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Summer is still far away, but gardening begins much earlier. Already, work is underway to select seeds of various vegetable crops. Every gardener tries to choose such varieties so that everything is in line: taste, size, versatility of use, disease resistance and much more.
One of the varieties, the Metelitsa tomato, was created at the Siberian Research Institute of Plant Growing and Breeding of the Russian Agricultural Academy in the early years of the 21st century. The plant has already found its admirers. And there is nothing to be surprised at, since its characteristics meet almost all the requirements of gardeners.
Description
Tomato Blizzard F1 is a hybrid. He, fortunately, does not have "namesakes", so you can safely purchase seeds that will match the description and characteristics. The variety is included in the State Register of the Russian Federation and is recommended for outdoor cultivation. Although in greenhouses it gives a good harvest.
Bushes
Tomatoes from Siberian breeders from the group of vegetables of medium early ripening. The first ripe fruits can be removed in 105-108 days from the moment of sowing seeds for seedlings.
The hybrid is undersized, about 50-60 cm high, compact. The bushes are not standard. The juicy green leaves are small, but it is still better to remove them as the fruit forms. The first flower tassel appears above 6-8 leaves, all subsequent ones - after 1-2. The inflorescences are simple, 5-6 fruits are formed on each of them.
Fruit
Variety Metelitsa is a tomato with flat-round fruits with ribbing, but it is weakly expressed, noticeable only upon close examination. The formed ovaries are light green, in biological ripeness they become scarlet-red.
Medium-sized tomatoes, usually 60 to 100 cm, are just what you need for canning with whole fruits. But there are specimens on the lower brushes weighing up to 200 grams. Fruits with a glossy, dense, but not hard skin, do not crack during ripening, and retain their intactness when preserved. This quality is confirmed by the photo below.
Each fruit has four seed chambers. The pulp of tomatoes Blizzard F1 is fleshy, pale red in color, sweet with a slight sourness, because sugar is from 1.9 to 2.9%. Dry matter in fruits is 4.2-4.6%. Around the pulp there is a dense shell that allows you to maintain a presentation.
Culinary destination
Blizzard tomatoes, according to the description of the variety and reviews of gardeners, have a universal purpose. Summer salads are made from the fruits. There are tomatoes for the preparation of various preparations for the winter, where pieces of fruit are used. In addition, tomatoes can be salted, pickled, dried, and even boiled tomato jam.
Tomatoes Blizzard, opinion of the gardener:
Characteristics
Since gardeners need to understand the features of the variety, in addition to the description, they will also need the characteristics of the tomato Blizzard
First, let's talk about the merits of a hybrid:
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Harvest. From 17 to 20 kg of delicious ripe fruits are harvested from one square meter. The yield of the tomato Blizzard is confirmed by reviews and photos.
- Unpretentiousness. It is not difficult to grow tomatoes of the variety. In addition, due to its high immunity, plants feel great even in the zone of risky farming.
- Features of fruiting. When creating comfortable conditions and observing agricultural technology, the fruits are harvested until the very cold.
- Versatility of appointment.The description indicated that the fruits can be consumed fresh and processed.
- Marketable condition. The fruits ripen well and are transported without loss. Marketable yield of fruits is not less than 97%. That is why large agricultural producers pay attention to the tomato varieties. The Blizzard tomato is stored almost until the New Year, and the taste and useful qualities are not only not lost, but, on the contrary, increase, which our readers write about in the reviews.
- Attitude to disease. The variety is resistant to the most common tomato diseases and has high immunity.
The disadvantages, despite the fact that the Blizzard has been grown for more than 15 years, is still unknown. This is what attracts gardeners.
Features of growing seedlings
Tomatoes of all varieties love to swim in the sun, so a well-lit, not shaded place is chosen for them. It is not recommended to plant plants along fences and walls of the house.
Since tomatoes of early and medium ripening periods are grown to obtain vitamin products in the first half of summer, you will have to get healthy seedlings. Tomato seedlings are planted in the ground at the age of 50-60 days. Therefore, the seeds are sown in late March, early April.
Soil preparation
The soil is prepared as usual: the turf soil is mixed with humus or compost, a little sand and wood ash are added. Today, you can use store-bought formulations designed for growing seedlings. A big plus of such a soil is that all nutrients are balanced in it.
A week or two before sowing tomatoes Blizzard soil must be spilled with boiling water with the addition of potassium permanganate or boric acid solution. This helps to get rid of the spores of various diseases and pests that winter in the soil. But most importantly, such heat treatment kills the black leg. During this time, bacteria will begin to work in the soil, which has a beneficial effect on the growth of seedlings.
Seed treatment
First, a revision of the seed is carried out, all the feeble seeds are removed. Then they are immersed in a saline solution (1 full tablespoon of salt per liter of water). Unsuitable for sowing specimens will float, the rest will sink to the bottom. So they should be processed.
Tomato seeds are washed in clean water to remove salt, put into a gauze bag and dipped in a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate for 15 minutes. Then they are rinsed with water and dried. You can harden the seeds of the Metelitsa variety in the refrigerator, putting them in a bag for a day on the lower shelf where vegetables and fruits are stored.
Sowing
Seeds can be sown in a common container or in separate cassettes or cups. When using the latter option, picking the tomatoes is not required.
The seed is placed in grooves or dimples to a depth of not more than 1 cm. The containers are placed in a lighted place at a temperature of 22 degrees. The first hooks appear in 5-6 days, sometimes even earlier. Small tomatoes need good lighting and timely watering.
Picking
When 2 or 3 leaves appear on the seedlings, the seedlings planted in a common container dive into separate cups. Seedling care is not difficult. You can feed them with an ash solution, or pour a pink solution of potassium permanganate.
Before planting in open ground or a greenhouse, tomato seedlings are hardened by the Blizzard, accustomed to new growing conditions.
Agricultural technology for growing in the ground
Plants are planted in open ground after the establishment of round-the-clock freezing temperatures in early June. In greenhouses, planting is carried out earlier. No more than six plants are planted per square meter.
It is not difficult to care for the Blizzard hybrid, almost all operations, such as when growing other varieties of tomatoes:
- watering, weeding;
- loosening and hilling;
- feeding and disease prevention.
Although tomatoes have their own characteristics.Plants require pinching and leaf removal before the first flower cluster.
In wet weather, to prevent diseases, plantings are treated with fungicides, antifungal and antiviral drugs.
When watering Metelitsa tomatoes, you need to make sure that moisture does not get on the leaves. The amount of moisture is reduced during ripening to prevent cracking.
Harvesting tomatoes
Fruiting, and, consequently, the ripening time of tomatoes is long, almost a month and a half. Harvesting is carried out gradually, as the fruits ripen. Since the tomatoes of the variety are well transported, this creates additional convenience for gardeners who grow vegetables for sale.
Based on the description and characteristics, the fruits can be harvested in milk ripeness, as they are ripened without losing their beneficial qualities. For harvesting, you need to choose dry and sunny weather, in this case, the occurrence of diseases can be avoided.
For long-term storage of fruits, the refrigerator is not used. It is best to put the Metelitsa tomatoes in a box and put them in a room with room temperature.
As you can see, if desired, the Blizzard variety can be grown by any novice gardener. We are just sure that once you plant these tomatoes, you will never give up on them.
