Characteristics and description of the tomato "De Barao Giant"

Tomatoes

This Brazilian-bred variety has long proven itself in Russia. It needs no introduction to seasoned gardeners. It's loved for its low maintenance and abundance of large, tasty fruits.

The main disadvantage is that the only way to successfully grow de Barao giant is to have a greenhouse on your property.

General characteristics

It's considered a mid-late variety, but experience shows that the ripening period is closer to late. The period from germination to ripening of the first fruits is 123-128 days.
Super tall: can grow up to 270 cm in height!
Non-hybrid variety, Brazilian selection.
Indeterminate. It grows rapidly both vertically and laterally, so pinching out side shoots is essential. Also, pinch the tops of the bushes in late August to prevent the plant from wasting energy on producing new flowers and fruits, and instead to nourish those already set, allowing them to ripen before the cold weather sets in.
Requires mandatory garter throughout the entire growing season.
In temperate latitudes, it's only suitable for greenhouse cultivation. Open-ground planting is only practical in the southernmost regions of Russia.
The leaves are green, the usual shape for tomatoes.
The fruits are large, elongated, and plum-shaped, with some developing a curious "nose" at the tip. They are not very large, weighing up to 350 g each.
The texture is dense, fleshy, juicy and very tasty.
Overall, the variety's yield is quite high: with proper care, each cluster can produce up to 11 fruits. Approximately 20-22 kg of tomatoes can be harvested from one square meter of tomato planting.
The fruits are suitable for pickling, eating fresh, and making juices from them.

Pros and cons

The fruits set well even with not very careful care.
The harvest is stored and transported perfectly, maintaining its marketable appearance.
The variety bears fruit for a very long time – until the first frosts in October.
With proper agricultural practices, diseases are extremely rare.
Mid-late or even late ripening periods. If fruit ripening is delayed, there's a risk of late blight, which begins to develop with decreasing temperatures and increasing humidity.
Quite a high yield of the bush.
This variety can only be grown in greenhouse conditions.
Small size of fruits.

Growing seedlings

Sow seeds 60-65 days before transplanting into a greenhouse.
Before sowing, they should be soaked for at least a couple of hours. Seeds that float to the surface and have darkened are not suitable for sowing. It's a good idea to try waking them up with a "contrast shower" afterward: first pour hot water (around 50°C), then cold. Repeat this 3-4 times, then sow. Alternatively, you can use biostimulants such as "NV-101," "Epin," or "Zircon."
To avoid damaging the root system unnecessarily during transplantation, you can sow the seeds directly into separate seedling cups (peat ones are ideal).
One of the best soil options is from beds where green manure crops such as mustard, peas, beans, and lupines were grown last season. Add 1/3 of coarse sand to this soil. It's also a good idea to add 1 cup of wood ash, 15 grams each of potassium chloride, and a nitrogen-rich mineral fertilizer (such as "Urea") to the mixture.
Before sowing, the soil also needs to be treated – disinfected with "Maxim," a pink solution of potassium permanganate. You can also buy "Furacilin" (an antifungal medication intended for human use) at the pharmacy. Crush one tablet, dissolve it in 1 liter of water, and thoroughly moisten the soil.
Until seedlings emerge, the seeds should be covered with glass or clear plastic film to create a greenhouse effect. The ideal temperature for seed germination is 20-23 degrees Celsius. During this time, it's important to monitor soil moisture. The soil shouldn't dry out, but it shouldn't be wet either, otherwise the seeds will suffocate.
Care for growing seedlings is standard: periodic watering without overwatering, loosening the soil, and fertilizing. The first application is after the first true leaf appears. Complex mineral fertilizers (without a dominant nitrogen component) are best. Doses should be half those recommended in the instructions. Before fertilizing, it's important to water the seedlings generously: chemical compounds are best absorbed by the roots only when dissolved in water.

Folk fertilizer for tomato seedlings

Place the eggshells from 4-5 chicken eggs in a 3-liter jar, cover with water, and seal tightly with a lid. Keep the jar in a dark place. After 3 days, the infusion will become cloudy and is ready for use. This fertilizer is very effective, providing a great boost to the rapid development and growth of seedlings. However, be prepared for the cost: when watering, an extremely unpleasant odor will spread throughout the apartment, characteristic of the decomposition of hydrogen sulfide.

Tomato seedlings require plenty of sunlight and should be grown on a bright windowsill. On the hottest days, shade them from direct, scorching sunlight.
Before planting in a greenhouse, it's best to harden off seedlings, acclimating them to the outdoors and cooler temperatures, especially at night. To do this, take the plants outside for a couple of hours, then leave them on the balcony or outside for a longer period. Finally, leave them overnight. The entire hardening process can take up to two weeks.

Advice: if the seedlings have outgrown

If cool weather persists outside in the second half of spring, with occasional overnight frosts, tomato seedlings shouldn't be planted in a greenhouse. However, on a windowsill, they begin to overgrow, stretch, and their stems become crooked. This can be frustrating for those who grow seedlings. In fact, there's nothing to worry about. Quite the contrary.

