Novice gardeners take on growing vegetables with great passion. But after unaccustomed stress they face extreme overwork and inevitable apathy. To prevent this, at first it is worth choosing low-maintenance crops and mastering garden science gradually, from simple to complex. Among tomatoes, standard varieties are elementary in care. They will require a minimum of labor and are guaranteed to yield a harvest even with a short summer.
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What are standard tomatoes
Among the tomatoes, there are specimens whose height does not exceed 25-60 cm. These are the so-called standard tomatoes, a kind of determinant. Having reached a certain height and throwing out 5–6 brushes, they perch and stop growing. Small varieties do not waste energy on the development of a powerful bush, therefore, they enter fruiting earlier than others. They are characterized by weak branching, so they do not need to be pinned. Among the undersized tomatoes, there are real dwarfs bred for growing in containers.
It is the standard tomatoes, due to their compact size, that are often grown in pots.
The best varieties of standard tomatoes
Every year breeders delight with new products. When buying seeds, it is worth trying several options for comparison. In recent years, gardeners have highly appreciated the following varieties of tomatoes.
Watercolor
If you want to get a friendly harvest of calibrated tomatoes for rolling, choose the mid-season Aquarelle variety. Small, red, elongated fruits have a very dense skin that does not crack either with heavy rainfall or in jars when canning. Due to its excellent taste, it is also suitable for salads. Grown in the open field. The people nicknamed the tomato Slivovka for the appropriate shape of the fruit.
Watercolor is a recognized pickling variety
Altayechka
Usually low-growing tomatoes are not pampered with large fruits. An exception is the early-ripening variety Altayechka. Sometimes these egg-shaped tomatoes are poured up to 200 g. On fertile soil, the variety pleases with a rich harvest: 8 kg from 1 m2... Crimson fruits do not wrinkle during transportation. Suitable for growing for sale.
The Altaychka variety is not suitable for whole-fruit canning, but it makes delicious tomato juice.
Alpha
Tomatoes will not be left without those who did not have enough space on the windowsills for seedlings. The Alpha variety is often grown by direct sowing. This is a very early variety: 87–96 days pass from emergence to harvesting. The first flower brush is laid over 5-6 leaves. The red, rounded fruits are eaten fresh. Productivity: 6 kg from 1 m2.
The Alpha variety was bred in 2004 by the SEDEK agricultural company
Amur bole
If tomatoes are planted for the sake of harvesting for the winter, you will need a lot of fruits with a dense skin.The task will be simplified by the Amurskiy Shtamb variety - an early tomato cultivated both in the open field and in unheated greenhouses. Productivity under a film cover - up to 5 kg from 1 m2... The weight of one fruit is 60–70 g. Both fresh and pickled, these tomatoes do not sit on the table. Does not suffer from verticillosis.
The Amurskiy Shtamb variety is also suitable for growing in a seedless way.
Buyan
One of the most popular Siberian tomato varieties ripens 95 days after germination. We are talking about the variety Buyan (Fighter). This early-ripening universal-purpose tomato reaches a height of 45 cm. The plant is distinguished by strongly corrugated rigid leaves. They help him survive in cold weather and with rare watering. The tomato is cultivated in the open field and under a film. The fruits, taken in green, ripen well, but the taste is poorer than that of the previous varieties. Not affected by the tobacco mosaic virus.
Buyan variety - withstands any whims of the weather
Bonnie MM
For small tomatoes, it is important to ripen quickly so that they bear fruit before the onset of tomato diseases. These requirements are met by the early ripening and productive variety Bonnie MM. Only 83–90 days pass from germination to ripening. The fruits are red, weighing 60 g.
The Bonnie MM variety is loved by many gardeners for its yield: up to 6.5 kg of fruits are removed from one meter of area
Funny gnome
Compact tomatoes will appeal to novice gardeners, since they do not require a garter. One of these dwarf varieties is the Merry Dwarf. The plant is crowded, reaching 40 cm in height. Cylindrical fruits of bright red color look elegant on bushes planted along the paths.
