Bicolor fruits with a stunning appearance and amazing taste: the “Alice’s Dream” tomato
Experienced gardeners love to experiment with exotic varieties. Modern selection pampers its consumers with tomatoes of unusual colors. There are yellow, black, green, orange, brown and multi-colored tomatoes on sale.
Among the most unusual varieties is the Alice's Dream tomato. The bicolor of its fruits is unlikely to leave anyone indifferent. What are the features of this tomato variety - read on.
General description of the variety
Alice's Dream is a variety obtained by Polish breeders. It was obtained by cross-pollination of the Blue Gold and Amethyst Jewel varieties. First grown on the plantation of a famous Polish agronomist in 2015. The original variety is called Alice's Dream. Therefore, some producers translate it as Alice's Dream.
Alice's dream is a new variety. It is not included in the Russian register. Large companies in our country do not produce it yet. This tomato is not easy to get, so it is considered a collector's item.
Features of the Alice's Dream tomato
The main feature of the Dream Alice tomatoes is the unusual color of the fruit.. The main color of their skin is orange-yellow, it has red stripes and purple or brown spots. Look how the berries of these tomatoes look in the photo.
Taste of fruits also unusual. It is sweet, without pronounced sourness. Gardeners who have already tried Alice's Dream say that such tomatoes have a pleasant citrus aftertaste.
Interesting. The fruits contain a lot of anthocyanin, which reduces inflammatory reactions in the intestines and has a beneficial effect on digestive function.
Alice's Dream is considered a salad variety. These tomatoes are consumed mainly fresh. They are not suitable for preservation and processing into tomato juices.
Gardeners say that the variety is highly resistant to tomato diseases. Since the variety is still young, this information has not yet been confirmed.
Alice's Dream tomatoes are not easy to care for. They do not like the cold and are demanding when it comes to watering. Those who can satisfy all the requirements of this variety will be rewarded with exotic fruits with an unusual taste and color.
Main characteristics
Description of the variety Alice's Dream will impress even experienced gardeners. This unusual tomato has good performance.
Characteristics of Alice's Dream:
| Parameter | Indicators |
| Bush type | Indeterminate. It grows in height up to 1.7-2 m. It has thick stems with an average amount of foliage. The leaves are simple light green. Tomatoes are formed on clusters of 8-10 pieces. On average, one bush produces 4 brushes per bush. |
| Growing method | Heat-loving. They are grown in greenhouses and greenhouses. In the southern regions, cultivation in open ground is possible. |
| Productivity | High. One plant produces up to 5 kg of tomatoes per season. Per sq. m plant no more than 4 plants. |
| Fruit | Average. The average weight of one tomato reaches 180-250 g. There are specimens weighing up to 400 g. The outside of the tomatoes is dark yellow, covered with red stripes. There are brown or purple spots at the base. Orange inside, pink in the center. There may be brown spots in the pulp, but there are no green or white areas near the base. They have a lot of pulp.Juicy, but not watery. The taste is sweet, without acid. Inside there are a large number of small chambers, some with seeds, some empty. All chambers are filled with a jelly-like liquid. |
| Transportability | Low. Tomatoes are covered with thin skin. They don't last long. |
| Ripening time | Mid-season variety. Many gardeners classify it as an early ripening plant. In hot climates, the first harvest is harvested in late June or early July. |
| Disease resistance | Is immune to major tomato diseases |
Note! According to reviews from gardeners who grow Alice's Dream tomato, the variety is resistant to major tomato diseases. This information has not yet been confirmed by practice, since the variety is young and not included in the register.
Growing seedlings
Alice's Dream seeds are sown 2 months before planting in the ground. The timing depends on the region in which the tomato is cultivated:
- in cities with a southern climate - at the end of February or early March;
- in the middle zone - in the second half of March;
- in the northern regions - in early March.
Preparation of planting material
Before you start sowing seeds, you need to prepare them. This important stage will improve germination, accelerate germination of planting material and protect plants from diseases.
First, the planting material is sorted. All dark seeds with uneven color are removed. The seeds are soaked in saline solution for 20 minutes; any specimens that float are considered spoiled.
Next, the planting material is disinfected. There are several common disinfecting solutions:
- Potassium permanganate solution. Take 1 g of potassium permanganate per 100 ml of water. The seeds are soaked in the composition for 20 minutes, after which they are washed under running water.
- Soda solution. Take 1 hour per 200 ml of water. l soda without a slide.The seeds are soaked in the composition for 10 hours.
- Aloe juice. Aloe juice and water are mixed in equal parts. The seeds are soaked in the product for 12 hours. Leaves of plants that are more than 3 years old are suitable for preparing the drug.
