High-yielding and unpretentious tomato "Benito" - the secrets of obtaining a rich harvest
The Benito tomato is the result of successful crossing of several varieties. Valued for its excellent taste, good yield, and ease of care. This variety will certainly appeal to lovers of classic tomatoes.
Characteristics and description of the variety
The Benito F1 variety was bred by Dutch breeders. This is a first-generation hybrid, which means that the plants are as viable as possible and have the best set of genetic characteristics.
Distinctive features
The plant is determinate, the height of the bushes is 50-70 cm. The amount of foliage is moderate. The leaves themselves are large, drooping, dark green in color. Each bush has 5-7 clusters with fruits. 7-9 tomatoes ripen on a bunch.
According to the speed of ripening, these tomatoes are classified as mid-early.. The first harvest is obtained 95-113 days after germination.
Grown both in greenhouses and open ground.
Fruit characteristics
The fruits have an elongated plum-shaped shape. The sizes are average. The weight of tomatoes is 40-70 g, but sometimes they grow up to 100 g. When ripe, tomatoes acquire a bright red color.
The skin is elastic. The pulp is dense, with a small number of seeds, color rich red. The variety is valued for the excellent taste of the fruit.
Benito is a fertile variety with high yields: up to 8 kg of fruits are collected from one bush.
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How to grow seedlings
Seeds for seedlings are sown in early March. Before planting, some preparatory work is required.
Seed preparation
Before planting, it is recommended to disinfect the seeds by soaking them for 15-20 minutes in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate. or in aloe juice. Then the seeds are washed with running water. These actions will help get rid of pathogens that live on the surface of the seeds. Purchased material does not need to be disinfected.
Advice. If you want to increase productivity, treat the seedling material with a specialized solution to stimulate seed growth.
Container and soil
The soil used for seedlings must be light, nutritious and rich in minerals. If you plan to buy soil for seedlings, then choose peat soil.
If you prepare the soil yourself, then mix peat, humus and river sand in a ratio of 60:30:10. Add 1 cup wood ash. The soil should be disinfected from pathogenic microorganisms. To do this, bake it in the oven.
The optimal container is seedling boxes. It is convenient to care for all the sprouts at the same time and move the containers to the right place without any problems.
Sowing
Plant the seeds in 2 cm holes at a distance of 2 cm from each other.. The soil is preheated to a temperature of 22 degrees.
Then the soil with the seeds is watered with warm, settled water. and cover the box with film or thin glass. This is necessary to ensure the required level of humidity and speedy seed germination.
Place containers in a well-lit room with a temperature of +25 degrees.
Growing and care
After the first shoots appear, the film is removed. Make sure you have good lighting.If there is no room with natural light, use lamps. The daily exposure of seedlings to light is at least 12 hours. At night, organize micro-ventilation, but avoid drafts.
When a pair of full-fledged leaves is formed on the seedlings, plants must be planted in separate pots. This way the sprouts will not interfere with each other and the root system will develop to its full potential. When transplanting, feed with liquid nutrition.
After picking, the seedlings are watered regularly from a watering can or using a spray bottle, but as the soil dries. Do not allow moisture to stagnate, this will harm the seedlings.
Important! Warm water is sprayed over the soil, preventing it from getting on the stems and leaves of plants.
Seedlings require double fertilization with an interval of 2 weeks.
So that the seedlings grow strong and adapt well when transplanted, 2 weeks before planting they begin to harden it. Take the boxes with seedlings outside for several hours every day, gradually increasing the time the seedlings spend in the fresh air.
How to grow tomatoes
There is no particular specificity in growing Benito tomatoes. Follow the basic guidelines for growing nightshades.
Landing
First of all, you should take care of preparing the soil. After all, the taste and quantity of the future harvest largely depend on its quality.
The soil needs to be loosened and organic fertilizers added. (manure, straw, compost). If the soil acidity is high, add lime to the soil.
Reference. In the fall, dig up the areas where you plan to plant tomatoes and add humus to the soil.
Seedlings are planted in greenhouses in the second half of May, and in open ground - closer to the beginning of June.It is important that the earth warms up and there is no frost at night. By this point, the bushes will have reached a height of approximately 30 cm. Each plant will have 6-7 full leaves.
Before planting the bushes, the soil is watered and thoroughly loosened.. Prepare the holes by placing fertilizer with phosphorus on the bottom. The distance between the sprouts should be 50 cm. It is best to organize the planting in a checkerboard pattern.
The sprouts are transferred into the holes along with a lump of earth from the pots. Then the soil around the bushes is compacted and watered abundantly.
It is better to immediately tie the plants to a support at the top.
