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A distinctive feature of Cherry tomatoes is their taste. They will delight you with the harvest at the height of the summer season and will take their rightful place in the daily menu. Therefore, gardeners are interested in how to grow Cherry tomatoes.
Description
Cherry is a type of tomato that has a small fruit size. The weight of tomatoes ranges from 15 to 30 g. A tomato cluster is decorated with 15-20 berries. Outwardly they look like cherry, therefore they are called cherry. Tomato shape:
- elongated;
- rounded;
- drop-shaped.
The color palette is striking in shades.
Cherry tomatoes are characterized by a rich and sweet taste. The original look makes cherry tomatoes a table decoration.
Peru and South America are home to the tomato variety. Today Cherry is cultivated everywhere:
- on the balcony;
- in open and protected ground;
- in pots.
Cherry seedlings
Cherry tomatoes are grown by seedlings. When growing seedlings, small features are noted.
Sowing seeds falls in mid-March or early April. You can prepare the substrate using turf, sand, humus in a 1: 0.5: 1 ratio. Introduced per bucket of mixture:
- superphosphate - 50 g;
- potassium sulfate - 15 g;
- ash - 1 tbsp.
The seed is planted in seedling boxes or individual cassettes made of plastic or peat compost. When growing, adhere to the rules:
- Moisten the soil in the container.
- The tomato seed is placed on the surface in 1.5 cm increments.
- The seeding depth is 0.6 cm.
- The container is closed with glass or polyethylene until sprouts appear.
- A week later, with the first shoots, the box is placed on a sunlit windowsill.
- For the first 7 days, the plants can withstand temperatures of + 10 ... + 15 ° C during the day, at night they reduce the values: + 8 ... + 10 ° C. Then the seedlings are kept at a constant temperature of +20 ° C.
- Water the tomatoes weekly.
- The appearance of the second pair of leaves is a signal to dive the seedlings into individual 0.5 L glasses.
- With the formation of 5 leaves, the watering is changed: the tomatoes are irrigated after 4 days.
- The seedlings are hardened a couple of weeks before planting. They expose the veranda for 15 minutes, gradually extend the time spent on the street.
Agrotechnics of planting Cherry
For Cherry tomatoes, a sunlit, warmed and draft-free place is preferable. Cherries grow well after:
- radish and legumes;
- carrots and turnips;
- onions and beets;
- radish and cabbage.
Experienced gardeners will plant tomatoes in the same place after 3-4 years.
Tomato beds are prepared in autumn. The plot is dug up, humus is introduced (4-6 buckets per 1 m2), potassium-phosphorus fertilizers (20 g per 1 m2). With the arrival of the spring season, the beds are loosened 15 cm deep, fed with nitrogen: 10 g per 1 m2.
With proper care, Cherry has a strong 20-30 cm stem, developed roots and 3-4 pairs of real leaves by the time of planting. Tomato bushes are planted in warm, cloudy weather.
Tomato planting scheme:
- the interval between seedlings is 35-40 cm;
- distance in row spacing - 50-60 cm;
- hole - to the depth of the seedling cup.
The holes are watered with lukewarm water and tomato bushes are planted. Wooden pegs are placed near tall tomatoes.
Care secrets
Watering
The drying out of the soil is not to the liking of Cherry - the tomatoes immediately crack. Excess water gives rise to wateriness, freshness and bursting of fruits, as well as diseases of the bushes. Irrigate the soil in the evening. Watering is combined with loosening, 5 liters of liquid per bush.
Top dressing
During the growing season cherry tomatoes fed three times:
- 10 days after planting, feed with a liquid mullein in a ratio of 1:10, add superphosphate (20 g) per 10 liters of liquid. A liter jar of the mixture is poured under the root.
- The next feeding is carried out after 2 weeks. Under plantings, 10 g of saltpeter, 25 g of superphosphate, 15 g of potassium salt are fertilized per 1 m2 of area. The site is loosened, the soil is intensively watered.
Formation of a tomato bush
For most plants, this is one of the conditions for generous fruiting. In the garden, tomatoes are grown in 1 stalk, side shoots are periodically removed.
Harvest
Cherry is harvested at the stage of biological ripeness. When ripe at home, tomatoes lose their taste. Before the cold snap, just right to dig out a couple of crops with unripe tomatoes and plant them in containers, place them on the window to prolong the fruiting at home.
