Characteristics and description of the tomato "Palace"

Tomatoes

The area around St. Petersburg doesn't offer summer residents either abundant sunshine or fertile soil. Add to that the frequent rainfall and high humidity… the conditions aren't ideal for growing tomatoes.

But even amateur gardeners living in such a harsh climate want to grow good harvests! That's why breeder and author of numerous books on effective vegetable growing, Sh.G. Bekseev, developed the Dvortsovy tomato variety. In the Leningrad Region, it is recommended for greenhouse cultivation. In more southern latitudes, it will also grow and bear fruit successfully in open ground conditions.

Main characteristics

Medium height – 130-160 cm.
Early maturing.
Few-seeded.
Super-productive: with proper agricultural practices, one bush can yield over 4.5 kg of fruit, and 12-14 kg from 1 square meter.
The fruits are medium-sized: typically 250-300 g, reaching a maximum of 600-700 g. They are round and flattened. They are bright red in color and have a smooth, thin skin. They are resistant to cracking. They are excellent for both pickling and eating fresh, such as in salads.
Determinate variety.
The bushes will need to be side-sonned and tied up.
The first flower cluster grows above the 6th-7th leaf, the subsequent ones – after every 3rd-4th leaf.
The bush is spreading, with powerful trunks.
With proper care, it is quite resistant to the main tomato diseases and sudden temperature changes.

Note

An important feature: plants of this variety are very "voracious": to ensure a good harvest, they need to be fertilized every 2-3 days. In hot weather, liquid fertilizer should be applied even more frequently—once every 1-2 days. At least, this is the advice given by the variety's creator, Sh.G. Bekseev. Since frequent fertilizing requires ample watering, when growing the Palace tomato in a greenhouse, the doors should be frequently left open for ventilation. Otherwise, diseases may develop in high humidity conditions.
During the flowering and fruit setting period, it is advisable to shake the bushes for better cross-pollination.

After feeding the seedlings

Sow 60-65 days before transplanting into a greenhouse or garden beds.
It's advisable to prepare the seeds for sowing by soaking them for 2-3 hours in biostimulants such as Epin, Zircon, or Ecosil. Aloe vera juice can also be used. For this, cut an aloe vera leaf from the plant a week before sowing. Keep it in the refrigerator during this time to maximize the activation of the biologically active substances. Then squeeze the juice from the leaf, and dilute 1 teaspoon of it in 0.5 liters of water. Pour a small amount of the liquid from the jar and soak the seeds in it.

Suddenly!If you need to germinate seeds whose germination is in doubt, you can try using... anise essential oil. It's readily available at almost any pharmacy. First, soak the seeds in water for a couple of hours (preferably with a biostimulant added). Then, add a drop of anise essential oil to a cotton pad and place the heat-treated seeds next to the drop. After 5-6 hours, you can sow the seeds in perlite for germination. Experience shows that this method can improve germination by 50-70%.

In addition to the usual store-bought soil, perlite, vermiculite, and agroperlite can also make excellent soils for germinating seeds. They retain moisture well, are nutrient-poor, and require no added fertilizers (seeds don't need them for successful germination and can even be harmful). Their consistency resembles loose fine sand, making it very easy to extract seedlings and roots from such soils: even the smallest rootlets are not damaged.
A gardening trick that's been gaining popularity in recent seasons is sprouting seeds in... used tea bags. Those who've tried this technique say the seeds germinate faster and supposedly receive a great boost from the tea leaves for further growth, resulting in faster, stronger, and healthier growth than seedlings grown in other conditions. You might want to try this experiment!
Seedlings emerge at temperatures around 20 degrees Celsius. Therefore, it's advisable to keep the seedlings in the bowls, for example, on a radiator, until they emerge.
When the first true leaves appear, the seedlings should be transplanted into separate containers to ensure that the developing bush has enough nutrition.
It's important to place the seedling containers on the brightest windowsill, ideally facing south, southeast, or southwest. If the midday sun is very bright, the seedlings should be shaded. Roller blinds are an excellent option. If you don't have them, you can shield the young plants with a sheet of paper placed against the window.
Seedlings should be grown in nutritious soil. You can use regular store-bought soil ("Rassadny") or a mixture of compost, garden soil, and coarse sand (2:2:1).

