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Experienced gardeners love to get acquainted with new varieties of tomatoes. When choosing a variety, not only descriptions from manufacturers are taken into account, but also reviews from gardeners who have already grown new tomatoes. Almost all summer residents speak well of the Loving Heart tomato.
Characteristics of the variety
The indeterminate variety Loving Heart grows up to 2 m in a greenhouse; in open ground, powerful bushes form 1.6-1.8 m high. The tomato is resistant to adverse weather conditions and diseases. The variety is classified as mid-season. The fruits ripen 90-115 days after seed germination. An average of 5-6 tassels are tied per bush. 5-7 fruits of the Loving Heart are usually formed in the hand (photo).
The fruits weigh 700-800 g. If you set out to grow a tomato even larger, you need to leave 3-4 ovaries on the cyst. With proper care, a tomato can ripen weighing a kilogram or more. The deep red tomatoes are shaped like a heart. Loving Heart tomatoes are characterized by thin skin, fleshy pulp, which has a granular structure at the break. The fruits have a rich tomato aroma that does not disappear even after processing. The delicate, sweetish taste of a tomato with a hint of sourness is a significant advantage of the tomato.
Advantages of tomato:
- expressive taste and persistent aroma;
- high productivity;
- resistance to temperature changes and diseases.
The disadvantages include the poor keeping quality of the fruit, so tomatoes must be eaten or processed immediately after harvesting. Due to the large mass and thin peel, the fruits are poorly stored and practically not transportable. You also need to keep in mind that in the direction from the lower clusters to the upper ones the fruits become smaller.
Growing seedlings
It is recommended to plant seeds in early to mid-March. For high-quality germination of planting material, it is advisable to carry out some preparatory work.
To disinfect grains, they are treated with a solution of potassium permanganate. To do this, seeds wrapped in cloth are dipped in a pale solution of potassium permanganate for 15-20 minutes and then washed in clean water.
To speed up the germination of grains, they are soaked in water. The best option is to wrap the planting material in a damp cloth for 10-12 hours. At the same time, the canvas must not be allowed to dry out - it is periodically moistened.
Some gardeners practice hardening tomato seeds. To do this, seeds of the Loving Heart variety are placed in the refrigerator (on the bottom shelf) for 15-16 hours, then left in the room for 5-6 hours. Alternating temperatures can be done 2 times. It is believed that such events harden the plants and therefore future seedlings will grow more resistant to low temperatures.
Stages of planting seeds
- Make several rows in prepared moist soil. The seeds are placed in the ground and lightly sprinkled with soil (a layer of 1 cm is sufficient). Before emergence, the container is covered with polyethylene and placed in a warm place.
- As soon as the first shoots appear, the covering material is removed. In order for the seedlings to grow strong, it is advisable to provide additional lighting. For this purpose, phytolamps are installed.
- When the seedlings of the Loving Heart grow two leaves, you can plant the sprouts in separate pots. When watering plants, do not allow the soil to become waterlogged, otherwise the tomato roots may rot.
One and a half to two weeks before planting tomatoes of the Loving Heart variety, seedlings begin to harden in open ground. To do this, containers are taken outside for a short time. Gradually the hardening period is increased.
Tomato care
You can plant seedlings in open ground after the threat of frost has passed, as soon as the soil warms up to +15˚ C and stable warm weather sets in. More specific dates depend on the climatic characteristics of the region. In the middle zone, the right time is mid-May.
In a row, bushes are placed in increments of 60-70 cm, and a path 80-90 cm wide is left between the rows. It is better to place the beds in a north-south direction. In this case, the tomatoes will be illuminated better and more evenly. When planting Loving Heart tomatoes, pegs are immediately installed and the bushes are carefully tied up.
Tomato bushes of the Loving Heart variety are formed into one or two stems. Stepchildren must be cut off.At the same time, it is important to leave small shoots to prevent the growth of new stepsons from these sinuses. At a height of approximately 1.8 m, the top of the tomato is pinched to stop further growth of the stem.
To form large fruits, you need to remove several ovaries from the flower clusters. It is enough to keep 5-6 brushes with 2-3 ovaries on the bush. When ripening Loving Heart tomatoes, it is important to tie up each cluster so that it does not break off.
Watering and fertilizing
When watering, moderation must be observed. To prevent the soil from drying out, it is recommended to mulch the soil. During fruit set and growth, the volume of watering is increased. At the same time, you must try to prevent water from stagnating.
The green mass of mustard will simultaneously protect the soil from drying out, protect the bush from pests and increase soil fertility.
Feeding tomato bushes
When choosing a fertilizer, you must not allow the plant to direct all its forces to the growth of green mass. Therefore, nitrogen fertilizing is used only at the stage of young seedlings, when they have recently been transplanted into open ground and the plant requires nutrition for growth.
As soon as the ovaries appear on the bushes and fruits begin to form, they move on to superphosphates and potassium chloride. It is best to thoroughly fertilize the area in the fall, when the soil is being prepared for future plantings of tomatoes.
When growing tomatoes in open ground, foliar feeding of bushes is practiced. The nutrient solution is made weakly concentrated.You can use superphosphate, which prevents flowers from falling off, increases the number of ovaries, and increases productivity. When spraying Loving Heart tomatoes, microelements are better absorbed.
You can spray the bushes with a solution of ash with the addition of boric acid (take 2 liters of ash and 10 g of boric acid per 10 liters of water). This composition not only helps the ovaries to form faster, but also effectively fights pests (black aphids).
Harvesting
Ripe tomatoes need to be harvested every three to four days. Tomatoes are cut together with the stalk. To store Loving Heart tomatoes, select a dry, ventilated room with a normal level of humidity. To keep tomatoes better preserved and not damaged, it is better to place them in boxes covered with paper.
In regions with short summers, not all tomatoes have time to ripen. Therefore, with the onset of cold weather, all fruits (of any degree of maturity) are collected. To ripen, they are placed in a cool, dry room. Among the green tomatoes, several ripe fruits are left. Ripe tomatoes produce ethylene, which promotes rapid ripening of other unripe fruits.
Growing tomatoes doesn't require much time or effort. Simple rules for caring for a tomato of the Loving Heart variety will allow even novice gardeners to get a magnificent harvest.
