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Some may think that the "Japanese crab" is a new species of crustacean animal. In fact, this name hides one of the best varieties of tomato. It was bred relatively recently by Siberian breeders. The salad variety has a lot of advantages and quickly fell in love with many farmers. Its seeds are available to everyone, but to successfully grow the crop you need to know some features of agricultural technology. For those who are interested in the variety, we offer to get acquainted with the characteristics and description of the Japanese Crab tomato variety, as well as the features of its cultivation.
Description of vegetables
The Japanese crab tomato can be called the best among many other varieties. It is distinguished, first of all, by its interesting, bright taste and aroma. The variety is ideal for preparing salads, sandwiches and other cold appetizers. Large vegetables are very meaty and contain some free juice. Their average weight is 300 g, but some particularly large fruits reach a weight of 800-900 g. Giants of the “Japanese crab” variety can be seen in the photo below:
Tomatoes of the "Japanese crab" variety are flattened in shape, their surface is ribbed. Inside the tomato there are 5-6 small seed chambers.The color of vegetables changes as they ripen from green to bright red or crimson. You can see a dark spot on the tomato stalk, characteristic of this variety.
Tomatoes have a thick skin that prevents the fruit from cracking. It is able to maintain the integrity of even the largest tomatoes. But despite its strength, the skin of Japanese crab tomatoes is quite tender and homogeneous. It is almost invisible when eating fresh vegetables.
Comments and reviews from the farmer-taster about tomatoes of this variety can be found by watching the video:
The video perfectly demonstrates the external qualities of Japanese Crab tomatoes grown in a greenhouse.
The purpose of tomatoes is universal. They can be used for preparing snacks, various culinary dishes or preserving winter preparations. Large vegetables are difficult to fit into jars, so they should be divided into parts before harvesting. Fleshy tomatoes are excellent for making ketchup or paste. The juice from Japanese crab tomatoes is quite thick.
Features of the plant
Speaking about the characteristics and description of the Japanese Crab tomato variety, it is worth mentioning not only the quality of the vegetables themselves, but also the bushes that will have to be grown to get a good harvest of tasty fruits. Thus, the bushes of the “Japanese crab” variety are indeterminate and tall. Their height in favorable greenhouse conditions reaches 2 m. To increase productivity, these giants must be correctly and promptly formed into one or two stems. It is worth noting that the proposed variety can be cultivated not only in a greenhouse or greenhouse, but also in an open garden bed.In unprotected conditions, tomatoes must be carefully tied to a reliable support.
Indeterminate bushes form fruiting clusters throughout the growing season. The first inflorescence appears, as a rule, above the 7-8 leaf of the plant. Each brush contains about 6-10 simple flowers. To obtain larger fruits, experienced gardeners pinch the clusters, leaving only 4-5 flowers.
The plant forms numerous stepsons that need to be removed in accordance with the selected tomato formation scheme. It is also recommended to pinch the main shoot about a month before the end of fruiting. This measure will speed up the ripening process of existing fruits.
The tomato leaves of the proposed variety are medium sized, light green in color. It is customary to remove the lower leaves of indeterminate tomatoes so that the plant can properly distribute nutrients.
Measures for removing shoots and leaves for all indeterminate tomatoes are similar and must be carried out according to certain rules, which can be learned in detail from the video:
Fruit ripening period and variety yield
Siberian breeders, when creating Japanese crab tomatoes, first of all, took into account the peculiarities of the existing climate in the region. Thus, the proposed tomato variety has a medium-early fruit ripening period. From the day of sowing the seed to the day of harvesting, about 110-115 days should pass. This duration of ripening allows you to grow tomatoes not only in seedlings, but also without seedlings.