Additional roots begin to form on overgrown stems. It's important to deepen these roots when planting in open ground. This will create a more voluminous and powerful root system, allowing the plant to obtain additional nutrition. This will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the harvest.

Caring for tomatoes in a greenhouse

Tomatoes should be transplanted into the greenhouse when daytime temperatures reach 15-18 degrees Celsius and the threat of nighttime frosts has passed.
Greenhouse beds can be prepared in the fall by adding horse manure (a bucket per square meter). Alternatively, use a complex mineral fertilizer (application rates according to the instructions). Tomatoes thrive on a "warm bedding" of manure. Unrotted manure (horse, goat, or cow manure are acceptable) or undiluted poultry manure is placed at the bottom of the planting holes. It's important to lay the warming bedding at a sufficient depth (at least 35-40 cm) to prevent roots from reaching it immediately and getting burned. Four-year-old compost is an excellent filler for planting holes.
The tomato seedling planting pattern is 50x50. Experience shows that the harvest is best if you grow no more than 3-4 plants per square meter.
After a week, the planted tomatoes should be tied up. This should be done regularly as they grow.
This tomato variety is most productive when grown in two trunks. The very first shoot should be left, and the rest should be removed. Leaves should also be removed: all the way up to the first fruit cluster, and every other one above that. Once all the fruits have ripened, it's best to remove all the leaves from the bushes. This will significantly reduce the risk of late blight and promote better and faster ripening of the fruit.
If the beds have been thoroughly prepared, it's important not to overdo it with nitrogen fertilizer. Organic matter, including mullein infusion, a favorite among gardeners, is also rich in nitrogen. If the plant is overfed with nitrogen, it will produce foliage at the expense of flowering and fruit ripening. It will also become especially susceptible to disease and pest infestation.
In addition to mineral and organic fertilizers, tomato plants benefit from foliar feeding with an aqueous solution of boric acid (1 g/l). This promotes more ovaries, and fruit sets faster and better. Spraying begins when the first flower clusters appear and is repeated every 7-10 days throughout the season.

Tip: If the fruits take too long to ripen

Spraying the bushes with an aqueous iodine solution will help speed up the process. Dilute 4 drops of the solution in 3-4 liters of warm water. Each bush should receive at least 2 tablespoons.

To prevent late blight, you can spray the bushes with a whey-water solution (1 liter of whey per 12-liter bucket of water). Treatment with undiluted whey will not cause any harm. Spraying should be repeated until the end of the growing season at intervals of 10-14 days. Dusting the plants with wood ash (once every 10-14 days) also helps protect against late blight. You can sprinkle it not only on the "legs" of the bush, but on the entire plant.
Tomatoes prefer a fairly generous amount of water, but not too much. Watering should never be done in the middle of a hot day. It's best to water in the evening, or at any time of day if the weather is cloudy. After watering, it's important to open the greenhouse wide and thoroughly ventilate it; otherwise, there's a high risk of infectious diseases developing in high humidity.

Tip: If the fruits crack

This problem often arises when growing tomatoes with large, delicate skins. It's primarily due to a single overwatering. Tomatoes can absorb large volumes of water quite quickly. Many gardeners simply place a hose in the greenhouse, turn on the water, and go about their business. But then the tomato beds begin to flood. Tomato plants absorb a huge amount of moisture at once, causing the skins of the fruit, and sometimes even the stems, to succumb, forming what are known as "waterholes."

This risk is particularly acute on heavy clay soils that haven't been improved with sand or other loosening materials. Excellent results on poorly permeable soils are also achieved by:

raised beds;
drainage under plantings.

And, of course, each bush should be given as much water as it can absorb without harming the harvest.

Reviews

The De Barao Giant variety is definitely only suitable for greenhouse cultivation in temperate climates. I can say this because three years ago, without carefully reading the specifications, I foolishly planted it outdoors. I live in Penza. The bushes grew tall and thin, and the fruit ripened to the point of being "one-tooth ripe." Don't try such foolish experiments!

Sergei Mikhailovich

The bushes grow up to 3 meters tall, each bearing 12-14 fruit clusters. However, they take a very long time to ripen.

It is quite convenient to remove side shoots: the foliage grows sparsely.

In August, I pinch the plants at a height of 1.5 m. By this time, half the harvest has already been collected and stored in jars. But the unripe bunches are still hanging. The tomatoes can ripen until mid-October, unless frost strikes first. The fruits aren't very attractive anymore, but they'll be edible until almost the end of November!

Natalia

De Barao Giant is a good variety, with quite tasty fruit. But it's quite old. I prefer more modern and advanced varieties. Last year, I sowed the latest selection outdoors on May 6th. Everything grew well, and the harvest was excellent! I live in Samara.

Ilya Pavlovich