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The large-fruited variety Pink Giant is a thermophilic crop. The tomato is best suited for cultivation in the southern regions. Here the plant feels comfortable in the open air. In the middle lane, 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 spring.
Description of the variety
A detailed description of the Pink Giant tomato variety, photos, reviews of vegetable growers who managed to enjoy large tasty fruits will help you get to know the culture better. To begin with, 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 a garter to the trellis. The bush is formed by removing unnecessary stepsons, as a result of which the plant has one, two or three stems. 1 m2 the beds are planted no more than three tomatoes.
The tomato bush is not thickened with green mass, but the foliage is quite large. Fruit ripening begins approximately 110 days after sprouting. Tomatoes are tied with tassels, each of which can consist of 3-6 pieces. The shape of the fruit is round, slightly flattened. Weak ribbing may appear near the peduncle. The mass of medium 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 fetus is most often incorrect.
The formation of a tomato bush has several secrets. So that all the fruits have time to ripen before frost, seven brushes are left on the plant, and the top of the stem is cut off to limit growth. The size of the fetus can also be adjusted. To do this, the number of brushes is still reduced to five pieces, or even four can be left. The procedure is performed at the stage of inflorescence emergence. The 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 get 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 ripe seeds from one fruit.
By design, Pink Giant tomatoes are a salad trend. Delicious fruit of a beautiful pink color is used to decorate dishes, prepare fresh salads, 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 crawl through the narrow neck of the jar. Secondly, even if you choose small fruits, they still will not go for conservation. The pulp and skin of the tomato is very tender and just creeps away during heat treatment.
Growing seedlings
Only in the south, vegetable growers can afford to sow tomato seeds just in the garden. In other cold regions, tomatoes are grown as seedlings.
Since the Pink Giant tomato variety is considered a salad direction, a lot of seedlings will not be required. About 8 bushes among other tomatoes are enough for a family. The same number of cups is needed, and they are easy to place on any windowsill. Cups will not take up much space. Store seeds can be sown immediately, but it is advisable to prepare grains from a self-collected tomato:
- First, the tomato seeds are soaked in saline for 15 minutes to remove any floating pacifiers. After that, 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 lay the beans on wet toilet paper, where they sit overnight. For wetting, not just water is used, but with the addition of honey or aloe juice.
- Few adhere to this rule, but it will not be superfluous to follow bubbling seeds a 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 you can start sowing.
It is better to put more tomato seeds in cups with soil. Let there be 3 or 4 of them. When they sprout, they choose the strongest tomato, and the rest of the sprouts are removed. It is not necessary to be determined immediately. Tomato seeds are able to wake up at different times, or some seeds may lie deeper. Naturally, the seedlings will turn out to be uncooperative. That's when two full-fledged leaves grow on all tomatoes, then it is worth choosing the best plant.
Further care for tomato seedlings provides for timely watering, the organization of additional artificial lighting and the maintenance of room temperature +20aboutC. It is necessary to feed the pink giant tomato seedlings with complex fertilizers regularly every 2 weeks. Tomatoes are hardened 10–12 days before planting. First, the seedlings are taken out for a couple of hours in the shade, and then they are left under the sun all day.
Good hardening of tomato seedlings will affect high yields. Tomatoes will easily tolerate a decrease in night temperature to +10aboutFROM.
Planting seedlings and caring for tomatoes
By the beginning of May, the seedlings of the Pink Giant tomato should have at least 6 mature leaves and one inflorescence. The age of such plants is from 60 to 65 days. The large-fruited variety loves freedom and does not tolerate thickening. The minimum distance between tomato bushes is kept from 50 to 60 cm. Experienced vegetable growers assure that it is better to plant tomatoes according to the scheme 70x70 cm. The plant is buried in the hole to the level of the cotyledon leaves. Before planting and after backfilling the roots with earth, water the seedlings with warm water. If frosts are still possible at night, then the tomato plantings are covered with agrofibre.
When tomato seedlings have taken root, do not wait for the bushes to stretch out. You need to take care of the trellis in advance. For its manufacture, posts are driven 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 strings. Tomato brushes are very heavy so that the branches can hold them. They will have to be separately tied up or propped up.
Tall tomatoes love abundant watering, as they require energy to grow the stem. And if the variety is also large-fruited, then it requires twice as much water. Watering the bushes of the Pink Giant is carried out at the root. It is undesirable to get water on tomato foliage. For these reasons, instead of sprinkling, it is better to use drip irrigation.
Top dressing for large-fruited tomatoes is needed more than for small-fruited varieties. Organic matter and mineral fertilizers are applied throughout the season. It is especially important to feed the tomato during the period of inflorescence and fruit ovary formation.
After watering, fertilizing and rain, a film forms on the soil, preventing oxygen from reaching the roots of the tomato. The problem is solved by timely loosening of the soil. Mulch scattered over the bed helps to keep moisture in the ground longer. By the way, this option is beneficial for lazy vegetable growers. Mulch prevents the formation of a 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 on the tomato, the more fruits are tied, but they will be smaller. A single-stem plant will grow a lot, but tomatoes will grow much larger. In any case, all the other extra stepsons are removed from the tomato bush. The same is done with the leaves of the lower tier.
Pest control
Finishing the review of the characteristics and description of the Pink Giant tomato variety, it is worth dwelling on such an important problem as pests. This tomato variety is rarely affected by a 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 the greenhouse, the fungus can appear from rare ventilation.
A malicious pest of tomato plantations is harmful insects. 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 tells about the Pink Giant variety:
Testimonials
The Pink Giant variety is popular among vegetable growers and there are a lot of reviews about this tomato. Let's read a few of them.
