How to grow a Mazarin tomato at the dacha - instructions from preparing seeds to harvesting
An incredibly large harvest and delicious fruits are the two main advantages of Mazarin tomatoes. This variety is famous for its large fruits, long fruiting and ease of care. This is why gardeners so often choose this variety to grow in their garden plots.
Mazarin tomatoes are heat-loving, but unpretentious in watering, weeding and planting location. They are extremely resistant to diseases and pests, which allows for a good harvest. This variety of tomatoes is also famous for its taste: sweet fruits with a slight sourness will appeal to even the most sophisticated gourmets. Mazarin tomatoes will decorate your holiday table and surprise guests with their bright taste and aroma.
Tomato Mazarin: characteristics and description of the variety
A distinctive feature of this tomato variety is the large size of the fruits.. Mazarin usually grows quite tall - up to 2 m in height, bearing a huge amount of large fruits. This variety has a medium-early ripening period - the fruits can be harvested within 110-120 days after the sprouts appear.
The Cardinal Mazarin tomato produces the largest fruits in the lower cluster - up to 0.6-0.7 kg. In the upper part of the plant, the fruits weigh about 0.3 kg. The fruits of this type of tomato are pleasant to the taste, have a specific heart-shaped shape and ripen in about 50 days from the moment they are planted in the greenhouse. If you plant seedlings in open ground, the harvest will ripen a little later - after 70 days.
Mazarin bears fruit for a very long time: all summer, right up to frost. At the same time, the yield is high: when planting 4 bushes per 1 square meter, you are guaranteed to harvest 50-60 kg of tomatoes. One bush can bear up to 13 kg of fruit. That is why the variety is popular among farmers.
When a tomato acquires a bright red hue and a heart-shaped shape, we can talk about its ripeness. In the photo you can see the fruits of this variety. Mazarin tomatoes are very dense and fleshy in structure and do not turn sour when cut. They tolerate temperature changes and transportation well, do not spoil for a long time, and are also resistant to disease.
We grow seedlings
Even a novice gardener can grow seedlings of Mazarin tomatoes. If you follow all the rules for preparing seeds, soil and replanting into the ground, problems should not arise.
Seed preparation
Growing any seedlings begins with preparing the seeds. Usually they start doing this in March. The first mandatory step is disinfection. It is carried out by soaking the seeds in hot water for half an hour (you can add a pinch of potassium permanganate).
Only after this they begin planting and germination. To do this, transfer the seeds to any flat surface, covering them with damp gauze. This should be gauze, since dense fabric will not provide oxygen to the seeds.
Important! Wet the gauze periodically, as moisture promotes faster germination of seeds.
Planting seeds
Having previously prepared, loosened and watered the soil, begin planting the seeds. As a rule, the germination process takes 3-4 days. Plant several seeds in one container. This must be done in several rows at a distance of 2 cm and to a depth of 1.5 cm.
Advice! If you cover pots with planted seeds with cellophane, the conditions will be closer to greenhouse conditions. Shoots will appear faster.
It is advisable to place the seedlings as close to the light as possible. It is necessary to ensure that the temperature is maintained at around +22 degrees. This will ensure that each seed produces a healthy sprout. After about 11-13 days, the temperature is gradually reduced to room temperature.
During germination, light must come from all directions so that the seedlings do not stretch in one direction. To do this, you can change the location of the drawers or install an additional light source - fluorescent lamps.
When the first leaves appear on the seedlings, transplant them into separate containers. It is advisable to harden seedlings with a gradual decrease in temperature. This will allow the seedlings to be maximally prepared for transplanting into the ground.
Growing tomatoes in a greenhouse
At the end of May, tomatoes are planted in a greenhouse or open ground. How to properly ensure healthy plant growth, we will consider below.
Landing
Seedlings are planted in the greenhouse at a distance of 30cm. Depth - about 3-4 cm. It must be taken into account that there should be no more than 4-5 bushes per square meter.
Important! The Mazarin tomato has large fruits and high yields, so you should not plant the bushes too close.
Before planting the sprouts, the soil is dug up, beds are formed, and mineral or organic fertilizers are applied a couple of days before planting.
After this, the plants are fertilized 1-2 times a month.
Care
Monitor the growth of plants and tie them up in time. The Mazarin tomato variety needs support, as the branches cannot support the load of heavy fruits. When tying vertically, use a wooden peg.Tie to it with soft material a twig or stem with the largest fruits that stretch to the ground.
There is also a horizontal tie: plants are tied to a rope stretched under the ceiling of the greenhouse. This supports the plants and prevents branches from breaking under the weight of large fruits.
Water This type of tomatoes in a greenhouse or in open ground requires warm water 1-2 times a week. Organic fertilizers are added to the water once a month to obtain a bountiful harvest. If it is hot, the number of waterings should be increased to 2-3 per week.
When watering, try not to get it on the leaves of the plants, as this can cause fungal disease and burns if watering is done in direct sunlight. Mazarin tomatoes tolerate drought quite well and can successfully grow and bear fruit without watering for up to 4 weeks. At the same time, tomatoes are quite heat-loving, so it is recommended to grow them in a greenhouse.
