Hybrid tomato “Rhapsody” - we grow it on our own plot without hassle

Tomato Rhapsody F1 won the hearts of many gardeners in a short time. The secret of its popularity lies in the ease of care and excellent taste of the fruit. What exactly is Rhapsody and what advantages it has, we will consider further.

Description of the variety

The Rhapsody variety is a hybrid, that is, obtained by crossing other varieties. Thanks to this, it has many advantages, one of which is increased resistance to major crop diseases. Rhapsody is recommended to be grown in greenhouse conditions, especially when it comes to central Russia.

Distinctive features

The bush of the variety is indeterminate, that is, it is not limited in growth. Reaches a height of up to 1.5-2 m. Due to its large size, the plant needs to be tied up, otherwise the branches may break under the weight of ripe tomatoes.

Rhapsody is an early ripening variety, the first harvest is harvested within 50-60 days from planting. There are few leaves on the bush.

Tomatoes grow on a bush in clusters, which is why they are often called raceme tomatoes. The variety loves warmth and light; it is best to grow it in a greenhouse.

However, in the southern regions of the country, rich in fertile soils and sun, a good harvest is obtained in open ground.

Characteristics of tomatoes and yield

Tomatoes have a pleasant red or crimson color.

They are round in shape, slightly flattened.

Like most hybrids, Rhapsody is a large tomato, weighing about 140 g.

The pulp of the variety is dense and fleshy, the skin is dense. With proper care, you can get about 5-6 kg of tomatoes from one bush, which is an excellent indicator.

Tomatoes have a sweet and sour taste.

Subspecies of the variety

The Rhapsody variety is classified into several types. Let's look at each and identify its distinctive features.

Golden Rhapsody

The name of this variety speaks for itself - yellow-orange tomatoes have a wonderful juicy taste. The shape is round and smooth. The weight of one reaches 150-200 g. The bushes are late-ripening, indeterminate. They require mandatory gartering and removal of stepsons.

Golden Rhapsody has a rich sweet taste, so it is widely used for cooking. Tomatoes also contain a large number of useful elements and antioxidants, therefore they are recommended for use in baby and dietary foods.

Raspberry Rhapsody

The bushes are abundantly strewn with pink tomatoes - hence the name of the variety. Gardeners harvest their crops 90-95 days after planting.

The bushes are low, the average height is about 60 cm. Suitable for growing both in a greenhouse and in the open air.

Raspberry Rhapsody tomatoes reach large sizes, the weight of one varies from 200 to 300 g.

The surface is ribbed, so the variety looks impressive even in simple cutting. The yield is high - about 15 kg per 1 sq.m.

Northern Rhapsody

Let's move on to the description of the Northern Rhapsody tomato variety. Tomatoes have a beautiful oval shape and a rich crimson color. Average weight - about 150 g. The pulp is juicy. The height of one bush is about 2 m. Tomatoes have few seeds, but the taste is pleasant. Northern Rhapsody is suitable for consumption both fresh and after heat treatment.

Experienced gardeners recommend growing it exclusively in greenhouses. To obtain a rich harvest, it is recommended to use feeding and growth stimulants.

How to grow seedlings

In order for the variety to take root well and please you with a good harvest, it is important to prepare the seedlings according to all the rules.

Seed preparation

When choosing seeds, trust only trusted manufacturers. Study the information on the packaging, pay attention to the expiration date of the material, the rules for its cultivation. To be on the safe side, consult your gardener friends and find out what seeds they prefer. It is also a good idea to study information on the Internet.

After purchase, seeds should be disinfected. Perfect fit potassium permanganate solution: Soak the seeds in it for a day, then wrap them in gauze. This easy action will help avoid unwanted diseases and pests in the future.

Pay special attention to germination: wrap the seeds in damp gauze and place in a saucer. Maintain moderate moisture levels—don't let the seeds dry out or be overly wet. The seeds are germinated for 10-15 days. During this time, it is recommended to use growth simulators.

Important! Do not forget about hardening the seed material. With its help, it will be easier for the plant to withstand weather changes in the future. To do this, place the seeds in the freezer overnight, then place them at room temperature for 10 hours. Then back into the freezer - and then back into the room.