The first tomatoes of the proposed variety ripen within 2.5-3 months after sowing the seeds. They are characterized by a particularly large size and can weigh 500-600 g. The yield of the variety as a whole is quite high: with good care, it is possible to collect more than 5 kg of vegetables from each bush. Productivity from 1 m2 earth exceeds 15 kg. The process of fruiting of the variety is limited, as a rule, by climatic conditions. In a greenhouse, indeterminate tomatoes can produce a harvest until November.
Resistance to external factors
Often, gardeners, growing tomatoes in a greenhouse or in an unprotected garden bed, are faced with various diseases and pests that can significantly spoil the crop or completely destroy it. The variety “Japanese crab” is genetically resistant to many diseases. So, it is not afraid of crown and root rot, tobacco mosaic. Tomatoes do not have high immune protection against other diseases, so it is worth remembering:
- Prolonged rains and sudden cold snaps can trigger the development of late blight.
- Conditions with high temperature and high air humidity, which are typical for a greenhouse, can become a prerequisite for the development of cladosporiosis.
The development of late blight and cladosporiosis can be prevented by preventive measures. For example, treating plants with ash or trichopolum once every 3 days will not allow fungi and viruses to spread. If foci of the disease are detected, it is recommended to use special drugs. So, you can fight late blight with fungicides. Preparations containing copper can resist cladosporiosis.
The variety does not have genetic resistance against insects.They must be fought with folk remedies in the form of an infusion or decoction, as well as by setting traps.
Features of cultivation
“Japanese crab” is a very grateful variety, which only with proper care can produce a good harvest of vegetables. The variety requires special care and attention from the first days of cultivation. So, before you start cultivating tomatoes, it is important to determine the time and place of planting the seeds:
- tomato seeds can be sown in a heated greenhouse in early April;
- in an unheated greenhouse, favorable conditions are established by the beginning of May;
- It is recommended to sow grains in open ground at the end of May - beginning of June;
- At home, tomato seeds are usually sown for seedlings in early April.
It is worth noting that tomato seeds are not afraid of cold and can be sown in open ground quite early, but this will not speed up the process of fruit ripening, since germination of grains will occur only after favorable weather has established. When growing seedlings at home, it is also necessary to pay special attention to the date of planting the seeds, because in favorable conditions the plants can grow quite quickly and exceed the recommended parameters by the time they are planted in the ground.
For different regions of the country, the timing of sowing seeds for seedlings may vary. It is recommended to sow grains for seedlings 60 days before the day the seedlings are supposed to be planted in the ground. At the time of planting, tomatoes should have 6 true leaves and a stem height of about 20-25 cm.
Seedlings should be placed in open ground or a greenhouse in a two-row or checkerboard pattern. At 1 m2 There should be no more than 3 indeterminate plants in the soil. Caring for Japanese crab tomatoes is standard and includes watering, loosening and weeding the soil. Fertilizers must be applied regularly, at least 4-5 times during the entire growing season. It is worth remembering that nitrates can accumulate in ripe fruits, so at the stage of active ripening of tomatoes you need to be more careful with fertilizing.
Advantages and disadvantages
The variety “Japanese crab” has a lot of advantages:
- amazing taste of fruits and their size;
- high productivity;
- unpretentiousness of the variety, the ability to grow tomatoes in open and protected conditions;
- excellent external qualities of tomatoes;
- universal purpose of vegetables.
In addition to important advantages, the Japanese crab variety also has some disadvantages that should be remembered:
- Poor adaptability of tomatoes for storage.
- Vulnerability of ovaries to unfavorable conditions. Flowers and ovaries at a temperature of +2-+40C may fall off.
Results
Thus, we can say with confidence that “Japanese Crab” is an excellent salad variety of tomatoes, with excellent taste characteristics and high external qualities of the fruit. This is confirmed by numerous reviews and descriptions of the variety. Cultivating tomatoes is quite simple if you know some of the features and rules of agricultural technology. We tried to talk about them in detail above in the article, so that every willing farmer has the opportunity to grow a good harvest of tasty tomatoes with his own hands.
