Tomato "Ox Ears": characteristics and description of the variety

What attracts people to Volov'i Ushi tomatoes (we'll discuss reviews, photos, characteristics, and a description of the variety in this article) is their appearance or their taste? The opinion of buyers is clear: they prioritize a beautiful appearance and good taste. Sometimes, looking at a photo of the variety or tasting the fruit is enough. Gardeners need a description, a complete one at that, with details on caring for this tomato variety, as well as its pros and cons.

Ox ears

An extremely popular variety among both amateur and professional gardeners. It's perfect for both open-air cultivation and greenhouse cultivation. It boasts a high yield, and the fruits are beautiful and delicious.

You can easily select seeds for your next plantings from the ripe tomatoes you've collected.

Characteristic

Ox-ear is considered a mid-season, high-yielding variety. The bushes are indeterminate, usually tall, and have no growth stop unless pinched at the top. They are not very branched, with moderate foliage development. The leaves are attractive, small, and neat, usually dark green, with simple, even charming, inflorescences.

The fruits ripen in clusters of approximately 4-6. Proper care ensures high, good yields, with up to 6 kg of ripe, select, and delicious tomatoes easily yielded per square meter.

The ripening period is slow, often lasting the entire season, and the ears are harvested as soon as they are technically or physiologically ripe. The fruits are usually medium-sized, weighing 100-140 grams. They are often elongated in shape, with a pointed tip resembling an ear. The surface is slightly ribbed near the stalks, and the color is a bright, rich red.

The tomato skin is thick, preventing cracking. The flesh is juicy, tasty, and meaty, with many seed chambers inside. The taste is sweet, reminiscent of Japanese Truffle tomato, no wateriness.

These varieties owe their origins to Russian breeders, who created excellent tomatoes for both open and closed (greenhouse) soil. Ushki tomatoes are considered table tomatoes, more of a salad tomato, and are extremely tasty fresh, perfect for use as a side dish, in salads, or other dishes.

Small in size, with a smooth, even surface, they marinate and salt well, and ripe fruits produce delicious juice.

Pros and cons

Numerous reviews have helped to compile a complete list of advantages:

• Extremely tasty fruits;
• Stable, high yield;
• The fruits are stored well;
• Cold-resistant;
• Unpretentious when it comes to care (which is rare for tomatoes);
• Resistant to many vegetable diseases.

Flaws:

The bush needs to be trained—though this drawback applies to 80% of tomato varieties. They need to be tied up, trained, and monitored for growth. The bushes grow tall and need support. However, even medium-sized or short bushes need to be tied up, especially if they're grown in windy regions.

Care Features

It's easier to grow Ushki from seedlings. First, thoroughly treat the seeds with a potassium permanganate solution, then rinse and let them dry. Then, soak them in a special growth stimulator for 10-12 hours.

Such precautions enhance protection against various diseases and also increase germination. The soil should be composed of regular garden soil mixed with peat, adding a little humus. Fertilizing with superphosphate (or wood ash) provides additional nutrition.

Sow the seeds in neat, small holes, cover them with soil, and then immediately spray with water. For the seeds to germinate, a temperature of about 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) is needed. Once the seedlings emerge, the temperature can be lowered and all containers placed near a source of natural light.

Ready tomato seedlings The seedlings should contain 6 leaves and at least 1 formed flower cluster. Next, plant all the seedlings directly into the ground. Cover them with plastic film for the first few days. Plant 3 bushes per square meter.

Diseases

Ox-ear is indeed resistant to many diseases, but it does require preventative measures. Before planting, it's best to water the soil chosen for tomatoes with a hot, weak solution of potassium permanganate. And during a late blight outbreak, treat the plants with copper-based products.

Frequently loosen the soil, remove all weeds, this will prevent the possible appearance of rot (apical, root).

Don't forget to regularly spray with phytosporin (or any other special antifungal preparation).

Regularly inspect all bushes, collecting any pests that appear, such as caterpillars and various bugs. Aphids, mole crickets, thrips, and spider mites are also dangerous. Treating the bushes with a regular soap solution will help, and affected plants should be treated with insecticides for 3-4 days after collecting the pests.