Tomato Snowfall F1 is a mid-season hybrid of the first generation. It is unpretentious in cultivation and produces medium-sized fruits with a moderately sweet taste and rich aroma. The variety is resistant to disease, and therefore has earned the attention and love of Russian gardeners. Consider a description of the Snowfall tomato.
General characteristics
The originator of the variety is the Transnistrian Research Institute of Agriculture. The variety was bred for cultivation both in greenhouses and in open ground. The second option is suitable for regions with a warm climate. The hybrid gives a high crop, its bushes in height reach two meters.
Bushes of tomatoes grow moderately sprawling, form a large amount of greenery. The stalk is green, thick, the edges are barely noticeable. The leaf is simple, five-lobed, small in size.
The flowers of the plant are small, with a diameter of up to 12 mm, the inflorescence is a brush collecting up to 10 flowers. Many ovaries form, almost every flower gives birth.
The fruiting period is 4-5 months from the moment of planting the seeds. The time of receipt of tomatoes will depend on when to plant tomato seedlings during cultivation. To accelerate the ripening of fruits, you should increase the amount of heat and light.
Fruit Description
Each brush forms 8-10 fruits of the same size. The mass of each is 60-80 grams when cultivated in open ground and 80-130 grams in a greenhouse.
The shape of the tomatoes is round, with a slight ribbing at the leg. The color of the fruit is uniformly red. The pulp is dense, juicy and fleshy.
Gardeners who grow this hybrid note a rich sweet taste and delicate aroma of tomatoes. They are consumed fresh and in the form of canned food. High sugar content allows the use of tomatoes in baby food.
The peel of tomatoes is thin, but strong. For this reason, the fruits tolerate transportation well and are stored for a long time.
Varietal indicators
Speaking about the characteristics of the variety, it is worth noting:
- The productivity of tomato Snowfall - up to 5 kg per square meter. meter when cultivated in open ground. In the greenhouse, similar numbers can be obtained from each bush.
- The tomato is mid-ripening in terms of fruiting. In the greenhouse, they are 100-110 days. Some sources refer the plant to late-ripening varieties, since when grown in open ground, the periods increase to 150 days.
- An increase in yield is achieved by a sufficient amount of heat and plentiful watering. But it should be borne in mind that too frequent watering can lead to cracking of the fruit.
- Tomato is resistant to fungal diseases and the tobacco mosaic virus. Occasionally, anthracnosis and alternariosis can occur.
Pros and cons
Summarizing the presented indicators, we can highlight the advantages and disadvantages of the variety in question. The pros include:
- High productivity tomato Snowfall.
- Great fruit flavor.
- Unpretentiousness in leaving.
- Great appearance of the fruit.
- Resistance to transportation.
- Long shelf life after collection.
- Versatility in use.
- Immunity to disease.
- Possibility of cultivation in a greenhouse and in open ground.
Among the minuses include:
- temperature sensitivity;
- drought intolerance;
- the need for the formation of a bush and tying;
- a tendency to form a green mass and reduce the size of the fruit.
Characteristics of tomato Snowfall make it possible to call it one of the most successful varieties for growing in amateur gardens.
Planting seeds
Features of tomato planting Snowfall are not much different from other varieties. Differences can only be in terms of cultivation of crops.
Gardeners are faced with the question of when to plant tomatoes for seedlings when grown in a greenhouse or in open ground. In the first case, the seeds are sown for seedlings in late February, in the second - in mid-March.
Soil for seedlings is nutritious, with neutral acidity. You can mix in equal proportions garden soil, humus and sand. A little ash or superphosphate is also added.
Instead of humus, peat is also suitable, then they take one part of it, and land and sand - in two parts.
The soil must be disinfected, the seeds are decontaminated before planting in a weak solution of potassium permanganate or hydrogen peroxide.
Seeds are sown in plastic containers or in individual peat cups. In the latter case, the seedlings will not need to dive and transplant. The material is planted in small holes 1-2 cm deep, two seeds in each.
If containers are used, the distance between the furrows is 5-6 cm. In this case, the seeds are planted one at a time, after 2-3 cm.
