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If you like to eat fresh vegetables from the garden before frost sets in, then the Alyosha Popovich tomato will make your dreams come true. The variety is quite new, but has already established itself as a high-yielding crop with tasty fruits, characterized by a long fruiting period. The tomato is quite capricious and loves careful care. Can be grown outdoors only in warm regions.
Characteristics of the variety
Now we will try to consider the main characteristics and description of the tomato variety Alyosha Popovich, and also find out what vegetable growers think about the crop. Although there are not many reviews about the tomato. The variety is new, plus its growing conditions are limited. The tomato bears fruit before the onset of frost, and in the middle zone they begin early. We're not even talking about Siberia. In these regions, the crop will yield its entire harvest only in a greenhouse. In the south, tomatoes can be grown outdoors without any problems. The cold comes late here, and before this time the crop manages to bear all its fruits.
Alyosha Popovich belongs to the indeterminate group of tomatoes. The bushes grow up to 1.8 m high. The shape of the leaves is normal, as for most tomatoes. Mature plants are secured to a support, otherwise the weight of the fruit will overwhelm them to the ground. Removal of stepchildren is mandatory. According to reviews from vegetable growers, greater tomato yields are observed when the bush is formed into two or three stems.
In terms of ripening time, Alyosha Popovich belongs to the mid-season tomatoes. After sowing the seeds, you can taste the first ripe tomatoes three months later. The fruits are spherical in shape with a slightly flattened top and base near the stalk. The tomatoes are medium size. Typically, the weight of the fruit varies from 160 to 200 g, but larger tomatoes weighing up to 300 g also grow. The tomato pulp is fleshy, juicy, and acquires a uniform red color when ripe. Sometimes the fruit may have a pink tint. The walls of the tomato are smooth, only weak convolutions are observed near the stalk.
Tomato is more suitable for fresh consumption. The fruits are used to prepare salads, juice, and for decorating dishes. Thanks to the fleshy pulp, tomatoes make a thick paste and tasty adjika. Tomatoes are rarely used in canning, but you can choose small fruits for packing in jars.
Reviews about the Alyosha Popovich tomato are most often positive. Although, there is a category of vegetable growers who want to get a huge harvest without investing work and, moreover, quite quickly. Naturally, this variety of tomatoes will not suit such gardeners. The crop will bring a good harvest only with painstaking care. The tomato throws out its inflorescences until late autumn. The fruits ripen gradually, unevenly.
The video provides an overview of tomatoes, among which is the Alyosha Popovich variety:
Positive and negative traits of the variety
Taking the reviews and photo of the tomato Alyosha Popovich as a basis, let's try to better characterize this variety. As usual, let's start with the positive qualities:
- Good immunity allows tomatoes to fight common diseases. In particular, the plant is resistant to tobacco mosaic, as well as fusarium.
- The variety is high-yielding. Maximum from an area of 1 m2 You can collect up to 15 kg of ripe tomatoes.
- Fruiting lasts until late autumn, until the first frost hits.
In addition to its good qualities, the tomato has negative traits, and there are many of them:
- The Alyosha Popovich variety loves a lot of sunlight. You don’t even have to try to grow this tomato in a shaded area.
- The crop is sensitive to weather. A bad summer, cold, rain, and a long spring will affect fruiting. Under such conditions, the tomato will not yield even half of its harvest.
- The plant instantly reacts to a mistake made by the vegetable grower. Violation of the watering regime, improper feeding or shaping of the bush will affect the wilting of the tomato. The inflorescences may partially fall off or fruit set may stop.
Such serious shortcomings indicate that the Alyosha Popovich variety is not intended for lazy vegetable growers.
Soil requirement
This variety of tomatoes is recommended to be grown as seedlings. Store-bought seeds are usually disinfected and completely ready for sowing.If there are no corresponding marks on the package, it would be a good idea to dip the tomato grains in a 1% manganese solution. This tomato variety is very sensitive to the composition of the soil. To grow strong seedlings, it is not enough to simply mix garden soil with humus. Micronutrient supplements are needed. It is very difficult to accurately maintain all the proportions at home, so it is easier to go to the store and buy a soil mixture.
An adult tomato also reacts to the composition of the soil, which can be seen in the yield. The Alyosha Popovich variety will yield maximum fruit if it grows on loamy or sandy loam soil. Before planting tomato seedlings, the soil in the garden bed needs to be fertilized.
