A giant tomato with an amazing taste (sweet at the first bite and sour aftertaste) – tomato bovine heart is an amazing creation of breeders. Why is the variety so attractive? Is it possible to grow it yourself in the garden, or does the plant require a whole range of complex agricultural procedures?
- Features of the
variety
- Field of use of tomatoes
- Analogs of tomato variety “Bull’s heart”
- Features of growing
- Resistance to diseases and pests
- Pros and cons of the variety
Description of the tomato variety Bull’s heart
Features of the variety
Tomatoes Bull-heart large-fruited varieties introduced to the State Register in 2003 and recommended for cultivation both in open and and closed ground, respectively, suitable for central Russia and the southern regions.
Bull’s heart varieties are mid-ripening (plants begin to bear fruit 120-130 days after germination). The yield indicator does not cease to amaze gardeners:
- in a greenhouse up to 10 kg from 1 bush;
- when grown in open ground – up to 3.5 kg from a bush.
The plant is called low-leaf , It is caused by the characteristics of the fruit and the specifics of care. Derivative varieties “Bull’s heart” are known all over the world due to meatiness and unusual taste indicators of tomatoes.
Averaged description of the fruit:
- heart-shaped;
- large sizes;
- poured red color;
- thin peel;
- pulp of low water with a large amount of dry impurities;
- minimum number of veins;
- seed chambers are present in small quantities (up to 5 pcs) and are located close to peel;
- seeds are few;
- useful composition (vitamins, minerals, polysaccharides, fiber, folic acid, nicotinic and ascorbic acid);
- sweet flesh due to the high sugar content;
- high keeping quality, good I am transportation tolerance;
- large mass (tomatoes taken from the lower parts of the bush reach 500 g, from the upper – no more than 150-200 g).
There are known cases of receipt tomatoes, the weight of which reaches 1 kg (with proper agricultural technology, specimens with a mass of 600-700 grams each are not rare). The height of the bush can reach 1.5-2 m.
Important: the plant and tomatoes are resistant to transportation and pathogenic parasites. As an exception, it is worth mentioning late blight, which is difficult even for an experienced gardener to prevent the development of.
Field of use of tomatoes
Refined taste characteristics make it possible to use tomatoes not only for fresh consumption , but also the preservation, manufacture of fries, dressings, sauces, pastes, etc. It is better to heat soft fruits (aged a couple of weeks in a cool place).
It is worth noting that because of the large size of the tomatoes, it is not profitable to preserve them (you have to cut them, thereby reducing the shelf life of the workpieces).
Analogs of the Bull Heart tomato variety
Analogs differ in the color of the fruits
It is worth noting that the Bull’s heart tomatoes have a lot of f1 analogues (French, Dutch), with similar characteristics. It’s not so difficult to distinguish them from the original, because it is enough to pay attention to the color of the fruit: orange bull’s heart, pink and red – the original varieties recorded in the State Register and hybrids with a unique color – yellow, white and even black “bull’s hearts”.
Features of growing
Growing tomatoes “bull heart” is quite laborious. It begins with sowing seeds in early spring:
- Seed treatment with a weak solution of potassium permanganate (1 g of substance per glass of water).
- Place the seeds to a depth of 3 cm.
- Dive after the second leaf appears.
Planting in the ground or greenhouse is possible for a period of one and a half months to two from the moment of planting the seeds. Before moving to the garden plot, seedlings are tempered.
The plant needs a large space
Time for planting tomatoes:
- in plain greenhouses – early May;
- rooms with temperature controllers – the first days of April;
- open ground – the beginning of summer.
It is worth noting that the plant does not like crowding, so it is advisable to leave 2 seedlings per 1 m2 in the greenhouse, the number of seedlings can be doubled on the ground.
Important : soil acidity should not be higher than 5.5. Planting is allowed on beds after cabbage, carrots or onions. Solanaceous predecessors are destructive for a bull’s heart.
For the best formation of the bush, it is important to tie it up and immediately remove the lower leaves. The number of brushes should not exceed 8-9 per bush.
To get the declared crop, it is enough to help with pollination (spray large drops of water and gently tap on the support of the plant), make timely pinching. Do not forget about fertilizers: a mixture of superphosphate and potassium sulfate, phosphorus additives.
Growing a bull’s heart is a laborious process that requires special attention from the gardener. However, the result (high yield) is worth all costs.
Resistance to diseases and pests
A large plant is resistant to many diseases, the only exception is late blight. This is a kind of deadly defeat of the bush itself with the fruits of late blight fungus, developing with improper care of the crop. The signs of the disease are:
- Enhanced rotting of stems, leaves and fruits.
- The specifics of localization and the spread of lesions.The plant begins to rot not from the roots, but from the leaves, then the fruit suffers, and only then does a deadly late blight disease affect the stem.
- Darkening and bogging of inflorescences.
The disease is quite contagious, therefore, to get rid of it, you will have to say goodbye to the affected bushes (dig them out, take them away from the garden plot and burn them).
Preventive measures to prevent the development of late blight are:
- ventilation of the greenhouse;
- drying seedlings (removal of concentrate from the surface of plants and the walls of the shelter);
proper care and thinning of the planting (elimination of weak and affected specimens).
Pros and cons of the variety
Having studied the reviews of gardeners involved in growing tomatoes ” bull heart, you can safely highlight the pros and cons of culture. The advantages of this variety are worth noting:
- unusual characteristics of the fruit (taste, size, weight, structure);
- high yield;
- the ability to grow fruits from their own seeds.
The disadvantages include rather complicated agricultural technology (seedling formation, pinching, selection of fertilizers, planting bushes and proper care for them, as the rarest creatures on the planet), which confirms the previously presented description of the process of growing culture.
Another exhibition photo and more interest The information on the Bull Heart tomato variety is in the video.Now you know what the features of this tomato are.
