We collect 5-6 kg of tomatoes from a bush, growing the “Sugar Giant” tomato

The name of the Sugar Giant tomato expresses the eternal dream of a Russian gardener: to grow tasty, sweet and large tomatoes at his dacha, so that one can feed the whole family.

The variety is not included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements, but even the old-timers of the vault can envy the popularity of the Sugar Giant. The most common words vegetable growers use when describing these tomatoes are exceptional, extraordinary, excellent. And it looks like it's true.

Description of the variety

The Sugar Giant tomato is an “amateur selection” variety; its description varies among different seed producers. The main differences relate to the shape of the fruit and the timing of ripening. Most amateur agronomists classify heart-shaped tomatoes with late ripening as this variety.

Bush

The plant belongs to indeterminate type, reaches a height of 1.8-2 m in greenhouses and 1.5 m in open beds.

The foliage is medium, the leaves are large and dark green. The stems are thin and require garter. The education of stepchildren is moderate.

The first inflorescence forms above the ninth leaf, the rest grow through two internodes. Each cluster bears 4-6 fruits. The sugar giant actively forms fruit ovaries, regardless of weather conditions.

The fruiting period is long, in greenhouses - until early October, in the open air - until frost.

Fruit characteristics and yield

The sugar giant is a late-ripening species.The first marketable tomatoes ripen 125-130 days after emergence.

The fruits are heart-shaped, red, with dense fleshy pulp and thin skin. On the cross-section you can see a small number of seed chambers without a hard core. The fruits are large, on average their weight is 300-350 g, when grown in one stem it can reach 500-600 g. Tomatoes have excellent taste and high sugar content, but are difficult to store and transport.

The yield of the variety is high: summer residents harvest 3-4 kg per bush, and with the right agricultural technology, a harvest of up to 5-6 kg is possible.

Seed preparation

Regardless of the source of seeds (your own or purchased), to obtain a good harvest, three operations must be performed before planting.

Rejection

Its goal is to select viable, “full” seeds. To do this, dissolve a teaspoon of salt in a glass of water, place the seed there and stir for 10-15 minutes. The floating seeds are discarded. The mixture with the remaining seeds is filtered, the seeds are washed with clean water.

Disinfection

It is carried out to remove fungal spores and pathogenic microorganisms. To do this, the seed material is soaked in one of the disinfecting solutions for 30 minutes:

• 1% potassium permanganate, light pink;
• 3% hydrogen peroxide – accelerates seed germination;
• "Fitosporin" (according to the instructions).

Germination

Calibrated and disinfected seeds are laid out on damp material. To maintain constant humidity, they are covered with plastic wrap and placed in a warm (22-25 degrees) place.
After five days, white roots appear - the seeds are ready for planting.

Planting seedlings

Tomato is grown only by seedling method.

Soil preparation

The soil for seedlings should be nutritious in composition, light and breathable. The optimal soil for growing seedlings is a mixture of turf soil, sand and peat with the addition of complex fertilizers and a moisture regulator - vermiculite.

There are special mixtures for seedlings of nightshade crops; they already contain a balanced composition of the necessary ingredients and are disinfected.

If preference is given to your own soil, then it is advisable to formulate the composition in accordance with the recommendations and be sure to disinfect it.

To do this, use one of three methods:

1. Soak the soil with a pink solution potassium permanganate.
2. Treat with a solution of brilliant green: 10 drops of the product per 1 liter of water.
3. Calcinate in the oven at a temperature of 120-150 degrees for at least an hour.

Sowing

If there are a large number of seedlings, the seeds are sown in flat containers with drainage holes or a drainage layer at least 2-3 cm thick. Such plantings must subsequently be planted. The seeding pattern is 4x3 cm with a depth of 1 cm.

If there are few seedlings, it is better to immediately sow the seeds in separate small containers. As the seedlings grow, they are transplanted by transferring them into larger vessels.

With each transplant, the plant is buried down to the lower leaves. This causes additional roots to grow and prevents the seedlings from becoming too elongated. Transshipment three times increases the root system five times!

Important! Containers must be treated with any disinfectant before filling with soil.

Care

During the growth period, seedlings must be provided with optimal conditions:

• good illumination for at least 10 hours a day, including special phytolamps;
• temperature: 18-25 degrees during the day and 13-17 degrees at night;
• sufficient watering without water getting on the stem at the surface of the ground to avoid “black leg”;
• high air humidity, which is provided by humidifiers or daily spraying of plants.

How to grow tomatoes

Seedlings are planted in open ground or a greenhouse at the age of 60 days.

Landing

An additional condition for planting in open ground is the soil temperature: it must be at least 15 degrees.

To increase the yield by 1.5-2 times, it is recommended to plant the seedling horizontally with the trunk buried - this ensures additional root formation.

Plants are planted using this method at a distance of 70-80 cm in a row, row spacing is 30-40 cm, seedlings are planted in a checkerboard pattern.

With the traditional method, the planting pattern is 60x60 cm.

