Anyone who loves small-sized tomatoes will be intrigued by this variety of short stature. Tomato rocket is distinguished by unpretentious care and resistance to disease. It can be grown not only in greenhouse conditions and unprotected soil, but also on the balcony of a city apartment. Description of the characteristics of this variety, as well as the rules of cultivation will help you decide on a tomato rocket.
Table of contents
Description and characteristics of tomato rocket
Mid-season culture, owes its origin to Soviet breeding specialists, it is distinguished by a large number of advantages, which make it very popular. Harvesting can be carried out four months after planting bushes.
The plant is determinant, the bushes in height do not exceed forty-five centimeters. The above-ground part of the average branching, with shortened internodes, which allows the plant to plant tightly, in limited areas.
Small foliage, dark green shade, fruit tassels are simple, form from four to six tomatoes. The fruits have elongated plum-shaped, red (or yellow), weighing thirty-five to sixty grams. They are versatile to use, they can perfectly measure themselves in a warm dark room. They ripen together, transported without any problems.
The advantages and disadvantages of the variety
The positive qualities include:
- low culture growth;
- resistance to damage by various types of rot;
- excellent keeping quality and transportability;
- high yield;
- possibility of cleaning in a mechanized way;
- slow ripening of ripe fruits.
For all its merits, there are some negative signs:
- the ability of the fruit to crack;
- the capriciousness of the culture to the conducted irrigation and feeding.
Requirements for soil for planting
In order to grow good seedlings, it is necessary to prepare a soil mixture of peat, sand and humus. And for the transplantation of a culture, a place is selected for beds, characterized by fertile soil, filled with rotted organic matter and mineral fertilizer compositions, among which potash predominates. Naturally, the beds should be well lit by the sun and have protection from strong winds.
Sowing rules
Perform this by the end of March. Depth of seeding should be one to two centimeters. One of the prerequisites is drainage in landing tanks. In the pots should be made holes for removal of excess moisture, put the clay at the bottom of the clay.
Pick up seedlings perform after the appearance of two - three leaves.
Transplanting tomato in open ground
In the prepared greenhouse seedlings can be transferred in early May. They are transplanted to the beds at the end of spring - the beginning of the summer season, when the threat of night frosts will completely pass.
The landing pattern is “forty-fifty” centimeters. The variety is short, so that seven to eight bushes can be cultivated per square meter. Before landing, three to four liters of water is poured into each well.
Care after the transplant bush
In the first week of the tomato bushes should not be watered. Then they start watering two to three times a week, giving twenty to thirty liters of moisture per one square of the plot. When the flower ovary appears, the amount of moisture should be reduced to two liters per week per bush. But when forming the fruit and pouring it, the water rate is increased to five liters per plant. If the weather is wet enough, watering is not carried out to avoid cracking the fruit.
To speed up the appearance of fruits and their ripening, foliar dressings should be carried out. To do this, use the acquired chemical and biological compositions or prepare a mixture based on superphosphate independently. Lagging plants are fed with mullein, diluted with water in the ratio of "one to ten."
The need for fertilizers can be determined by a number of characteristics:
- twisted leaves - little moisture or nitrogen;
- yellow foliage - excess phosphorus;
- shrub bush, variegated tomatoes - the absence of potassium.
In addition, to speed up the ripening of tomatoes, should be removed lower foliage and shoots. This measure also improves the ventilation of the lower part of the plant, prevents the appearance of fungal diseases.
The soil in the beds should be periodically loosened, remove weeds. You can slightly heal the bushes so that they can form additional roots. Watering and feeding the plants should be in the evening so that the foliage does not get burns from the sun.
Diseases and their prevention
The main enemy is late blight. It is better not to allow him than to fight with him. If on the site before it grew tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants with peppers, then in order to avoid disease, the old tops should be burned back in the fall. The beds are treated with a special solution of Phytosporin. Seed material is recommended to use from healthy cultures, having previously treated them with a solution of manganese or another preparation.
Colorado beetles with slugs create problems. Beetles are harvested, the larvae are destroyed, the plants are powdered with wood ash, cornmeal and other dry substances. If the landing area is large, you will have to perform chemical treatment. The fight with slugs is the same. If the bear appeared, apply chemical preparations or arrange deeply buried sides around the beds.
Harvesting and storage rules
Mature fruits can begin to collect in late August - early September. Tomatoes are used for preservation and pickling, of which they prepare salads. Fresh ripe tomatoes can be stored for a long time, even for this reason, many are grown for commercial purposes.
If you approach the cultivation of this crop wisely, then it will always delight you with its rich crops. The main requirement - compliance with all rules of care.