Important!It's important to disinfect the soil in which the seedlings will grow after transplanting. At a minimum, pour boiling water over it. You can dissolve a few crystals of potassium permanganate in very hot water (to create a rich garnet-colored solution). Another option is to water the planting soil with a solution of "Maxim." Some people steam the soil in the oven, but this isn't a very pleasant procedure: it spreads a burning smell throughout the house.

A scourge of seedlings is the so-called "black leg." It spreads like wildfire. It can happen that, without warning, almost all the seedlings in a single day collapse. The first affected plants develop thinning and darkening of the stems near the ground, causing the young plant to collapse and fall to the ground. To prevent this fungal disease, use Fitosporin, which is applied to the soil during pre-planting preparation.
Caring for seedlings is simple: water regularly, loosen the soil (to allow air to reach the roots more quickly), and fertilize with a complex mineral fertilizer once a week in conjunction with watering. It's best to reduce the recommended fertilizer dose by half.
It's important to avoid drafts! They can not only cause tomato seedlings to become diseased, lag in development, or even die.
Growing plants stretch toward the sun's warmth and light, which can cause the still-weak stems to become twisted. Therefore, containers with seedlings should be periodically turned so that their position is opposite the window glass.
Before planting outdoors, it's a good idea to harden off the seedlings—gradually acclimating them to the outdoors and cooler nighttime temperatures. You can start by placing them on the veranda for a few hours at first, gradually increasing the time. Then, leave them there overnight, and later, place them outside overnight. Hardening off usually takes a couple of weeks. This procedure will help the tomato plants adapt more quickly to the new conditions, avoid stunted growth, and help them survive the stress of transplanting more quickly and with minimal losses.

Sowing in a greenhouse and in open ground

Tomato seedlings are transplanted into the garden when nighttime temperatures reach above freezing. It's important to be sure that any potential frosts have passed.
3-4 bushes per 1 square meter will feel comfortable and will not experience a lack of nutrients.
The distance between rows and plants is 35-40 cm.

Tip: It's best to plant seedlings in a greenhouse or open ground in the evening, on a cloudy day. This will speed up the adaptation process and minimize losses.

The planting hole should be about 5 cm deep. This is assuming the soil in the bed has been prepared and improved in advance, for example, with horse manure (applied in the fall). If not, the hole should be about 15-20 cm deep and a nutrient-rich layer of compost with a complex mineral fertilizer should be placed at the bottom (application rates should be as specified in the instructions). After all, the Palace tomato is a "voracious" variety! It's important not to overdo it with nitrogen, otherwise the foliage will grow too thickly and abundantly, detrimental to the quality and size of the fruit.
About a week after planting, tomato bushes should be tied up and then this should be done regularly as they grow.
Ideally, leave one stem and allow 5-6 flower clusters to form on it. If the soil is very nutritious, then 6-7 clusters will be possible. Stopping the formation of flower clusters is very simple: just pinch the top of the bush at the right time.
It's essential to remove any unnecessary leaves: all the way up to the first cluster, and every other one above that. Once all the fruits have set and reached their full size, remove all the leaves from the plant.
Don't forget to fertilize frequently and keep the greenhouse well ventilated! The first fertilizing should be done 7-10 days after planting; by this time, the roots should have had time to adapt to the new soil.

Reviews

An excellent variety! I was pleased that it produced all its fruit before the blight arrived. Each cluster holds 4-6 fairly large fruits. Overall, the yield was impressive. I grew it in three stems; it's not recommended to leave more than that. I'd give this variety a solid B, maybe even an A+.

Petr Arkadievich

I grew "Dvortsovye" tomatoes for the first time two years ago. They weren't very successful then. The year was too damp, and late blight developed early in the greenhouse. The following year, I applied a lot of fertilizer, and the weather was sunny, but I kept the greenhouse well-ventilated. I managed to grow a decent harvest, with each tomato weighing up to 500 g. Not every tomato variety will grow here in the Leningrad region, but I would consider the "Dvortsovye" one of the best I've ever tried growing in a greenhouse.

Daria Valentinovna

I liked that this variety bears fruit for a very long time: from late June to mid-September. The fruits are delicious and fleshy; a couple of them are enough to make a salad bowl. They also store well on the balcony.

Vasily Nikolaevich