Tomato variety Merry Gnome is distinguished by the original shape of the fruit
Demidov
Your own vegetable garden is associated with a bowl of aromatic pink tomato salad. The mid-season Demidov variety will help to make the dream come true. The erect bushes of this fruitful tomato are quite tall - about 60 cm. Delicious bright pink fruits weigh from 80 to 120 g and are eaten fresh. The disadvantage of the variety is the cracking of the fruit with frequent rains and the tendency to get sick with top rot in drought.
One of the most outstanding varieties of Siberian selection - Demidov
red Riding Hood
For unheated plastic greenhouses, early varieties with good immunity are used. For example, Little Red Riding Hood. The fruits of the tomato are small, but sweet and juicy, children will like it. Looks great in the bank. The advantages of the variety are resistance to verticillium wilt, fusarium, tobacco mosaic virus. The disadvantage is a small total yield compared to other varieties.
Unpretentious variety Red Riding Hood will provide a variety of "snack" tomatoes
Rose of Wind
The lack of precipitation will not hurt to enjoy ripe tomatoes. Especially for arid regions, an early-ripening salad variety Rose of the Winds was bred. To get the seeds of this tomato is a great success, since it has solid advantages: fragrant, fruitful and beautiful. The fruits are distinguished by a rich, dark pink color.
Tomato variety Rose of Winds was bred in 2003 for growing in the open field
Bullfinch
Dwarf trunks are cultivated even on window sills and balconies. The most suitable variety for a garden at home is Snegiryok. It bears fruit with small but delicious tomatoes. The height of the bush is only 25-30 cm.
Snegiryok variety is ideal for pot culture
Agrotechnics of standard tomatoes
It is not for nothing that undersized tomatoes are considered unpretentious, because they do not require special skills from the gardener, it is necessary to learn only some of the features of cultivation.
Sowing dates for seedlings
Early low-growing varieties are sown later than others: 35–45 days before planting in open ground, mid-season ones - 50–55 days before. Seedlings of standard varieties are strong, stocky, have a thick stem and large leaves. Seedlings are grown like regular tomato varieties.
Seedlings of standard tomatoes are not pulled
Table: sowing dates for early standard tomatoes for seedlings and planting in the garden
| Region | Sowing seedlings | Disembarkation in OG |
| South and North Caucasian Federal District | March 1-10 | from April 15 |
| Belarus, Volga Federal District | 5-15 March | from 20 May |
| Central and Northwestern Federal District | April 15-25 | from June 1 |
| Ural Federal District | April 15-25 | from June 1 |
| Siberian and Far Eastern Federal District | April 25-May 5 | from May 10 |
Landing scheme
Agronomists say: the yield of "dwarfs" in the open field directly depends on the planting scheme. The required feeding area of the root system of standard tomatoes is 0.4 x 0.5 m2. Accordingly, an interval of 40 cm in a row is observed, in a row spacing - 1 m, but this is ideal. In a small garden, it is permissible to use a 30 x 50 cm pattern, but the yield will be 30% lower.
For growing under film shelters, plantings are compacted: 20 cm are left on the aisles, 40 cm in a row.Plants are better planted in a checkerboard pattern.
Tight planting is justified when growing tomatoes in a film tunnel
Planting in the garden
The beds for tomatoes are prepared in autumn or early spring: the soil is dug up with the addition of old compost or humus, in a bucket per 1 m2... In the absence of organic matter, add superphosphate and potassium magnesium: 1-2 tbsp. l. per square meter, depending on the fertility of the land.
When planting, a hole is dug on a shovel bayonet, if the garden has not been fertilized in the fall, 2 cups of compost or humus and ½ cup of ash are placed on the bottom. This mixture can be replaced with 1 tbsp. l. nitroammophos. Fertilizers are mixed with the ground. Then seedlings are planted in the hole, the earth is compacted and watered with one or two liters of water, the soil is poured if it subsided.
Planting tomatoes too deep delays the beginning of fruiting by a week.
Tomatoes are planted in the late afternoon, so they take root well
In central Russia, arcs are installed over the beds, onto which a film or non-woven agrofibre is stretched. Such insulation accelerates the growth and maturation of tomatoes. During the day, greenhouses made of film are ventilated by lifting the covering material from the ends. Agrofibre does not require ventilation, since it has a perforated structure.