- "Fitosporin". For 100 ml of water, take one drop of solution or 0.5 tsp of product powder. The seeds are immersed in the solution for 12 hours.
After processing the planting material, it is soaked in a growth stimulator solution. To do this, use purchased drugs (“Epin”) or homemade products (100 g of water and 1 tsp of honey). The composition involves moistening pieces of cloth in which the seeds are wrapped. Then the fabric with the seeds is placed in a saucer, covered with film and placed in a warm place for 12 hours.
Advice! Soda solution, aloe juice and Fitosporin stimulate seed germination. Therefore, by using such disinfectants, you solve two problems at once.
Preparing containers and soil
For sowing seeds, use a wide but shallow container.. Special boxes and trays are suitable for these purposes. Some gardeners make containers for seedlings from improvised materials.
Small deep containers are used for picking plants. with a volume of at least 300 g. Plastic and peat pots are popular. Cut-off bottles, disposable tableware, etc. are also suitable.
Alice's Dream is a collectible variety, which is not sold in all stores. Therefore, it is beneficial to use peat tablets for planting such seedlings. This method of growing tomatoes is convenient because it does not require picking seedlings into separate containers.
The soil for growing tomato seedlings should be light but nutritious.. To prepare a suitable composition, mix one part of humus, river sand and turf.A matchbox of superphosphate and a glass of stove ash are added to the resulting mixture. Suitable soil is also sold in the store. It must be disinfected before use.
To disinfect purchased and homemade soil, use one of the following methods::
- calcination of the soil in the oven at a temperature of 100 degrees;
- treatment with a solution of potassium permanganate, watering with boiling water.
It is also recommended to disinfect containers. To do this, just pour boiling water over them or immerse them in a strong solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour.
Sowing seeds
Usually, All seeds of one tomato variety are sown in a large container. To do this, grooves 1 cm deep are made in the ground at a distance of 3 cm from each other. Seeds are placed in them at intervals of 2 cm.
The soil with seeds is watered with settled water from a spray bottle.. The container is covered with film on top and placed in a warm place with a temperature of 23-27 degrees. The higher the temperature, the faster the seeds will germinate.
Peat tablets are often used to grow seedlings of collection varieties of tomatoes.. In this case, the seed sowing technique is different:
- Place the tablets in a deep container, open side down, and pour hot water over them. When the moisture is absorbed and the tablets increase in size, add more water. Cover the container with a lid and let the peat preparations brew.
- Make a hole in the peat substrate using a needle or toothpick. Place the seed material into the tablet. One seed is planted in each tablet.
- Tablets with seeds are placed in one container, which is covered with film and placed in a warm place.
Seedling care
To get strong and healthy plants, you need to regularly care for the seedlings. Below are basic rules for caring for tomato seedlings:
Ungerminated seeds are watered with a spray bottle as the soil dries.. When the seeds germinate, water with a syringe or pipette. Plants planted in separate containers are watered at the root using a watering can. For tomatoes, use settled water at room temperature.- After seed germination, the pots are placed in a well-lit place. The film is removed after a week. It is important to regularly open the film to ventilate the plants.
- During the entire period of growing seedlings, they are fed 2-3 times.. For the first time, fertilizers are applied 2 weeks after picking the seedlings into separate containers. After another 14 days, the tomatoes are fed a second time. The last feeding is necessary 3-5 days before planting the plants in open ground.
- Before planting seedlings, they are hardened off. To do this, plants begin to be taken outside two weeks before planting in the ground. The first time, the duration of their stay in the fresh air is 15-20 minutes. Gradually this time is increased to the whole day.
Read also:
Tomato “Striped Chocolate” - a variety with an unusual color and unique taste
Agricultural technology Alice's dreams
Alice's Dream is a heat-loving variety. Therefore, in the middle and northern parts of our country, this tomato is grown in a greenhouse. In the southern regions, planting in open ground is possible.
The time for picking a tomato to a permanent place depends on the climate in a specific region. In the middle zone, Alice's Dream is planted in May or early June.
Planting seedlings in the ground
Beds for tomatoes have been prepared since autumn. To do this, organic fertilizers and ash are added to the soil. If the acidity of the soil is increased, chalk or dry lime is added to it. In spring, the ground is dug up and cleared of plant debris.To reduce the likelihood of infection, the soil of tomatoes is disinfected.
For tomatoes, dig holes 25 cm deep. A tablespoon of ash is added to each of them. For 1 sq. m place no more than 4 holes for plants. They are arranged in a checkerboard pattern. Immediately before planting, the seedling is removed from the pot. It is placed in the hole, forming a root system towards the center. The holes are covered with earth and watered.
