One of the sweetest greenhouse varieties is the Alexander the Great tomato.

We have known who Alexander the Great was since childhood. We all once read about the exploits of this great commander. Hundreds of years later, not only cities and streets are named after him, but also varieties of tomatoes. How did Alexander the Great tomato deserve such a name? Read about this, as well as about the rules for growing the variety, in our article.

Description of the variety

Mid-season and tasty tomato is recommended for growing in greenhouses. The variety loves fertile soil and fertilizers and does not tolerate drought and heat. The ripening period is about 110 days, the tomatoes ripen together.

Alexander the Great is a hybrid, resulting from crossing other varieties. The vegetable has good immunity to diseases and insect pests.

Distinctive features

The bushes of the plant are tall, the average height is about 2 m. During the care process, the stems are tied to supports, since heavy vegetables pull the bushes down to the ground.

The foliage is lush, the color is dark green. For the best harvest, the stems are shaped. In the south of the country, the Alexander the Great variety is also grown in open ground.

Characteristics of tomatoes, yield

Tomatoes are dense, round in shape. At ripeness they have a bright red rich color. On average, the weight of one is about 250 g, with proper care and fertile soil it can reach 0.5 kg.

The skin is dense, so tomatoes are not prone to cracking. The pulp is fleshy, with a large amount of useful microelements and vitamins.

With watering and regular fertilizing, gardeners remove about 5.5-6 kg of ripe tomatoes from 1 bush.

How to grow seedlings

Seedlings are prepared 60-65 days before planting in the garden. Seeds are purchased at the store. When purchasing, carefully read the manufacturer's information. Trust only trusted suppliers with a good reputation.

Seed preparation

Before planting, it is necessary to inspect the seeds for external deviations. If everything is in order, start hardening them. This procedure will improve the immunity of the future plant to sudden changes in climatic conditions. This is especially true for those who plant the variety in open ground.

To harden, place the seeds in the freezer for 10 hours, then remove and leave in the room for a day. Repeat these steps 3-4 times and you can be sure that Alexander the Great will not be “scared” by frosts and strong winds.

Then start germinating the seed. With its help, you will find out the percentage of seed germination and get quick shoots. If the seeds are of poor quality, you will have the opportunity to change them, thereby avoiding failure in the future. For germination it is better to use settled water. Never germinate seeds in cold tap water.

The seeds are soaked in water, and then a slightly damp cloth is placed between them. Change the water several times a day. It is important not to allow it to dry out or become waterlogged. The fabric is placed in a plastic bag or on wet cotton wool. It will protect the material from drying out.

Important! To stimulate growth, special preparations are added to the water. For example, “Zircon” or “Viohumus”. The products will not only accelerate the appearance of the first shoots, but will also protect the plant from negative factors.For folk remedies, use aloe juice or wood ash.

Container and soil

Experienced gardeners recommend planting seedlings in plastic cassettes. They are small containers fastened together with drainage holes. They come in different lengths and widths, so it’s easy to choose a cassette specifically for your window sill.

Cassettes are easy to use, inexpensive and last a long time. They are lightweight and when planting seedlings in the ground, you can easily remove seedlings from the cassettes. The downside is that in most stores they are sold without pallets - you will have to make them yourself.

For seedlings, use your own soil or soil from the store. To prepare the soil yourself, you will need:

• soil from the garden;
• peat;
• humus;
• wood ash;
• eggshell.

Remember that the soil must be balanced and nutritious. In addition, only loose and light soil is suitable for seedlings - this way the plant will receive the right amount of oxygen. The soil should absorb moisture well and retain it. Its microflora is also important. Under no circumstances should there be weeds or debris, larvae or insects in the ground.

Landing

Pre-prepared soil is poured into clean and dry containers. Next, make holes in it and place a seed in each. Sprinkle a small amount of earth on top and pat down. Don't forget to water the seedlings with warm, settled water.

Immediately after sowing, write the name of the crop and the date on a plastic cassette. Marking will help you remember the name of the variety, as well as monitor how certain seedlings behave.

Growing and care

An important condition for growing seedlings is adequate lighting.Ideally, the plant should be exposed to sunlight for about 14 hours a day.

If daylight hours are shorter in your region, use additional lighting lamps. Remember to periodically turn the seedling trays over so that all the seedlings receive even lighting.

Avoid overwatering the seedlings. It is best to water it with a spray bottle every 7-10 days. It is better to water adult seedlings from a tray - this way the root system will gain strength faster. The air temperature should be at least 20 degrees.

Important! Containers must have good drainage. Excess or lack of moisture can destroy a young plant. In addition, periodically loosen the soil. Hard soil slows down the flow of oxygen to the sprouts.

Feed the seedlings early in the morning on a cool day. The first feeding coincides with the appearance of the first shoots. Use preparations containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The most popular means are urea, nitroammophoska, ammonium sulfate. They promote protein formation and chlorophyll production. For seedlings, fertilizers in liquid form have the greatest effect.

How to grow tomatoes

To plant seedlings, you need to prepare the beds. In the fall they are dug up, garbage and weeds are burned. In spring, fertilize with a mixture of manure and leaves.

