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Every year, original varieties of tomatoes appear and become popular among gardeners. The Breda Atomic grape tomato deserves special attention. You can familiarize yourself with its characteristics, features of agricultural technology and reviews from gardeners below.
History of selection
Tomatoes look like ripe, large plums
The unique variety Brad's atomic grape was bred by vegetable grower Brad Gates on his farm near Napa Valley, California. The breeder specializes in multi-colored and striped varieties. Each year, Gates grows a variety of tomatoes on his 4-acre farm. Atomic grapes appeared in early 2016. He quickly gained national recognition.
When the tomato variety began to gain popularity, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, along with Gates, began a marketing campaign to promote the Breda Atomic Grape variety.
Description and characteristics of the tomato variety Atomic grapes Breda
Tomatoes are intended for growing in a greenhouse or in open ground. The Breda Atomic grape variety has poor winter hardiness, but adapts well to risky farming areas. It is only important to provide the vegetable crop with reliable shelter in the early stages after planting. This is not a hybrid variety, therefore, you can collect seeds for planting next season.
Description of tomatoes Atomic grapes Breda:
- The fruits are small, plum-shaped, cocktail-type. The surface is smooth, there is no ribbing. Tomatoes have an original color, where there are green, yellow, purple and red shades interspersed. The average weight of ripe fruits is 40-50 g.
- This is an indeterminate plant that reaches 1.5-2 m in height. The bushes are powerful, tall, heavily leafy. They require mandatory stepsoning. When grown in a garden, the height of the trunk is about 1.5 m, and in a greenhouse - up to 2 m. Stems of medium thickness, without being tied to a support during the fruiting phase, can bend towards the ground and break. The leaves are medium-sized, bright emerald in color, standard in shape for tomato crops. The leaf blades have short, downward internodes.
- The first brush is laid at the level of 8-9 leaves, and the next ones - after 1-2 along the entire height of the shoots. In simple inflorescences up to 8-10 fruits are set, in complex ones - up to 12-15. Clusters of ripening tomatoes look like bunches of grapes.
- In cross-section, Atomic Breda grape tomatoes are red-yellow-green.The fruit has a glossy, dense skin, but not hard. The pulp is quite juicy, fleshy, voids are not visible. Each fruit consists of three seed chambers with a moderate amount of seeds and a juicy, jelly-like content.
- Grape tomatoes are bright, memorable, and very sweet in taste. There is a slight sourness and light fruity notes. The taste is similar to plum or tropical fruit. If tomatoes grow in shaded areas, sourness predominates in the fruit.
If tomatoes of the mid-season Brad`s atomic grape variety are collected at the stage of technical maturity, they will be stored for a long time
Ripening time
Tomatoes selected by Brad Gates ripen 110-120 days after planting in open ground or a greenhouse. This is a mid-late variety of American selection. Harvesting begins in early August and lasts until the end of September. The fruits ripen in small batches.
Tomato yield Atomic grapes Breda
There are no official data on the yield of the variety. Gardeners note that the variety is considered medium-yielding. From 1 bush you can collect up to 10 fruits.
Resistance to adverse factors
The Breda Atomic grape variety is highly resistant to adverse weather conditions. Thanks to its powerful immunity, the vegetable crop fights off pathogens and pests.
If you care for the plantings correctly, the bushes will not hurt
Growing regions
The tomato variety Atomic grape Breda produces a lot of yield in the southern region with a mild climate. There you can grow bushes without shelter. In the Central and Northern regions, the variety is usually cultivated in greenhouses. It is advisable for gardeners from the Moscow region to grow tomatoes in greenhouse conditions.
Purpose and application
Tomatoes of the Atomic Grape Breda variety are suitable for slicing for a festive table. They make delicious salads and fresh vegetable snacks. A good option for preparing them would be drying. Tomatoes taste similar to dried apricots. The fruits are also suitable for canning, but due to the presence of anthocyanin pigment, which gives them a purple color, due to heat treatment, its destruction occurs. Tomatoes change color to duller.