Sowing seeds
The gardener determines the time for sowing tomato seeds for seedlings individually, taking into account the climatic conditions of his region. It is necessary to calculate that by the time the plants are planted in a permanent place, the earth should warm up well. Every conscientious tomato seed producer indicates the sowing date on the packaging. It usually falls at the end of February - beginning of March.
Before sowing, the soil mixture in containers is moistened. Tomato seeds are laid out in grooves in increments of 2–3 cm. The grains are covered with loose soil 1–1.5 cm thick on top. The soil is watered from above again with a sprayer, after which the container is covered with film or glass. In this state they stand at an air temperature of +25OFrom before sprouts appear.
After the emergence of seedlings, the shelter is disposed of. The container is placed on the windowsill, plus artificial lighting is provided. When the tomatoes grow two full leaves, the plants are planted in separate cups.
Planting tomatoes in a permanent place of growth
At the time of planting, tomatoes have fully formed leaves under the first cluster. By this time, the seedlings should undergo a hardening procedure. Tomatoes are planted in prepared soil. The procedure involves the introduction of humus and fertilizers. If the soil is heavy, sand is added to loosen it.
For the Alyosha Popovich variety, a planting pattern of 60x70 cm is recommended. The tomato bushes grow tall, but not spreading. Thanks to the maintained distance, the grower has access to every tomato. Plus, good ventilation is provided, reducing the risk of late blight affecting plants.
Rules of care
To get a good harvest from a tomato, the vegetable grower will have to devote a lot of time to the crop. Cultivation errors will lead to plant disease. The fruits will grow small, sour and semi-dry.
If you decide to grow the Alyosha Popovich variety, you should adhere to the following rules:
- Tomato is very light-loving. Growing seedlings cannot be done without artificial lighting. Even shade has a bad effect on plants.
- The soil under seedlings and adult tomatoes must be constantly loosened. Mulching gives good results. This gives the tomato roots more oxygen.
- The culture is susceptible to frequent feeding. Store-bought fertilizers containing potassium and nitrogen, as well as organic matter in the form of humus, are suitable. You can use manure.
- Preventive measures must be taken, especially against fungus. The solutions are not only sprayed on the above-ground part, but also the roots of the tomatoes are watered.
- A tall tomato requires a stepson. This is a prerequisite for obtaining a good harvest.To increase fruiting, it is optimal to form a plant with two or three stems, but this number of branches increases the density of the foliage. The green mass pulls a lot of nutrients from the plant. Here you need to approach the formation individually. You can reduce foliage by removing it or growing tomatoes with one or two stems.
- Weeds are the first enemy of the tomato variety. They shouldn't be in the garden.
- In cold regions, even when growing tomatoes in greenhouses, the plants are covered with agrofibre or film at night.
- Regular watering is beneficial for tomatoes, but you should not add too much water to prevent silting of the soil.
Compliance with the rules of crop care will enable the vegetable grower to grow the Alyosha Popovich variety in almost any region.
Pest control and disease prevention
The strong immunity of the tomato does not give the vegetable grower the right to relax. There are diseases and pests that can destroy a plant:
- Store-bought preparations serve as prevention against late blight. The most common is a solution of Bordeaux mixture. It is also necessary to ensure optimal ventilation of the plantings and constantly loosen the soil.
- The Colorado potato beetle not only eats potatoes and eggplants, but also loves tomatoes. Moreover, leaves and fruits are used. You can fight the beetle by spraying the bushes with drugs or manually collecting the enemy. The deposited larvae are crushed along with the leaf.
- Whitefly causes considerable damage to tomato leaves. Sprinkling the bushes with tobacco dust or ash will help get rid of the pest. There are also store-bought preparations for spraying.
- Aphids suck juice from leaves and young stems. The control method is the same as with whitefly.You can also spray tomato bushes with a solution of washing soap.
If a tomato bush is severely affected by a viral disease during an epidemic, it is almost impossible to cure it. It is better to remove such a plant, and fill the place where it grew with a disinfectant solution.
Reviews
To summarize, let's read reviews from vegetable growers about the Alyosha Popovich tomato.
I liked the article. For the first time I want to plant the Alyosha Popovich variety.