Landing

For planting, choose a calm and cloudy day. Harden off the seedlings 1 week before planting. To do this, take her out to the balcony every night, daily increasing the period of her stay in the open air. It is recommended to place bushes at a distance of 40-50 cm from each other.

Then pour in plenty of warm water. Try to ensure that moisture does not fall on the stem and leaves, but goes directly to the root. The next watering is in a week.

Growing and care

Gardeners recommend:

1. Water tomatoes in the evening or in the morning. To do this, use water at room temperature.
2. Loosen the soil every 10 days. If you see that a hard crust forms more often, then reduce the loosening interval and carry out the procedure every 5-7 days.
3. Remove weeds as they appear. She lives off the nutrients of the tomato, taking away its strength for further development.
4. Tie up stems to support. To do this, use wooden pegs and twine. Don't tie the knots too tightly - the bushes may break.
5. Remove stepsons. They, like weeds, take nutrition from tomatoes. It is recommended to remove shoots every 8-10 days.
6. Remember about feeding. Throughout the entire growing period, they are organized every 15 days. Use both mineral and organic fertilizers. For example, mother solution A, garlic tincture, liquid mullein, ammonium nitrate, wood ash solution.

Features of cultivation and possible difficulties

Difficulties can arise with an excess or lack of nutrients. A lack of nitrogen leads to changes in leaf color. They acquire a yellow or straw tint and begin to dry out. In addition, the tomatoes themselves become hard and their growth slows down.

If there is not enough phosphorus, the leaves curl. Lack of potassium causes curling of young leaves and wilting of old ones.

Sulfur starvation is also common in garden beds. At first, the leaves acquire a light green color, and then sharply turn yellow or red. Sulfur starvation makes the plant dry and brittle.

To saturate tomatoes with nitrogen, use special preparations.To solve the problem, potassium nitrate, magnesium sulfate, calcium sulfate, and boric acid are suitable. The dosage depends on what specific substances the tomatoes lack.

Diseases and pests

Tomato Alexander the Great can occasionally suffer from late blight. No variety is immune from this fungus. Appears in the form of yellow spots and white plaque. The spore penetrates the stem and infects the entire bush. It is almost impossible to get rid of late blight. The development of blackleg is possible - a disease of the roots, as a result of which metabolism is disrupted and the bushes die.

Of the pests, aphids and whiteflies are especially dangerous for tomatoes. The insects are very similar to each other, they look like a small white moth.

It is almost impossible to see them with the naked eye. They land in flocks on the leaves and eat the bush. The crop is also susceptible to spider mites. The insect leaves its web on the stem and leaves, which causes a lack of nutrition.

So as not to fight insects and pests after their appearance, it is better to immediately carry out prevention. To do this, it is recommended to periodically treat the beds with a solution of wood ash or garlic water.

Spraying the bushes with whey or a solution based on tobacco leaves is also considered a good remedy against pests. Organic procedures are absolutely safe for both vegetables and humans.

The nuances of growing in open ground and in a greenhouse

When growing tomatoes in open ground, use a drip irrigation system. The advantages of the method are that water enters the beds gradually and does not cause sharp fluctuations in soil moisture. In addition, water does not stagnate on the surface of the earth, which means that the risk of fungal diseases and infections is reduced.

If the tomato is planted in a greenhouse, monitor the humidity and temperature levels. Greenhouses are characterized by stuffiness and heat, so do not forget to ventilate the structure. Also, during preventive treatments of bushes against diseases, pay attention to walls and other hard surfaces. They can also contain germs.

Harvesting and application

At the ripe stage, vegetables need to be harvested daily. Pick tomatoes that are pink in color, as red ones speed up the ripening of the bunch. It is better to pick tomatoes without stalks.

The Alexander the Great variety is used in cooking, folk medicine, and cosmetology. The vegetable is ideal for preparing salads, side dishes, and cold appetizers.

In addition, a medicinal tincture is made from it. The drug helps get rid of colds and strengthen the immune system during the cold season.

Moreover, tomatoes are a natural antidepressant and should be eaten when a person is in a bad mood.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Advantages of the variety:

• juicy taste and rich aroma;
• large tomatoes;
• long shelf life;
• high immunity.

Negative sides:

• the best harvest will be in the greenhouse;
• demanding of soil and fertilizing;
• not always suitable for whole canning.

Farmer reviews

This is what gardeners say in their online reviews about the Alexander the Great variety.

Elvira, Tyumen: “Last year I planted 3 beds of Alexander the Great f1. The variety is very worthy. The summer was cold, but the harvest was still a success. For growth I used mainly organic fertilizers. I grew it in a greenhouse."

Maria, Voronezh region: “In my opinion, the variety combines all the best - color and taste. The tomatoes started growing quickly and there were no problems with growing them. The return turned out to be friendly.We ate it fresh, made tomato juice and preserved it for the winter.”

Tatiana. Kurgan region: “The variety was recommended to me for a long time, and finally I planted it. I expected more. The taste is good, but it took a lot of care. In my opinion, this should not be typical for a hybrid.”

Conclusion

The “great” variety is liked by many. The hybrid is not afraid of diseases and produces a stable, tasty harvest. Plants need to be tied up and pinched, as well as fertilized and fertilized.

The variety is planted in a bright and well-lit place. Tomatoes are great for baby food and diet food, and will also decorate any holiday table.