Characteristics and description of the Golden Tiger tomato

Many tomato varieties are named after the appearance of the fruit they produce. The "Golden Tiger" variety is named for a reason—its distinctive coloring truly resembles this beautiful animal. But "Golden Tiger" is famous for more than just its magnificent appearance.

It has qualities that every self-respecting gardener will appreciate.

Description of the variety

The Golden Tiger (original name: Golden Tiger) is considered exotic by Russians. This tomato's appearance is striking: medium-sized yellow tomatoes are covered with dark stripes reminiscent of a tiger's pattern. The pigment anthocyanin, the same one found in blueberries, black currants, and blackberries, gives these tomatoes their unusual color.

This variety arrived in Russia from the United States. American scientists bred it back in 2013. Golden Tiger is a rare variety.

Characteristics of the variety

Golden Tiger is an indeterminate variety. The tomato plant grows to gigantic proportions, reaching up to 170 centimeters in height. Its dense, lush green foliage makes it difficult to call the plant a tomato. However, when clusters of striped tomatoes appear, everything falls into place. Each cluster (of which there can be up to 12 on a single plant) produces up to 25 medium-sized tomatoes.

The fruits are distinguished by their exceptional beauty and excellent taste. The tomatoes are round, medium-sized, weighing 70-120 grams on average, and have a strong, tart tomato aroma. The flesh is firm, and the taste is sweet without being acidic.

The rind, as befits all tall varieties, is smooth, shiny, and dark blue near the stem. When ripe, it is green and streaked with longitudinal dark blue stripes. At maturity, the fruit turns bright yellow, and the stripes transform into blue-black veins. Because the rind is very thick, this variety is recommended for canning.

The Golden Tiger variety has a mid-late ripening season. Harvesting typically begins in early August and continues until frost.

This variety is particularly undemanding in terms of care, can develop easily and produce excellent results, growing both in a greenhouse and in open ground.

Advantages of the variety:

• excellent appearance of fruits;
• good shelf life;
• long fruiting period;
• steel immunity to all known diseases;
• brushes are formed along the entire stem of the plant, therefore their number, and accordingly the number of fruits, is much greater than in low-growing varieties;
• excellent yield – up to 10 kilograms of fruit per square meter;
• takes up little space on the site, as it grows mainly upwards.

Disadvantages of the variety:

• long growing season;
• The collected seeds will not be of the same quality next year as the purchased ones, so it is always better to buy seed material;
• It is necessary to constantly tie up plants, remove side shoots and shape the bushes.

Features of cultivation

The tall Golden Tiger tomato is grown using the same method as other varieties. First, you need to properly select and sow the seeds for seedlings.

Sowing

Seeds are usually sown 70-80 days before planting outdoors. Typically, this is late February or early March.

You can purchase ready-made seeds that have already been treated with growth stimulants and disinfectants. If you want to plant your own seeds, they are selected from the most beautiful and high-quality fruits from the most productive cluster. Seeds are collected from overripe tomatoes.

Before planting in the spring, soak the seeds in a solution of Agricola-Vegeta, Effecton, wood ash, or nitrophoska (use one of these). You can disinfect the seeds by soaking them in a potassium permanganate solution. After treatment, rinse thoroughly in clean, warm water and dry.

The seedling soil mixture should consist of equal parts peat, humus, and soil. Minerals are also added to the soil: a teaspoon of superphosphate, urea, and potassium chloride per bucket of soil. It is recommended to warm the entire mixture in the oven to activate the minerals and quickly infuse the soil with vitamins. The soil should be slightly moist before sowing to speed up the germination of the seeds.

Tomatoes are sown in large boxes or trays. The soil for the seedlings should consist of equal parts peat, humus, and soil. Mineral fertilizers are also added: a teaspoon of superphosphate, potassium sulfate, and urea per bucket of the mixture. The soil should be warm, light, and moist.

The seeds are planted in furrows, deepening them one centimeter. The distance between seeds is 2 centimeters, and between furrows, 5 centimeters. The seeds are covered with soil and leveled without compacting. The boxes are placed in a sunny spot in a room with a temperature of 23-25 ​​degrees Celsius. For an optimal microclimate, the boxes are covered with plastic film. Once the first shoots appear, the film is removed.

Soil preparation

The soil for tomatoes begins to be prepared in the fall. Deep digging and the addition of semi-rotted manure are essential. Before digging, the area must be thoroughly cleared of any previous crops. Incidentally, it's best to plant tomatoes in areas previously occupied by cabbage and cucumbers.

In the spring, organic matter, ash, and a portion of minerals – potassium chloride and superphosphate – are also added.

Planting in the ground

Seedlings are planted outdoors 65 days after sowing (mid-May), when the plants have formed an average of 8-10 leaves. The first fruits will appear in another month. The active fruiting phase begins a couple of weeks later.

Before transplanting, seedlings are sprayed with copper oxychloride as a preventative measure.

Dig a separate hole for each plant, up to 15 centimeters deep. It's best to plant tomatoes in a staggered pattern, 30 centimeters apart, to ensure they receive more light and air.

Top dressing

To ensure optimal growth of tomato plants, fertilize them regularly. Theoretically, three applications per season are necessary, but if the soil was well-fertilized before planting, two applications may be sufficient.

