Stone Heart Tomato: Variety Description, Reviews (Photos)

Tomatoes

The Stone Heart tomato variety is known to be a mid-season variety with a bountiful harvest. It's extremely easy to grow and thrives in both greenhouses and open ground.

Stone Heart tomatoes are rare varieties, but have already gained popularity among gardeners. These tall, mid-season tomato plants produce large, heart-shaped fruits, crimson or light red, glossy, and smooth. The exterior is firm, fleshy, and possesses an excellent sweet-tart, truly tomato-like flavor.

This variety doesn't require special care or careful cultivation. It can be grown in greenhouses, hotbeds, or outdoors.

The general characteristics of the Stone Heart tomato plant are as follows:

Rich harvest.
Tomatoes have some resistance to disease.
The fruits have excellent taste.
Tomatoes are used for cooking, salads, juice and for fresh consumption.
Tomatoes grow tall, often reaching up to 2 m. Therefore, it is recommended to use 2-3 seedlings when training.
Tomato leaves are normal, medium in shape and size, with a greenish color.

The Stone Heart tomato responds well to fertilizing, so experienced gardeners recommend applying at least three applications of fertilizer to ensure large, fleshy fruits.

Interesting! The weight of one fruit can reach up to 500 grams.

Advantages and disadvantages

The main advantages of the Stone Heart tomato variety are:

Average ripening period. The first harvest can begin in 100-110 days.
Tomatoes are large, smooth, and bright red, with fleshy, few-seeded pulp. Their flavor is sweet and sour. They are used to make a variety of dishes and juices.
The plant has excellent yield.
Tomatoes can be grown both in a greenhouse and in open ground.
The fruits of the Stone Heart tomato are characterized by increased resistance to major diseases and do not require careful care.

Among the plant's disadvantages is its height, which can reach up to 2 m, which significantly complicates care and makes plantings susceptible to adverse weather conditions.

Yield of the variety

The Stone Heart tomato variety is highly productive. Since each fruit can weigh up to 500 grams, a single tomato plant can yield up to 5 kg or more.

Growing rules

Growing the Stone Heart tomato variety is not at all difficult, the main thing is to follow generally accepted rules.

To obtain a rich tomato harvest, it is necessary to prepare the soil and seeds in a timely manner and transplant the seedlings into the ground.

Preparing the soil for planting

To grow the Stone Heart tomato variety, it's best to choose a warm climate or southern soil, as the plants don't tolerate cold temperatures well. Good yields are achieved when planted on the south side, along buildings or fences. Because the plant grows large, it requires protection from adverse weather conditions.

Tomatoes of any variety can be grown in the same plot for up to 3 years in a row; however, in this case, it is essential to apply organic and mineral fertilizers in a timely manner to improve soil fertility.

Please note! Stone Heart tomatoes are best planted in areas where cucumbers, cabbage, zucchini, or onions grew last summer. Conversely, avoid growing tomatoes in areas previously occupied by peppers, potatoes, and eggplants to protect them from dangerous diseases.

The soil for planting Stone Heart tomatoes in open ground or under cover should be prepared in the fall. However, it's important to consider the soil's acidity and use specific ingredients accordingly.

So, if the soil acidity is higher than normal, in the fall, before digging the soil, add the following to 1 m2:

lime in individual quantities, depending on the volume of the area;
up to 7 kg of organic fertilizers, which can be compost, peat or cow manure;
about 60 grams of superphosphate, when using it, be sure to look at the instructions, it is important not to
Do not overdo it, as too much of it is also bad for plants.

After applying these fertilizers, the soil is thoroughly dug over. It is then returned to in the spring. At this time, another superphosphate fertilizer is applied, along with up to 30 grams of potassium compounds per square meter, and the soil is dug over again.

This soil is considered ready and ready-made tomato seedlings can be transplanted into it.

Growing tomato seedlings

To plant Stone Heart tomato seeds, use special disposable plastic containers. You can also use boxes, containers, or cups.

Important! When choosing containers for growing tomato seeds, it's best to choose ones with holes in the bottom, otherwise the plants will be susceptible to various diseases, including blackleg.

To sow Stone Heart tomato seedlings, you can use any ready-made substrate available at a specialty store, or you can prepare your own mixture of sand and peat, mixing them in equal quantities.