Growing standard tomatoes by direct sowing in open ground
If it did not work out with the seedlings, it does not matter, it is permissible to sow early ripening varieties immediately to a permanent place. In the garden, they construct a high bed-box and fill it with three-year-old humus and ash. In early May, the bed is covered with a film so that the earth warms up. Then you need to mark deep grooves, spill them with boiling water and sow tomato seeds in increments of 40 cm to a depth of 1–2 cm. Cut plastic bottles are stuck into the ground above each seed. Arcs are installed on the garden bed, on which two layers of film and one layer of agrofibre are stretched. The edges of the covering material are fixed with bricks so that they are not blown away by the wind. Seedlings are expected in 1–2 weeks.
In the northern regions, box beds are simply needed to get an early harvest.
Further care: feeding, watering, garter
If the soil was filled during digging or fertilizers were placed in the hole, you no longer need to feed the standard tomatoes. In other cases, when the tomatoes take root and start growing, usually 10 days after planting, they are fed with nitrogen fertilizer. Urea or ammonium nitrate is welcome: 1 tbsp. l. on a bucket of water. The purpose of the event is to achieve rapid growth of stems and foliage. Instead of mineral fertilizers, it is safer to use organic fertilizers: a third of a bucket of cow dung is poured with water and left to ferment for a week. Then a half-liter jar of infusion is diluted in a bucket of water. A liter of top dressing is spent on one bush. Before fertilizing, water the tomatoes abundantly, otherwise the concentrated solution will burn the roots.
Work with manure infusion is carried out in rubber gloves, otherwise there will be difficulties with washing hands
When the first fruit cluster begins to tie, a second dressing is applied, which accelerates the filling and ripening of the fruits. Dissolve 1 tbsp in a bucket of water. l. potassium magnesium or potassium sulfate. The listed fertilizers will be successfully replaced by the infusion of wood ash: a liter can of ash is poured into a bucket of water and insisted for a day. Filter the liquid before use.Ash dressing, unlike mineral dressing, can be applied 2 times with an interval of 2 weeks.
Kalimagnesia is well suited for tomatoes, as it does not contain chlorine - a destructive element for nightshades
Watering tomatoes is recommended only after the soil dries to the depth of the roots. With excessive watering, the plants waste the fruit setting. An excess of nitrogen fertilizers leads to the same results.
Whether to tie up standard tomatoes, each gardener decides for himself. If the fruit clusters of a fallen bush lie on the ground, they will rot or be damaged by slugs. Sometimes a hitch saves from this. But you need to do it as early as possible in order to minimize trauma to the roots.
Hilling tomatoes is a necessary measure in the absence of support
Formation of standard tomatoes
The seed packaging indicates whether the plant needs pinching. If you plant ordinary standard varieties and do not form them in any way, the harvest will be all the same. But if there is a desire to accelerate ripening and increase the size of the fruits, they do a few simple manipulations. Before flowering tomatoes, remove 2 lower leaves and stepchildren that have grown in their axils, leaving a 0.5-1 cm "stump". Now the plant will not waste nutrients on useless tops, but will redirect them to the fruit-forming branches. Every week, cut the next lower pair of leaves up to the first fruit cluster. "Relief" of the lower tier of the bush will also prevent diseases.
Leaves and stepchildren are cut in dry weather in the morning so that the slices dry quickly
Do not get carried away by over-pruning the leaves on varieties with thin-skinned fruits. The redirection of juices leads to cracking of tomatoes in heavy rainfall.
For cultivation in greenhouses, it is better to choose hybrid varieties, since they bear fruit more generously. Advanced gardeners in greenhouses practice shaping into three trunks: a stepson is left growing from the leaf axils under and above the first fruit brush. So, there remains a stem and two stepsons, all the rest are plucked out. The lower leaves are gradually removed until the first cluster of fruits. This method is the most effective for obtaining an early and large-fruited crop of hybrids.
Treatments for diseases
Low-growing tomatoes are resistant to stress caused by changes in temperature, but are susceptible to disease. Usually early ripening varieties give off the harvest before late blight rampant. But for prevention, it is worth spraying with a biological product Fitosporin-M. If the plants are sick, and it is still far from harvesting the fruits, it is permissible to treat them with copper oxychloride. It is a contact drug that does not penetrate the fruit.