Advantages and disadvantages
The tomato variety won the title of "Best National Heirloom" in America in 2017 at the annual National Farming Festival.
Bushes withstand weather vagaries
Pros:
- the fruits hold firmly on the bushes and do not fall off when ripe;
- tomatoes are famous for their excellent keeping quality and can easily be transported;
- excellent taste and aroma;
- universal application;
- bountiful harvest;
- original color;
- do not crack on branches;
- long fruiting.
Minuses:
- the need for constant stepsoning;
- Due to the hard skin, the heat treatment time increases.
Subtleties of landing
The tomato variety of American selection is usually grown using seedlings. Sowing of seeds is carried out 60-65 days before the planned planting date. When the first shoots appear, the containers are placed in a place well lit by the sun. It is advisable to water the sprouts using a spray bottle. It is recommended to plant seedlings in an open area in early May. At this time, the ground may still be cold, so you need to cover the bushes with film until the weather warms up.
Tomatoes should be planted in a place where root crops, herbs, pumpkins or legumes previously grew. Potatoes will be a bad predecessor.Tomatoes prefer to grow in a well-sunny area where there are no drafts. 2-3 weeks before planting, holes are prepared with a diameter of 25 cm and a depth of 15 cm. The earth is plowed with half a shovel, destroying weeds.
Work algorithm:
- A manganese solution is poured into the wells prepared in advance to disinfect the soil. After this, 1.5-2 liters of water are poured to moisten the soil.
- The seedlings are placed vertically in the hole, deepening down to the cotyledon leaves.
- The planted bushes are watered with settled water, and the root zone is compacted by hand.
It is important to maintain a distance between Breda Atomic grape tomatoes in beds of about 0.5 m from each other. Then they will feel comfortable and develop freely. For 1 sq. m. there should be no more than 4 bushes.
Proper planting of tomatoes is the key to their successful development
Care instructions
Tomato bushes require simple care. The main thing is to adhere to the procedure schedule:
- Beds with tomatoes Atomic Breda grapes need to be irrigated 2-3 times a week with settled water at room temperature. 1 bush will require 3 liters. The frequency of watering depends on the weather. Moisten as the top layer of soil dries.
- Fertilizing is applied once every 2 weeks. It is recommended to use nitrogen compounds in May-June. From the beginning of July, tomatoes are fed with potassium. Complex formulations can be used every three weeks.
- The root zone and row spacing must be weeded after each watering, carefully so as not to damage the rhizome.
- Formation. When the first stepsons grow, the procedure of stepsoning is carried out. You need to leave 3-4 stems, 2-3 strong stepsons under the first flower cluster. The remaining parts must be cut. Formation is carried out every week.Stepchildren up to 3 cm can simply be pinched. The cut areas are treated with potassium permanganate.
Tomatoes of the Atomic Breda grape variety should be tied to a support during fruiting.
Complex fertilizers for tomato crops contain all the necessary substances
Disease and pest control
The variety is famous for its strong immunity to diseases, but it is better to carry out prevention. Every two weeks, starting from the second half of May, the beds are treated with Fitosporin - 1 tbsp. l. concentrate per 10 liters of water, or another biofungicide. Bushes are sprayed in dry weather. You can water the preparation under the plants if they are mulched. If Atomic Grape Breda tomatoes are exposed to diseases, they must be treated with systemic fungicides Strobi, Horus or Ordan according to the instructions.
If the bushes are attacked by pests, you should use insecticides. Effective products include Prestige, Fitoverm, Syngenta. Usually one treatment is sufficient, carried out in accordance with the instructions on the package.
Conclusion
Tomato Atomic Breda grapes of non-standard color are becoming increasingly popular among summer residents all over the world. The variety is very resistant to temperature changes and produces a lot of harvest. Tomato crop is undemanding in care.
Reviews from summer residents about cherry tomatoes Atomic grapes Breda
