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Despite the fact that spring will not come soon, gardeners are thinking about choosing tomato varieties for their plots. There are so many colorful bags of seeds in stores today that your head is spinning. It is very difficult to choose.
Therefore, we want to talk about an amazing variety that has long taken its place in summer cottages. This is a tomato Lady's fingers. You will always be with the harvest. They can be grown in any soil, in any regions of Russia. But it should be remembered that tomatoes of this variety bear fruit best in warm climates. There he succeeds better on ordinary ridges.
A bit of history
Tomato has been known to Russian gardeners for over a century. It was cultivated mainly in the south of Russia. But the variety got into the State Register only in 2006. The author of the Tomatoes Ladies Fingers is a famous breeder L.A. Myazina. Today there are many varieties of tomatoes that differ slightly in shape.
Several seed companies produce seeds of Ladies' fingers:
- Aelita;
- Altai seeds;
- Biotechnics;
- Altai gold.
Description of the plant
It is not difficult to understand what the ladies' fingers tomatoes are, by their characteristics and description, as well as the photos that will be in our article.
Bush
Tomatoes are early-maturing determinant varieties. The first ripe fruits can be removed after 95-110 days, if counted from the moment the sprouts appear.
Tomato bushes are low. On the ridges no higher than 60 cm, in the greenhouse they grow up to 1 m 20 cm. The foliage is medium, the tops are dark with an emerald hue. The type of plant is carpal. The inflorescences are simple, each of them tied up to 6 fruits.
An interesting variety of tomatoes Ladies fingers is also the fact that it forms itself: there are no more than two stems on a plant. This makes it easier for gardeners, since the tomatoes do not need to be pinned.
Fruit
The tomato variety is represented by elongated cylindrical fruits with weak ribbing. There are fruits with a pipette or with a rounded top. Each tomato has two chambers with a small amount of seeds.
The weight of tomatoes is small, only 50 or 70 grams. They are almost the same size across all brushes. Although sometimes there are record holders growing up to 110-130 grams. Until ripe, green, in technical maturity tomatoes of a rich red color.
The taste and aroma of tomatoes Ladies fingers, according to consumer reviews, are excellent. Fruits are sweetish-sour, with firm and tender pulp. The surface of the fruit is smooth, shiny, and the structure is dense.
Yield
Fruitful tomatoes, from a square meter when grown in the open field, you can get up to 10 kg of juicy tasty fruits. There is much more in the greenhouse, subject to agricultural technology. You can verify the productivity of the Ladies fingers tomato by looking at the photo below.
Features of use
Tomato variety Ladies fingers is universal. Our readers constantly write about this:
- prepare salads from fresh vegetables for the winter;
- close for the winter ketchups, tomato paste, lecho;
- canning the whole fruit;
- dried, it turns out a real delicacy.
Important characteristics
Often, one description and photo of tomatoes is not enough, a characteristic is also needed that tells about the advantages and disadvantages of the variety. Let's talk about all the important points.
Dignity
- Cold resistant. The fruits ripen before the first frost.
- Unpretentious. Drought, heat and rain do not adversely affect the fruit. In addition, they never crack at the stalk.
- Ripening is amicable, while the fruits of the Ladies Fingers variety, according to the description and reviews of gardeners who have been engaged in the variety for more than a dozen years, never fall from the bush, hold up perfectly until harvest.
- You can always get your own seeds, as this is a variety, not a hybrid. Do not lose germination up to 5 years.
- Transportable and safe. These qualities attract not only gardeners, but also agricultural producers. During transportation and storage (until the New Year), fruits do not change shape, do not crack, and, most importantly, taste and useful qualities are preserved almost 100%.
- Versatility of application. Tomatoes in a jar look especially beautiful (photo below). They remain intact after filling.
- Tomatoes Ladies fingers are resistant to diseases of nightshade crops, including late blight. Perhaps the reason is the early maturity of the variety, the harvest ripens before the start of the "attack".
Minuses
Based on the description of the variety, it is impossible to make juice from the Ladies fingers tomatoes.
The tomatoes are light-loving and thermophilic. A rich harvest is obtained in the southern regions of Russia.
These are, perhaps, all the disadvantages. Based on the description and characteristics, it is easy to grow tomatoes. In the reviews, our readers write that Ladies' fingers are a special variety created for lazy gardeners: planted and forgotten.
Fingers in the garden:
Growing seedlings
Tomatoes of this variety are grown in seedlings. Seeds should be sown 55 or 60 days before planting in a permanent place.
Stages:
- Seeds of determinant early maturing varieties should be sown in seedling boxes in late March. For disinfection, the inoculum is treated with a pink solution of potassium permanganate, and then washed in clean water. Before sowing, the seeds are dried until flowable.
- The soil can be bought ready-made or prepared by yourself. It is poured in boxes with boiling pink water (potassium permanganate crystals are added).
- When the soil has cooled to room temperature, you can sow tomato seeds to a depth of 1 cm. The distance in the grooves is 2 cm, the row spacing is about three. Cover with foil on top to speed up germination, and put the boxes in a warm, bright room.
- As soon as the first sprouts appear, the shelter is removed and the temperature is lowered to 16 degrees, then it is raised again to 22. Ladies' finger tomatoes, according to the description, cannot develop harmoniously in low light: if necessary, they put backlighting.
- A pick of tomato seedlings is carried out when 2-3 true leaves appear in separate cups weighing at least 500 ml. During the cultivation of seedlings, it is regularly watered. If you feel that the tomatoes are lacking in nutrition, you can feed with a wood ash hood.
Planting and leaving
It is necessary to plant seedlings after the threat of the return of spring frosts has passed. Taking into account climatic features is important for tomatoes Ladies fingers.
The planting scheme is simple: from 6 to 8 tomatoes are placed on a square meter. It is better to plant in two lines with a row spacing of up to 40-50 cm.
Finger care is simple. They do not need to be pinned and tied up. Most often, tomatoes are grown in a supine position. The uniqueness of the variety is that once on the ground, tomatoes do not rot and do not get sick. They form a real carpet, are a decoration of the garden both at the beginning of fruiting and during the ripening of fruits.
Worry about weeds also not worth it. Only the big ones need to be removed, and the small ones will work as a protective screen: to protect the tying and ripening tomatoes from the scorching sun.
Tomatoes are watered no more than 2-3 times a week. If the summer is dry and the heat is unbearable, then every day. Top dressing is carried out as usual, as for other varieties.
The main problem can be mosaic, regardless of where the tomato variety grows. Amber-emerald specks appear on the leaves. The leaves curl and even wrinkle. At the first sign, diseased leaves are cut off and burned.
