A guest in the garden named after a star: the Canopus tomato

This variety of tomato got its name from a star from the Southern Hemisphere. Canopus is a yellowish-white star, a supergiant in the sky, captivating with magical light, and in the garden there is a special variety of tomatoes that organically combines excellent taste with ease of care.

The Canopus tomato comes from Siberia (from Novosibirsk), so it is quite suitable for the difficult conditions of the Siberian summer and other regions that differ little in climatic conditions. However, it also takes root well in greenhouses. It is classified as determinant because it has limited growth.

Tomato Canopus: variety description

Bushes of this species are compact in size, their height is 50-60 cm. The leaves are medium in size, traditional in shape, rich dark green in color. During the flowering period, many simple inflorescences appear. The first inflorescence is formed above the 6-9 leaves. The next one is at a distance of 2-3 leaves from the previous one.

The culture refers to mid-season tomatoes. Fruit ripening occurs 110-120 days after planting. Their shape is oblong or almost oval, similar to a cylinder (you can see how they look in the photo), their sizes are average. The smooth surface of the skin changes to folded at the base of the stalk. The color when ripe is bright red, each fruit has more than 4 seed chambers.

The fruits have a good taste, but it, like the size, depends on the growing conditions. Versatile in preparation: good for salads, they make excellent tomato products (juice, ketchup, adjika), suitable for pickles and marinades.

In terms of productivity, the variety can be considered a tomato record holder. It is for this reason that he attracted the attention of those who put tomatoes up for sale.. On average from 1 sq. m, up to 4 kg of finished products of commercial quality are collected.

How to grow seedlings

For planting, select strong seeds without any damage. Before planting, the seeds are soaked and disinfected. They are sown in a common wooden box in pre-made shallow grooves at a distance of 4 cm from each other. Before planting seeds, the soil is loosened and disinfected.

Do not forget about maintaining regular humidity: the easiest way to do this is with a spray bottle. The optimal air temperature is at least 25 degrees. Also, seedlings should not suffer from a lack of light, so in the daytime the containers are placed on the windowsill, and in the evening they are illuminated with fluorescent lamps.

After 60 days, the seeds turn into young bushes, ready for transplanting into open ground.

Important! This variety of tomatoes needs picking.

Picking is the transplantation of seedlings from a container common to all seedlings into individual pots (plastic cups). Accompanied by truncation of the main root by 25-30% of its length.

How to grow tomatoes

You should take care of the soil in advance before planting seedlings. You should not plant a tomato in the same area where potatoes grew a year earlier. But the soil after cucumbers, zucchini and pumpkins is quite suitable.

Tomatoes grow best in loose soil with sufficient moisture content. An acidic environment is inappropriate here; only a neutral one will do.The condition of the soil is checked using litmus paper: if the value is more than 6.5, then it is necessary to add lime or dolomite flour to the soil to reduce acidity.

The Canopus variety responds well to the application of either organic or mineral fertilizers. Organic matter has a beneficial effect on plant growth and attracts earthworms. In this case, oxygen access will be ensured. But it is worth considering that moles love to eat earthworms, so an excess of them can be harmful rather than beneficial.

Important! You should not get carried away with fertilizers, as you can burn the shoots. Excess fertilizer is also harmful because the plant will go into leaves, and the fruits will be small and inconspicuous.

Despite its small growth, staking the bush is necessary, since a considerable number of fruits are tied on the branch and the plant breaks from its own weight. If we are talking about an industrial volume, that is, a large number of bushes, then it is quite possible to do without a garter by collecting ripe vegetables from the surface of the ground.

Watering carried out no more than once a week. Do not forget that any tomato varieties do not like waterlogging. Excess moisture negatively affects the quality of the crop.

Loosen the soil as necessary. Removing weeds allows oxygen to enter the soil.

Diseases and pests

The tomato record holder is genetically immune to the tobacco mosaic virus and resistant to late blight. However, this disease rarely affects vegetable crops. Late blight, or brown rot, develops in wet weather, and in dry weather its development stops. The leaves are affected first, and then the fruits.