After watering, it is advisable to loosen the soil each time. This will allow the plant's roots to receive air. It is necessary to cultivate the soil to a depth of 5 cm. This will prevent diseases of the plant roots and will promote its accelerated growth.
Advice! Loosen the soil after each watering to prevent the soil from hardening.
Also a very important part of plant care is timely pinching. As soon as young shoots appear on the plant stem, they are removed. These shoots take away the microelements necessary for the plant to bear abundant fruit. A treated tomato bush has only a stem and a few branches that will bear fruit in the future; there should not be any extra shoots on it.
Diseases and pests
The plant must be protected from diseases and pests. This type of tomato is resistant to diseases, but there is a possibility of infection with some diseases.
The most common one is late blight. Spots that appear on the leaves indicate the appearance of this disease. This may be due to overwatering the plant. To combat late blight, reduce the number of waterings and remove all affected areas of the plant to avoid the spread of this disease. It is best to burn the removed leaves to prevent the infection from being transmitted to healthy plants.
Advice! When spraying plants with preparations containing copper, the risk of late blight infection in plants is significantly reduced.
The second most common disease of plants of this species is the so-called mosaic. It appears as white-yellowish spots on the leaves. This infection is carried by insects, usually aphids. Over time, the affected areas of the plant die and fall off. To prevent this, it is necessary to immediately remove the affected leaves.
Do not forget about insect pests that interfere with the healthy growth and development of the plant. For example, the cockchafer lays its larvae closer to the ground. They chew off the roots of the plant, which leads to its death. If insects are found in the soil, it is worth treating with special preparations.
If you follow the regime of watering, loosening and fertilizing, as well as proper prevention of diseases and pests, you are guaranteed to get a good harvest of Mazarin tomatoes.
The nuances of growing in open ground
The Mazarin tomato variety is suitable for growing in open ground. But it is also worth remembering that Mazarin is a rather heat-loving variety.It is recommended to grow it in open ground in hot summers or in warm regions of the country.
If we talk about growing Mazarin in open ground, it is worth considering the following factors:
- Moisture. When growing tomatoes in open ground, rainy summers can cause the development of fungal infections. Also, frequent watering can lead to the death of the plant.
- Pests. In open ground, pests have direct access to plants and can harm their growth and development. In a greenhouse, the risk of an attack by cockchafers, for example, is reduced. Also, the likelihood of certain diseases (late blight) increases, since rainwater may contain infection.
- Temperature. Even in warm summers, unpredictable frosts are possible, which can damage plants planted in open ground.
- Fruiting. When growing Mazarin in open ground, the harvest will appear a couple of weeks later than in a greenhouse.
Harvesting and application
As soon as the tomatoes acquire a bright red color, as well as a large heart-shaped shape, we can talk about their ripeness. Harvesting usually occurs in July-August, but may continue into the fall.
The fruits are placed for storage in a box, having previously laid a newspaper in it. Tomatoes should be placed in no more than 2 rows on top of each other, otherwise they may become wrinkled.
Store tomatoes in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight. It is advisable to maintain a storage temperature of up to +15 degrees to avoid fruit rotting.
Slightly unripe, slightly greenish fruits are also collected. In this case, the shelf life will increase.
The use of the crop can be very diverse: the fruits of this variety are very good in the production of tomato juices, pastes, and are also well suited for canning.Mazarins have an incredible taste even after marinating. When fresh, they are often used in salads and vegetable slices.
A special advantage of tomatoes is not only their appearance and bright taste, but also the beneficial substances contained in them. Tomatoes enrich the body with beneficial microelements and strengthen the immune system. They also act as an antioxidant. The substance they contain, lycopene, has a beneficial effect on the human immune system. Tomatoes can also fight blood clots, and due to the serotonin they contain, they improve your mood.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
The main advantages of this variety of tomatoes are:
- large fleshy fruits;
- high productivity;
- resistance to diseases and pests, as well as drought;
- ease of care;
- long fruiting.
Disadvantages include:
- need for sunlight and warmth;
- mandatory application of fertilizers;
- need for tying.
Reviews from gardeners
Most reviews about this type of tomato are positive. Some note the particularly large size of the fruits and the ease of caring for the plant, while others offer delicious recipes based on Mazarin tomatoes.
Semyon Petrovich, Ryazan: “Mazarin is my favorite variety of tomatoes! It is always welcome on our table, it has an extraordinary taste. I advise everyone to try growing it in their dacha!”
Anna, Leningrad region: “I love the shape of Mazarin tomatoes: they are so large! Just two fruits are enough to prepare a dish. Very convenient and economical. Enough for the whole winter."
Anna, St. Petersburg: “Wonderful variety, there are a lot of fruits on one bush! I didn’t even have to treat for pests, because this variety turned out to be very disease-resistant.”
Karina Germanovna, Tolyatti: “I have different varieties of tomatoes growing in my dacha, but this one produces the most fruit! Everyone is so meaty. Tasty!"
Conclusion
The Mazarin tomato is extremely tasty and easy to grow, making it ideal for beginning gardeners. When properly stored, the fruits will retain their taste and shape for a long time, and are also excellent for pickling and pickling.