Octopus Tomatoes: Features of Tomato Tree Growing

Experienced gardeners or beginners in this business will probably be interested to learn about the unusual, but very prolific tomato tree (sprut), which also gives very good yields. Most of us are used to the fact that tomatoes should have a more bushy shape, but this plant in the shape of a tree is a reality nowadays. In this article we will describe in detail about this "phenomenon", and also pay attention to the issues of its cultivation at home.

What is it?

Under natural conditions, various types of tamarillo (another name for a tomato tree) are woody bushes or whole trees, often reaching 5 m in height. Their crown diameter is about 50 m², and there are 5-6 tomatoes on one brush, often weighing reaches 150 g. The leaves of the plant are oval-shaped, and when flowering on the branches white-pink flowers are noticeable. As for fruits, they can have a different color: from orange to deep red.The flesh is very juicy and slightly sweet to the taste. By approximate calculations, such a plant is capable of producing fruits for about 15 years, and fruiting begins in the second year after planting.

Harvest from the tomato tree is great for preparing dressings, sauces, as well as preparing vegetable cocktails or all kinds of preservation. That is, no matter how you use tomatoes, having grown this variety at home, you will provide yourself with an excellent source of vitamins.

If you had to grow solanaceous crops earlier (eggplants, peppers, other tomatoes), then you will be able to adequately cope with this task. The only thing that is needed for the most abundant harvest is a sufficient amount of space for the growth of the tree and appropriate care for it, which we will discuss further.

Growing conditions

Given the unusual nature of tomato tree and its size, it is easy to assume that such a plant will need a fairly spacious greenhouse and relatively specific conditions for planting and further care. We will understand this issue more closely.

Greenhouse size

Growing octopus engaged absolutely in any kind of greenhouses (although it is possible to land it in the open field), but the main condition is that they must be constantly in a heated room and be lit. Of course, given the maximum possible size of a tomato tree, the greenhouse should not be less than 50 m² in diameter, and to accommodate such a giant plant you will also need a sufficiently capacious capacity: from 1 to 2 m² (for example, an old bathroom).

Also, do not forget to prepare and cover the appropriate size, which in the future will be able to protect the nutritional components in the summer. As an additional inventory, there will be another small bath, which will serve as a place for preparing nutrient solutions for wood.

Of course, in the absence of the required area, the specified plant can be grown in ordinary greenhouses,but in this case it is possible to speak only of the seasonal production of fruits from a tall bush (the yield is in the aisles of 10 kg from a bush). For comparison with an unlimited growth in a tomato tree, up to 1,500 kg of tomatoes can be harvested, although it will take up to 1.5 years to grow it.

Lighting

The fecundity of the cultivated plant in this case fully and completely depends on the optimum temperature indicators and illumination, and not only when sowing seeds, but also during the formation of fruits. To comply with this requirement, greenhouses are equipped with sources of artificial light (fluorescent lamps) so that at all stages of development of tomatoes their daylight time is at least 12 hours. It should be noted that an equally important condition is the optimum temperature, which in summer should be within + 24 ... +25 ° C, and with the arrival of winter, drop not lower than + 19 ° C.

Soil preparation

The ideal substrate for a tomato tree provides for the presence of the same components that are used in the cultivation of ordinary tomatoes, and the main condition in this case is the high nutritional value and breathability of the soil for the octopus, and it does not matter whether it is grown in open ground or under greenhouse conditions.In addition, be sure to use special liquid fertilizers and do not forget to periodically loosen the soil with a rake. To mulch the soil after planting a tree is better to use expanded clay.

Landing

The planting of the octopus can be divided into several stages: first, the seeds are sown and the care of the seedlings is performed, and then the grown seedlings are planted in a greenhouse or another place prepared for them.

Sowing seeds

Seeds of tomato tree can be planted in the soil at any time of the year, but most experienced gardeners are advised to do this at the end of winter or in the first days of spring. To begin with, the entire planting material is placed in a refrigerator for 12 hours, and after this time is distributed in a container prepared for seedlings (a wooden box with a height of about 15-20 cm is a good option).

Each seed must be buried in loosened soil to a depth of not less than 1.5 cm, after which the seedlings are watered and covered with film.As soon as the tomatoes sprout come up, they must be seated in separate pots, in which they will grow until they go to their permanent "place of residence".

Seedling care

Caring for seedlings requires proper irrigation and regular fertilization. Young plants are watered as the soil dries (about twice every 7 days), and this should be done only through a tray.

