Tomato varieties King of Siberia, despite being a novelty for domestic gardeners, has good prospects to become a regular guest in the household. The tomato was recently bred by Russian breeders, and today it is undergoing the stage of approval and recognition. But let's understand what is able to please a similar variety of tomatoes and what are the features of its cultivation.
Grade description
The King of Siberia is a relatively new tomato variety, which was bred by Russian breeders of the Aelita agricultural company. At the moment, the tomato is not listed in the State Register of Vegetable Crops, so information about it may vary slightly. Tomato is an indeterminate type of plant with unlimited stem growth, designed for growing in a greenhouse and open ground.
Did you know? According to the breeders who created this variety, King of Siberia tomatoes have a high content of active biological substances and beta-carotene, which fights premature aging and rejuvenates the body.
It has the following characteristics:
- medium ripening, the first fruits can be harvested 100-115 days after transplanting;
- a standard plant that can excellently bear fruit even in cold climates;
- the height of the bush can reach 1.5–1.8 m, requires garter;
- foliage is sparse, leaves have a beautiful maple shape, dark green in color;
- the bush requires the formation of 1 or 2 stems;
- stalks of tomato are strong and strong, form 3-5 inflorescences;
- the fruits are quite large - from 300 to 500 g, bright yellow, saturated orange color, heart-shaped;
- the pulp is sweet, dense, fleshy, very pleasant to taste;
- the peel is smooth, shiny, without ribbing;
- high productivity, subject to the basic rules of cultivation, from one bush you can get up to 5 kg of fruits, and from 1 square. m - about 15 kg;
- tomatoes have a strong immunity to pests and ailments, in particular late blight, tobacco mosaic, cladosporiosis;
- Tomatoes are suitable for fresh consumption, preparation of salad preservation, sauces, tomato paste;
- fruits can be used in diet, as well as the diet of allergy sufferers and young children.
Advantages and disadvantages
- The Tomato King of Siberia fully justifies its name, as compared with some more “older” tomato varieties, it has a number of key advantages:
- high yields - up to 15-17 kg per 1 sq. km. m;
- excellent adaptation to environmental conditions;
- ability to bear fruit even in cold climates;
- the ability to ripen both in the greenhouse and in the open ground;
- resistance to ailments afflicting solanaceous;
- the ability of unripe fruits to "reach" the desired degree of maturity;
- excellent transportability of fruits and their keeping quality;
- excellent tastes of tomatoes;
- a wide range of applications of tomatoes: canning, fresh consumption, preparation of salad preparations and mixes.
- The variety is not without some minor defects:
- the impossibility of using fruits for whole-canning due to the large size of tomatoes;
- the variety needs timely plentiful watering;
- the dependence of the size of the fruit on weather conditions, in particular, their unevenness in an unfavorable climate.
Self-growing seedlings
Of course, their productivity will depend on the quality of tomato seedlings, therefore experts recommend growing seedlings on their own.
Optimum timing for sowing
Sowing seeds for seedlings should be carried out in late February - the first half of March. It is better to use the purchased seed material, because due to the hybridity of the variety it will be quite difficult to get seeds from previously harvested fruits.
Important! Tomato fruits contain too little moisture, therefore, are not suitable for obtaining tomato juice.
The soil
Tomatoes King of Siberia are not demanding on the composition of the soil mixture, however, for growing strong and high-quality seedlings, it is recommended to prepare the soil from:
- 1/3 bucket of garden soil, humus and compost;
- 1 kg of fine sand;
- 0.5 kg of ash;
- 50 g of superphosphate and ammonium nitrate.
All components of the mixture must be thoroughly mixed and put in a dry, non-freezing place for settling for two weeks. As the soil for planting seedlings, earth from the garden, mixed in equal proportions with humus, is also suitable. It should be noted that any non-purchase soil should be decontaminated from possible parasites and pests.