Care

The sugar giant can easily withstand short-term drying out of the soil, while waterlogging leads to rot and cracking of the fruit.

Weeding and loosening are part of the mandatory procedures for caring for tomatoes: their roots should receive as much air as possible. These operations can be reduced if you use mulching soil around the bushes. Grass clippings, wood shavings, and perlite are used as mulch.

In greenhouses it is recommended to form the Sugar Giant into two trunks, in open ground - into one. Accordingly, constant pinching and gartering of not only the stems, but also the brushes are required.

The sugar giant is very responsive to feeding. Only with a sufficient amount of fertilizer can you count on a good harvest.

During the growing season, at least three feedings should be carried out:

1. Complete complex fertilizer 7-10 days after planting seedlings.
2. Before flowering - a phosphorus-potassium mixture with a slight addition of nitrogen.
3. Two weeks after the end of flowering - superphosphate and potassium nitrate. During this period, nitrogen fertilizers are prohibited!

In the intervals between these feedings, the bushes can be pollinated wood ash and carry out foliar feeding with superphosphate.

Features and possible difficulties

A distinctive feature of the variety is that the formation of the upper ovaries begins only after the tomatoes ripen on the lowest (first) cluster. If the first cluster is removed at the end of flowering, the period of setting the remaining fruits is noticeably shortened and the tomatoes are more uniform in size.

Due to its high growth and thin stem, the tomato must be tied up and supported under the branches. This will serve as additional protection from the wind if the plant is grown in open ground. Especially large tomato clusters require special support.

Cracking of ripe fruits during ripening is not a distinctive feature of the variety, but most often this occurs in open ground conditions with unbalanced watering. Greenhouse and greenhouse fruits of the Sweet Giant are not prone to peel rupture. To prevent cracking, the soil is enriched with saltpeter and watering is reduced during fruiting.

Diseases and pests

Experienced gardeners use protective measures against nightshade diseases, which include:

• spraying with biofungicides, such as Fitosporin, Gamair, Alirin-B, 1% Bordeaux mixture;
• the use of growth stimulants to improve immunity;
• planting nursery plants: marigolds, garlic, marigolds, nasturtiums.

Constantly ventilating greenhouses helps slow the spread of diseases.

Tomato pests - whiteflies, aphids, spider mites - are effectively destroyed by enteric-contact insecticides: Fufanon, Karbofos, Confidor.

The nuances of growing in open ground and greenhouses

To extend the growing season of a late-ripening variety in open ground, you can plant seedlings in the soil two weeks earlier, but using temporary shelters from the night cold. They are portable frames and covering material such as spunbond. A month before the onset of autumn cold, it is necessary to remove new flower ovaries - this will allow the remaining ones to reach a mature state.

The same is done with greenhouse plants, but at a later date.

Harvesting and application

The fruits of the Sugar Giant are distinguished by thin skin, they ripen poorly, so they need to be picked at the stage of at least waxy ripeness. However, the full bouquet of taste can be felt only by tasting tomatoes ripened on a branch.

The purpose of the variety is salad, but preparations are also possible: freezing, drying, tomato pastes, lecho. These tomatoes are not suitable for whole-fruit canning.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Sugar giant tomatoes contain increased amounts of lycopene. This substance helps fight heart disease and rejuvenates the skin.

Other advantages of the variety:

1. Excellent taste, dense pulp, strong fruit aroma.
2. Long fruiting period.
3. Abundant ovaries even in unfavorable conditions.
4. Can be grown from your own seeds.

Flaws:

1. Weak branches and trunk that cannot support the weight of the fruit.
2. Labor-intensive care.
3. Low keeping quality and transportability.

Reviews

Vegetable growers who have grown Sugar Giant on their plots are mostly satisfied with the variety, especially praising the taste and size of the fruit. The main reason for negative and neutral reviews is the misgrading of seeds by seed companies.

Ekaterina, Orsha: “The sugar giant with a heart is sweet, juicy and simply amazing! This year I planted only one bush, but next year there will definitely be several bushes. I have prepared my own seeds. In terms of stability - like all late varieties. Well, what can you expect from it? It’s not a hybrid. Process it, don’t be lazy.”

Galina, Lipetsk: “My Sugar Giant seeds were from Sibsad. Something has grown. Apparently, it's a re-sort. No taste, no harvest, some clumsiness. No desire to repeat.”

Matilda, Minsk: “For a long time I was looking for late, tasty tomatoes with a long season, so as not to “perish” under the tomato mass that ripened at once. I planted the sugar giant this year and liked it: I left it in the greenhouse, the tomatoes hung until October. They knit well, I just had time to tear off the ovaries and tie up the tassels. The taste is amazing."

Summing up

It is no coincidence that the “people's” tomato Sugar Giant has so many fans: its merits speak for themselves. And with a little effort, you can get an excellent harvest: at least 6 kg per bush! And then tasty and sweet tomatoes will delight you until frost. Maybe, indeed, the Sugar Giant is a farmers’ dream come true?