Then the seeds are sprinkled with soil, moisten the soil and cover with a film. Tanks are cleaned in a warm, dark place until seedlings appear. As soon as the first sprouts hatch, the film is removed, the seedlings are placed in the sun, the temperature is lowered by 2-3 degrees.
Seedlings are fertilized after the appearance of two leaves on the sprouts. For this, complex fertilizer is suitable. If time permits, the next top dressing is carried out 10 days before transplanting to a permanent place.
Planting plants
With greenhouse cultivation, seedlings are transplanted in the second decade of May; they can be transplanted into open ground in early June. In greenhouses make one or two rows with an interval of 70-80 cm between the bushes and one meter - between the rows. In open ground, a planting scheme of 50 x 60 cm is used.
Before planting in a permanent place, seedlings are tempered in 2-3 days. For this, the plants are taken out into the open air (balcony) for several hours a day, gradually increasing this period. In the last two days - all day from morning to evening, at night they take home.
Landing on the beds is best done in cloudy weather or in the evening. After transplanting, young tomatoes are compacted and watered abundantly.
Care Features
Growing tomatoes, they are watered 2-3 times a week, periodically fed. The first feeding is carried out with nitrogen compounds (ammonium nitrate or urea), at the rate of 25 grams per 1 m 2 . The second - phosphorus-potassium, it is performed a month after the first. A month later - the third, also phosphorus-potassium. Nitrogen fertilizers should not be overdone, as they lead to an increase in green mass and lower yields.
Useful and foliar top dressing. 1-2 times during the summer Snowfall is sprayed with a solution of superphosphate.
It should also be borne in mind that too much watering harms plants. The soil needs to be moistened moderately, increasing the amount of moisture only in dry periods. Watered under the root, sprinkling is not recommended. After that, the greenhouse is opened for ventilation. This helps prevent the appearance of black legs and gray rot.
If aphids are seen on the bushes, they are washed with soapy water. A solution of ammonia helps from slugs. For this, 1 liter of ammonia with a concentration of 10% is diluted in 5 liters of water. If there is no ammonia in such quantities, you can take less. The prepared solution is sprayed with plants.
What to look for when growing?
When cultivating the Snowfall tomato, you should carefully consider the formation of bushes. This process begins immediately after transplantation and continues until fruiting. Bushes should be single or double stem. It is important to constantly remove stepsons. The bushes grow tall enough, so they are tied to trellises.
The use of mulch will greatly facilitate many stages of cultivation of tomatoes, and this is also worth considering in advance. Sawdust or peat are suitable for tomatoes. Such a mulch will prevent the propagation of pests and simplify the process of caring for plants, eliminating the constant cultivation and removal of weeds.
If there is such a nuisance as a fungal infection of tomatoes, copper sulfate or Bordeaux liquid will help. Affected parts of the plant are removed completely. To control pests, insecticides or a decoction of onion peel and celandine are used. Such compounds can be sprayed, as well as water the beds where the bushes grow.
Who gets along with?
Snowfall is a mid-season variety, so tomatoes with different growing periods can be planted in the same greenhouse. For example, ultra-early varieties: Irishka, Aivengo, Indigo. Their fruits will appear earlier, but they differ in no less rich taste.
Among late-ripening varieties, you can consider the Black Sea, Black Baron, Bull's heart.
Opinions of gardeners
Reviews about tomato Snowfall are most often the most enthusiastic. Gardeners who cultivate it share their joy from the bushes fully hung with fruits. High productivity is the main advantage that gardeners celebrate.
Gardeners also like the long shelf life of fruits and the versatility of their use.
The growing bushes of Snowfall get along well with other plants in one shelter. The culture is unpretentious in care, resistant to diseases and pests.
To enhance fruiting, it is worth taking care of good lighting, moderate watering and high-quality feeding.
The undoubted advantages of the variety overlap with the difficulties in cultivating crops, which are the formation of bushes and pinching.
Gardeners are also advised to purchase quality planting material from trusted manufacturers.
Tomato Snowfall is a mid-season cultivar cultivated in greenhouses and open ground. The wonderful taste of fruits and excellent characteristics of the variety make it one of the most beloved among gardeners in our country.