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The large-fruited variety Pink Giant is a heat-loving crop. The tomato is best suited for growing in the southern regions. Here the plant feels comfortable in the open air. In the middle zone, the Pink Giant tomato is best grown under cover. Let it not be a greenhouse, but at least a primitive temporary greenhouse that will protect tomatoes from night frosts in the spring.
Description of the variety
A detailed description of the Pink Giant tomato variety, photos, and reviews from vegetable growers who have managed to enjoy the large, tasty fruits will help you get to know the culture better. Let's start with the fact that the tomato belongs to the pink-fruited group. The variety is considered to be of domestic origin and was bred by amateurs. The indeterminate bush grows from 1.8 to 2 m in height. Tomato stems require garter to a trellis. The formation of a bush occurs by removing excess stepsons, as a result of which the plant produces one, two or three stems. At 1 m2 no more than three tomatoes are planted in the beds.
The tomato bush is not thickened with green mass, but the foliage is quite large.Fruit ripening begins approximately 110 days after sprout germination. Tomatoes are tied in tassels, each of which can consist of 3–6 pieces. The shape of the fruit is round, slightly flattened. A slight ribbing may appear near the stem. The weight of medium-sized tomatoes is about 400 g, but larger fruits weighing up to 1.2 kg also grow. Sometimes supergiant tomatoes weighing about 2.2 kg can grow from a large inflorescence. However, the shape of a huge fruit is most often irregular.
The formation of a tomato bush has several secrets. So that all the fruits have time to ripen before frost, seven clusters are left on the plant, and the top of the stem is cut off to limit growth. The dimensions of the fruit can also be adjusted. To do this, the number of brushes is further reduced to five, or you can even leave four. The procedure is performed at the stage of inflorescence appearance. The vegetable grower leaves the three largest flowers in each brush and removes the rest. Subject to the formation of the bush and the rules of agricultural technology from 1 m2 beds can produce up to 15 kg of pink tomatoes per season.
The description of the fruit is typical, as for all varieties of pink tomatoes. The tomato is fleshy, sweet, highly saturated with juice. A characteristic feature of the variety is the presence of a large number of seed chambers in the pulp. A gardener can collect up to 100 ripened grains from one fruit.
According to their intended purpose, Pink Giant tomatoes are a salad variety. The delicious fruit of a beautiful pink color is used to decorate dishes, prepare fresh salads, and juice. Tomatoes can be processed into fruit drinks, pasta or ketchup. The Pink Giant is not suitable for conservation. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, large tomatoes simply will not fit through the narrow neck of the jar.Secondly, even if you choose small fruits, they still won’t be used for canning. The pulp and skin of the tomato are very tender and simply fall apart during heat treatment.
Growing seedlings
Only in the south can vegetable growers be able to sow tomato seeds simply in the garden. In other cold regions, tomatoes are grown as seedlings.
Since the Pink Giant tomato variety is considered a salad variety, you won’t need a lot of seedlings. About 8 bushes among other tomatoes are enough for a family. The same number of cups is needed, and they can be easily placed on any windowsill. The cups won't take up much space. Store-bought seeds can be sown immediately, but it is advisable to prepare grains from home-picked tomatoes:
- First, the tomato seeds are soaked for 15 minutes in a saline solution to remove any floating pacifiers. After this, the grains are washed with clean water and pickled for 20 minutes in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate.
- Each vegetable grower soaks tomato seeds in his own way. One way is to spread the beans on wet toilet paper, where they lie overnight. For wetting, they use not just water, but with the addition of honey or aloe juice.
- Few people adhere to this rule, but it would not hurt to follow seed bubbling tomato. To do this, the grains are immersed for half an hour in warm water with the addition of honey or aloe juice and an ordinary aquarium compressor is turned on. Air injection enriches tomato seeds with oxygen.At the end of bubbling, the grains are slightly dried and sowing can begin.
It is better to put more tomato seeds in cups with soil. Let there be 3 or 4 of them. When they sprout, choose the strongest tomato, and remove the remaining sprouts. You don't need to decide right away. Tomato seeds can wake up at different times or some grains may lie at greater depths. Naturally, the shoots will turn out to be unfriendly. When all the tomatoes grow two full leaves, then you should choose the best plant.
Further care of tomato seedlings includes timely watering, organizing additional artificial lighting and maintaining a room temperature of +20OC. You need to feed the Pink Giant tomato seedlings regularly with complex fertilizers every 2 weeks. Tomatoes are hardened 10–12 days before planting in the garden. First, the seedlings are taken out into the shade for a couple of hours, and then left in the sun all day.
Good hardening of tomato seedlings will affect high yields. Tomatoes can easily tolerate a drop in night temperature to +10OWITH.
Planting seedlings and caring for tomatoes
By the beginning of May, tomato seedlings of the Pink Giant variety should have at least 6 adult leaves and one inflorescence. The age of such plants ranges from 60 to 65 days. The large-fruited variety loves freedom and does not tolerate crowding. The minimum distance between tomato bushes is 50 to 60 cm. Experienced vegetable growers assure that it is better to plant tomatoes according to the 70x70 cm pattern.The plant is buried in the hole to the level of the cotyledon leaves. Before planting and after filling the roots with soil, water the seedlings with warm water. If frosts are still possible at night, then the tomato plantings are covered with agrofibre.
When the tomato seedlings have taken root, you should not wait until the bushes stretch out. You need to take care of the trellis in advance. To make it, posts are dug in so that they protrude at least 2 m above the ground. A rope or wire is pulled between the supports. As the bushes grow, the stems are tied to the trellis with ropes. The tomato trusses are very heavy so that the branches can hold them. They will have to be tied up or supported separately.
Tall tomatoes love plenty of watering as they require energy for stem growth. And if the variety is also large-fruited, then it requires twice as much water. Watering the Pink Giant bushes is carried out at the root. It is undesirable for water to get on tomato foliage. For these reasons, instead of sprinkling, it is better to use drip irrigation.
Large-fruited tomatoes need more feeding than small-fruited varieties. Organic and mineral fertilizers are applied throughout the season. Feeding tomatoes is especially important during the formation of inflorescences and fruit set.
After watering, fertilizing and rain, a film forms on the soil, preventing the access of oxygen to the roots of the tomato. The problem can be solved by timely loosening the soil. Mulch scattered over the garden bed helps retain moisture in the soil longer. By the way, this option is beneficial for lazy vegetable growers. Mulch prevents the formation of crust, and the issue of frequent loosening of the soil under the tomato bushes disappears.
The Pink Giant bush can be formed with 1,2 or 3 stems. Here the gardener chooses the best option for himself.The more stems there are on a tomato, the more fruits will be produced, but they will be smaller. A plant with one stem will grow a lot, but the tomatoes will grow much larger. In any case, all other excess shoots are removed from the tomato bush. The same is done with the leaves of the lower tier.
Pest Control
Concluding the review of the characteristics and descriptions of the Pink Giant tomato variety, it is worth dwelling on such an important problem as pests. This tomato variety is rarely affected by fungus. If this happens, then this can only be the fault of the vegetable grower himself. Most likely, the conditions for caring for the plant were violated. In a greenhouse, fungus can appear from infrequent ventilation.
Harmful insects are the worst pest of tomato plants. Colorado beetles, whiteflies, aphids, and spider mites love to feast on fresh tomato leaves. The enemy must be identified immediately and the tomato plantings must be sprayed with protective agents.
The video talks about the Pink Giant variety:
Reviews
The Pink Giant variety is popular among vegetable growers and there are many reviews about this tomato. Let's read a few of them.
