An unpretentious variety that requires minimal care - the Japanese Dwarf tomato.

Experienced gardeners try to plant several varieties of tomatoes with different ripening periods on their plot. This allows you to harvest tomatoes from late June to early October. There are usually no problems with the choice of mid-ripening and late-ripening varieties. The fruits of such crops for the most part have excellent taste. It’s more difficult with early-ripening tomatoes. Many of them have an unexpressed taste and are only suitable for growing in a greenhouse.

The Japanese dwarf tomato does not have the described disadvantages. This low-growing variety grows even in extreme weather conditions, and its berries have a wonderful, rich flavor. What are the nuances of growing this tomato - read on.

Description of the variety

Japanese dwarf is a tomato variety that got its name due to the short stature of the bush.. This tomato is in no way connected with Japan, as it was bred by Kazakh breeders.

Despite the fact that this variety was bred a long time ago, it is difficult to find it on Russian markets.. It is produced by the Invest Plus company. However, the advantage is that the seeds of its fruits are used for further growing tomatoes; it is not necessary to buy them every year.

Note! The Japanese dwarf tomato is often confused with the Mongolian dwarf variety. These are different varieties with different characteristics.

Distinctive features of the Japanese dwarf

The main feature of the Japanese dwarf is the short stature of its bush. The plant reaches a height only 30-55 cm.

The fruits of this variety are the most common. They are small and round. They are red in color and have dense but tender flesh. Read more about the appearance of the fruit in the photo.

Taste for early ripening tomatoes The Japanese dwarf has a good one - rich, sweet with a slight sourness.

Another positive feature of this tomato is ease of care. It is resistant to temperature changes and is able to grow in shaded areas. Thanks to this, its cultivation is possible in summer cottages.

Japanese dwarf unanimously gives away the harvest in the first half of summer. Thanks to this, he does not have time to get late blight. This variety has average resistance to other diseases characteristic of nightshade crops.

During the fruiting period, the plants look very decorative. The bushes take on a spherical shape and are covered with a large number of bright red fruits.

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General characteristics

Even novice gardeners can cope with growing Japanese dwarf. This is one of the most unpretentious varieties, which will delight you with both good yield for early tomatoes and excellent taste of the fruit.

Characteristics and description of the variety:

This is interesting! Reviews from gardeners indicate that the Japanese dwarf rarely gets sick.

Growing seedlings

Seedlings of early ripening tomatoes begin to be grown 50-60 days before they are planted in a permanent place. Japanese dwarf is grown mainly in open ground.

The timing of sowing seeds for seedlings will differ for different regions.:

• southern - early March;
• central – second half of March;
• northern - early April.

When growing tomatoes at home in pots, sowing time seeds don't matter.

Seed preparation

Most gardeners purchase Japanese dwarf seeds from fellow hobbyists. Such planting material must be checked for germination. To do this, soak it for half an hour in a glass of water with the addition of 1 teaspoon of salt. Floated specimens are collected and thrown away. The seeds that have sunk to the bottom are washed and used for planting.

Planting material must be disinfected. To do this, it is soaked for 20 minutes in hydrogen peroxide or a light pink solution of potassium permanganate.

Another option is soaking in a growth stimulant.. Use “Sodium Humate”, “Epin” or “Zircon”. As folk remedies that accelerate the germination of planting material, use water with honey, soda solution or aloe juice.

Preparation of soil mixture and selection of containers

For tomato seedlings choose light but nutritious soil. Suitable compositions are sold in specialized stores, but most gardeners prefer to prepare the soil themselves.

There are many ways to prepare soil for tomatoes. The list contains several good options:

1. Equal parts of black soil and peat are mixed. Add 0.5 parts of humus and 1 part of river sand to the resulting composition. Take 10 g of ammonium nitrate and potassium chloride per bucket of the resulting mixture.
2. For 3 kg of peat, take 1 kg of sawdust, 0.5 kg of mullein and 1.5 kg of river sand. For this amount of soil mixture, take 5 g of ammonium nitrate and potassium chloride, as well as 10 g of superphosphate.
3. Peat, humus, garden soil and sawdust are mixed in equal proportions. For a bucket of mixture take 1.5 tbsp of ash, 1 tbsp. l potassium sulfate, 3 tbsp. l superphosphate and 1 tsp urea.

