What is good about the beef heart tomato variety - reviews, advantages and disadvantages

Tomato Bull's Heart has been known for a long time and the reviews of gardeners about it are only good. These are tomatoes with large fruits with an unusual attractive taste and special aroma. Bovine heart is a delicacy variety that belongs to salad dressings. There are several types of tomato that differ in the color of the fruit.

Description of the variety

The variety has been present in the State Register since 2003. It is approved for cultivation in all regions of the country and is intended equally for cultivation in greenhouses and open field. This is a mid-late variety, in which the first fruits ripen after 130 days from the moment the shoots emerge from the seeds.

This tomato is intended for greenhouse and open field conditions. In regions with hot climates, it is better to grow a "bull heart" outdoors, while in temperate climates the best option is a greenhouse.

Bushes indeterminate type, spreading. Indoors they grow up to 180-200 cm, and outdoors up to 120-130 cm. The root is deep, strong. Stems are powerful, slightly pubescent, with large leaves. Average leafiness. The first fruit cluster on the bush is laid over 8 or 9 leaves. One brush contains up to 5 tomatoes. If the bush is grown in one stem, then no more than 10 brushes are left on it.

Today there are the following varieties of the variety:

• “Golden bull heart” - yellow cone-shaped fruits. The average weight of tomatoes is from 400 to 750 g;
• “Bovine pink heart” - the color of the fruit is deep pink. Their weight is about 1 kg. Tomatoes ripen a little later than other varieties. The most popular variety of the variety;
• "Bovine heart is white" - the fruits are white, slightly yellowish. Weight up to 900 g. The fruiting period is long, ending immediately after the onset of the first frost;
• "Orange bovine heart" - tomatoes of a rich orange color, weighing up to 1 kg. Plants are able to put up with a lack of moisture for some time;
• “Black bull heart” - the color of the fruit is dark burgundy brown. Their weight is up to 700 g. The tomato is late ripening. Its peculiarity is not only in color, but also in the fact that the fruits on all brushes ripen almost simultaneously.

Bovine heart varieties are grown through seedlings in all regions.

Distinctive features

The main distinguishing feature of this variety is that fruits of different shapes and sizes are formed on one bush. In the first brushes, the tomatoes are heart-shaped with a pronounced sharpening of the crown, and in the subsequent ones they are rounded.

The bovine heart tomato also differs from most varieties in its sweetness and peculiar, almost imperceptible sourness.

Fruit characteristics, yield

• Tomatoes are large. The weight of the fruits removed from the lower brushes is about 500 g, and from the upper ones - from 250 g to 120 g. Individual fruits can reach a mass of 800-1000 g, this occurs quite often, but only if properly grown. Fleshy tomatoes with few seeds, juicy. The color of the fruit depends on the variety. The classic color is red with a green spot at the petiole. There are also yellow, orange, black and white varieties of the variety.
• The surface of the fruit is allowed both smooth and ribbed. Regardless of the variety, the skin of the fruit is smooth, not strong and thin.Ripe tomatoes can be stored for up to 2 weeks after being removed, provided they are not damaged. Overripe tomatoes should be consumed immediately, as they can lie on average no more than 30 hours.
• When grown in a greenhouse, the yield of the variety is higher. Indoors from a bush it will be possible to collect up to 12 kg of fruits, and in open ground - only 4 kg. To achieve maximum yield, the bull heart should be grown on a trellis. In this case, it is necessary to correctly form the bush, removing unnecessary stepsons and controlling the number of fruit brushes.
• The resistance of tomato to diseases, and especially fungal, is low, which is why the lower fruits are often infected with excessive moisture. It is impossible to eat sick tomatoes, and therefore, if agricultural technology is violated, the yield is significantly reduced.
• The main purpose of the variety is salad. The fruits are not suitable for whole blanks due to their large size. At the same time, juices, tomato pastes and ketchups made from the "bovine heart" have high taste. At the same time, the color of the fruit does not affect the taste characteristics.

How to grow seedlings

Since it takes a considerable period of time from germination to the beginning of fruiting, it is impossible to grow a "bull heart" in a reckless way. The exception is the southern regions, where the high air temperature is kept from mid-spring to the end of September. In other areas, by the time of planting, the plants should be from 50 to 70 days. The further north the growing region, the older the bushes should be at the time of planting.

Seeds can be sown in boxes in grooves or in 200 ml pots with 2 seeds each (later a stronger plant is left). The soil is optimally used for industrial production, intended for seedlings of vegetable crops.

Before sowing, the seeds must be disinfected, as well as the substrate in which they will be planted. The soil can be calcined in the oven at 70 degrees for 30 minutes. The seeds are soaked for 20 minutes in a strong solution of manganese. This is enough to kill any fungus that may be present.

The seeds are buried in the ground to a depth of 1 cm. After that, a box with them or a pallet with cups is covered with polyethylene to create the effect of a greenhouse and placed in a warm place. After emergence, polyethylene is removed.

