- Category: grade
- Growth type: determinant
- Appointment: fresh consumption, for whole fruit preservation
- Ripening period: mid-season
- Ripening time, days: 105-110
- Growing conditions: for open ground, for closed ground
- Marketability: high
- Transportability: Yes
- Bush size: tall
- Bush height, cm: 150-180
Polish Tomato Donkey's Ears Tomato is well known all over the world. He took on many forms. The pink variety is more often grown abroad. In addition to her, there are the classic red Donkey ears and Golden donkey ears - they have a color of orange-yellow.
Description of the variety
Determinant variety with the possibility of limited growth, but large - 150-180 cm. The bush is slender, compact, leaves of normal size, thin, drooping, do not interfere with the ripening of fruits.
The main qualities of the fruit
Large tomatoes weighing 200-250 g look huge, a couple of pieces barely fit in the palm of your hand. The shape is beautiful and not banal - elongated-oval, with a thickening in the lower part and a rounded nose. The color of ripe fruits is yellow.
The number of fruits in a brush is 4-6 pcs. The pulp is shiny, juicy, the seed chambers are narrow, almost invisible. A whitish area may appear under the peduncle. The skin is light to bite, tender, but strong, resistant to external damage. The tomato has high commercial characteristics: it lies well, it is stored for a long time, it is resistant to spoilage, does not wrinkle, a beautiful shape in barrels, an appetizing shine.
Taste characteristics
Tomato sweet taste, fleshy, aromatic. The pulp is sugar, juicy, but without wateriness. The fruits are used fresh and for canning. Thanks to the shape, the fruits look beautiful in blanks. Sweet pulp is great in salads, fresh juices, cocktails, desserts. Excellent ketchups, tomato paste, sauces are prepared from these tomatoes. They are suitable for drying in direct sunlight, in the oven or in an electric dryer.
Ripening and fruiting
The variety is mid-season, ripens 105-110 days after germination. On high agricultural technology, the ripening period can be reduced to 80 days. To calculate the optimal sowing date, you need to add 1 week to this period (time for germination) and subtract it from the suitable date of planting in the ground.
Yield
A prolific variety - up to 5 kg per plant. The yield is friendly, the fruits are not ripening tightly, they are active.
The timing of planting seedlings and planting in the ground
The variety is planted at standard times. Sowing from late February to mid-March, depending on the region. The further south, the earlier you can sow tomatoes for seedlings: young seedlings will receive enough light. In the middle lane, the preferred sowing time without supplementary lighting is not earlier than March. They are planted in open ground in late May - early June. It was during this period, on average in Russia, that the risks of recurrent frosts and night frosts, which would adversely affect the growth of young plants and delay the harvest, were excluded. They are planted in the greenhouse at their discretion, the soil temperature should be at least + 15 ... 16 ° С, the air temperature should not be less than + 18 ° С. An even temperature is desirable, without sudden jumps.
Growing tomato seedlings is an extremely important process, because it largely depends on whether the gardener will be able to harvest at all. All aspects must be taken into account, from seedbed preparation to planting in the ground.
Landing scheme
In row spacing 50-70 cm, between plants - 40-50 cm.
Growing and care
The tomato is grown in open and closed ground. Large meter, therefore, for seedlings, it is better to pick up large individual containers right away, or to perform transshipment several times to stimulate the formation of additional roots. Important: the roots should not go beyond the boundaries of the container and darken.
Seedlings are planted when they have 6-7 leaves and buds on the first inflorescence. A flower brush is needed so that the plant does not go into the "tops". Tomatoes planted without flowers begin to actively grow foliage, and not to tie buds. You shouldn't be late either: the overgrown seedlings do not take root well, the yield of the crop is delayed.
If the seedlings are stretched out, they are planted obliquely in order to lay an extra stem in the ground, roots form on it rather quickly. Deepening up to 3-4 leaves (leaves are removed).
If the transplant was carried out when the roots of the plants were almost dry, good watering and mulching are required. In warm and moist soil, after 7-10 days, a plant planted obliquely will grow powerful additional roots.
During the flowering period, especially if the tomato is located in a greenhouse, you should tap on the flower brushes, or shake slightly. This is necessary for better tying, pollen settles on the pistils. Without help, some of the flowers may crumble.
Disease resistance of the Donkey Ears tomato is high. But in the middle lane, the western variety shows itself to be more sensitive. Treatments with "Fitosporin" will be useful to prevent late blight. The solution is prepared at the rate of 2-3 teaspoons of paste per 10 liters of water, the bushes are sprayed in cloudy calm weather.
The variety is tall, the bunches of fruits are heavy - one bunch can weigh up to 1 kg, so a garter is required. Excess shoots are removed, stepchild is carried out according to the classical scheme, breaking off unnecessary shoots to stumps of 1-2 cm.The first inflorescences are laid over a 6-7 leaf, the stepson is left as an additional stem right under such an inflorescence - it will be the strongest.
The variety is suitable for cultivation in a barrel or in a bag.
Watering is attentive, accurate, watered only at the root, especially during the period of ovary formation. Mulching the soil is useful - it solves a lot of problems. It makes it difficult for pests to access, retains moisture, evens out the temperature in the soil, and stabilizes the water regime. You should not overdo it with watering, you need to wait until the soil dries slightly. The swamp under the tomatoes provokes fungi and bacteria. If there is a delay with watering, and the soil is very dry, you cannot immediately pour the usual rate onto the plant, you need to reduce it several times, and only the next day to shed the soil well. This is especially important during the period of fruit ripening. Unevenness in moisture intake will lead to cracking of the fruit.
The Donkey Ears variety, like any large-fruited sweet variety, is responsive to feeding. The easiest way is to do with a complex mineral fertilizer for vegetables, where the most important elements - nitrogen, potassium and calcium - are well balanced. But depending on the needs, the state of the site, you can make your own mixtures, or feed them with multicomponent fertilizers. During the ripening period, the most important are potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, boron. It is important to take into account that potassium and its excess will have a bad effect on the absorption of calcium by the plant, this will lead to crushing of the crop and the appearance of characteristic hard, tasteless whitish areas inside the fruit.
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.
Review overview
The variety immediately attracts attention with its original name. Of the positive characteristics, the most important: beautiful in appearance, taste and shape, plum fruits. They are appreciated by small-scale farmers who grow tomatoes for sale. Juicy, poured, presentable and lying tomatoes are versatile, suitable for any implementation purpose. Criticism: the sensitivity of the plant to watering, not the most resistant skin - it can crack if you are late with harvesting. The verified agricultural technology neutralizes the disadvantages; in greenhouse conditions with an even temperature, the tomato fully fulfills its promise.