The soil for tomatoes needs to be disinfected.To do this, it is calcined in the oven or poured with a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate.

Use large, shallow containers for sowing seeds.. They use both special trays, cassettes and boxes, as well as improvised means.

For picking plants, use any deep containers with a volume of at least 300 ml. Drainage holes are made at the bottom of homemade pots.

All containers for sowing seeds are disinfected - soak in a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate.

Sowing seeds

Japanese dwarf - an inexpensive and unpretentious variety. More often it is grown by sowing seeds in one large container and then planting them in individual pots.

Soil is poured into the seedling box. The soil is watered abundantly and leveled. Make grooves 1 cm deep at a distance of 2-3 cm from each other. Seeds are placed in them at intervals of 2 cm.

The seeds are covered with soil. The containers are covered with film and place in a warm place with a temperature of 24-26 ºC.

Rules for caring for seedlings

Growing tomato seedlings is easy. You just need to follow the basic rules for caring for it:

1. When the first shoots appear, the film is removed from the boxes. They are moved to a well-lit place. Experienced gardeners recommend that after seed germination, place the seedlings in a room with a temperature of 17 ºC for a week. The plants are then placed in a warm place. This will prevent the tomatoes from pulling out prematurely.
2. Water the tomatoes with warm water. Water should not fall on the above-ground part of the plant. The frequency of watering depends on the rate of drying of the soil.
3. When real (not cotyledon) leaves appear, the tomatoes are dived into separate pots. A layer of drainage is placed at the bottom of the containers. There is no need to pinch the roots of the plants.
4. It is fed 3 times during the period of growing seedlings.The first time 2 weeks after picking into individual containers, the second time 14 days after the previous feeding, the last time 5 days before planting tomatoes in open ground. Use complex fertilizers or vermicompost.
5. Hardening off tomatoes will allow them to quickly adapt to open ground conditions. To do this, the seedlings are taken outside every day for several hours. The procedure begins 2 weeks before planting the tomatoes in a permanent place.

Agricultural technology of the Japanese dwarf

Japanese dwarf is planted in open ground when the soil temperature at a depth of 15 cm will reach 16 ºC. In the northern regions this happens in early June, in the central regions - in mid-May, in the southern regions - at the end of April.

It is possible to grow Japanese dwarf by seed in the southern regions. In this case, the fruits will ripen much later. Planting material is sown in open ground in early May. After sowing the seeds, the beds are covered with film.

About other varieties of tomatoes:

Unpretentious in care and generous in yield, the Tea Rose tomato

Tomato “Aphrodite f1”, beloved by gardeners in all regions of the country

Planting seedlings in a permanent place

In autumn you need to prepare tomato beds. They are dug up and cleared of cultivated plants and weeds. The soil is fertilized with mullein or humus. If the soil is highly acidic, dry lime is added to it.

In spring, tomato beds are dug up again. All formed plant roots are removed. The soil is treated with copper sulfate.

All tomatoes are light-loving plants. For them, it is better to choose the most illuminated place in the garden. The Japanese dwarf tomato can also grow in shaded areas.

Holes for the Japanese dwarf are dug in rows in a checkerboard pattern. The optimal planting pattern is 50x50.In this case, per 1 sq. m fits 5 plants. For this variety, thickened planting is also possible. For 1 sq. m, some gardeners place up to 9 plants. The yield in this case will be lower.

Pour 1 tbsp into the holes. l ash or long-acting granular fertilizers. A tomato is immersed there along with a lump of earth. The depression is filled with earth, which is compacted.

Each tomato is watered with 1 liter of water.. The next watering will be possible in two weeks.