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Plant care
Before the formation of inflorescences, plants are watered once a week, but abundantly.. During flowering, the bushes require more moisture, so watering is organized more often - once every 4 days. During fruiting and ripening, excess moisture, on the contrary, will negatively affect the quality of tomatoes. Therefore, the frequency of watering is reduced to 1 time per week. It is better to use warm, settled water. It is worth watering early in the morning or in the evening, when there is no direct sunlight.
Weed as needed. After weeding, the soil around the bushes is carefully loosened so as not to damage the root system of the plants.
Tomato variety Benito is formed into 1 stem. Excess shoots are pruned weekly. This procedure is necessary so that excess foliage does not take away nutrients from the fruits and strength from the plants.
Benito tomatoes require regular feeding. It is combined with watering plants. Fertilizers are used mineral and organic.
The first feeding is done 2 weeks after transplantation.. Organic fertilizer is prepared from mullein and water in a ratio of 1:10.The tomatoes are watered at the root with the resulting solution.
After another 2 weeks, the tomatoes are fertilized with minerals. For 1 sq. m requires 15 g of superphosphate and potassium salt. Fertilizer is applied dry or dissolved in water. A similar feeding is repeated after 2 weeks.
During flowering, Benito tomatoes are treated leaf by leaf with boric acid fertilizer. (2 g acid per 2 liters of water). Spraying helps increase the number of ovaries.
Features of cultivation and possible difficulties
The only difficulty in caring for the Benito variety is - this is to organize the correct feeding according to a clear schedule. Otherwise, there are no specifics in growing these tomatoes.
Diseases and pests
Benito tomatoes are resistant to fusarium, viral mosaic and verticillium. To prevent these diseases, it is worth treating the bushes with fungicides. It is important to avoid stagnation of water and high humidity.
Tomatoes attract pests such as aphids, mole crickets, and whiteflies.. They are controlled with insecticides. To prevent pests, plants are treated with wood ash or soap solution.
The nuances of growing in open ground and in a greenhouse
Growing Benito tomatoes in a greenhouse is fundamentally no different from growing in open ground. The only difference is the time and order of disembarkation.
Tomatoes are transplanted into the greenhouse in the second half of May, and into the beds - in early June. In greenhouses, it is better to arrange shrubs in a checkerboard pattern, but in beds they can be arranged in rows.
Harvesting and application
The first harvest ripens in 95-115 days after planting the seeds.
Small, dense tomatoes are stored well and for a long time and do not spoil during transportation.. Tomatoes can be harvested while still green at the stage of technical maturity.At room temperature they will ripen quickly.
Benito tomatoes are eaten fresh, soups, sauces, and salads are prepared with them.. They make wonderful juice with a rich tomato flavor.
Thanks to the dense skin, the fruits do not crack during heat treatment, therefore they are excellent for whole-fruit canning, salting, pickling and pickling.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
The main advantages of the Benito variety include:
- small strong fruits and their pleasant taste;
- various uses of fruits;
- the possibility of long-term transportation of fruits and their good keeping quality;
- small height of the bushes, which does not require regular staking and pinching;
- plant resistance to verticillium and fusarium.
The only drawback of the variety is its tendency to rot. at high humidity.
Farmers' reviews of Benito tomatoes
There are many reviews devoted to this variety on gardener forums.. Here are some of them.
Evgenia, Chelyabinsk: “I planted the Benito variety on the plot last year. The tomatoes have grown short and are easy to care for. All the bushes were hung with fruits. The shape of tomatoes resembles a plum. They go well for homemade preparations and do not crack when salted. Next year I plan to allocate more space for this variety.”
Valentina, Volgograd: “I bought Benito seeds at a flower shop. The seeds sprouted quickly, the seedlings developed well and did not get sick. I grow all my tomatoes in a greenhouse, including this variety. The tomatoes grew strong, about 80 cm high. A lot of ovaries were formed. The fruits are on average 100 g, elongated in shape.”
Elena, Penza: “I planted this variety last year, they were plum-shaped, as in the photo.I didn’t like them at all, although they were quite productive, they didn’t taste like anything, plastic, like most hybrids. They lay there for a long time."
Irina, Orenburg: “I planted it in open ground. “An excellent variety, no need to sapling, no disease, sweet taste, productive, the entire ovary ripens, stores well, I’ve been growing it for at least 10 years, seed germination is 100%, with a harvest any summer.”
Conclusion
Based on the above characteristics, we can conclude that the Benito tomato variety has many more advantages than disadvantages. Gardeners who like classic tomatoes will definitely love it.
The variety is characterized by high yield, excellent appearance and excellent taste of fruits, and is resistant to most diseases. A huge plus is the possibility of long-term storage and long-term transportation without harm to the fruit. And all this with very simple maintenance. The Benito variety is an excellent choice for a successful harvest.