The first feeding is done two weeks after planting the seedlings in the garden. You can fertilize the tomatoes with organic matter, for example, by applying poultry manure to the roots. You can also use specialized fertilizers such as "Gumisol," "Vermistil," or "Rost-Concentrate."

The second feeding is timed when flower buds begin to form and the second cluster begins to open. Copper sulfate and a potassium permanganate solution are added.

Finally, a third application of fertilizer occurs during fruit formation. This time, it's best to apply mineral fertilizers, particularly potassium, which promotes fruit ripening.

Care

The Golden Tiger variety requires specific care. The bushes need to be trained to produce more buds. Plants are usually trained into two stems.

It's a fact that this variety grows better in a greenhouse. Therefore, it's advisable to grow the Golden Tiger in greenhouse conditions. This will help you get higher-quality fruit and a higher yield.

Care for the variety consists of:

• top dressing;
• irrigation;
• ventilation and sunbathing;
• pinching out the side shoots and shaping the bush.

Tomatoes are heat-loving plants, so it's important to provide the bushes with plenty of sunlight and warmth. Plant them in open areas protected from the wind. It's best to arrange the beds facing east to west so they receive even light. It's also important to properly space the seedlings when planting, spacing them apart so they receive more nutrients and light.

If tomatoes are growing in a greenhouse, it's important to ventilate them regularly. Stuffy, humid air is a prime source of fungus and late blight. To prevent this, ensure a constant supply of fresh air. To improve ventilation, remove the lower leaves from around the roots of the plants.

Tomatoes can't survive in arid conditions. The root system needs plenty of moisture, as it's under significant strain: firstly, the plants grow very large, and secondly, each cluster produces fruit, which also requires energy. Therefore, the overall harvest depends on how much nutrition and air the roots receive.

If tomatoes are grown outdoors, water them as the soil dries out. In clear, hot weather, tomatoes are usually watered every two to three days. Water the plants at the roots, 4 liters per plant. To prevent a soil crust from forming, be sure to loosen the soil after watering. Soft, well-drained soil delivers water to the rhizomes more quickly and allows for good aeration. It's best to loosen the soil superficially, as tomato roots are not deeply planted and can be easily damaged.

In hot climates, mulching helps prevent soil drying out and retain moisture. Cover the soil under the bushes with a thick layer of wood shavings or leaves.

Since Golden Tiger bushes can grow up to two meters tall, they require reliable support and tying. You can tie each bush individually or create a single support system. Care must be taken to tie the bush promptly, otherwise the weight of the fruit will cause it to break, and you could lose part of the harvest.

All tall varieties require proper bush training. Golden Tiger is usually trained into two or three stems. This is achieved by removing side branches and side shoots, leaving only the central trunk. Side shoots (side shoots) absorb a lot of nutrients, detrimental to the development of the main stem and, consequently, fruit. Furthermore, extra branches only weigh down the plant and prevent it from growing properly, receiving more light and moisture. Furthermore, dense plants lack adequate circulation and are prone to disease.

Large flowers appearing on the first leaves can be a clue that the plant is developing abnormally. These flowers are usually replaced by malformed fruits. Therefore, the flowers must be removed to prevent them from stunting the plant's growth.

Golden Tiger, like many modern, unique varieties, is resistant to all manner of tomato diseases. Even late blight, the most common disease for this crop, doesn't affect the lanky Tiger because the plant's upward growth keeps its leaves and stems away from wet soil, and water doesn't reach them during watering.

As a preventative measure against fungal infections, tomatoes can be treated with preparations containing copper or sulfur.

Since tomatoes are self-pollinating plants, you can help them do this by occasionally shaking the flower clusters.

If you follow all the rules, which are not that complicated, the first harvest can be collected as early as the end of July. This variety is distinguished by its long and abundant fruiting. The tomatoes will form and ripen right up until the frost, before the cold kills the plants. Therefore, it's important to take care of unripe tomatoes in advance: you can pick them while they're still technically ripe. They will ripen quickly in a sunny, warm location, preserving both their excellent flavor and their beautiful appearance.

Reviews

Alexandra

The Golden Tiger is rarely grown in our area. Gardeners generally don't even know about it. I discovered it, and I'm so glad I did. This variety ripens late, so you can enjoy excellent tomatoes until late fall. The fruits are sweet and yellow, but the anthocyanin begins to appear from the stem. We always get an excellent harvest, although some varieties yield even more. But these tomatoes are irresistible—they are so beautiful, truly tiger-like.

Vladimir

I love tall varieties, even though they require more effort. The Golden Tiger attracted me, firstly, because of the appearance of its fruits. The tomatoes are yellow with longitudinal dark-blue stripes. This interesting combination adds a splash of color to the garden bed. Secondly, it begins bearing fruit in August, just when we start pickling. We don't pickle them often; we mostly eat them that way. It's a good variety; you can store the tomatoes for weeks without any issues. Overall, it's a worthy variety!

Julia

We planted this variety once. Yes, it's good, but there's nothing else to say. The bushes grew to a height of just over a meter. I grew them in a greenhouse. The foliage is sparse, so shaping the bush was easy. The fruits are medium-sized, about 110-120 grams. Each bunch produces 3-4 tomatoes. The tomatoes themselves are very sweet and juicy, and they taste great in salads. They have a fresh, vegetable-like aroma. We harvested right up until the first frost. I was pleased that the bushes never suffered any serious illnesses, so I think this variety is worth considering.