Growing in protected ground
For picking early berries, cherries are grown in a greenhouse. Some summer residents are thinking about how to grow Cherry tomatoes in greenhouse conditions. Process does not differ in complexity, but requires following certain requirements:
- The bushes are planted 50 cm apart from each other so that the tomatoes are well lit.
- The greenhouse is constantly opened and ventilated. Stagnant moisture is fraught with poor development of tomatoes and the appearance of diseases.
- Watering tomato plantings in the morning.
- Protect against sudden temperature jumps. The ideal daytime temperature is +22 ° C, at night - +16 ° C.
- The tomatoes are tied up. The earth is loosened and mulch is introduced.
Growing up at home
The technology is similar to cultivation in unprotected soil and a greenhouse. The difference lies in the use of containers - pots up to 20 liters. When growing Cherry tomatoes indoors, follow the rules:
- They focus on low-growing varieties, the height of which is 40 cm.
- When growing in a pot, one culture is left in the apartment for normal growth.
- Tomato bushes are systematically watered and loosened. In the flowering phase, ovary pollination is required.
- They are fed with complex fertilizers every 14-20 days.
- Bushes do not stepchildren. However, with excessive branching of tomatoes, unnecessary branches are cut off.
Phyto-diseases and pests
Despite the care and immunity to fungal infections and rot, cherry tomato plantings are exposed to phytophthora. The plantings are sprayed every 2 weeks. Stop processing the bushes a month before harvesting the fruit.
Processed with Bordeaux mixture, which is prepared from:
- water - 10 l;
- freshly slaked lime - 100 g;
- copper sulfate - 100 g.
Manifestations of brown spotting of tomatoes include the formation of spots below on the leaves. Brown color and gray bloom signal the disease. In order to prevent the disease, vegetable tomato waste is carefully removed.
Cherry tomatoes are often affected by harmful insects:
- Medvedka... The parasite makes moves deep in the ground, gnaws at the base of the tomato stem, causing wilting and death. Thunder is used for processing.
- Wireworm. It injures the root system, gets inside the tomato stem.As a result, the tomato dies. They fight the wireworm by digging the soil, collecting and destroying the larvae. With increased acidity, the earth is lime.
- Colorado potato beetle. Lay on the underside of the leaf. The larvae eat the foliage up to the trunk. Pests are collected by hand and destroyed. Prestige is a processing chemical.
Popular varieties
Elf
Medium early, indeterminate variety. The growth of an Elf tomato is 2 m. 2 or 3 stems are formed to achieve yield. Finger tomatoes are tied on the brush, weighing up to 25 g. The pulp is different:
- fleshy;
- sweetness;
- taste.
Ira
Tall, early Cherry. The hybrid bears fruit before frost when grown in open beds. The small fruits of Ira's tomato, weighing up to 35 g, resemble a cube with a pointed end. The reddish flesh is firm but tasty. Planting 4 bushes per 1 m2 allows you to get 15 kg of Ira tomatoes.
Lisa
An early maturing determinant variety is grown both in unprotected soil and under a film. Lisa's yield is 12 kg per 1 m2. The fruits have a barrel shape, color - rich orange, weight - 15-25 g.
Pros:
- immunity to disease;
- the formation of ovaries under adverse weather conditions;
- decorativeness.
Minus tomatoes Lisa:
- transportation;
- shelf life.
Malvina
Early maturing, indeterminate variety. Tomatoes need tying and pinching. On one bunch, 16 rounded fruits are tied. The berry weighs from 14 to 26 g. Productivity - 4.5 kg.
The flesh of the fruit is firm but sweet. Purpose - for fresh consumption and canning. Tomato Malvina characteristics and description of the variety will help gardeners in their choice.
Negro
Looks exotic on a backyard. Children treat original tomatoes like chocolates. Used in cooking for:
- salads;
- side dishes;
- drying and drying;
- jam;
- canning and salting.
Goldilocks
Early maturing, indeterminate variety. Distinctive features of the Goldilocks tomato:
- yield - from 1 m2 3.5 kg;
- resistance to phyto-diseases;
- long-term storage;
- transportability.
The rounded sweet-sour juicy fruits have a smooth skin and a golden or red hue. They weigh up to 100 g. They do not crack.
Cerrinano
Early maturing, miniature culture. After the formation of 6 brushes, the Cherrinano tomato stops growing of the tomato bush.
Tomatoes have a rounded shape, rich red color, sweet pulp, weight - 20 g.
A description of the cultivation technique of cherry tomatoes and their characteristics will open up new varieties for summer residents and help in growing the desired vitamin product.