Content:
As soon as the season for sowing tomatoes for seedlings comes, summer residents face the question of which variety to choose, because everyone wants to get the richest harvest possible, and even earlier. In this case, the purchase of the Iron Lady hybrid would be the ideal solution.
A bit of history
Breeders have been working on breeding hybrids for a very long time. They continually offer people new varieties of tomatoes and other crops that meet many needs. Tomato "Iron Lady" belongs to the varieties of the Dutch selection of the determinant type. Included in the State Register of the Russian Federation as a crop for growing in open ground and under film shelters. This tomato variety is intended to be eaten raw and preserved.
Tomato iron lady
Features of the variety
The characteristics and description of the “Iron Lady” tomato variety will satisfy the needs of many Russian summer residents, because the plant belongs to mid-season varieties that are intended for growing in open ground, as well as under film-type shelters.
The Iron Lady F1 variety refers to early maturing hybrids that, after planting, yield a harvest in 100-115 days.
The bushes are not too tall (up to 110 cm), with powerful wide foliage. It protects the plant from drying out. The leaves are large and green. The inflorescence is flat, with a peduncle without articulation. The first inflorescence appears above the 7th leaf, the next is formed after 1-2 leaves.
Tomatoes are located on bushes in small clusters, up to 10-12 pieces. The tomato variety has a high yield. You can get up to 7-8 kg per square meter.
The fruits of the culture are intended for the preparation of salads and canning. The housewives especially like to use the fruits of this variety for whole-fruit canning, since the peel is dense and rarely cracks. The average weight is approximately 60-80 grams. Fruits are round, slightly plum-shaped, the pulp is very juicy, sugary, with high taste. Unripe fruits are green in color, and when ripe they become bright red.
Growing
Tomato Iron Lady F1 is a very unpretentious culture. Growing this tomato variety, like any other tomato, consists of two successive stages: growing seedlings and then harvesting.
Growing seedlings
Many people buy seedlings, but it is better to grow them yourself. Sowing is done in early March, in the land, which is obtained by mixing humus and ordinary garden soil. To prevent the occurrence of diseases, the soil is calcined in the oven.
Seeds are sown to a depth of 1.5-2 cm, watering at first should be done with warm water from a sprayer. To get fast shoots, you should cover the containers with a film and put in a warm place. The first shoots appear in 5-7 days; they must be placed in a warm, well-lit place. For proper development, the cups with young seedlings are turned daily. The pick is carried out after the appearance of 2 full leaves.Then they are fed with complex fertilizer.
Tomatoes begin to harden 1-2 weeks before planting the seedlings. They should be taken out to the balcony or fresh air at regular intervals. Transplanting seedlings is carried out in early May for greenhouses, and for open ground - at the end. For the first time, for tomato plantings in open ground, a film shelter should be organized.
film shelter
Soil preparation
Before planting seedlings, you should prepare the soil. It is dug up, weeds and roots are removed, watered with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, complex fertilizer or ash is applied (1 tbsp for each hole). Plants are planted at a distance of 0.5 m from each other, the row spacing should be 0.6-0.7 m. After planting, each plant is watered with water at room temperature.
Care
To obtain a good result, regular feeding should be carried out. It is good to alternate organic matter with mineral compositions. But still, you should not get carried away with organic compounds, since the frequent introduction of chicken droppings and mullein will lead to the accumulation of nitrates in the fruits. Before flowering, it is preferable to introduce nitrogen compounds, and when forming fruits, it is better to use potash and phosphorus fertilizers.
Tomatoes love moderate moisture, so you need to make sure that the soil does not dry out, but moisture stagnation should not be allowed. Watering is carried out in the evening with settled water.
Loosening and removing weeds is also a regular procedure. Everyone knows that weeds contribute to the formation of microflora in which bacteria live and multiply - the initiators of many diseases. Loosening will promote an abundant supply of oxygen to the roots. When caring for tomatoes of a determinant variety, you need to remember about regular hilling.
Hilling
Stepping
A distinctive feature of the Iron Lady tomatoes is the moderate formation of stepsons. It is important to timely remove all shoots that appear from the axils of the leaves. A lot of energy and nutrients are spent on their growth in a tomato. Carrying out pinching significantly increases the potential yield. The procedure is carried out every 10-14 days.
Bush formation
A feature of growing a determinant variety is the need to form a bush. Grown in one or two stems. As they grow, they are pinched. On each stem, 2-3 inflorescences are left, and above them - 1-2 leaves. This method will help the bushes develop correctly.
Pests and diseases
According to experts, the Iron Lady F1 variety is very resistant to damage by many diseases. But very often, when organizing care, flaws can be made, which will provoke the appearance of diseases. Of the most common problems that summer residents encounter when growing, it should be noted:
- Fungal lesions;
- Tobacco mosaic;
- Spotted brown;
- Late blight;
- Top rot.
In order not to meet with diseases during cultivation, you should follow the simplest rules of agricultural technology:
- Seeds must be purchased from trusted, reliable producers;
- Every year it is necessary to change the place for planting a tomato;
- Weed in time;
- It is best to use greenhouses for growing;
- Tomatoes should not be grown near potatoes;
- When a disease appears, the affected bush is simply removed;
- The formation of a bush (pinching) is carried out only with plants that have dried out after watering.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
The Iron Lady tomato variety has a number of advantages:
- Good storage performance;
- Fruits can be harvested unripe, they will be ready at room temperature;
- Well transported and not damaged;
- Do not crack during ripening;
- They tolerate temperature changes well;
- Suitable for whole fruit preservation;
- Withstand heat and mild drought;
- They are resistant to verticillary wilt;
- The fruit contains a lot of sugars.
But the disadvantages of this variety should also be considered:
- The variety belongs to mid-season tomatoes, so you should be prepared that it won't bear fruit for a long time;
- Wide foliage can block other nearby plantings from the sun;
- It is necessary to pinch the trunk to organize branching;
- Regular pinching is required.
We can conclude that the Iron Lady tomato variety is a very convenient variety, not capricious when growing. It treats well various temperature extremes, droughts: if it is not possible to water it on time, the crop will not be lost. For these reasons, the tomato of this variety has long been loved and popular among summer residents.
