Early ripe tomatoes for juices, salads and canning “Fatima” - characteristics and description of the variety
Tomato Fatima is a pink, early-ripening variety of tomatoes. The variety was bred by Russian breeders more than 10 years ago. The tomato is popular among gardeners; it is successfully grown in agro-industrial complexes. It is loved by consumers for the delicate taste of its sugary and juicy pulp.
Agronomists and amateur gardeners pay tribute to its unpretentiousness, compactness and high yield. Already in the middle of summer you can collect large fruits of a rich pink color, and the bush will bear fruit all summer. Even novice gardeners can easily cope with caring for this variety and can even collect seeds for the next season.
Description
The Fatima variety belongs to the low-growing group, the maximum height is just over half a meter; the bushes do not grow higher. Development occurs through the growth of lateral shoots; few stepsons are formed.
If the summer is warm and there is no heat, then pinching should be done regularly. But in hot and especially dry weather, the stepsons are not removed. The foliage will protect the bush from hot rays. There is no need to pinch the top - the plant does not grow higher than normal. There are exceptions - the bush can, under favorable conditions, reach a meter in height.
In open ground, a tomato ripens for about 90 days.. Indeed, it ripens quickly and manages to produce several harvests. The fruits ripen until the second half of September.
Fruit characteristics and yield
During the flowering period, a single flower is tied at the top; it is quite large in size. This flower will give the best ovary and the largest fruit. All other inflorescences are collected in brushes. The first flower tassel can be found above the 6th leaf.
Tomato fruits have a ribbed surface and are shaped like a heart. Sometimes you can find fused tomatoes, the lower part is sharper, the upper part is round and voluminous. The stalk has so-called shoulders - this is a dark green spot. The ripe fruit has a rich, dense pink color or the distinct color of ripe raspberries.
The pulp is juicy and has a sweetish taste. Many gardeners consider this variety to be a dessert variety.. The weight of a large fruit can exceed 0.5 kg. The average weight is approximately 250 g; from one bush you can harvest more than 2 kg of beautiful, tasty tomatoes.
Photo
In the photo below you can see what this variety of tomatoes looks like:
How to get seedlings
Tomato Fatima is sown as seedlings approximately 2-2.5 months before the estimated time of planting in the ground. For seedlings, you need to prepare seeds, soil and containers.
Sowing directly into the beds is possible only in warm climates. Most often, the Fatima tomato is planted as seedlings.
Seed preparation
Before sowing, the seed material is processed. It is necessary to calculate so as to have time to grow the seedlings on time. It takes approximately 2 months to grow seedlings. It is noteworthy that if the weather is favorable, tomatoes can be sown immediately in open ground.
Before sowing, the seeds are soaked in manganese. If the seeds are stored for more than a year, then they must be kept in warm water for about an hour and a half. It is necessary that the seeds are saturated with moisture, and the shell covering the seed becomes soft and loose.Manganese is prepared at the rate of 2 g per 250 g of water.
Purchased seeds are most often not processed. The instructions on the package will tell you how best to sow the seed material.
Container and soil
Regular soil is suitable for planting. In a special store you can buy it in packaged form. But it is advisable to treat even such soil - fry it in the oven or hold it over a stream of steam. The procedure takes 10 minutes.
Containers are selected so that they have enough space for the formation of the root system. Cups should have drainage holes at the bottom.
The glass should not be lower than 10 cm. It’s good to use individual peat pots. You can sow a seed in a peat tablet.
Sowing
- The soil is laid out in the required containers, where grooves of about 5 cm are made.
- Place 2-3 seeds in one hole at a distance of 2 cm.
- Next, the furrows are filled with soil and watered well.
- To increase germination, it is recommended to cover the container with film, or simply cover it with glass.
- The seedlings are left in a warm place, for example, not far from the radiator.
Aftercare
The peculiarity of Fatima tomato seeds is that they are extremely small. They should be embedded in the ground to a depth of no more than 1.5 cm.
Seeds for seedlings are often sown very often. Therefore, seedlings should be thinned out if necessary. There should be a distance of at least 5 cm between seedlings.
Features of care:
- Seedlings should be watered and loosened regularly.
- Add soil to the cups as needed.
- Provide even light and warmth for the entire period of growing seedlings.
- Approximately 7-10 days before planting in open ground or even under film, Fatima seedlings should be hardened.To do this, gradually lower the temperature in the room.
- About 3-5 days in advance, you need to use a growth stimulator and any drug that relieves stress in the plant and allows you to calmly endure the transplant procedure.
How to grow tomatoes
In order for the harvest to be good, it is necessary to ensure proper planting, care and take into account all the features and difficulties of growing the Fatima variety.
Landing:
- Tomatoes should be planted in a sunny place. Shading will reduce the yield.
- The bed should be dug to a depth of 15 cm.
- When digging, a complex of fertilizers is applied. If the soil is heavy, then you need to add compost, sandy soil or humus.
- There should be no more than 5 plants per square. If you plant in a checkerboard pattern, you need to keep a distance of about half a meter.
- Seedlings should be planted to a depth of approximately 10 cm.
Bush care
No special care is required; it is enough to regularly remove weeds and keep the soil moist, as well as periodically loosen it.
Proper care:
- Large, quickly filling fruits will require more nutrition. When forming a crop, fertilizing with complex potassium-phosphorus fertilizer is good.
- Manure and nitrogen fertilizers are not suitable for fertilizing - the green mass will increase.
- Tomatoes should be watered abundantly, in drought conditions at least 2-3 times a week.
- Mulch the soil with organic residues, use dry grass, sawdust or humus. Mulch will reduce water evaporation and keep the soil loose.
- Plants should be tied up as needed, without breaking the stems. Each bunch must be supported.
- There is practically no need for stepsoning - the bush forms on its own.
Features and possible difficulties
The bushes are low-growing, and the mass of fruits is quite heavy, so it is necessary to tie up the branches.
In order for the bush to form well and the fruits to be juicy, you need to monitor the humidity. A dry plant develops slowly. On cloudy days, water no more than once a week.
Fertilizers must be added during the growing season. On the 10th day after planting the seedlings - mullein, saltpeter and superphosphate.
Diseases and pests
Tomatoes are highly resistant to pests. But they cannot be called invulnerable. It’s just that the sensitivity threshold of the Fatima variety is increased.
The bush is very resilient and can survive even without care. But its protection will decrease under the influence of environmental factors.
Adversely affects the immunity of tomatoes:
- drought;
- high humidity and heavy rains;
- lack of normal nutrition.
If the tomato is weakened, then pests attack it. The Fatima tomato is less resistant to fungi. If such a disease is detected, the affected area must be treated with fungicidal agents. Insect pests typical of tomatoes can be neutralized by any of the available insecticides.
Important! 3 weeks before harvesting the fruits, chemicals should not be used.
The nuances of growing in open ground and in a greenhouse
This variety of tomato can be grown in greenhouses under film and in open ground. The plant is light-loving, so natural sunlight is most suitable for it. When growing in greenhouses, it is better to purchase seeds of the F1 hybrid. It is adapted to greenhouse conditions, is not so demanding on lighting and produces a good harvest in such conditions.
Seedlings must be planted in open ground with the onset of May.If Fatima is grown under a film cover or greenhouse, the seedlings can be transferred even in mid-spring.
2-3 days before planting the bushes, you will need to treat the seedlings with agents that activate growth. The effective substances include:
- Immunocytophyte.
- Epin.
When using such products, the growth of bushes and fruits will increase significantly. The Fatima variety should be planted in high-calorie and rich soils. In this regard, it is necessary to treat the selected area with mineral fertilizer.
At home, feeding is done using:
- compost;
- potash humus;
- phosphorus humus.
Important! With light and fertilized soil, the variety will provide excellent yield, especially if auxiliary feeding is provided during the growth period.
Harvesting and application
With good care and favorable weather conditions, the tomato will grow well, and therefore the harvest will please the owners. Ideally, one square can produce 10 kg of tomatoes per season. Harvesting can begin at the end of July. The collection is carried out as the fruits ripen. The peel of the Fatima variety, although not thick, is resistant to cracking, so they can be stored for a long period of time.
If you plan to store it for a long time, then slightly unripe fruits are collected. There should be no damage to them. It is convenient to place them in boxes lined with paper. The temperature in the room must be maintained. The ideal cellar is where the temperature is about +5 degrees.
Tomatoes will not last long in a dry room.. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure a certain level of humidity during storage. The appearance of tomatoes does not deteriorate during transportation. Tomato juice, pastes, sauces and dessert tomatoes are prepared from this variety.
Advantages and disadvantages
The main advantage of the Fatima variety is its ease of processing. The plant responds well to any care and feeding.
The advantages of the variety include:
- Fast maturation.
- Great taste.
- The original shape of the fruit.
- Lots of pulp.
- Resistance to weather changes and diseases.
Gardeners do not note any shortcomings in the Fatima variety. There is one small inconvenience - very small seeds. Therefore, preparing seeds is not very convenient. But when used for food, this disadvantage becomes an advantage.
Farmer reviews
Among those who have at least once tried to grow such tomatoes, it is difficult to find dissatisfied ones. Some praise them for their significant yield, while others are pleased with their resistance to disease.
Some vegetable growers, despite the fact that the variety does well without pinching, still perform a similar procedure. The result: large and juicy fruits that truly amaze with their chic appearance.
There is also an important remark. Tomato seedlings cannot boast of their presentation, for this reason, vegetable growers who do not know the variety often bypass it when purchasing. However, as experts say, there is no need to be afraid of this, since the result will be higher than any expectations.
Conclusion
If you follow all the recommendations, Fatima tomatoes will delight you with a rich harvest of fruits of excellent taste. They can be used not only for personal consumption, but also for sale. The plants are undemanding; a novice gardener can easily grow them.
The high-yielding Fatima tomato is a true find for new gardeners and summer residents who rarely visit their plot. The variety is able to withstand extreme atmospheric conditions while maintaining a good harvest.The large pink fruits have a distinct taste and ripen from July to September, which is very convenient for individual consumption.
We invite you to watch a useful video about the Fatima tomato variety: