Content
No garden or summer cottage is complete without tomato bushes. Tomatoes are not only very tasty, but also an extremely healthy vegetable; they contain a lot of vitamins and microelements. The tomato has excellent taste characteristics; this juicy and aromatic fruit can be eaten both fresh and processed. Made from tomatoes juice, preserve whole fruits, add them to salads and many different dishes.
What varieties and hybrids of tomatoes are best to grow in the climatic conditions of the Moscow region? How to plant tomato seeds for seedlings yourself, and how to care for these plants - everything is in this article.
Selection rules
Tomatoes for the Moscow region, first of all, must correspond to the climatic characteristics of this region. The Moscow region belongs to the temperate continental climate zone; this region has fairly mild winters, without severe frosts, and summers are rainy and cool.
It is these criteria that tomato varieties for the Moscow region must meet. Taking this into account, it can be argued that it is best to purchase seeds of early and mid-season varieties, the fruits of which will have time to ripen under short and cool summer conditions.Mid-late and late-ripening varieties and hybrids of tomatoes run the risk of not ripening due to low temperatures and high humidity. Such conditions are an ideal environment for the development of the main enemies of tomatoes - late blight and fungi.
So, When choosing tomato seeds for the Moscow region, you need to consider:
- Method of growing tomatoes. If there is a greenhouse or a heated greenhouse on the site, then you don’t have to be limited at all in choosing a variety. Under such conditions, absolutely any type of tomato can be grown. But for open ground, you need to select climate-oriented varieties; tomatoes selected for the south of the country, for example, are not suitable for growing in the Moscow region.
- Type of soil on the site. Tomatoes love light, loose soil. If the soil at your summer cottage is too heavy and dense, you will have to work on the composition of the soil before planting tomatoes in it. The soil can be loosened by adding rotted sawdust or peat. You should also not forget about feeding the “lean” soil - it must be fertilized with manure or humus.
- Watering frequency means a lot for the normal growth of tomatoes. So, if the plot is a dacha type, and the owner can only visit it on weekends, it is better to buy tomato seeds with small fruits - they require less water. Fleshy, large tomatoes require daily watering during fruit ripening, especially if the weather is hot and dry.
- Purpose of fruits. When tomatoes are needed for fresh consumption, you can choose several interesting varieties with unusual taste or exotic appearance. It is more convenient to preserve medium and small-fruited tomatoes; they fit well in jars and are better soaked in brine.Elastic tomatoes are chosen for salads, but thin-skinned, juicy varieties are more suitable for preparing tomato juice.
How tomatoes are grown in the Moscow region
There are no fundamental differences in the scheme for planting tomatoes in the Moscow region. The only rule is that, in accordance with the climatic characteristics of the region, tomatoes should be planted in the ground in the Moscow region no earlier than mid-May.
This means that seeds for seedlings must be sown in March-April. Of course, you can buy ready-made tomato seedlings on the market or in a specialized store, but there is no guarantee that the money will be paid for exactly the desired variety.
To be sure which variety of tomato is growing in your garden bed, it is better to grow the seedlings yourself.
An even more reliable way is to collect seed material from the previous tomato harvest yourself. You just need to remember that only varietal tomatoes are suitable for this; collecting seeds from hybrids does not make sense.
How to grow tomato seedlings
First of all, you need to select seed material for planting. To do this, all the seeds from the bag are poured onto the table and carefully examined.Good material should consist of seeds of approximately the same size, with the smoothest edges and uniform color.
All ugly, uneven and damaged seeds must be thrown away - they will not grow into a fertile bush.
To disinfect tomato seeds, they are immersed in hot water. The seeds are left in this state for 2-3 days. After this, the treatment is supplemented by soaking in a weak solution of potassium permanganate - the whole procedure will take about half an hour.
Soil for seedlings should consist of three parts:
- peat;
- humus;
- turf land.
In addition, you can use purchased soil intended for growing seedlings.
The soil is poured into individual cups or into a common wooden box. Make small indentations - up to 5 mm deep. If seeds are sown in common boxes, the distance between the holes should be at least three centimeters.
Place a seed in each hole and carefully cover it with soil. Watering tomato seeds should be done extremely carefully; it is better to use a spray bottle for this. After moistening the soil, the boxes are covered with plastic wrap and placed in a warm place for seed germination.
The higher the room temperature, the faster the tomato seeds will hatch. So, at a temperature of about 28 degrees, the first shoots will appear on the third or fourth day after planting. If the room is 20-23 degrees, you will have to wait about a week for sprouts to appear. At night the temperature can drop to 15 degrees.
Water the seedlings as the soil dries; it is better to do this with the same spray bottle so as not to damage the delicate stems and roots. Once every ten days, seedlings are fertilized with humus dissolved in water.
