskaya Tower F1, reviews of this variety guarantee this, will give a larger crop, if you properly prepare the holes. They should be no less than 15 by 15 cm and depth on the bayonet of a shovel and pre-fertilized. The best distribution of the pits is a checkerboard pattern in which tall tomatoes evenly receive light and do not interfere with each other. The bushes at the same time develop better and are aired.
Dressing and care
Although the tomato variety Spasskaya Tower is already characterized by high productivity, plant nutrition can make it even bigger. Experienced agronomists are advised to carry out 3 dressings per season:
- The first is carried out 2 weeks after planting seedlings. Since the land was properly fertilized and prepared before, it is enough to dilute 1 kg of bird droppings in 10 liters of water and water the plants with this. If you use ready-made fertilizers, then "Gumisol" or "Rost-concentrate" is suitable.
- As soon as the second brush blooms on the plant and ovaries 1.2-1.5 cm in diameter appear on it, the time of the second feeding is suitable. For this, a solution of bird droppings or manure with the addition of “Solution” (1 tablespoon) and potassium permanganate and vitriol (3 g each) per 10 liters of solution is also suitable. The resulting mixture must be made under each bush, taking into account 2 liters per 1 plant.
- The third feeding is carried out during the harvest of the first crop. Its composition is the same as in the second, only 2.5 liters of solution should be added under each bush.
Each "feeding" should be accompanied by watering. To keep the moisture as long as possible, after the first feeding, it is necessary to mulch the soil. For tall tomatoes, the best mulch will be pine needles, straw or sawdust, which must be distributed evenly over the roots of the plant with an even layer of 5 cm thick.
Watering
A feature of tall tomatoes is that they should be watered directly under the root with the calculation of 1 liter or more for each plant. It is important that the water does not wet the leaves. On cloudy days it is enough to water twice a week, and more often in hot summers.
The best water for this will be standing, heated in the sun to a temperature of at least +24 ... + 26 degrees. If for some reason the water stands or is absorbed very slowly, experienced summer residents are advised to make several punctures in the ground around the roots.
It is better to immediately loosen the soil immediately after watering, but only superficially so as not to damage the root system. In autumn, when the last fruits are already ripening, the stems must be untied from the props and neatly laid along the beds. Watering the plant during this period is no longer necessary.
Tying bushes
Since the Spasskaya Tower F1 tomato (reviews of summer residents say this) gives 30 kg or more with 1 m 2 and has large rounded fruits, it needs to be tied up with stems. There are two ways to do this:
- Tie each stalk separately, driving a peg up to 1.5 meters high near it and tie it with braid as it grows.
- You can drive the stakes along the edges of the beds and pull a fishing line between them at a distance of 30 cm from the ground. When the plant outgrows this height, the next fishing line is pulled, and so on to the end of the stakes.
Such a procedure will help the plant, and harvesting and caring for it will be easier to carry out.
Stepson
In order to avoid the risk of stem growth and green mass instead of tomatoes, it is better to carry out pinching. If this is not done, then the crop can not only drag on to ripen until late autumn, but the fruits will be small.
When growing tall tomatoes, this is not difficult, just remove all the side shoots that appear below and slightly above the first brush. This will allow the fruit to mature and ripen evenly. This approach will provide an opportunity to get a crop all summer and until the frost.
Varieties of tall tomatoes
In addition to the Spasskaya Tower F1 cultivar, breeders have grown the best hybrids of tall tomatoes for any region and weather conditions. These include tomatoes:
- Alyonushka is suitable for those who like to harvest early crops. The peculiarity of this variety is the size of its fruits, which can reach 1 kg.
- The miracle of the earth ripens in just 90 days and bears fruit weighing 400-500 g.
- Midas mid-early, ripens in 115 - 120 days, has fruits up to 100 g of weight.
- De Barao - ripens in 130 days, but bears fruit until the frost. Its fruits weigh 70-80 g.
These are not all varieties of tall tomatoes, but they are suitable for summer residents who have little time to care for plants.