Container and soil

Seedlings are planted in clean plastic jars, wooden boxes, and flower pots. The main thing is that the container is dry and clean.A good option is containers specially designed for seedlings: a large assortment is available in gardening stores.

The same goes for the soil. There are two methods:

1. Prepare the mixture yourself. For this you will need peat, ash, sawdust, sand, soil (in the ratio 3:1:1:1:3). This composition is ideal for tomato seedlings; it will provide the plant with all the necessary substances. In order for the seedlings to feel good, it is necessary to sift the resulting mixture - this will give the soil the necessary air, making it even more useful. We also recommend hardening the soil: place it in the freezer. Low temperatures eliminate all pathogens and larvae.
2. Buy ready-made soil at the store. Their compositions are already pre-saturated with all substances that have a beneficial effect on tomatoes. The most popular mixtures are “People’s soil”, “Fart”, “Ambulance” soil. The price of such land varies from 50 to 200 rubles per 0.5 kg.

Sowing

Pour the prepared soil into a container. Make holes 1-1.5 cm deep and place seeds in them. The distance between the holes should be at least 4 cm, otherwise the plant will not have enough space and light. Fill the holes with soil.

It is recommended to cover the containers with thin glass or cling film on top - this will help retain heat and the required level of moisture. The best temperature for seedling development is about 25 degrees Celsius.

Important! Place the seedlings near a radiator or other heat source. Check the soil moisture every day. If the water level is high, open the film and let the soil dry; if there is not enough water, spray the seedlings. The first shoots appear after 4-5 days.

Growing and care

The first thing you should pay attention to is lighting. Tomato Rhapsody, like most other varieties, needs full lighting.

After the first shoots appear, place the seedlings on the windowsill. It is also recommended to use additional light - for example, from fluorescent lamps.

Pay attention to sufficient moisture levels.

Open the film every day so that the seedlings get used to fresh air. After 1-2 weeks, remove the film.

Water the seedlings carefully, at the root, avoid getting moisture on the leaves. For spot watering, it is recommended to use a pipette or syringe.

Important! Excess moisture and cold window sills are detrimental to the Rhapsody tomato. In addition, tomatoes need periodic feeding (ash, grass) and fertilizers. Ash can be added 2-3 weeks after germination. In the future, fertilizer is applied every 3 weeks.

How to grow tomatoes

The stage of caring for plants after seedlings is no less important. Let's look at what you should pay special attention to.

Landing

Sprouts should be replanted with a lump of earth on the roots. The required distance between the beds is about 40 cm. It is better to plant bushes in cool, windless weather. Immediately after planting, it is recommended to water the tomatoes generously with warm water.

Please note that the soil should be free of pests and fungal pathogens or infections. The best predecessors for tomatoes are cucumbers, cabbage, and potatoes. The hybrid likes the presence of sand or ash in the ground.

Care

Both an experienced gardener and a novice gardener can properly care for tomatoes. The main thing is on time water beds and remove weeds. Be careful with water: its excess leads to the development of fungus.It is also necessary to periodically loosen the soil - this saturates it with air.

Since Rhapsody is an indeterminate variety, a mandatory garter is required. The tomato forms many stepsons - they slow down the development of the bush and take away nutrients, so they should be removed in time. The bushes form either one or two stems.

Important! Nitrogen-containing fertilizers have a positive effect on the development of Rhapsody. However, be careful with them - an excess is fraught with illness. The most popular remedies are ammonium nitrate, bone meal and potassium salt.

Features of cultivation and possible difficulties

Particular attention should be paid to the removal of stepchildren. Excess shoots lead to a decrease in yield. Rhapsody's stepsons appear already at the seedling stage. Their removal is a rather labor-intensive process that requires additional time and effort. After planting in the ground, it is recommended to remove shoots every 6-7 days. Stepchildren should be removed with gloves.

Also pay attention to disease prevention. Rhapsody does not have 100% immunity to fungi and infections. To protect tomatoes from them, it is advisable to carry out preventive measures. For example, spray the bushes with nettle infusion or fertilize the soil with nutrients.

