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The author of the article
Yakov Pavlovich
Professor, Head of the Department of Vegetable Growing
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153
The original appearance, excellent taste characteristics, the presence of immunity to the main diseases affecting nightshades - this is how the ladies' fingers describe tomatoes by those gardeners who at least once tried to grow them on their site. Since the variety is not a novelty in breeding, it has managed to fall in love with many vegetable growers - and there are many reasons for this!
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.
Attention! Harvesting begins at the end of June, ripe fruits do not fall until autumn.
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.
Important! Tomatoes of this variety are low-calorie, rich in vitamins, starch.
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.
Origin of the variety
The variety popular among gardeners has several varieties - these are cylindrical, pear-shaped and small-fruited, also called Syzran. The size of pear-shaped ones can reach 10 centimeters, and their weight is 50-70 grams. In 2006, they took their place in the State Register of Breeding Achievements.
Cylindrical Ladies' fingers can be offered by such agricultural firms as "Seeds of Altai" and "Aelita". Vegetables practically do not differ from pear-shaped in their characteristics.
Syzran tomatoes are more like cherry tomatoes - they are slightly larger, have a sweet taste and a bright red tint.
Important characteristics
Often, one description and photo of tomatoes is not enough, you also need a characteristic 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. 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.
Comment! In areas of risky farming, it is advisable to grow in a greenhouse or under temporary film shelters.
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:
Reviews who planted
Valery, Trans-Baikal Territory:
Description and characteristics of the variety Ladies' fingers indicate that they should be grown in warm regions of the country. I am engaged in tomatoes in the harsh conditions of Transbaikalia. True, I breed them in a greenhouse, while tying them to a trellis. I get a great harvest every year. I advise you to use tomatoes for preservation.
Elena, Krasnodar:
I grow many different varieties of tomatoes. I have been planting ladies' fingers in open soil for about 15 years. At the same time, the harvest is rich and stable every year. By the way, I got the seeds from my mother. The bushes are practically bursting with a large number of tomatoes. Delicious, sweet and sour tomatoes are perfect for pickling and making salads.
Dmitry, Moscow region:
I breed tomatoes of this variety mainly for whole-fruit canning. And they have never let me down. I collect my seeds, as it is not difficult. It is only important for this to pick up the ripe fruits. Over the years of cultivation, the bushes have never been exposed to diseases. So I thank the creator of the variety.
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 into 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 the temperature is raised again to 22. Ladies' finger tomatoes, according to the description, cannot develop harmoniously in low light: if necessary, put backlight.
- 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.
How to get seeds for planting next year
To harvest the seeds, the fruits must be slightly brown... Before collecting the seeds, the tomatoes are washed, cut with a knife and squeezed the juice with pulp into a small container.
After squeezing out the pulp, the dishes are covered with gauze, and then placed in a dark place. In this case, water is not added to the mass, as it will cause the death of the seed.
When the juice becomes lighter, on the surface of the contents of the jar film and bubbles will be noticeable, and the seeds will go down to the bottom of the container. Thereafter you can separate the seeds.
Ripe fruits, slightly brown in color, are suitable for collecting seeds.
Then you need to perform a number of actions:
- the seeds are washed;
- spread on a cotton cloth to remove excess moisture;
- laid out on paper in a thin layer for drying;
- stir periodically.
The finished seeds are stored in a dry place in paper bags, their germination is preserved 5-9 years oldbut it is better to apply them no later than 4 years.
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.
Comment! Tomatoes planted in the ground can be covered overnight, then planting is carried out earlier.
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.
It is also not worth worrying about weeds. 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.
Advice! Although the plants are resistant to late blight, for prevention it does not hurt to dust with dry ash or spray with ash infusion.
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.
Tomato Lady's fingers (late blight is not scary): video
The Lady's Finger Tomato is an undemanding and fruitful variety. They are perfect for growers who do not have the ability or desire to carefully care for the plants. The variety gives a stable and good yield even under unfavorable climatic conditions. The tomato did not show any drawbacks, for which it received the highest marks from vegetable growers.
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.
Fight disease
According to the characteristics of the variety, Ladies fingers tomatoes have good disease resistance, but for prevention, it is recommended to spray with an ash solution.
Mosaic, which manifests itself in the form of brown spots and leads to curling, can have a detrimental effect on the leaves. In such cases, it is recommended to immediately pluck the shoots and burn them to avoid spreading the disease to healthy areas.
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Tobacco mosaic is manifested as a change in the color of the upper leaves to mosaic, i.e. areas with light green or yellow-green color appear on dark green tomato leaves. The plant is inhibited, sharply lagging behind in growth compared to healthy bushes. Viral diseases are not treated, the affected bushes are removed completely and destroyed.