For disinfection, you can use the following methods:
- calcine the soil in an oven for 20 minutes, at a temperature of +180 ... + 200 ° C;
- shed the soil with a concentrated solution of potassium permanganate and let it dry.
Capacity for growing
Sowing seeds can be in any container that is available on the farm. It can be a general container, for example, plastic or wooden boxes or individual containers - disposable plastic cups, decorative flower pots, etc. You can also use special boxes - cassettes or peat tablets. The latter are considered the most optimal option, since they can subsequently be planted with seedlings.
Important! Immediately on the eve of the seed planting, the soil should be brought into a house or apartment and left overnight in a warm place. Do not sow seed in unheated, cold ground.
Seed preparation
It is recommended to purchase the King of Siberia tomato seed material in specialized stores in order to be sure of its quality. Before sowing seeds, they must be disinfected and warmed up.
To do this:
- soak the seed in a weak solution of potassium permanganate (per 100 ml of water, 0.1 g of potassium permanganate) for 15–20 minutes;
- rinse the seeds through a sieve with plenty of water;
- put in a damp cloth and wrap in a plastic bag;
- place the seeds in a warm, dry place, with temperature indicators + 24 ... + 26 ° С.
Such events will help to neutralize seeds from possible pests, as well as strengthen the immunity of sprouts, activate their growth and improve fertility.
Sowing seeds
After the preparatory work is over, seed planting should begin. Pour the primer mixture into the container, lightly compact it and place the seeds on the top without deepening, at a distance of 2-3 cm from each other. In this case, the interval between the grooves should be about 3-4 cm.
Next, you need to sprinkle the material with a small layer of earth and moisten the surface with a spray gun. When the soil settles a little, the future seedlings should be covered with plastic wrap and taken out in a warm, dry place.
Important! After 3-4 days, all high-quality seeds will hatch, it is recommended to sow them.
Seedling Care
For high-quality germination of seedlings, she needs to organize conditions as close as possible to greenhouse:
- Temperature. The container with seedlings immediately after sowing the seeds should be located in a warm, dry place, where temperature indicators vary within +24 ... + 26 ° С. Under the film, the container must be kept until the first sprouts are formed. Next, the seedlings need to be opened and transferred to a well-lit place. During the first week after germination, it is not recommended to change the room temperature, and only after 7 days it is advised to lower it to the level of +15 ° C, and then gradually raise it to room temperature. Such a temperature jump will allow you to harden the plants and prevent them from stretching up.
- Lighting. It is preferable to grow seedlings in a well-lit place, where there is no direct sunlight. The optimal length of daylight for sprouts is considered to be 12 hours, so if there is a shortage of light, it is necessary to install an additional light source, using, for example, fluorescent lamps.
- Watering. Watering the sprouts is necessary as the soil dries. It is better to simply spray the surface of the earth with a spray gun. It is not recommended to allow waterlogging of the soil, as this can cause rotting of the root system.
- Top dressing. When caring for seedlings, do not forget about the introduction of fertilizing. The first time the soil should be fertilized two weeks after the emergence of sprouts, then - every week until planting. As fertilizing, liquid fertilizers based on potassium and phosphorus are perfect.
Seedling hardening
A mandatory procedure before planting seedlings in open ground is its hardening, which they begin to do in two weeks. Hardening allows you to strengthen the immune system of the plant, it is easier to adapt to new environmental conditions, to activate its growth and development.
Important! In the stage of two fully formed sheets, it is necessary to dive seedlings into separate containers.
The procedure for hardening seedlings is carried out according to the following algorithm:
- the temperature in the room where the container with the sprouts is located should be reduced to 1.5 +2 ... +15 ... +15;
- it is recommended that the temperature be gradually reduced until it reaches the ambient temperature;
- in parallel with a decrease in temperature indicators, the frequency of irrigation should be reduced, leaving the volume of irrigation unchanged;
- 1-2 days before planting, the seedlings must be taken out to fresh air and left for several hours;
- immediately before planting, the sprouts should be left in the open air for the whole night.
