- Authors: Siberian selection
- Category: grade
- Growth type: indeterminate
- Appointment: universal
- Ripening period: mid-season
- Ripening time, days: 105-110
- Growing conditions: for open ground, for greenhouses
- Marketability: high
- Transportability: high
- Bush size: tall
Large-fruited salad tomatoes are very popular among gardeners. One of the representatives of this large family is the indeterminate variety King of the Giants, intended for growing in open ground, as well as in glazed, polycarbonate, film greenhouses. The plant produces a large tasty berry suitable for summer and winter salads, slicing, cooking sauces and juices. All fruits are distinguished by high marketability and good transportability.
Breeding history
The King of Giants is a relatively young variety; its seeds appeared on sale in 2010. The variety has not yet been registered in the State Register of Breeding Achievements of the Russian Federation, nevertheless, the efforts of Siberian breeders have been crowned with success. The king of giants won the universal love of gardeners.
Description of the variety
A tall (100-170 cm and above) bush bears fruit successfully in the garden in warm regions, in temperate latitudes it must be grown in greenhouse conditions. Weak shoots are covered with medium-sized, not too dense, dark green foliage. The sheet plate has slight wrinkles and small notches along the edges.
Yellow flowers form a simple inflorescence, the first cluster is formed over 9–11 leaves, all subsequent ones - through 3 leaf cuttings. Unlimited growth obliges the wearer to pinch the growth point once the optimum height is reached. As a rule, pinching over a 5–6 brush gives the best results - the plant has time to yield large and ripe berries.
Benefits of the King of Giants:
- a rich set of vitamins and minerals;
- high yields, taste and market indicators;
- good resistance to most nightshade diseases;
- excellent keeping quality, transportability, as well as large-fruited;
- preservation of parental properties in subsequent generations, which allows you to use your seeds in the future.
Disadvantages:
- sunny location required;
- compulsory pinching, shaping, tying;
- an adult plant suffers from whitefly, and young seedlings require increased attention.
The listed disadvantages can be called traditional cultural requirements, since such problems are typical for almost all varieties. With proper care and adherence to agrotechnical conditions, any gardener can get a good harvest of an excellent large-fruited berry.
The main qualities of the fruit
Rounded large-fruited berries (from 500 to 1000 g), green in an immature state, change color to bright red at the stage of technical and physiological ripeness. They have good keeping quality. The section clearly shows the seed chambers, usually there are no more than 8 of them.
Taste characteristics
The fleshy and juicy flesh is covered with a dense skin that allows the tomatoes to be transported over long distances without damage to goods. However, there is a small caveat. Ripe fruits hanging on the bush for a long time have a tendency to crack, so it is better to harvest a crop that is slightly under-conditioned if transportation is to be carried out. Delicate sweet taste has a slight pleasant sourness.
Ripening and fruiting
Fruiting is extended - ripening occurs in 105-110 days, but the harvest is harvested from July to September.
Yield
The tomato is considered to be high-yielding - with good agricultural technology, 7–8 kg are removed from one bush, from 22 kg from a square meter, and this is not the limit.
The timing of planting seedlings and planting in the ground
Sowing seeds for seedlings is carried out in January - March, transplanted to a permanent place in May - June.
Growing tomato seedlings is an extremely important process, because it largely depends on whether the gardener can harvest at all. All aspects must be taken into account, from seedbed preparation to planting in the ground.
Landing scheme
The best option for placing plants in the ground is up to 3 roots per square meter, or according to a 50x50 cm pattern.
Growing and care
Like all mid- and late-ripening varieties, this one is grown in seedlings. Before planting in a permanent place, the seedlings should be hardened. To do this, the containers are taken out into the street so that delicate plants get used to the environment, to the aggressive spring sun rays. If this is not possible, an open balcony is enough. Closer to the date, the seedlings should already spend the night outside, getting used to the daily temperature changes.
Using the principles of crop rotation, it must be borne in mind that good predecessors of tomatoes will be:
- onion;
- garlic;
- carrot;
- legumes;
- siderates.
You should not grow tomatoes after nightshades, since these are crops of the same group, and they have the same enemies.
The place should be well lit, protected from drafts and strong winds. The acidity level of the soil is close to neutral. If necessary, the earth is deoxidized with bone or dolomite flour, lime, chalk, gypsum. The soil must be loose, breathable, otherwise the roots will begin to suffer from a lack of oxygen, which has a depressing effect on the development of the plant. Since tall bushes need support, you should take care in advance and prepare stakes or material for organizing trellises. The soil in the ridges and holes is enriched with organic matter (humus, compost, bird droppings), mineral fertilizers, and wood ash is added.
Further care consists in regular watering, weeding, loosening, hilling, top dressing, pinching and forming 1-2 stems. In addition, it is necessary to pinch the growth point after about 5-7 brushes in order to get full, large and well-ripened fruits.
Irrigations take place with utmost care. The King of Giants has a root system capable of producing water much below the surface of the earth, so excess moisture on the surface can harm him. It is more correct to water abundantly, but rarely. This is done as follows - once a week, the earth is shed three centimeters deep in open areas, in a greenhouse - as needed.
During flowering, nitrogen is introduced, during the budding period - phosphorus-potassium fertilizers. Several times a season, you can feed the culture with "green tea" (fermented nettle infusion with the addition of bread leftovers) or mullein solution.
A plant needs different micronutrients at each stage of growth. All fertilizers can be divided into two groups: mineral and organic. Folk remedies are often used: iodine, yeast, bird droppings, eggshells.
It is important to observe the rate and period of feeding. This also applies to folk remedies and organic fertilizers.
Disease and pest resistance
The cultivar has an increased resistance to the main diseases of nightshade crops, but this does not mean that it is invulnerable. Excessive waterlogging can lead to late blight, for the King of Giants are dangerous:
- whitefly;
- thrips;
- nematode;
- bear;
- May and Colorado beetles;
- leaf-gnawing and melon aphids.
In order to prevent infection, it is necessary to carry out regular inspections and preventive treatments with insecticides and fungicides.
Resistant to adverse weather conditions
The king of giants confidently copes with a slight cold snap. A short-term drought is not terrible for him, since the variety has a powerful root system that goes deep into the depths.
Growing regions
The king of giants, like all tall large-sized carpets, can actively and fully bear fruit in the garden only in favorable conditions of the southern regions - Crimea, Krasnodar Territory, Moldova, Kuban, Central Black Earth Region. The more severe climate of the middle zone, like the northern regions, will be able to provide the tomato with proper conditions only in greenhouses, where, while maintaining the necessary microclimate and lighting, it can be grown year-round.