An amazing variety of green tomatoes - the “Swamp” tomato for real gourmets

How do you know when it's time to harvest tomatoes? Of course, by their color. In most cases, ripe tomatoes are red, brown, pink, orange or purple. But using the method of selection, agronomists have developed varieties whose degree of maturity is difficult to determine by shade, because their ripe fruits are green. Such crops include the Boloto tomato. How to understand when to pick fruits from a bush and what kind of care this exotic variety needs - read on.

General description of the variety

The Swamp variety got its name due to the unusual color of the fruit. When ripe they are green with a yellowish tint. Small patches of pink, yellow or brown may be present.

The variety was developed by domestic breeders. It is already included in the state register and is actively grown by gardeners all over the world.

The manufacturer recommends growing Swamp under film or in the greenhouse. In the southern regions it is also possible to cultivate it in open ground.

You can see what ripe tomatoes look like in the photo.

Reference. The experience of advanced gardeners suggests that Boloto tomatoes grown in greenhouses produce larger fruits than when the variety is cultivated in open ground.

Characteristics of tomatoes

The characteristics of the tomato indicate that this variety is more suitable for experienced gardeners than for beginners. Its cultivation is associated with some difficulties.

Description of Bolot tomatoes:

Growing seedlings

Like other tomatoes, Bolot is grown in seedlings. Seeds are sown 50-55 days before planting the plants in a permanent place. The optimal time for sowing is considered to be the beginning or middle of March.

Before sowing seeds, familiarize yourself with the indicators of the lunar calendar.Seeds planted on a suitable lunar day will germinate faster and the plants will be healthier.

Preparing planting material

The Swamp variety is not resistant to plant diseases. Therefore, you need to take the preparation of seeds especially seriously:

1. Check the expiration dates of planting material. Remove all black, moldy and damaged seeds.
2. To test seeds for germination, soak them for half an hour in a saline solution. Remove those that float, and rinse and dry those that sink to the bottom.
3. Disinfect the seeds. To do this, immerse them for 20 minutes in a solution of potassium permanganate, diluted in a ratio of 1:100.

To increase the germination rate, seeds stimulate. The most popular methods:

1. Purchased funds. The stores offer a lot of drugs that stimulate seed germination (Kornevin, Zircon, Novosil, etc.). They are used according to the instructions for use.
2. Folk remedies: soda and honey solution, aloe juice. They impregnate the fabric in which the seeds are wrapped. Then the damp cloth with planting material is placed on a saucer and covered with film.
3. Stimulation with cold. The seeds are placed in the refrigerator for several days, then transferred to a warm place. After this, you can start sowing.

Soil and containers for sowing

To sow seeds, use large containers that can hold a large amount of planting material: trays, special boxes.

Plant the plants in a small container. To pick tomatoes, use special pots, disposable cups and any other containers.

For tomatoes choose light soil. This can be a special soil mixture or a self-prepared composition, for which equal portions of peat, humus and turf are taken. Add a matchbox of superphosphate and a little to the mixture ash.

Both containers and soil for tomato seedlings need to be disinfected - pour boiling water or a solution potassium permanganate.

Sowing tomato seeds Swamp

Soil is poured into the prepared containers. Grooves 1 cm deep are made in it. The distance between the grooves is 2-3 cm. Seeds are placed in the grooves at intervals of at least 2 cm. The planting material is covered with earth on top.

After planting the seeds, moisten the soil with a spray bottle. The container is covered with glass on top and placed in a place with a temperature of at least 23 degrees.

Basic rules for caring for seedlings

Caring for seedlings requires minimal labor. The main thing is to follow the basic rules for caring for tomatoes at this stage:

1. Watering plants. No watering is needed before germination. After the first shoots appear, the soil is moistened with a syringe or pipette as it dries. The planted tomatoes begin to be watered a week after picking with settled water so that the liquid gets only onto the soil.
2. Picking. After 3 true leaves appear, the tomatoes are planted in separate containers. Do this carefully so as not to damage the root.
3. Feeding. Tomatoes, planted in separate containers, are fertilized for the first time two weeks after transplantation. For these purposes, complex fertilizers are used. Then two more feedings are made - after 14 days and a few days before transplanting to a permanent place.
4. Hardening. Plants begin to harden off two weeks before planting seedlings in the ground.To do this, tomatoes are taken outside every day, gradually increasing the time.

How to grow the Swamp variety

Growing this variety is associated with a number of difficulties. The variety requires staking and pinching and is not resistant to plant diseases.

Tomatoes are planted in a permanent place at the end or mid-May. Planting is done when the soil warms up.

Planting seedlings in a permanent place

Before planting seedlings in a permanent place, prepare the soil. To do this, they dig it up and weed it in the fall. At the same time, humus, ash and dry chlorine are added to it.

In the spring, the soil is dug up again. The holes are arranged in a checkerboard pattern. The distance between rows should be 50 cm, and between the recesses for tomatoes - 40.

Before planting, seedlings are watered and fed. A tablespoon of ash is poured into each hole. To prevent infection, the beds in which the tomatoes will grow are watered with a solution of potassium permanganate.

Immediately before transplant seedlings removed from pots. Plants are placed in the center of the hole and buried two-thirds of the stem. A support for a garter is installed near each bush.

Tomato care

Swamp tomatoes are a moisture-loving variety. They need to be watered daily, in the afternoon. It is important not to flood the soil so that it has time to dry out within a day.

The plant is formed into 1-3 stems. The more stems, the more abundant the harvest will be, but the later it will appear.

Bushes stepson as sprouts appear. At the same time, not only stepsons are broken off, but also yellowed leaves and incorrectly formed inflorescences.

It is better to plant the stepson early in the morning or in the afternoon. On the day of planting, watering is not necessary to reduce the risk of infection of tomatoes.

