Advantages and disadvantages of the Raspberry Elephant variety

With the beginning of the summer season, all amateur gardeners rush to their plots. Many people have a question: what to plant in the new year, and what varieties of vegetables and fruits to choose?

One of the most beloved crops by all summer residents is tomatoes. Varieties There are many types of this vegetable. They are all interesting in their own way. For example, pink tomatoes have long attracted the attention of gardeners due to their excellent taste. In this article we will talk about such a representative of pink tomatoes as “Raspberry Elephant”.

Characteristics and description of the variety

The Raspberry Elephant tomato is classified as a mid-season, tall variety. Seeds are sown for seedlings in March. As a rule, fruit ripening occurs 110-115 days after transplanting seedlings into the ground.

The bush reaches a height of 2 meters and requires garters. It is recommended to grow it under a film or in a greenhouse, since the tall bush is damaged by strong gusts of wind.

The photo of the “Raspberry Elephant” tomato shows that the ripe tomato fruits are raspberry or pink in color. Each has 6-8 chambers with slight ribbing and low grain content.

The shape is round, slightly flattened. The weight of one fruit ranges from 350 to 500 g.

Reference. The variety has excellent taste. The pulp is juicy and sugary.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

The main advantages of the Raspberry Elephant variety are:

• great taste;
• beautiful appearance;
• disease resistance;
• high productivity;
• contains a lot of vitamins.

Disadvantages include:

• high sensitivity to soil composition and watering;
• poor resistance to temperature changes.

Despite some shortcomings, the Raspberry Elephant variety attracts many gardeners with its productivity and excellent taste.

Features of cultivation

Like many other tomato varieties, “Raspberry Elephant” has its own growing characteristics.

Soil selection and preparation

In order for the tomato to develop successfully, the soil is prepared in the fall. It must be fertilized in advance with compost or manure humus.

Before planting in the ground, seedlings must be hardened off for 2 weeks. To do this, it is taken out into the open air, first for 1-2 hours, and then the time is increased every day.

7-10 days before landings The beds are watered with hot water and covered with film.

Landing Features

INNo more than four seedlings per square meter are planted. The distance between them should not exceed 60*40 cm. Carefully place the sprouts into holes 25 cm deep, removing the lower leaves. Next, they are sprinkled with earth, lightly compacted and watered.

Plants need to be watered abundantly and regularly every 5-7 days. Feeding produced once every 10-15 days. Diluted manure is used as fertilizing - 1 bucket per 100 liters of water.

It is also recommended to mulch the soil with a 5-6 cm layer of rotted sawdust, humus or peat. Mulch protects the soil from drying out, overheating and promotes rapid reproduction of worms beneficial to tomatoes.

How to care for a plant

Due to the fact that the bush reaches 2 meters in length, it needs additional support and garter.

One of the difficulties that arise when growing Raspberry Elephant tomatoes is the variety’s demands on temperature changes. However, if you carry out the procedure of hardening the sprouts before transplanting into the soil, such problems can be avoided.

During the entire ripening period, continuous removal of stepsons is recommended. To normalize the ovaries, 2 shoots are plucked off from them. If you leave them, the tomato bush will begin to branch, which leads to a decrease in fruit.

Prevention from diseases and pests

Despite the fact that the described tomato variety is highly resistant to diseases, precautionary measures will not interfere. It is necessary to take care of the immunity of the fetus in advance.

The most common diseases of tomatoes of this type include:

• crown rot;
• brown spot.

Tomatoes of this variety are often susceptible to attacks by the Colorado potato beetle or aphid. The best way to deal with pests is spraying with chemical compounds (Prestige, Iskra, Aktara, Mospilan, Karbofos, Trichlorometaphos).

Reference. To prevent the occurrence of various diseases, it is recommended to soak the seeds in a solution of potassium permanganate before planting.

When rot or brown spot appears, you need to increase the calcium content in the soil and try to reduce the amount of nitrogen in the soil mixture by treating with ready-made products that are sold in any specialized store.

Reviews

The “Raspberry Elephant” variety of tomatoes most often gets positive reviews. Most gardeners note the unique taste of tomatoes, their beautiful appearance and high yield.

Many people share delicious recipes for lecho, ketchup and juice from these tomatoes.However, sometimes there are reviews in which gardeners complain that the fruits ripen unevenly: they do not ripen near the stalk, burst on the branch and begin to rot. Perhaps a lot depends on the region where the tomatoes are planted.

Conclusion

“Raspberry Elephant” is one of everyone’s favorite tomatoes. It is appreciated by both amateur summer residents and large vegetable producers.

If you have enough space on your site or have a spacious greenhouse, be sure to try planting several seedlings. Tomatoes of this variety will delight you not only with tasty and healthy fruits, but also with high yield. Have a great season!