Characteristics and description of the tomato "Dirk"

The Dirk tomato, grown indoors, is an early hybrid that produces small, rich red fruits on long trusses. The average fruit weight is approximately 14 grams. This hybrid is ideal for salads. The fruits are tasty and sweet, with thick, shiny skin that holds up well in pickles.

The hybrid was developed by Enza Zaden, a company based in the Netherlands. This company supplies vegetable hybrids and varieties to Russia that have universal characteristics and can be grown worldwide.

What are the characteristics of the plant?

The Dirk tomato is a bee-pollinated plant. It is characterized by a high ability to set fruit under unfavorable conditions. It can be grown in greenhouses throughout Russia. It will produce vigorously in open ground in areas where summer lasts at least four months.

The Dirk tomato forms a vigorous, indeterminate bush. It yields its first crop 75 days after germination. It quickly forms a crown and actively grows clusters throughout the growing season. These produce uniform, dense fruits that redden uniformly, despite shade. This hybrid will produce vigorously despite low light and elevated temperatures.

The Dirk tomato fruits are arranged in pairs on long canes, which are cut off along with the fruit when ripe and stored. These small tomatoes transport well, do not crack during shipping, and have a long shelf life. The stalks and sepals of this hybrid retain their fresh appearance for a long time after harvest.

Mature bushes are stress-resistant and easily tolerate temperature fluctuations. Dirk's leaves and stems are resistant to damage caused by the Pepino mosaic virus. Excessive nitrogen can cause excessive vegetative growth.

A single, mature bush can yield approximately 1 kg of fruit per cutting. The longer the bush is allowed to fruit, the higher its yield. With optimal temperatures, the Dirk hybrid bush can grow and produce fruit for up to nine months.

Below are photographs of this hybrid, in which you can see all the features of this tomato.

How to grow a hybrid

The timing of seedling planting depends on the average temperature in the greenhouse. Tomatoes are planted indoors when the air inside the greenhouse warms up to 20°C.

Sow the seeds two months before planting the seedlings in the garden. Since this is an early tomato variety, the seedlings can be planted in the ground with the first flowers. To ensure vigorous growth, the sprouts need:

• nutrient medium;
• watering with warm water;
• foliar feeding;
• loose soil.

Caring for Dirk seedlings is no different from growing other tomato varieties. When planting, rows are spaced 50 cm apart. The holes are dug in two staggered rows, spaced 30 cm apart.

Add a cup of ash, a handful of black soil, and a teaspoon of complex fertilizer to the prepared holes. Then add 1 liter of water and plant the bush, burying it deeply in the soil.

During the first month, when the stems are forming, the plant is watered and the soil beneath is loosened. The bush is hilled twice to increase the number of roots that feed the plant. Side shoots can be removed, leaving three main stems to avoid overloading the bush with side shoots.

Growing and caring for this variety requires staking. A four-month-old tomato branch reaches approximately 1.5 m in length. Since a mature plant is densely covered with clusters, its total weight is approximately 8 kg, and this abundance requires sturdy support.

The manufacturer recommends avoiding the use of hormones to stimulate fruiting when growing indoors. Their use significantly reduces the quality of the produce and shortens the shelf life. Pollination in a greenhouse is best accomplished with bumblebees. Six bumblebees per 100 m² are sufficient to ensure the variety produces the best possible results.

What reviews are there about the hybrid?

Hybrids with small fruits produced on clusters are often found in garden plots, not only in greenhouses but also in open ground. Thanks to the early maturity of Dirk's varietal, in areas where frosts disappear by late April, seeds can be sown outdoors under plastic, producing seedlings that will begin to produce fruit by late July.

Oksana, southwest Primorsky Krai: I once planted the Dirk hybrid in open ground as a test. Now, every year, tomatoes of this variety sprout in my plot through self-seeding. I leave a few bushes and harvest them before the first frost. The bushes are huge; by autumn, they break their support and fall to the ground. The tomatoes are bright, red, small, firm, and sweet.

Irina, Moscow Region: The Dirk hybrid grows and produces fruit well in open ground. It requires watering if the summer is dry and warm. By fall, it forms a voluminous bush, completely covered in fruiting clusters. I don't remove any side shoots, allowing the bush to develop on its own. The hybrid is resistant to late blight. The bushes easily tolerate temporary cold snaps. In my garden plot in central Russia, it continues to produce until the first frost, which burns the bush.

Valery, Southern Urals: I planted two Dirk tomato plants in a greenhouse and provided myself with small cherry tomatoes for the entire season. Both children and adults love them. The tomato is easy to grow, and the plant is constantly growing. Since it produces tomatoes constantly, I harvest regularly. I don't pinch off any side shoots.