As for fertilizing, as in the case of irrigation, their frequency should not be less than several times a week, always with the use of complex compositions. When growing seedlings in the winter, the introduction of fluid is reduced to once a week, and feeding is generally better to stop. Of course, at this time you should not forget about the temperature mode in the room with seedlings (not lower than + 20 ... + 25 ° C) and its sufficient lighting, which is provided daily by fluorescent lamps for 12-15 hours.

Planting tomatoes

If seed sowing on seedlings was carried out in January or early February, then by about mid-April your seedlings will be ready for transplanting into the greenhouse. Usually at this time the temperature in such a room is stably kept at + 20 ... + 25 ° С, which is quite enough for further growth and development of the tomato tree. It is better to raise the land beds for planting 0.5 m above the ground and border it with silicate bricks, so that they can warm up well. From the harvested seedlings choose only the strongest seedlings, because they have a high level of vitality. Planting is done in pre-prepared holes, 10-15 cm deep, and to form an additional number of root shoots, break down the two lower rows of leaflets and embed the seedling in the soil before the remaining leaf plates.

When preparing holes in each such hole, you need to add a handful of ash and a small part of Azofoski, and it’s also good if compost was introduced at the place where the tomato tree was placed in the fall (laid at a level of 20-25 cm deep). Until the temperature in the greenhouse stabilizes (until the serious fluctuations between day and night indicators disappear), the transplanted seedlings are better covered with a lutrasil fixed on the arcs.

Care and cultivation of adult bushes

A tomato tree, like other varieties of this crop, is not difficult to grow at home, the main thing is to provide the plant with the right care. To transplant the future giant into the greenhouse is only half the battle, and the second half consists in knowing some nuances of its irrigation, further fertilizing and other agrotechnical measures.

Thus, organic and mineral compounds are ideal as fertilizers, and the latter must contain boric acid, magnesium, potassium, zinc, copper, ammonium nitrate and simple superphosphate. Such fertilizer should be applied to the soil at least once a week. As a preventive measure against various diseases of tomatoes, a special solution with iodine content is perfect (1 bottle should be dissolved in 10 liters of water). Once a week you can feed with an aqueous solution of herbal infusion. Do not forget that in the first year after planting your tomato tree should not bear fruit, otherwise in the future you will not be able to get a properly formed plant. Also it is not necessary to stick the tree, leaving the shoots safe and sound.

Of course, for the normal growth and development of such a giant, it needs a sufficiently large amount of water, which means that starting from May, watering should be sufficiently abundant, and in sunny weather - daily.

Having created the plant as much as possible favorable conditions for its growth and development, the first fruits can be expected already in mid-June, which is much earlier than the ripening of all other tomato varieties. Moreover, the tree will continue its fruiting until the autumn (and later), when the harvest has been harvested from all other varieties long ago.

Is it possible to grow in open ground?

Many gardeners believe that tomato tree at home should be grown only in greenhouses specially prepared for this, but in practice this possibility has been proven more than once in the open ground of the summer cottage. It is only necessary to create suitable conditions for the plant, following certain recommendations:

• seed sowing should be carried out much earlier than in the case of other varieties of tomatoes, and in the autumn-winter period, sprout seedlings need additional artificial lighting;
• to activate the growth of new roots, you must pinch the main root;
• planting of seedlings should be carried out according to the scheme 40x60x140 cm, since the tomato tree of a bush-like form in the adult state is capable of reaching 3-4 m in diameter (when grown in greenhouses, this value is greater);
• as in greenhouse conditions, pasynkovanie plants in open ground is not required;
• always keep in mind the dressings, which are carried out by the root method (the same components as for a greenhouse plant are perfect for the role of fertilizers);
• mandatory and regular prevention of plants from pests and diseases, which are frequent "guests" on it;
• to increase crop yields, it is necessary to remove yellowed, old leaves located at the lower part of the trunk (this process begins at the stage of fruit ripening on the first flower brush);
• The octopus likes solar heat very much, therefore it is recommended to plant it in a well-lit area (low illumination of the plant is one of the main reasons for the poor formation of the ovaries of future fruits).

As you can see, no special conditions are required for growing a tomato tree in your area, although in the open field it will most likely be represented by a bush-like plant, while planting in a specially equipped greenhouse will make it possible to get a bountiful harvest from a tree-shaped crop.