When the plant stems reach a height of 35-40 cm, the seedlings are ready to be planted in a permanent place.
How to care for tomatoes
Tomato seedlings are planted according to a 50x50 pattern, leaving at least 0.5 meters of space between the bushes. This is necessary for normal ventilation of the tomatoes and sufficient nutrition of the bushes.
After planting, the seedlings do not need to be watered for about 1-1.5 weeks. If the weather is hot and dry at this time, you can carefully irrigate the bushes, trying to prevent water from getting on the leaves and stems of the plants.
When the tomatoes begin to bloom, they need to be fed. Any fertilizer will do, you only need to be careful with mullein - an excessive amount of it will lead to the growth of leaves and shoots, and, accordingly, to a decrease in the number of fruits.
Diseased tomatoes should be inspected regularly for the appearance of infected plants. After prolonged rains or during a sharp cold snap, tomatoes are treated with fungicidal solutions, since there is a high probability of them becoming infected with fungus.
Tomatoes are a crop that needs to be planted regularly. Shoots are broken off every eight days when their length reaches 3-4 cm.
In August, when night temperatures drop, you can collect unripe tomatoes and put them in a dark place with a temperature of 20-22 degrees. Under these conditions, the fruits will ripen without losing their taste. You can also cover the tomato bushes at night with thick film or agrofibre.
Description of the best varieties of tomatoes for the Moscow region
In accordance with the listed factors, some of the most suitable tomato varieties for the Moscow region can be divided into a separate group. So, popular varieties:
"De Barao"
This hybrid belongs to indeterminate tomatoes (the height of the bush is more than two meters), so it needs to be grown in greenhouses or greenhouses. Under such conditions, the first tomatoes ripen somewhere on the 117th day after emergence, which allows the variety to be classified as mid-season.
The culture is characterized by high yield and excellent taste. About the demand for tomato varieties "De Barao" says the variety of species of this hybrid: there are red, yellow, black, pink fruits of this variety.
Tomatoes grow oval in shape, have a glossy surface and are medium in size. The weight of each fruit is approximately 50-70 grams. The De Barao tomato has an excellent set of sugars and vitamins; it can be eaten fresh and canned whole fruits in jars. One bush produces at least eight kilograms of tomatoes per season. You can see the fruits of this variety in the photo below.
Review of tomato "De Barao"
Of course, you always want to try something exotic, but De Barao tomatoes should definitely be in every garden - they will become a lifesaver both in a bad season and in a dry summer.
"Alenka"
A hybrid with early ripening - you can enjoy the first tomatoes already on the 90th day after the seedlings emerge. The bushes are powerful, reaching a height of one meter.
Ripe tomatoes are pink in color, have a spherical shape and a glossy skin. The weight of each tomato reaches 200-250 grams.
The taste of Alenka tomatoes is excellent, the yield is also quite high - a gardener can get about 14 kg of tomatoes from each square meter.
The hybrid variety is protected from most “tomato” diseases, withstands low and high temperatures, and the fruits do not crack.
It is necessary to plant this variety for seedlings in early March - this is due to the early ripening of tomatoes. Seedlings are planted in the ground when the threat of frost has passed and the ground has warmed up. Thanks to their “hybridity”, these tomatoes can be grown in any soil - they are unpretentious and do not require complex care.
"Mongolian dwarf"
The bushes of this tomato are compact and low - their height rarely exceeds 0.5 meters. Bunches of tomatoes literally lie on the ground. At the same time, the mass of the fruit is quite large - 250-300 grams.
The variety is an early ripening variety; tomatoes can be grown both in a greenhouse and in open ground. TomatoesMongolian dwarf» are very unpretentious, they can be grown on soil of any composition.
Even in severe drought, tomatoes can survive for some time without watering. Experienced gardeners consider the disadvantage of the hybrid to be the different quality and taste of the fruits with different growing methods.
"Nectar"
Another early ripening variety, excellent for growing in the Moscow region. You can enjoy the first tomatoes 85 days after germination.
The bushes grow high - up to two meters. Tomatoes grow on them in clusters, each of which contains six fruits. The shape of the tomato is elongated, oblong. Color – red.
These tomatoes taste sweet and very aromatic. The weight of each of them is 90-100 grams. The fruits tolerate transportation well and can be stored for a long time.
This variety of tomatoes does not require special care, the only thing is that they need to be tied to a trellis.
Which variety to choose?
Summer residents of the Moscow region can choose any of the proposed varieties of tomatoes. In addition to the proposed tomatoes, any early-ripening and unpretentious hybrids are suitable - reviews of tomato varieties for the Moscow region can help in choosing. To ensure a stable harvest, it is recommended to grow at least two or three different varieties of tomatoes in one area.
