Everyone loves tomatoes, the fruits are equally in demand in the southern regions and in the northern ones. It is customary to grow them in regions with a milder climate. But one can argue with this, there are varieties that are resistant to the vagaries of the weather, steadfastly enduring the cool according to their characteristics. It is these varieties that the Nikola tomato belongs, which is recommended for cultivation even in the West Siberian region, we will give it a description in the article.
Description and characteristics of the Nikola variety
Agronomists of the Altai agricultural company SeDek bred a mid-season tomato variety Nikola and registered it back in 1993. The main characteristics of the variety are:
- the bush grows sprawling, in open ground it can reach a height of up to 70 cm;
- the plant has good branching and a large amount of foliage on them;
- the leaves are green, have a juicy green color;
- fruits ripen for 94-115 days after emergence;
- when mature, tomatoes are red in color and in the shape of a regular ball;
- the variety belongs to high-yielding, the first inflorescence of a plant is usually above 8-9 leaves, all subsequent ones are through the leaf;
- each fruit has a mass 80-200 g;
- a universal variety, it is used for fresh consumption, as well as for processing in various ways.
Each plant can yield up to 4.5 kg with proper care.
The Nikola variety is often used in industrial cultivation for the Middle Volga and West Siberian regions.
Advantages and disadvantages
Tomato Nikola is very easy to grow, even a child can master it. Gardeners consider the following distinctive advantages:
- high yield;
- relatively short periods of fruit ripening;
- cold resistance;
- excellent taste indicators;
- good transportability;
- universal purpose of fruits.
Also, this can be attributed to the fact that the bush no need to shape and pinch.
There are also disadvantages:
- tendency to disease;
- multi-chamber fruits.
But they are not that scary. If you take proper care and timely prophylaxis, then most diseases can be avoided, and the multi-chamber system will later help to collect a sufficient amount of seeds for future crops.
Soil requirements
On the basis of the Siberian early ripening variety, the Nikola variety of tomatoes was bred, which took a lot from its parent, among other things, the plant is not at all picky about soils.
The stem can grow literally everywhere, but the quality of the soil will affect the quality and quantity of the crop.
Sowing
Tomato variety Nikola for growing must go through all the standard procedures. They are held in this order:
- The first step would be preparation of containers... In order to grow seedlings, you must have containers in which the seeds will be laid. For this, plastic containers that are sold in specialized stores or wooden boxes are suitable. Which you can make yourself.
- The soil can be prepared in advance from the fall, a couple of days before sowing it is simply brought into the house and warmed up. A commercially available universal substrate is also suitable, which also needs to be heated.
- The next stage of the preparatory work is selection and soaking of seeds... For this, the seeds are immediately washed and left in water for 15-20 minutes. Bad seeds will float, good ones will sink to the bottom. After that, it is advisable to soak the seeds in a solution of potassium permanganate or some fungicide. This will slightly increase the immunity of future plants. Soaking can last from 12 hours to 5 days.
- After passing these stages, you can do directly seeding... For this, soil is poured into containers and soaked seeds are sown. The distance between them should be at least 1 cm. After that, the grains are covered with a thin layer of soil mixture, about 1-1.5 cm, watered abundantly and placed in a warm, well-lit place.
With the correct procedure, seedlings will appear 7-10 days after sowing. To accelerate germination, you need create a greenhouse effect... This can be done simply by placing the glass on the surface of the container or wrapping it in a film.
Landing in the ground
After the appearance of the second pair of true leaves, each plant must pass pick in a separate container, most often disposable cups or special pots made of peat are used.
As soon as the threat of frost has passed, the matured plants must be planted in open ground, where they will continue to develop and begin to bear fruit.
When carrying out the procedure, you must adhere to the following rules:
- Strictly observe the inter-rows, between the bushes there should be not less than 50 × 70.
- Planting is carried out by the transshipment method in order to preserve the integrity of the rhizome.
- The procedure is best done in the afternoon and preferably in cloudy weather.
- After planting, it is advisable to shade the seedlings for several days and pour abundantly with water heated in the sun a couple of times.
After that, with proper care, the plants will quickly grow and please with flowering, and then with the fruits of their gardeners.
Leaving after disembarkation
Just planting tomatoes is not enough to get a harvest. To achieve this goal, tomatoes need care, which consists of:
- regular loosening soil around;
- to improve ventilation costs pick off the lower leaves by the bush and free up the space between plants from weeds;
- acceleration of the process of ovary formation under the recommended growing conditions should be carried out by spraying a boric acid solution from a spray bottle or superphosphate extract.
In addition, under different weather conditions, artificial acceleration of fruit ripening is allowed. To do this, simply pull out a brush with tomatoes from under the leaves in the sun.
Diseases and pests
Tomato Nikola is quite vulnerable to such diseases:
- top rot;
- black bacterial spot;
- late blight.
To combat them, it is imperative soak the seeds in a solution of potassium permanganate or other disinfectant and inspect the plant regularly.
Regular treatment for prevention Bordeaux mixture or other means of protection against fungi will help protect both stems and the crop.
Harvesting
The unripe fruit of Nikola's tomato has a whitish-green color; in unsatisfactory weather conditions, it is in this form that they can be removed from the plant.
You just need to do it together with stalks or even brushes, it is in this form that tomatoes can ripen faster and better in a warm and dark place.
The variety can be stored for quite a long time, for this it is worth observing the temperature regime and maintaining the required level of humidity in the room. It will be ideal if the thermometer shows +17and the humidity will be no more than 40%.
Tomato Nikola is quite easy to care for, excellent taste and market indicators allow it to be grown both by single gardeners and on an industrial scale.