Diseases and pests

Even if all the rules are followed, the tomato can get sick. The most common cultural disease is late blight. Occurs due to high humidity and excess nitrogen. Signs of late blight are brown spots and white coating on the leaves.

It is difficult to get rid of fungus; sometimes the only way out is to remove the infected bushes. Along with late blight, tomatoes can get tobacco mosaic or powdery mildew.Professional medications or folk recipes can cope with these diseases. For example, a tincture of garlic and ash.

Also, tomatoes are not immune from pests. The most common are: spider mites, whiteflies, mole crickets, and wireworms. These insects take nutrients from the plant, as a result of which the plant dies. To prevent this, weeds should be removed and bushes should be treated with special preparations. For example, with Medvetox or Tzipi.

The nuances of growing in open ground and in a greenhouse

Before planting tomatoes outdoors, make sure that the soil is free from infection and does not contain pest larvae. It is best to carry out disinfection - this can be done using the potassium permanganate solution mentioned above.

If you decide to plant Rhapsody in a greenhouse, then in addition to the soil, it is also necessary to disinfect all hard surfaces - walls, doors, pegs.

Important! The hybrid produces more yield in a greenhouse than in open ground.

Harvesting and application

Rhapsody matures gradually. Do not allow tomatoes to overripe, otherwise they may crack, which adversely affects both appearance and taste.

The range of applications for Rhapsody is very wide: preparation of soups, side dishes, salads, use as preparations for the winter, production of tomato juices, ketchup, pastes.

In addition, tomatoes are also used fresh - they go well with meat, fish, and other vegetables. Many gardeners love the hybrid precisely for its rich and juicy taste.

Tomatoes contain a lot of vitamins and minerals: B elements, vitamin C, iron, magnesium and calcium. Taken together, they have a beneficial effect on the human body.

For example, magnesium is a recognized antidepressant, calcium has a beneficial effect on bones, and potassium supports the activity of blood vessels and the heart.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

The positive qualities of Rhapsody include:

• excellent taste;
• versatility in use;
• stable immunity to diseases;
• resistance to weather changes;
• presentable appearance.

Cons of the Rhapsody variety:

• the need to remove stepchildren;
• obligatory garter;
• gives a good harvest only in greenhouse conditions;
• Due to the large size of tomatoes, it is not always suitable for canning and pickling.

Farmer reviews

You can find many positive reviews on the Internet about the Rhapsody variety.

Maria: «I’ve been growing tomatoes for the third year in a row: I’m happy with the delicious tomatoes, I prepare salads from them, and make tomato juice. I grow the crop in a greenhouse, since it often rains and cool winds blow in Tyumen.”

Valentina: «Satisfied with the harvest. The tomatoes ripened gradually and turned out large with sweet flesh. I planted Rhapsody in open ground and pre-cultivated the soil.”

Nikolay: “I had a bad experience growing Rhapsody. The vegetable garden is located outside the city, so it is inconvenient to monitor the formation of stepsons and remove them in time. The taste of the hybrid also did not make much of an impression. I prefer varieties that require less attention.”

Reading reviews on gardener forums, you can come across a sharply negative opinion about the variety.

Dmitry Ivanovich: “The Rhapsody variety turned out to be very capricious and problems with cultivation began at the stage of planting tomatoes in the ground. After just 2 weeks, I discovered brown spots on the bushes - as it turned out, the bushes were infected with late blight.After treatment with special drugs, the disease was defeated, but in the future I do not intend to plant Rhapsody on my plot.”

And yet, most gardeners remain satisfied with the Rhapsody variety. This hybrid is good in any form, its popularity is growing every year.

Conclusion

If you have not yet tried to grow Rhapsody tomato, then we strongly recommend that you give it a try. Large tomatoes have an even shape and attractive appearance, so the vegetables look impressive even both fresh and canned.

Like many hybrids, the culture has increased immunity to infections and fungi. Growing Rhapsody is a pleasure for both beginners and experienced gardeners.