Note! If peat tablets were used to grow seedlings, then planting is carried out without removing the plant from the fabric pot.
Tomato care
Proper care of tomatoes is the key to a high yield. Therefore, every gardener should know basic rules for growing this crop:
- Water the tomatoes at the root. If the liquid gets on the greens, it will increase the likelihood of plant disease.
- Loosening the soil is necessary after each watering. Otherwise, the resulting earthen crust will interfere with air exchange.
- Do not water tomatoes with a garden hose.. For these plants, only settled soil is used.
- Alice's dream is formed into two or one stem. Stepping is carried out on dry days in the evening.
- A garter is required for the plant.. Without support, heavy clusters of fruit will break the stem.
- Root fertilizers are applied 3-4 times per season.. Complex formulations are used as fertilizers or mineral and organic agents alternate.
- Foliar feeding is done 2-3 times. To do this, use products containing boron.
Nuances of cultivation
When growing Alice's Dream tomatoes, you need to take into account its features. This will prevent errors in care:
- Variety Alice's Dream more susceptible to waterlogging than other tomatoes. With excess moisture, its fruits become less sweet and crack. Therefore, watering this crop is possible only after the soil has completely dried.
- Exactly the purple parts of the Dream Alice tomato berries contain anthocyanins. The more sunlight a plant gets, the larger the dark areas will be.
- On hot days, ripe tomatoes may crack.. Therefore, it is important to remove them from the bush in a timely manner.
Diseases and pests
Alice's Dream tomatoes are immune to most tomato diseases. And yet, prevention methods should not be neglected.
To eliminate the possibility of plant infection, disinfect garden tools and soil before use.. Seeds also need disinfection. Following the rules of watering and planting will help avoid infection with fungal and viral diseases. Plants are sprayed with Fitosporin several times a season.
Harmful insects not only damage tomato bushes and fruits. They carry pathogens of viral and fungal diseases. Therefore, you need to get rid of them in a timely manner. To protect against insects, tomatoes are sprayed with a decoction of celandine. Large beetles, caterpillars and slugs are collected by hand.
The difference between growing in a greenhouse and open ground
Many gardeners grow Alice's Dream tomato in open ground. It is believed that in this case the fruits are sweeter and more aromatic.
Other differences noted growing tomatoes of this variety in a greenhouse and open ground:
- Outdoors, tomatoes grow up to 1.5 m. In a greenhouse, the stem can reach a height of 2 m.
- In open ground, tomatoes should be covered with film for the first two weeks and on cool days. In a greenhouse, it is important to ventilate the room daily by opening the windows.
- In unprotected soil, it is important to mulch the tomato beds. This is not necessary to do in a greenhouse.
Harvesting and application
The fruits of Alice's Dream ripen in July. In the southern regions, the first harvest is obtained already in the last days of June.
Tomatoes should be harvested as they ripen, without cutting off the stem.. This will improve their keeping quality. On cloudy and very hot days, larger fruits are picked unripe. They will ripen when assembled without losing their taste.
Consume Alice's Dream raw. This variety is not suitable for making juices, sauces and pastes.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Benefits of Alice's Dream tomatoes:
- unusual appearance;
- exotic taste;
- high content of useful compounds;
- the possibility of growing seeds from the harvest;
- resistance to major tomato diseases;
- ability to grow in greenhouses and open ground.
This variety also has disadvantages.:
- seeds are not sold in all stores;
- susceptible to high humidity;
- not suitable for transportation;
- On hot days, the skin of ripe fruits may crack.
About other unusual varieties of tomatoes:
Farmer reviews
Feedback from farmers who have tried Alice's Dream tomato is positive. Gardeners say they will grow this tomato again.
Marina Irtyscheva, Nikopol: “I ordered Alisa’s Dream seeds online. Last year I planted several seeds. Everything has sprouted. There were no problems with caring for the tomatoes; they did not get sick. The tomatoes turned out unusual: orange, with red stripes and brown spots. They taste very sweet. An excellent tomato variety.From the collected fruits I prepared seeds for further cultivation.”.
Alisa Kryukova, Voronezh: “Alice grew the Dream tomato in open ground. Rather, I would classify it as early ripening. The first year of my acquaintance with this variety was rainy, and the fruits were not very sweet. The next time I liked the taste of berries better".
Conclusion
Alice's Dream is a variety with unusual fruits rich in anthocyanins. Its berries are yellow with red and brown stripes and purple spots. The taste of the berries is sweet, almost without sourness. Children like the fruits and look great in salads.
This variety is young and difficult to find in stores. Despite its rarity, it is quite unpretentious. With proper agricultural technology, there are no problems with cultivation.