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When choosing a tomato variety, looking at packets of seeds, the gardener subconsciously sympathizes with heart-shaped tomatoes, like Big Mom. Judging by the “business card”, this is a strong bush of a plant with large fruits. It was not for nothing that the breeders christened him that way. Although this tomato variety is very young, registered in 2015, the plant is quickly gaining popularity thanks to its bouquet of valuable properties. Initially, the bushes of these tomatoes were intended for growing in greenhouses, but in the south they ripen well in open ground.
Clear advantages of the new variety
It is worth learning in advance about the characteristics of the tomato plant itself and its fruits.
- Early ripeness: greenhouse bushes give huge red berries already 85-93 days after germination;
- Determinism: the growth of the Big Mom tomato bush stops as soon as the fifth cluster forms on the trunk. From this moment on, his task is the formation of fruits. Mostly, plants of the Big Mom tomato variety reach a height of 60 cm. With increased nutrition, the bushes rise another ten centimeters, very rarely up to a meter;
- Productivity: the weight of ripe tomato fruits starts at 200 g.In greenhouse conditions, subject to all requirements of agricultural technology, the total mass of harvested fruits reaches 9-10 kg per 1 sq. m. In open ground the fruits are smaller;
- Fruit quality: Big Mom tomatoes, according to reviews from enthusiasts who were the first to take up growing the new variety, are excellent. The juicy pulp is balanced in sweetness and acidity. The advantage is that there are few seeds in the fruits;
- Transportability: due to the presence of dry matter, the impressive red tomato fruits tolerate transportation well;
- Resistance to pathogens of fungal and other diseases. Bushes of the Big Mom variety can only be affected by spores of late blight, powdery mildew, rot or tobacco mosaic viruses only in extremely unfavorable conditions and in the absence of care.
Characteristics of the plant
Determinate tomato bushes Big Mom, according to reviews, were liked by many gardeners because of their rather low growth and, accordingly, stable, strong stems. On evenly spaced branches of the plant there are a few light green, wrinkled, medium-sized leaves, similar to potato leaves. Inflorescences are formed after the 5th or 7th leaf, usually bearing five to six fruits. The rhizome of the bush is horizontal.
The magnificent, bright red fruits are loved for their rich and pleasant taste.
- The berries of Big Mom tomatoes are slightly ribbed, elongated downwards, resembling a heart in shape. Often round or slightly tapered, with a spout;
- The fruit has a smooth, dense, although thin, skin that does not crack;
- The main feature of Big Mom tomatoes is the size of the berry, which weighs from 200 to 400 g;
- The fruits are tasty, with fleshy and juicy pulp, with a small number of seeds, for which the berry forms 7 or 8 chambers.
Tomatoes of this variety are ideal for fresh salads. The fruits are convenient to use in slicing for canned preparations. At the stage of full ripeness, sauces and pastes are prepared from them.
Specifics of growing seedlings
The fruits of any plant begin with seeds and seedlings. Since the breeding company “Gavrish” developed the Big Momma tomato variety, bushes that fully retain the declared properties should grow from its seeds.
Sowing seeds
If Big Mom tomato seeds are sold already processed, they are simply carefully laid out in the soil, deepened by 0.5-1 cm. It is better to purchase the substrate in gardening stores. Garden soil is mixed with peat, river sand and humus, and watered with a solution of potassium permanganate. The seeds are kept in the same disinfectant solution for about twenty minutes.
The containers are covered with film, and after the first shoots it is removed, and throughout the week the optimal temperature will be 150WITH.
Sprout support
Tender tomato seedlings require careful care.
- Big Momma tomato seedlings require a lot of light to form the root system. If there is little natural light, add phytolamps;
- Tomato roots develop correctly even without additional lighting at a temperature not exceeding 160C. When the tomato seedlings get stronger, they are transferred to heat - up to 250 WITH;
- When two true leaves develop, Big Momma tomato seedlings are picked and transferred into individual pots with a volume of at least 300 ml;
- Usually, tomato seedlings do not require fertilizing, but if the plants are in a greenhouse, the seedlings are watered with a nutrient solution. In 1 liter of water add 0.5 g of ammonium nitrate, 2 g of potassium sulfate and 4 g of superphosphate.
Before planting in open ground, tomato seedlings are hardened off by placing them in the air, in the shade, for two weeks.
Caring for seedlings in a greenhouse
When the Big Momma tomato seedlings reach 20-25 cm in height and already have more than 6 leaves, they are transferred to a permanent place. The holes are made according to the 40x50 pattern. Before planting young tomato plants, you need to prepare a greenhouse.
Soil preparation
The soil needs to be dug up. Sometimes the soil is removed to a depth of seven centimeters to replace it with new one. Usually, turf soil and humus are used in equal parts, diluted with vermiculite or sawdust. Supplements are necessary to maintain air-water balance. The soil mixture is treated by dissolving 2 ml of the biological substance “Fitolavin” per liter of water.
Stores offer ready-made soil for tomatoes. It is placed in the hole when planting the plant.
Feeding tomatoes
Having dug a hole, you need to decide where the root will be located, and five centimeters from it, put 3-7 g of fertilizer for tomatoes, which is purchased in specialized stores. Potassium and phosphorus, necessary for plant development and the formation of tomato fruits, are balanced in ready-made fertilizers. The drugs Fertika, Kemira and others are used.
Before flowering, plants are fertilized with nitrogen fertilizers. Periodically, Big Momma tomato bushes are watered with a nutrient solution.To prepare it, add 0.5 liters of liquid mullein and 20 g of nitrophoska to 10 liters of water. Often 5 g of potassium sulfate and 30 g of superphosphate are added to this mixture.
Flowering Big Momma tomato bushes are in dire need of potassium support. During this period, foliar feeding with wood ash is best, which will give the seedlings the opportunity to quickly absorb valuable nutrients. One glass of ash is poured into 1 liter of hot water and left for 2 days. Then the infusion is diluted and sprayed on the plants.
Watering, pinching and garter
Greenhouse tomato bushes Big Mom love warm water, about 200 WITH.
- Water the plants only at the roots once a week;
- Do not over-moisten the soil;
- The tomato plant needs more water when fruits begin to form;
- Tomato bushes in greenhouses are watered only in the morning.
After the soil dries, it is loosened and mulched. Greenhouses must be ventilated and air humidity monitored.
Branches that begin to grow in the leaf axils of tomato bushes must be removed.
- Tomato bushes are planted once every 15 days;
- Only one branch is removed from the plant at a time, otherwise the seedling will get sick;
- The lowest stepson, or two, are left to form a powerful bush of 2 or 3 stems.
You need to take care of the trellises in advance, to which branches are tied as the tomato bush grows. With the beginning of the growth of green fruits, the leaves from the bush are gradually torn off.
In greenhouses, the tomato harvest is guaranteed even in cool summers.