You shouldn't sow seeds into the ground too often, so that the tomato doesn't stretch out and become strong.

Before sowing the seeds into the soil, the substrate must be thoroughly moistened with water, which should be at room temperature or slightly warmer.

Tomato seeds also need to be prepared to disinfect them, improve their fertility, and ensure rapid germination. To do this, they are warmed, dried, and evenly soaked in a potassium permanganate solution before planting. After planting, some gardeners recommend covering the container with thin plastic to maintain soil moisture and promote rapid germination.

As soon as tomato seedlings emerge, the plastic wrap is removed. Water the seedlings as needed, paying attention to the humidity in the room and the condition of the soil.

Planting seedlings in open ground

Planting the Stone Heart tomato variety outdoors or in a greenhouse should begin in early June. By this time, there are no longer any night frosts and the temperature is warm.

On the plot, tomatoes are planted in rows, with a distance of up to 40 cm between holes and up to 50 cm between rows.

Before planting tomato seedlings, you need to make shallow holes in the area and water them thoroughly with warm water at a rate of 1 liter per hole.

Please note! If growing the Stone Heart tomato variety from store-bought seedlings, it's best to purchase them on the same day as planting. This will prevent them from wilting and developing diseases.

Tomato plants should be replanted into the soil almost halfway through their growth. Many gardeners even recommend plucking off a few of the plant's bottom leaves. Afterward, fill the hole with dry soil and water the plants.

Care instructions

Every plant requires specific care, and tomatoes are no exception. To ensure a bountiful harvest at the end of summer and prevent disease during the growing season, you need to properly care for your tomatoes.

Stone Heart tomatoes require simple, traditional care, including weeding, soil loosening, watering, shaping the bush with equipment and tying, and timely disease and pest control.

Loosening the soil should begin 12 days after transplanting the seedlings. This should be done at least three times during the summer. Be sure to dig the soil before applying fertilizer to kill weeds and after watering to prevent waterlogging and enrich the soil with oxygen.

Stone Heart tomatoes also require timely watering. Water consumption is up to 0.9 liters per hole. The best time to water the beds is after 2:00 PM. Watering is essential during flowering, after fertilizing, during dry weather, and during fruit set.

Throughout the summer, Stone Heart tomatoes need to be fed several times with mineral and organic fertilizers.

The first fertilizing should be done 12 days after repotting. A combination of organic and mineral compounds is used. Cow manure solution, superphosphate, and potassium compounds can be used. Subsequent fertilization is recommended using dry fertilizers. Ammonium nitrate, potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus compounds are excellent choices.

When caring for tomatoes, great attention should also be paid to the formation of the bush, namely, timely pinching of side shoots and tying the stems to a support.

Please note! When forming a bush, it is advisable to use up to 2-3 stems so that the bush is strong, can support large fruits and is not damaged by adverse weather conditions.

When it comes to disease and pest control, special plant treatments are used. Proper care is also important for preventative measures.

Diseases and pests

The Stone Heart tomato, like other vegetables, is susceptible to many diseases, regardless of its immunity. This is usually due to poor care or improper cultivation.

In this case, common diseases such as spotting, mosaic, various forms of rot, and late blight may develop. All of these have a significant negative impact on plants, inhibiting their growth and development.

Common pests of this tomato variety include aphids, mole crickets, and wireworms. Control involves timely planting care, proper watering, preventative spraying, and fertilization.

Reviews

Valentina, 54 years old:

"I really enjoyed planting the Stone Heart tomatoes. They were disease-free throughout the growing season and produced fruit well. I grew them outdoors, and the fruits were large and delicious."

Svetlana, 45 years old:

"I always try to choose tomatoes with large fruits for planting at my dacha, and recently I've become interested in the Stone Heart variety. I planted the vegetables outside, and it was worth it: the yield was abundant, with fruits weighing up to 350 grams. Now I recommend these tomatoes to my neighbors and friend."

Pavel, 49 years old:

"The Stone Heart tomato variety is a real find for me. I first planted it three years ago and I'm not stopping. I really liked how easy it is to grow; it can be grown either in a greenhouse or in the open ground. The yield is high, the fruits are large and delicious."