Tomatoes are sprayed in the evening so that the leaves do not burn in the sun
How to form low-growing tomatoes - video
The Siberian early ripening variety was bred in 1959
Reviews
I will write reviews on the varieties that I had in my garden in 2011. In the open field, with Agrospan shelter before the onset of stable warm weather. Watercolor - undersized, small, plum-shaped fruits. Delicious, normal harvest. But he stopped growing early (apparently inherent in the variety itself), but I would like more tomatoes. I will plant, perhaps, more.
Altaychka. I didn't even tie them up. True, under the weight of a tomato, then the bush fell apart. Do not pinch. The bush is beautiful. Very low in seedlings. Only in the exhaust gas did they begin to grow in height. Non-acidic.
I have been growing tomatoes of the Fighter (Buyan) variety for more than 5 years. They suit me in everything! The variety is early, early maturing. Bush 45 cm high - undersized. It does not require pinning and does not need to be tied up either. I don't like high grades at all. Although they have to be planted, the husband loves large, juicy, with pulp. And I am neat, even, so that it is pleasant to look at, and, of course, I take into account taste too. These are the fruits of this variety - round, slightly elongated. The skin, when ripe, is thin and tender. Not much pulp. Has a sweet and sour taste. A universal variety, I use for canning: in a jar they look delicious and beautiful. I make salads, juice. It is pleasant to pick such a tomato from a bush and eat it. The yield is high. I remember in 2013, from one bush - a bucket, forty bushes - forty buckets. What have I not cooked from him and fed the neighbors. For some reason, they believe that this variety has a low keeping quality. I do not agree. Last year I took off the tomatoes early, some are very green, with thick skin, and hard. I put them in an enamel saucepan. I forgot about her. What was my surprise when I opened it before the New Year, and there were fresh red tomatoes, though not so juicy, but I added them to the salad, and to the lavash too. I don't buy seeds, but leave them from the new harvest. Germination is good!
Tomatoes of the Demidov variety in their appearance, this year they are leading in my garden. These are beautiful, even, uniformly sized tomatoes, as if they were made for sale, their presentation is so good. Their taste is wonderful, juicy, rich sweet and sour. They grow together, productively, do not fall to the ground, do not break a bush, do not grow in all directions. The bushes of this variety are undersized, which can also be attributed to the advantages of this variety. I think this variety is leading not only in terms of external data, but also in terms of the mass of tomatoes from one bush. I can recommend the variety to novice gardeners, as it is low, unpretentious, does not require complex care and pinching. Bears abundantly and pleases with harvest. Ideal for salads and canning. I miss the sweetness in these fruits a little, but from experience I know that the most sugar-rich are large and shapeless tomatoes of large varieties. And these are beautiful, medium-sized and sour.
I grew the Rose of the Winds last year. Low-growing, medium-sized tomatoes, pink, very good taste. Pretty early maturing. The spring was cold last year and this variety performed well. Last year, I grew more than 40 varieties - in order to find the most stable and tasty varieties in a couple of seasons. I liked the Rose of the Winds, I will continue to sow them.
Bonnie MM pleased first of all with the fast ripening and good taste of the fruit. Shrub, low (up to 0.4m), does not require pinching, with a large number of fruits. Fruits are red, of a classic shape with a ribbed surface, medium-sized (weighing about 100g), covered with a loose skin (some of the fruits cracked on the bush, apparently due to excessive watering). It tastes sweet and sour. Bonnie MM planted seeds on seedlings in mid-March 2014, the plants overgrown and began to bloom on the windowsill.I planted it in a greenhouse on May 9, the first ripe fruits were picked at the end of June. They continued to sing until early September 2014. They are not stored for long, they ate fresh with pleasure and used for salads. Despite the average taste of Bonnie MM fruits, this variety nevertheless became one of the favorites in our family, since they began to eat fruits at the END OF JUNE, when many gardeners are just starting to have cucumbers. The taste of the first self-grown tomato pluck of the season cannot be compared to any other tomato you can buy at this time.
Standard tomatoes are sown later than others. In order not to feed them during the summer, it is worth pre-filling the soil with fertilizers. Indeed, small tomatoes do not need to be pinned, but if you do this, they will ripen earlier. It is possible to grow such tomatoes in a seedless way in high warmed beds.