To save yourself from this disease, there are two methods - chemical and folk:

1. Treatment with Furacilin (chemical method).The solution is prepared immediately for the whole summer. 10 crushed Furacilin tablets are dissolved in 10 liters of water. Spray three times a season: before flowering, when the first ovaries appear, when the first tomatoes ripen.
2. Treatment with soda (folk method). Dissolve 1 tablespoon of soda in half a bucket of water. Spray every week.
3. Treatment with vinegar (folk method). 0.5 cups of 9% vinegar are diluted in one bucket of water. Spray the entire plant once every 10 days or after rain.

Due to the pungent odor, many pests They avoid the variety, but among insects, Canopus is afraid of the mole cricket. It lives underground, damaging the roots of seedlings, which subsequently die. The mole cricket is repelled by the smell of fish and garlic, so it is enough to bury fish heads or cloves of garlic in the beds. Also, the mole cricket does not like the smell of marigolds and stays away from these flowers.

The nuances of growing in open ground and in a greenhouse

When grown in open ground, the crop does not require either formation or pinching.

For those who want to increase the number of tomatoes on their plots, a number of the following activities are offered:

• mulching the soil;
• protection from spring frosts;
• treatment of seedlings with growth stimulants;
• placement of plants that repel pests near the vegetable crop.

In greenhouse conditions, the plant is best formed into two stems. This allows you to achieve maximum effect in terms of fruiting and ripening time. In greenhouses, bushes are planted for the same purposes.

The weight of one fruit ranges from 120 to 180 g. But knowing and using special techniques (shaping, pinching, obtaining the required amount of light and moisture, feeding), it is quite possible to get fruits weighing up to 400 g each.

Harvesting and application

Since the tomato is mid-season, ripening occurs towards the end of summer. The main thing is to ensure that the fruits do not overripe, otherwise, being heavy, they can break the bushes. If, due to the large volume grown, the bushes are not tied up, the tomatoes are collected from the surface of the ground. In this case, it is also necessary to monitor the ripeness, otherwise they will crack and rot from overripeness.

The fruits are distinguished by excellent presentation, long storage and good transportability. However, this is not surprising, given that this particular species is preferred as a crop that generates income through sale.

These vegetables are also versatile in cooking – they are good both fresh and in preparations for the winter.

Advantages and disadvantages

Like the star Canopus, the vegetable crop named after it has its light and dark sides.

Let's look at the positive characteristics first:

• unpretentiousness in cultivation;
• resistance to many diseases and pests;
• high quantitative indicator;
• possible large fruit sizes;
• their unusual shape;
• presentation and long-term storage, good transportability;
• productivity in any region of the country;
• versatility in cooking.

There are many times fewer negative sides, but they exist:

• dependence of the quality characteristics of fruits on growing conditions;
• bush garter;
• average ripening speed.

Farmer reviews

The following estimates are collected from different cities, but despite the weather vagaries of different regions, this vegetable crop pleases tomato lovers equally.

Antonina, 52 years old, Yaroslavl: “They recommended seeds of a new type of tomato for me in the store. I grew them in a greenhouse and really liked them.There were a lot of fruits on each bush. They are tasty, meaty, aromatic. I made tomato juice out of them for the winter, made adjika, lecho and other preparations. And they are very good in salads anyway. Next year I collected seeds and will definitely grow them from my own seeds. In all respects, this is a wonderful variety!”

Victor, 63 years old, Izhevsk: “Canopus is an ideal species for beginners or lazy gardeners. I practically didn’t water or fertilize, but I’m still happy with the result. Of course, the variety pleased me with its high yield. At the same time, it is possible to obtain large and very tasty fruits.”

Germislav, Magnitogorsk: “I’ve been working on this tomato for three years. I sow seeds in the second half of March. When three true leaves appear, I pick, placing each plant in a separate cup. Then I place the seedlings in open ground. After 10 days, I water it using fertilizer for seedlings. After another two weeks I water it with urea. I am fertilizing for the third time using fertilizers with microelements. The result is excellent."

Conclusion

Few varieties are suitable for both experienced farmers and beginning gardeners. But the variety described is exactly that, for which it received general honor and respect.

Many farmers choose this crop because of its ease of care, resistance and high qualitative and quantitative indicators. The universal survival ability of this species in any climate zone also plays an important role, once again proving its origin from the harsh Siberian region.