Content
- 1 What are indeterminate varieties
- 2 Benefits of growing
- 3 Sowing seeds and growing seedlings
- 4 Influence of temperature conditions
- 5 Transplanting
- 6 Methods for forming an indeterminate bush
- 7 Garter rules
- 8 What are the characteristics to distinguish indeterminate varieties from determinate ones?
- 9 Conclusion
When buying tomato seeds, each person studies the characteristics of the variety on the package. Usually it contains information about the time of sowing grains and ripening of fruits, a description of the size and color of the tomato itself, and also describes a brief agricultural technology of the crop. In addition, the manufacturer must indicate what kind of plant it is: low-growing or tall. But if the height of a tomato is indicated by such a simple name, everything is clear to anyone. But when the inscription “indeterminate tomatoes” appears, this designation is misleading for uninitiated gardeners.
What are indeterminate varieties
The answer to this question is quite simple. Indeterminate varieties are the same tall crops. Such tomatoes are characterized by unlimited stem growth, and it does not matter whether it is a variety or a hybrid.
In hot countries or heated greenhouses, the growing season of indeterminate tomatoes lasts more than a year.During this period, one bush can produce up to 50 bunches of tomatoes. All tall tomatoes require the formation of a bush. This process involves removing excess shoots to create one or two stems. We'll talk more about this later.
Having decided to acquire indeterminate tomatoes, you must first consider the possibilities of growing them. In the southern regions, such a tomato can be planted in open and closed ground. As they grow, the stems are tied to a trellis or wooden stakes driven into the ground. For the middle zone, it is recommended to grow indeterminate varieties in greenhouse conditions. But residents of the northern regions are better off avoiding such tomatoes. The peculiarity of these varieties is the late ripening of the harvest in relation to other tomatoes. During the short warm summer, the fruits simply do not ripen.
And finally, I must say about the flowering of indeterminate tomatoes. The first flower is laid after the 9th or 12th leaf, and all subsequent ones every 3 leaves. This, in principle, is a short answer to the question: what are indeterminate tomato varieties, and then we will try to analyze in more detail all the features of such tomatoes.
Benefits of growing
The main advantage of indeterminate varieties is space saving.In a small bed you can plant a dozen plants and, due to the ovaries of a large number of trusses, get several times more tomato yield than, for example, from 20 low-growing bushes. The normal figure is 13–16 kg of tomatoes per 1 m2 beds.
Another advantage is the availability of creating the best growing conditions for tomatoes.
Of course, here you will have to work hard with tying the stems. To do this, you will need to build trellises or drive stakes near each bush, but the plant will feel better at a height.
The leaves will receive even illumination from the sun's rays, and free air access will be ensured. All this will reduce the risk of bushes being damaged by late blight and fungal diseases.
We also need to touch on the growing season. Indeterminate varieties bear fruit longer. Low-growing tomatoes most often give up their entire harvest at once. This is, of course, convenient for sale or processing, but making fresh tomato salads at home throughout the summer will not work. Indeterminate tomatoes often ripen unevenly. A new ovary will constantly appear on the bushes before the first frost, which means that there will be fresh tomatoes on the table all summer until late autumn.
And, finally, tall bushes are easier to shape even for an inexperienced gardener. All the shoots are simply removed from the plant, leaving only the stem.
Sowing seeds and growing seedlings
There are no particular differences in growing seedlings of indeterminate tomatoes from low-growing varieties, but let's take a look at how this is done at home:
- Growing indeterminate tomato seedlings requires a longer period of approximately 50 to 65 days. This must be taken into account and the seeds must be sown a little earlier, around March 15th.To sow seeds, use boxes with a moist substrate. The grains are laid out evenly in rows. This scheme will provide optimal lighting to the sprouted sprouts. The spread seeds are covered on top with a 5 mm layer of peat or sand.
- The box with the sown tomato seeds is tightly covered with transparent PET film and placed in a warm place with a constant air temperature of +23OC. The first shoots should hatch in 5 or 6 days. Now is the time to remove the film from the box, but it is better to do this in the morning or late afternoon. The choice of this time is due to less evaporation of moisture at midday.
- Once opened, the seedlings will germinate for at least another 6 days. When at least one true leaf grows on the sprouts, begin picking in separate cups.
After picking, the cups with seedlings are placed in empty boxes for further cultivation.
Influence of temperature conditions
Every vegetable grower wants to get stocky tomato seedlings at home and always with short internodes. The whole secret is to maintain a round-the-clock temperature in the range of 23–24OC. After about 25 days, the temperature is reduced by a maximum of 2 degrees. Maintaining this temperature promotes the formation of the first 3 brushes.
14 days before planting in the ground, the temperature in the room where the seedlings are growing is reduced to +19 during the dayOC, and at night you can withstand +17OC. It is important here not to overdo it with lowering the temperature, otherwise it will have a negative effect on indeterminate tomatoes.The fact is that in the cold the development of the plant is inhibited, and the planting of the first brush will not be where it should be, that is, very low. And as we said above, the first flower of indeterminate tomatoes should be formed no lower than the 9th leaf. Of course, low flower formation will not be detrimental to the plant, but it will lead to a poor tomato harvest in the future.
If the garden is located far from home, the seedlings will have to be transported or carried by hand. It should be taken into account that fragile plants react painfully to temperature changes and drafts. It is optimal to hide the seedlings under PET film until they are delivered to the planting site. It is important to avoid watering before transportation. Plants that have absorbed moisture become very fragile. By the way, you cannot carry tomato seedlings lying down.
Now let's see what healthy indeterminate seedlings should look like before planting in the ground:
- A flower cluster should form above the 9th or 10th leaf. It must be inclined downward, have a short leg and regular shape.
- The optimal internode length is from 5 to 7 cm. All of them must be correctly positioned in accordance with the characteristics of a particular variety.
A strong stem will indicate a strong indeterminate seedling. It should not be thin, but a stem that is too thick is also bad.
Transplanting
Each plant is carefully removed from the cup along with a lump of soil. Holes are dug in the garden bed in such a way that the original lump of soil from the cup after planting rises above the soil of the garden bed by about 2 cm.
After planting, the plant must be watered with warm water, but this must be done at the root. Water that gets on young leaves will leave burn marks.
When planting seedlings of indeterminate tomatoes, maintain a density of no more than 5 plants/2 m2. Typically, gardeners plant bushes in rows with a spacing of 0.5 m. The row spacing is left at least 0.7 m in size. For the convenience of tying the lashes to the trellis, the bushes are placed in a checkerboard pattern.
Methods for forming an indeterminate bush
Forming a tall tomato is not particularly difficult and involves simply removing the side shoots. It is customary to form bushes into one or two stems. Let's look at all the advantages and disadvantages of each method.
Forming a bush with one stem
An indeterminate plant is a kind of vine that grows almost indefinitely. The easiest way is to form a bush with one stem. To do this, do not pinch the top of the plant, but remove all emerging side shoots. For gardeners, this procedure is called stepsoning. Usually in one stem form an indeterminate plants for greenhouse industrial cultivation.
The advantage of this method is easy bush formation, dense planting and more yield per 1 m22. The disadvantages include the impossibility of such formation in home greenhouses, since usually their height does not exceed 2.5 m.
There is also a way to form with one stem. It is based on leaving one shoot under the first flower. The growing stepson is tied to the trellis until 1 or 2 brushes appear on it, and then its top is pinched.
The advantage of this method is that you get more yield from the bush.In addition, the excess ovary slows down the growth of the main stem, which is convenient for low home greenhouses. The only downside is the extra time spent on gartering and pinching the stepson.
Forming a bush with two stems
The optimal way to form an indeterminate bush at home is considered to be two stems. To do this, one shoot is left under the first flower, which will constantly grow in parallel with the stem. All new stepsons that appear are removed.
The advantage of this forming is to obtain a larger yield and limit the intensity of growth of the entire plant. The disadvantages include an increase in the step of planting seedlings. With the formation of more ovaries, the plant requires additional fertilizing with fertilizers.
The video shows caring for tall varieties:
Garter rules
The optimal structure for gartering indeterminate tomatoes is considered to be a trellis. It is made of metal posts at least 2 m high, between which a rope or wire is stretched. The tomato stem begins to be tied under the third leaf.
It is convenient to use reels in the design of the trellis, with the help of which the ropes are fixed. This allows the thread to move along the trellis. When the bush stretches to the top bridge, using the same coil, the top of the stem is moved to the side. Next, the growing stem is directed onto a net or other supports, and the lower leaves are removed.
If there are no coils, the grown stem is thrown over the top jumper of the trellis, and at an angle of 45O lower it down with a gradual garter. In this case, the bush should form at least 9 brushes. When the tomato stem reaches a maximum of 0.5 m to the ground, pinch off its top.
What are the characteristics to distinguish indeterminate varieties from determinate ones?
It must be said right away that all low-growing varieties are called determinate tomatoes. But we will not consider them, but will learn how to determine the difference between these two species, starting from the earliest period of life.
Difference in seedlings
On the third or fourth day after the sprouts appear, the cotyledonous knee straightens. In low-growing tomatoes, its maximum length is 3 cm, and in indeterminate varieties - 5 cm. But if the seedlings are grown in the wrong shade, they become elongated, and determination in this way becomes impossible.
Difference by seedlings
Adult seedlings determinate tomatoes forms a flower brush over the 6th leaf. Seedlings of indeterminate varieties produce the first flower above the 9th leaf.
Difference by rooted plant
When a bush has taken root and already has several brushes, it is difficult to determine whether it belongs to one of the groups.
An adult indeterminate plant does not have a shoot at the end of which there is an ovary, which is typical for low-growing varieties. Although you can make a mistake here if, when forming a tall bush, the stepson was pinched immediately behind the brush. Therefore, it is better to determine by the number of leaves.
Tall varieties of tomatoes related to determinant group. Less than three leaves grow between their racemes.There are even indeterminate varieties that belong to standard crops. A striking example of this is the late tomato “Volgogradsky 5/95”.
As a note, it must be said that the height of a standard plant is much smaller than that of a determinate plant. Its stem is so powerful that it can support any number of fruits without a garter. By the way, standard tomatoes are not planted.
The video shows indeterminate and determinate varieties:
Conclusion
We hope that novice vegetable growers have understood the basic definitions of indeterminate varieties of tomatoes, and now when studying the characteristics on the packaging, unnecessary questions will not arise.