Tomato Swamp grows up to 1.5 m. As they grow, the bushes are tied to a wooden support or trellis.

The tomatoes are fed for the first time three weeks after transplanting to a permanent place. Subsequent applications of fertilizers are made every two weeks. Experienced gardeners advise alternating organic and mineral compositions.

Tomatoes also love foliar feeding. For this purpose, compositions with boron are used.

What difficulties might you encounter?

When growing Swamp, you can encounter a number of difficulties. Knowing about them in advance, you will prevent the death of plants:

1. Wilting and yellowing of leaves. This sign indicates a violation of watering rules. The problem can arise due to a lack of fluid or due to waterlogging of the soil.
2. Tomatoes have lost turgor. If everything is in order with the amount of watering, then a problem may arise when using unsettled water.
3. Leaves, fruits or inflorescences are irregular in shape. This symptom is caused by a lack of nutrients. It may be worth replacing fertilizers or increasing the amount of fertilizing.
4. The fruits are cracking. Reasons: too hot weather, excessive watering or removing a lot of greenery from the bush.
5. Roots appeared on the stem. The plant lacks nutrients. You need to hill up the tomatoes, covering the roots with soil.

How to protect beds from diseases and pests

The Swamp variety is not immune to tomato diseases. He is often affected by various diseases.

Let's look at how to deal with them:

1. Late blight. A fungal disease that causes the leaves and fruits of tomatoes to turn black. Antifungal drugs (for example, Baktofit) are used as prophylaxis.
2. Alternaria blight. The causative agent is a fungus.Characterized by black spots on leaves and fruits. At the initial stages of disease development, Quadris is effective.
3. Anthracnose. When affected, the leaves dry out and fall off, and the fruits become covered with depressed yellow-brown spots. For prevention, the bushes are sprayed with Quadris. When signs of illness appear, formulations with Bacillus subtilis are used.
4. White spot. The greens of the tomatoes are covered with white and brown spots. There are no methods of prevention or treatment for this disease yet.
5. Gray tomato rot. The entire plant is covered with a gray fluffy coating. For prevention, chemicals are used, for example, Bayleton.
6. White rot. The fruits are covered with a white fluffy coating, and tissue necrosis is observed. The prevention method is to treat the soil and seeds before planting tomatoes.
7. Powdery mildew. Depending on the pathogen, tomato bushes become covered with white or yellow spots. To cure the disease, sodium humate is used.
8. Verticillium wilt. The leaves of the plant turn yellow and wither. The method of prevention is treating soil and seeds with disinfecting compounds.
9. Brown spot. Dark spots and plaque form on the bushes. When signs of the disease appear, they are treated with HOM.
10. Top and root rot. It is characterized by necrosis of the upper or lower part of the bush and its wilting. For prevention, soil and planting material are disinfected.
11. Stems cancer. Spots form on the stem from which gum oozes. For prevention, plants are sprayed with Immunocytophyte. When damage appears, they are treated with a mixture of chalk and Rovral.
12. Fusarium. There is a gradual wilting of the entire plant. For prevention purposes, plants are watered with drugs from the benzimidazoles group.

The list contains the most common fungal diseases of tomatoes and methods for combating them. Tomatoes are also affected by viral diseases, but it is practically impossible to prevent their appearance in tomatoes that do not have immunity.

Insect pests must be promptly removed from tomatoes manually or using chemicals. Many of them carry viruses.

Features of growing in open ground and greenhouses

When grown in open ground, the plant reaches a height of 110-120 cm. In a greenhouse, the bushes grow slightly higher - 150 cm. Take this into account when choosing the size of the support pegs and the greenhouse structures themselves.

Tomatoes need fresh air. Therefore, regularly ventilate the greenhouse by opening the windows.

When transplanting seedlings into open ground, the tomatoes are covered with film for the first week. This protects them from night frosts.

In open ground, Swamp tomatoes must be mulched. The beds are covered with straw, hay or burlap.

Harvesting and application

The fruits will ripen at the end of June. Ripe tomatoes are easy to identify despite their green color. These tomatoes have a yellowish tint and pink spots, are softer to the touch, and a noticeable dark spot appears on their base. Ripe fruits should be picked immediately, leaving the stalk behind.

The collected tomatoes are stored in the refrigerator. Boloto tomatoes are mainly used for fresh consumption. When preserved, the thin skin of the fruit may crack. Due to the exotic color of tomatoes, they are not used for making ketchups, tomato juices and pastes.

Advantages and disadvantages of the Swamp variety

Advantages of the variety:

• unusual appearance;
• pleasant taste;
• good yield.

Flaws:

• lack of immunity to diseases;
• the need for gartering and pinching;
• Can only be used fresh.

Farmer reviews

Tomato Swamp is an exotic variety with green fruits. Reviews about it are contradictory.

Irina Orlova, Murmansk: “I decided to take Boloto tomato seeds for testing. Productivity is average. Tomatoes require multiple treatments for diseases and pests. Grown in a greenhouse. The only advantage is the unusually colored tomatoes, which surprised the whole family.”

Mikhail Lisitsin, Tver: “This is the first time I’ve grown Boloto tomatoes. The harvest is not bad, the tomatoes are large, sweet, and green. Looks interesting in salads with tomatoes of a different color. I’m going to grow a couple of beds every year.”

Conclusion

The early-ripening tomato variety Boloto is an exotic tomato. Even when ripe, the fruits are green. The taste of ripe tomatoes is sweet. They are not suitable for transportation, so they are grown only for personal consumption.

During the growing process you may encounter a number of difficulties. This variety is not immune to diseases and requires staking and pinching. It is suitable for experienced gardeners who want to try something new.