Tomato "Pink Heart": description and characteristics of the variety
It is not for nothing that vegetables from their personal plot seem both tastier and more beautiful. Grown by hand with care and love, they delight us throughout the harvest season as fresh salads. And in the long winter they appear on the tables in the form of pickles, sauces and various canned homemade dishes. There are few gardeners who do without tomatoes on their site. The article will focus on the variety of tomato "Pink Heart".
Variety Description
Tomato "Pink Heart" is one of the subspecies of the well-known and popular variety "Bull's Heart". The second got its name because of the large size of the fruit. The Pink Heart has the same feature. The external difference of this subspecies of large tomatoes is the pale pink color of the tomatoes themselves.
The variety "Pink Heart" was selectively bred in Russia in 2002. In 2003, it was officially entered into the State Register.
This tomato is not quite simple in agricultural technology. He likes southern regions with stable sunny hot weather. However, cultivation is also possible in the middle lane, mainly under covering material. For the northern regions, the cultivation of this variety is available only in closed greenhouses.
The bushes of this tomato are tall. Under favorable conditions, an adult bush reaches a height of about 2 meters. As the stem stretches, the plant needs a garter to a support or to arcs.
Culture refers to mid-season species.The period of full ripening of fruits from the moment of germination of the plant is 110-115 days. Under favorable conditions and proper agricultural technology, 1 bush of a tomato crop can produce up to 3 kg of tomato. From 1 sq. meters of planting plants can collect about 10 kg of tomatoes.
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantages of tomatoes "Pink Heart" include:
- ovaries on plants are formed well and plentifully, do not depend on weather conditions;
- the culture has a high resistance to pests and diseases, in particular, to cladosporiosis and leaf spot;
- fruits are convenient to use for making fresh salads, as they do not give excess juice during cutting.
Flaws:
- ripe fruits do not tolerate transportation;
- tomatoes have a short shelf life fresh;
- due to the high height of the bush, the culture is poorly adapted for open ground;
- this type of tomato has a relatively low yield, and gardeners often choose it only for its specific taste.
Fruit characteristics include a number of factors.
- Ripe tomatoes are shaped like a heart and have a medium firmness. The contours of the tomato are ribbed. Fruits are not subject to cracking.
- The fruits of the culture contain a fairly large amount of sugars. Due to this, ripe tomatoes have a pleasant sugary taste. The acid content in them is lower than in many other types of tomatoes. Therefore, tomatoes of the Pink Heart variety can be consumed by people with high stomach acidity.
- Upon reaching maturity, the tomatoes acquire an unsaturated pink color.
- The average weight of a ripe fruit is from 200 to 400 g. Individual pronouncedly large fruits from the first ovaries of a bush can reach a mass of up to 600 g.
- The pulp of tomatoes is very fleshy with good taste indicators.
- The presence of dry matter in each fruit of the culture is at least 6%.
- Tomatoes of this variety are suitable for fresh consumption, pickling in a barrel, as well as for making sauces, lechos and other canned homemade preparations. They contain: vitamins (B, H, K, PP, C), mineral elements and substances (potassium, zinc, phosphorus, iron, selenium, magnesium), as well as folic acid and lycopene.
Growing Features
To achieve a good result, it is necessary to study the features of caring for a vegetable.
- The culture is planted by seedling method. Seeds are sown in March in containers or wooden boxes. They are not deepened, but sprinkled with a thin layer of soil. You can speed up the seedlings of the plant by covering the seed box with a dense transparent film. The optimum temperature for germination is not lower than +25?C.
- Watering is desirable to produce warm water. Do not allow the top layers of the soil to dry out.
- When the first shoots appear, the seedling container should be moved to a well-lit and cooler place. For this, a window sill is suitable.
- When two true leaves appear on the sprouts, the plants can dive.
- Landing in a greenhouse or open ground is carried out no earlier than 55-60 days after germination. The grown seedlings should have time to form 6-7 leaves and at least one inflorescence. At the same time, the air temperature should not be lower than +15?.
- In the process of planting in the ground, a distance between plants of at least 30 cm should be observed. Seedlings do not need to be deeply buried so that the stem does not rot.
- Contrary to popular belief, newly planted seedlings should not be watered often and plentifully.Excess moisture will cool and weaken the roots, preventing them from fully developing and deepening. In addition, waterlogged soil is an excellent environment for the development of fungal microorganisms. And the newly planted plants have not yet grown stronger and do not have sufficient immunity. On average, one bush is enough to provide watering 2 times a week.
- The culture should be fed periodically. Most universal mineral fertilizers are suitable for this. But also tomatoes perceive organic matter well. Top dressing is best done once every two weeks.
- With the development of the bush, it is important to provide support and garter in a timely manner. In this case, the risk of stem fracture will be eliminated, and the plant will be able to receive enough light due to standing upright at full height.
- If prolonged rainy weather has set in, then plants planted in open ground should be covered with a film. During heavy rains, the root system may begin to rot from excess moisture, and the stems may bend or break.
- This variety of tomatoes will not withstand even minor frosts. It should be borne in mind that it will not be possible to enjoy tomatoes from a bush until late autumn. It is necessary to harvest the crop before the onset of cold weather and night temperature drops.
Bush formation
To increase the yield, it is necessary to take measures to form the crown of the plant in the course of growth and development. For tall bushes, growing in one or two stems is suitable.
- Formation in one stem is the simplest. From the central trunk of the plant, all stepchildren must be removed in a timely manner. With this type of crown, bushes can be grown much closer to each other.
- For growing a tomato bush in two stems you should wait for the formation of a shoot above the first inflorescence. After the formation of two flower brushes on it, pinching should be done. All other stepchildren should be removed. When applying this method, the growth of the bush in height is restrained. Yields on average can increase up to 30%. This is due to the fact that the lower branches of the plant develop, and it is on them that the largest number of fruits are formed.
The disadvantage of forming a tomato in two stems is the need to significantly increase the distance between plants. But also, according to gardeners, the fruits grown in this way are noticeably smaller than the average statistical ones characteristic of the variety.
Possible diseases and pests
In general, "Pink Heart" is a fairly strong and disease-resistant variety with good immunity. However, brown rot may appear on the fruits. In this case, it is necessary to remove the diseased tomatoes from the bush. For treatment, the bushes should be treated with the Hom preparation.
In quite rare cases, the leaves of the plant can infect aphids. To get rid of the pest, you can use the preparations "Bison" or "Strela".
As a preventive measure against a possible attack of slugs in the root zone of plants, stove ash can be scattered. It is advisable to remove the lower tops of the bush.
Mulching and loosening the soil, removing weeds should be carried out regularly throughout the growth of the plant and the ripening of the fruits.
Opinion of gardeners
The variety of tomatoes "Pink Heart" has mostly positive reviews. Gardeners-amateurs and professionals highly appreciate its taste properties.
The relative size of the fruit is also mentioned as an advantage. In the southern regions, the variety grows well without additional agrotechnical manipulations.In the middle lane and northern regions, you should only worry about protecting the plant from temperature extremes and timely feeding. Otherwise, the variety, according to many gardeners, is quite unpretentious.
Video review of the pink heart tomato variety, see below.