Tomato care

Japanese dwarf tomato has small dimensions. It doesn't need to be tied up.

The instructions say that There is no need to form bushes of this variety. Experienced gardeners advise removing excess shoots. Otherwise, the yield of Japanese dwarf will decrease and the fruits will be small.

Water the plants as the soil dries out. Use 1.5-2 liters of water per bush. On average, 2 waterings are done per week. This variety also tolerates short droughts.

Foliar fertilizing is applied 2-3 times per season. Alternate organic and mineral compositions. Use products containing boron. They accelerate the formation of ovaries.

The nuances of growing a Japanese dwarf

To get maximum yield of Japanese dwarf tomato, you need to know a few nuances of caring for it:

1. It is necessary to adopt a Japanese dwarf. To do this, once during the entire period of its cultivation (when the first cluster blooms), all the stepsons located below the upper flower cluster are removed. You also need to remove all unnecessary growth. The shoots above the first brush are not removed.
2. If the fruits of this variety lie on the ground, then to reduce the likelihood of diseases, place cardboard or plywood under them.
3. To speed up the formation of ovaries, periodically shake the tomato bushes.
4. Japanese dwarf beds need to be regularly cleared of weeds. The presence of weeds in the garden will negatively affect the condition of the tomato roots.

Diseases and pests

Japanese dwarf has average resistance to tomato diseases. It must be protected from fungal and viral pathogens.

Methods for preventing tomato diseases:

1. Disinfect not only the soil, containers and planting material, but also garden tools.
2. Regular weeding of the beds and removal of plant debris will prevent infection of tomatoes - weeds carry spores of viruses and fungi.
3. Regular but moderate watering and loosening the soil. It is waterlogged soil with poor air exchange that creates ideal conditions for the development and spread of infections.
4. Spraying tomato bushes with a solution of potassium permanganate. This remedy, harmless to humans, will protect tomato bushes from fungal infection.
5. Protecting bushes from insects. Plants are sprayed with a soap solution or dandelion decoction. Large insects are collected from bushes by hand.

Features of cultivating Japanese dwarf at home and in the garden

Japanese dwarf is rarely planted in greenhouses. They are resistant to temperature changes and are able to grow in open ground even in northern regions.

When growing tomatoes in open ground For the first 2 weeks after picking, they are covered with film in the evening so that they do not die during night frosts.

In pots on the balcony The method of growing tomatoes is no different from cultivating them in open ground. The lack of lighting must be compensated with fluorescent lamps.

Harvesting and application

The first fruits of the Japanese dwarf are harvested at the end of June. Ripe fruits are removed from the bush one by one along with the stalk.

In gastronomic terms, the variety is universal. Small sweet and sour tomatoes are good fresh, suitable for canning whole and making tomato juice.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages of Japanese Dwarf:

• resistance to temperature changes;
• ability to grow in shaded areas of the garden;
• early ripeness;
• ease of care;
• excellent taste of fruits;
• good yield.

No disadvantages have been identified in this variety.

Farmer reviews

Reviews about the Japanese Dwarf are good. Both beginners and experienced gardeners love this variety..

Galina, Ekaterinburg: “I have been growing Japanese dwarf in open ground for 5 years now. This is my favorite early ripening variety. Its small red fruits are very tasty. I plant one bed, so we eat all the tomatoes fresh. Very easy to grow. You only need to touch it once. I water it once a week.”.

Irina, Kursk: “I took the Japanese dwarf from a friend. I really wanted to try growing an early ripening variety that requires minimal care. The tomato lived up to expectations. I felt great at the dacha, which I visited once a week. The first tomatoes ripened at the end of June. I liked the taste. I will plant more!”.

Conclusion

Japanese dwarf is an early ripening tomato that produces small fruits with a rich, pleasant taste. For varieties with similar ripening periods, it has good yield and decorative appearance.

Raising a Japanese Dwarf is not difficult. It does not require garter and is not afraid of temperature changes and shading. All it needs is periodic watering and one-time pruning.