Characteristics and description of the Italian Sweet tomato

Tomatoes

Italian sweet variety will attract the attention of lovers of large-fruited varieties with its sweet taste and juicy tomato pulp, mid-early ripening and high yield.

Characteristics and description of the Italian Sweet tomato

The location where you'll be growing your tomatoes, the soil composition, and your preferences (small or large fruits, tall or short bushes) all play a major role in choosing planting material. To do this, be sure to familiarize yourself with the variety's characteristics.

Characteristics of the variety:

indeterminate;
tall;
mid-season;
yield – up to 5 kg from one bush;
large-fruited;
cultivation – greenhouse (middle zone);
height – up to 2m;
feature – medium foliage;
stem formation – 1-2.

Fruit description:

shape – flat-round, with slight ribbing at the stalk;
size – large;
weight – 300-500g;
color – crimson;
taste – sweet;
pulp – fleshy;
Use: fresh, in juices, sauces, lecho.

Growing tall tomatoes in a greenhouse

Growing tomatoes indoors requires following certain rules to ensure a good harvest.

Soil for tomatoes:

Information! Every five years the soil in the greenhouse needs to be renewed.

It is essential to disinfect the soil – this helps to destroy pests and pathogens. Disinfection options: copper sulfate, dolomite flour (50g per 1m²), or watering with boiling water. It's best to cultivate the soil after harvesting.
Tomatoes' root systems are sensitive to cold, so in the fall, you can create warm beds for them: remove 20 cm of soil, lay down 10 cm of straw and sawdust, then a 10 cm layer of compost, followed by a 20 cm layer of removed soil. In the spring, water the beds thoroughly with warm water.
Fertilize deficient soil with organic matter consisting of peat and humus (½ a bucket per square meter), then top with sand and ash (1 liter per square meter). Mulch the fertilized area with straw, and in winter, add a layer of snow on top – the melting snow will moisten the soil.
In the spring, plant green manure, and 14 days before planting the seedlings, dig the greens into the soil to a depth of 2-3 cm.
Dig up the soil, adding ready-made mineral fertilizers to it (according to the instructions).

Information! 3 kg of green manure is equivalent to 1.5 kg of manure.

Transplant into warmed (10°-15°) soil - at low temperatures, tomato roots develop poorly.

How to plant tall varieties

In a checkerboard pattern: 55-60 cm between bushes, 75-80 cm between rows when forming one stem, 70-75 cm when forming two stems.
Compound planting method, when both low and high bushes are planted at the same time, has proven itself to be successful:

plant low bushes with early ripening fruits in a row near the film (glass) - 35-40 cm between them, form the bush into one stem;
plant tall bushes near the passage at a distance of 60 cm (forming into one stem);
in the same row with tall bushes, retreating to the south about 10 cm, plant standard varieties at a distance of 25 cm from each other;
Remove bushes of early varieties after the fruits have ripened.

Planting seedlings

When the seedlings reach 50 days of age, they are transplanted into a greenhouse.
Water the plants before replanting, trim long roots by 2-3 cm.
Place a handful of prepared humus into the holes and water with a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate (2 liters per hole).
Place the seedling bush with a clod of soil into the hole up to the bottom leaves, cover with soil, compacting it slightly, and add mulch on top to reduce moisture evaporation. Plant tall bushes at an angle.
As a preventative measure, treat against late blight with Bordeaux mixture (100 g per bucket of water) or copper oxychloride (40 g of copper per bucket).
Do not water the seedlings for seven to ten days, do not loosen the soil, and when they get stronger, lightly loosen the top layer.
A support is installed immediately during planting to avoid damaging the roots later.

Removing lateral shoots (pinching out side shoots)

When the bushes reach a height of 15-20 cm, remove the first lateral shoots. Broken (or cut) shoots can be placed in a container of water to allow roots to grow, and then planted. It's wise to use shoots when growing rare varieties.
In greenhouse conditions, pinching out side shoots should be done gradually (once every seven days).
The lower leaves should also be removed when the fruits begin to ripen – the bushes are better ventilated and the fruits receive more nutrients.

Caring for tomatoes

Treat with garlic infusion up to seven times per season to prevent infections: soak crushed garlic (30-40g) in a bucket of water for 24 hours. Iodine mixed with water, placed in an open container in the greenhouse, is also effective.
Maintain a daytime temperature of 20°-25° and a nighttime temperature of 16°-18° by closing (opening) transoms and doors.
The first watering should be done after seven days. Water generously until fruit set – 20-25 liters per square meter, then 15-20 liters per square meter. If the soil, taken from a depth of 10 cm, crumbles in your hand, it's time to water. Water with warm, settled water.
After 8-10 days, carry out the first feeding, then once every 10-12 days, alternating fertilizers (organic and mineral).
Top dressing during flowering: nitrogen fertilizers - 25g, potassium - 15g, phosphorus - 40g per ten-liter bucket of water, consumption - 1l per 1m².
Fertilizing during fruit ripening: soak 2 liters of ash in 10 liters of hot water, add iodine (from a medicine bottle) and boric acid (15 g), and let sit for 24 hours. Water with a solution of one liter of the mixture and a bucket of water—one liter per bush.
Other types of fertilizers:

nitrogen deficiency – the stem is thin, frail, the leaves are pale;
potassium deficiency – poorly developed roots, insufficient growth, wrinkled leaves with a blue tint;
Phosphorus deficiency – leaves with purple veins and reddish spots, thin stem.

Harvesting and storage

Fruits should be collected in the morning when the temperature is above 8°.
Sort the brown ones, placing them separately and adding a few ripe tomatoes to them – they emit ethylene, which affects the speed of ripening.
Place the unripe tomato plants (before frost) in the basement, along with the soil, hanging them on a hook (or nail) with the stems facing down. The tomatoes will begin to ripen by December.
Frozen tomatoes keep well. Cover with cold water before using.

Benefits of Italian Sugar Tomato

Benefits of Italian Sugar Tomato follow from the characteristic features of the variety and growing conditions:

high growth allows for efficient use of greenhouse space;
less green mass compared to other varieties;
the possibility of forming two stems;
yield up to 5 kg per bush;
large, sweet, fleshy fruits;
delicious juices, sauces, lecho;
medium ripening period;
long fruiting period.

Flaws Typical for tall tomatoes: pinching out side shoots throughout the season and tying the stems and brushes to a support several times per season.

Reviews

Elena

The Italian Sweet tomato lives up to its name: sweet, tasty, fleshy fruits. The tomatoes are large. I grew them in a greenhouse: the bushes are tall—about two meters—and I was pleased with the yield; I trained three stems. Overall: I liked the variety.

Stepan Sergeevich (Kurgan region)

The Italian Sweet tomato was initially appealing because of its name, so I decided to test whether it was actually sweet. They say it's sweet, but is it really? The results were pleasing: the tomatoes are sweet, fleshy, and large. I grew them in a greenhouse, as recommended. I didn't plant many plants, though—only five—but it was enough for a trial crop. I'll plant more now—I love fleshy and sweet tomatoes. I recommend this variety. Of course, it's not suitable for pickling whole, but you can cut them up if you really want to pickle. We plant them not only for preserves, but also to enjoy our favorite summer treats.