Planting seedlings in a permanent place
55–65 days after sowing seeds, grown and hardened seedlings must be planted in a permanent place. Since the plant is tall, the optimal scheme for planting is considered to be 50 x 50 cm, that is, 3 bushes per 1 square. m
It should be noted that the planting is carried out in a previously prepared, loosened, enriched in superphosphates and potassium sulfate, well-moistened soil. It is recommended for seedlings to choose a warm, well-lit place, without drafts, where potatoes were previously grown.
Outdoor tomato care
Care for tomatoes King of Siberia is ordinary and consists in observing the traditional rules of agricultural technology: timely watering and top dressing, weeding weeds, pinching and professional treatment from pests.
Important! Seedlings are planted only when at least 5-6 leaves are formed on the stem.
Watering
The variety loves good, plentiful, but rare watering. It is recommended to water the bush in the evening or overcast, 2-3 times a week, with a complete wetting of the upper soil layer. Watering is carried out directly into the wells using well-maintained, not cold water. Do not allow strong drying of the earthen coma, since in this case the plant will begin to dry, slow down growth, which will negatively affect the development of the fruits and the yield of the vegetable.
Mandatory soil moisture is required in the tomato flowering phase, after loosening the soil and the ripening stage of the fruit. In greenhouse cultivation, experts advise organizing drip irrigation, which will allow you to control the degree of soil moisture.
Fertilizer application
The King of Siberia tomatoes can bring a good crop only under the condition of high-quality and timely feeding. Fertilizing is recommended to be combined with watering once a month. As top dressings, you can use organic (manure, litter) and minerals with phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen.
In advance, it is recommended to take care of the garter of the bushes, as weighty fruits will begin to slope to the ground. For garter, you can use wooden or plastic pegs, which must be inserted from the northern part of the bush at a distance of 10-12 cm from the stem and tied with a strong but elastic material.
Soil care
To increase the yield of the plant, it is imperative to carry out loosening of the soil and weeding from weeds. The first measure will saturate the soil with oxygen, thereby accelerating the flow of nutrients into the root system. The first loosening should be carried out after transplanting seedlings, delving into the ground by 10 cm. The subsequent loosening is carried out systematically as necessary. At the same time as loosening, weed beds should be weeded.An excellent prevention of weed development is considered to be mulching, which is carried out by laying on the ground under bushes of various organic and inorganic materials - straw, sawdust, sand. Mulch also allows you to save moisture in the soil, prevent its evaporation, simplify the process of watering the vegetable.
Shaping and tying bushes
Since the King of Siberia variety belongs to tall plants, the bush is formed only in one, maximum two stems. In this case, every 10 days, all lateral processes that have reached a length of 3-4 cm should be removed. At the same time, it is necessary to remove several lower leaves, which “take” nutrients from the plant. Removing stepsons allows you to strengthen the plant, enhance the development of fruits, thereby improving productivity.
Did you know? During heat treatment, tomatoes not only do not degrade their beneficial qualities, but also improve them. So, for example, the amount of lycopene, the pigment responsible for the rejuvenation of the body, increases by a third after two minutes of cooking.
Harvesting
Harvesting large yellow tomatoes should begin as they ripen - from August to the end of September. It is not recommended to leave a heavy crop on the bushes, as the plant weakens. Allowed the collection of unripe tomatoes, which ripen perfectly in the warm, dry conditions of the house.
Harvested crops are used for salads, ketchups, sauces and salad dressing. Despite the fact that tomatoes do not give a bright red color to dishes, they give them an amazing taste and aroma.
Simple growing conditions, unpretentiousness in leaving, high productivity and excellent taste qualities of fruits contribute to the fact that tomatoes of the King of Siberia variety are gaining more and more popularity with domestic gardeners every year. The first fruits can be harvested already 4 months after planting, and enjoy good fruiting until late autumn.