Seedlings dive in the phase of 2-3 true leaves. A 500 ml container is used for each plant. Top dressing is carried out a week after transplanting and then every 14 days with a complex composition for tomato seedlings, strictly following the instructions given by the manufacturer.

They begin to harden seedlings 10 days before disembarking to a permanent place. To do this, they take it out into the fresh air - first for 30 minutes, then, gradually increasing this time, bring it to 12 hours.

How to grow tomatoes

Growing tomatoes is carried out according to a scheme similar to that used for most varieties. Plants need to provide timely and sufficient watering, feeding, pinching and tying.

Landing

At the time of planting, the height of the seedling bushes is from 20 cm to 25 cm. It is optimal if there is a heated greenhouse, since in this case you can plant tomatoes in a permanent place early, in mid-April. This will allow the bushes to develop faster, so that you can get the maximum yield. A distance of 50 cm is left between the plants in the greenhouse and 30 cm when grown in the open field. the gap between the rows of tomatoes is 50 cm. The maximum planting density is 3 plants per 1 m2.

For tomatoes, holes are prepared 15 cm deep. A little humus or humus is added to each. Seedlings are planted, if necessary, tearing off the lower leaves so that they do not interfere with deepening the stem. After planting, the plants are watered with warm water, which has settled for at least a day. One bush needs 2-3 liters.

Care

1. Watering 2 times a week is usually sufficient.In extreme heat, if the soil dries out quickly, the amount of watering is increased. Loosening, to improve the supply of oxygen to the roots, is carried out after each watering. Then, if necessary, weeds are pulled out. When grown in open ground, the soil is mulched after watering.
2. Top dressing begins 2 weeks after transplanting. To do this, you should use an infusion of chicken manure or a complex organic fertilizer. The second trimming is carried out 10 days after the formation of the first ovaries. For her, a manure solution is taken. For the third time, a manure solution is also used, with which the bushes are watered during the ripening period of tomatoes.
3. Stepping allows you to get large fruits with high quality indicators. If the variety of tomato is indeterminate, then after the formation of 10 brushes on the plant, its growth is stopped by pinching the crown.
4. If the tomato is grown in one stem, then all stepsons are removed. If a bush is formed into two stems, then the first stepson is left and pinched, stopping its growth after the formation of one brush. In order to less injure the plant, it is better not to break out the stepsons, but to pinch them, stopping their growth as soon as the size reaches 5 cm.
5. Bushes should be tied to a vertical trellis or strong stakes of sufficient height. In order not to damage the stem for tying to the stake, take a wide soft tape, which is used to fix it every 2 leaves.
6. Pollination in the absence of insects is carried out independently using a brush. This is usually only required when growing tomatoes in greenhouses.

Features of cultivation and possible difficulties

There are no cultivation features that would distinguish the variety from other large-fruited tomatoes. Difficulties can arise due to the need for manual pollination, since the "bull heart" is not a self-fertile tomato. Difficulties can also be noted due to susceptibility to a number of diseases.

Diseases and pests

"Bull's heart" is not highly resistant to diseases and pests. Because of this, in order to prevent them, tomato bushes must be regularly processed, for which they are sprayed with a solution of Bordeaux liquid. Initially, its strength should be 3%, and closer to ripening of fruits - 1%.

If you don't feel like using chemicals, you can spray the tomatoes with a mixture of whey and iodine. In this case, 10 liters of water need 2 liters of serum and 15 drops of iodine. Processing is carried out every 2 weeks, as well as after rain.

The nuances of growing in open ground and in a greenhouse

When growing tomatoes without shelter, you will need to pay special attention to mulching the soil to prevent moisture loss. At the same time, due to the lower air humidity in an open place, the risk of fungal pathologies will be lower. For plants in a greenhouse, more attention will be required to treat disease.

In particular, a generous spraying should be carried out on the lower parts of the tomato and its lower bunches. In addition, it is worth noting that the "bull heart" will begin to bear fruit earlier in closed ground, and the number of fruits from the bush will increase several times, since the plant will be larger.

Harvesting and application of the crop

Tomatoes should be harvested by cutting them with scissors together with the stalk, which will slightly increase the shelf life. Fruits on one cluster do not always ripen together.

At the same time, ripe tomatoes must be removed without waiting for the rest on the brush, since, overripening on the bush, the ripe fruits quickly lose their qualities. Tomatoes can be eaten fresh or prepared for juices, sauces and ketchups.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

pros	Minuses
Large fruit size	The need for a garter
High palatability	Need for pinning
High seed germination	Disease resistance
Yield
Amicable ripening of fruits

Farmers reviews

• Vladimir:

Bull's heart "I have been planting several bushes for fresh consumption for a long time. Delicious in all varieties, in any color.

• Irina:

A good variety with high yields and delicious fruits. For salads - the best option.

Bovine heart tomatoes are a high-yielding variety for fresh consumption and a number of preparations. It is distinguished by its high taste and a variety of fruit color options. Suitable for open and closed ground, the variety can be grown in different regions.

Video review of the variety: