With the help of selection, various varieties of tomatoes are bred. Rapunzel stands out. This variety has an interesting appearance. Thanks to the hanging fruit-bearing brushes, he got the name on behalf of the owner of extremely long hair, the fabulous Princess Rapunzel. He appeared recently, but has already gained fame.
Variety History
The new variety was bred in 2014 by English breeders. It was first introduced at the United States Agricultural Achievement Exhibition in late 2014.
Already in 2015, seeds of a new variety appeared in foreign online stores. In Russia, it is not for sale and it is difficult to buy this planting material.
Description of Rapunzel
The new hybrid stands out for its non-standard appearance: the branches grow unusually long, with several fruits on the sides. They hang under the weight of the fruit.
The stems grow up to 2 m in length. Bushes are considered tall and require free space.
This is an early ripe variety. Its growing season from seedlings to fruit collection is up to 75 days.
Tomato fruits are not large, round, elastic, with a glossy skin. The size of a tomato is not larger than a walnut, and they have a bright red color. On a branch-brush can fit 40 fruits.
Migi tomatoes have a sweet, pleasant taste. Due to the high content of nutrients, they are classified as dietary products.
Varietal qualities
Rapunzel is a productive variety. Its small fruits are neatly and compactly attached to the branches. They are located one opposite the other. There are also other features of the variety:
- The culture has virtually no empty flowers. From each flower a fruit is tied.
- The tomato has another feature - it is difficult to grow it in open ground. It develops well on balconies and loggias, as well as in greenhouses.
- At home, tomato grows in pots, containers and other containers. It can even be attached to the windowsill.
- The length of the shoots reaches 2.5 m, which distinguishes it from other varieties. Inside the tomatoes there are few partitions. They have a juicy, fleshy inside. The size of the fruit is approximately the same.
- Due to the selection properties, tomatoes are little susceptible to diseases and pests. The most important condition for their active growth and fruiting is good lighting. Otherwise, the plant withers and dies.
Culture requirements
Variety Rapunzel is quite moody. For its successful breeding, the following requirements must be observed:
- The soil reaction should be slightly acidic.
- Ample lighting and warm air temperature.
- Periodic feeding.
- To maintain the bush, you definitely need support. Scourges of branches must be tied.
If you ignore these simple rules, you can lose most of the crop.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Tomatoes Rapunzel have high quality characteristics:
- good fruit setting;
- resistance to most nightshade diseases;
- excellent taste and dietary properties;
- high productivity;
- lack of dependence on climate conditions;
- rapid ripening of fruits;
- lack of need to water often.
Among the shortcomings, the following can be distinguished:
- short shelf life of tomato;
- indoor crop cultivation;
- high lighting requirements;
- increased growth of bushes;
- poor development of the root system;
- lack of seeds on free sale.
Having understood the characteristics of the Rapunzel variety, you can proceed to the technological side.
Planting and growing seedlings
Before sowing the acquired seeds, they must be prepared. The recommendations below will help you do it right.
Seed preparation
This procedure involves several steps:
- Put the seeds in a container with high walls and fill with a weak solution of salt. Keep warm for 12 hours. Empty, unfit seeds will float to the surface. Collect and discard them, and drain the rest through a sieve and rinse with clean water.
- Dry the remaining seeds and treat with a potassium permanganate solution. This procedure disinfects them and improves germination. To do this, dissolve 10 mg of potassium permanganate in 50 ml of water. It is better to take hot water, since manganese is poorly soluble in cold. Cool the solution to a warm state. Wrap the seeds in 4 layers of gauze or in a thin cotton fabric and lower them into the resulting solution for 20-25 minutes.
- After the procedure, rinse the wrapped seeds with clean water.
- The last stage is drying. Place wet seeds on a dry cloth and place in a well-ventilated area. Keep them away from direct sunlight.
- The dried seeds are ready for planting.
The preparation method above is the most affordable. Optionally, you can use biostimulant preparations from the store. However, it must be remembered that not everything that is used for soil varieties is suitable for this variety.
How to germinate the seeds is described in more detail here.
Landing
Sowing is done from mid to late March. For these purposes, prepare suitable containers. On sale there are special glasses and containers for growing seedlings.
The soil must be carefully selected. Rapunzel tomatoes are suitable only for slightly acidic soil. Sowing is carried out in several stages:
- Before sowing, make sure that the soil is not cold. In a seedling container, make small small grooves with a pencil and sow seeds in them. You can do this in another way: sprinkle the seeds evenly over the surface of the soil in a container.
- In both cases, sprinkle the seeded with a small layer (4 mm) of peat or soil.
- Top with warm water.
- To sprouts quickly hatch, it is necessary to create favorable conditions: air temperature up to + 30 ° C and high humidity.
- You can tighten the top of the container with foil after watering. This will create a greenhouse effect.
- The first shoots will hatch in 4-7 days. Be sure to remove the film at this time.
We recommend additionally reading about how to plant tomatoes properly for seedlings in this article.
Care
The basic rules of care are as follows:
- As soon as the first sprouts have appeared, be sure to take care of their lighting. For this, an LED lamp is used, which will have to be turned on for 16 hours daily.
- The air temperature in the room should not fall below + 20 ° C. Sprouts constantly need warmth, otherwise they will die.
- Do not forget to water the seedlings. This should be done as the soil dries. Watering should not be too frequent. This will lead to decay of the roots and death of seedlings.
- When the first 3-4 leaves appear in the sprouts, it is necessary to make a pick. Prepare containers with soil, a volume of 250-500 ml. Gently plant the seedlings, each in a separate container. There they will grow until they land.
- The care remains the same. Only air temperature requirements are somewhat reduced. Seedlings are allowed to be placed on the balcony if the air warms up to + 18 ° C.
Planting Rapunzel tomatoes in the ground
When the threat of night frost passes, the grown seedlings need to be planted in the ground. This period falls at the end of May. By this time, the soil warms up to 15 ° C.
From the time of sowing seeds must pass at least 50 days.
The landing process is divided into several stages:
- In the autumn, dig a site with manure or mineral fertilizers.
- Dig the soil in the spring and remove the weeds.
- Before planting, apply mineral fertilizers or organics.
- Loosen the soil well.
- Plant bushes at a distance of 50 cm from each other and to a depth of 10 cm.
- Leave 70 cm between rows.
- The bed must be equipped with trellises and poles for garter stems.
- It is necessary to plant in the soil, previously watered.
- After planting, water the plants abundantly.
- Spray bushes for disease prevention.
It is possible to grow tomatoes in the open field in the warm southern regions. In other areas they are grown on balconies and in greenhouses. For more information about growing tomatoes in the open field, look here.
Features of planting in the greenhouse
The main features of planting in a greenhouse are as follows:
- Planting seedlings in the greenhouse is necessary in early May, when there will be no threat of frost.
- In the fall, spread manure or superphosphate into the soil for digging.
- In the spring, dig out the place for beds not deep with fertilizer.
- Prepare the greenhouse beds in advance. Equip them with tall sturdy columns to garter bushes. Trellis and wire work well.
- Pre-water the soil, it is better to do this a few hours before planting.
- Place a tomato well-lit and ventilated.
- When planting, be sure to add organic or mineral complexes.
- Planting depth 10 cm, distance between plants 50 cm, distance between rows 70 cm.
- Then, water and spray the plants.
Follow-up care during cultivation
It is necessary to properly care for Rapunzel tomato. This will help you get a good harvest.
Watering plants
Rapunzel tomatoes do not tolerate excess moisture. Therefore, they should be watered moderately, as the soil dries. Optimum watering rate - after 5 days.
In open ground watering depends on weather conditions. On rainy days, you don’t need to water at all.
Water for irrigation should not be very cold. This will cause stress to the plant. When watering, direct a stream of water under the bush. In no case should you water the tomatoes on top. This method will lead to leaf diseases.
The best watering method is a drip system. It can be used in the greenhouse and in the garden. In this case, the soil under the bushes remains loose and the water is supplied evenly. It is also a good way to save water.
Fertilizer application
Bushes need to be fed every 14 days. For feeding, make a solution of manure or chicken droppings. For this:
- Put about 1 liter of manure or litter in 10 liters of water and stir. Leave to insist for 3 days.
- Add the resulting mixture to water for irrigation at the rate of: 0.5 liter of mixture per bucket of water. Watering the composition can only be on wet ground.
For top dressing, you can use chemical mineral fertilizers. In addition, organic-based preparations appeared in stores that are successfully used for feeding tomatoes.
Bush formation
Large yields are achieved due to the correct formation of the bush:
- During growth, in addition to the main stem, tomatoes grow extra - stepchildren. They appear in the axils of leaves and branches. Break them out as early as possible.
- Be sure to pinch the growth point of the main stem. This significantly increases the yield, and reduces the ripening time.
Protection against diseases and pests
To protect tomatoes from diseases and pests, it is necessary to carry out such measures:
- Spray the bushes every 2-3 weeks. The first spraying is carried out immediately after transplanting seedlings. This variety is resistant to disease, but prevention does not hurt. For spraying, use home remedies or store preparations.
- If tomatoes are planted in a greenhouse or garden, it is important to crop rotation every 3 years.
- Avoid thickening of plantings and unhealthy leaves on the bushes. Tear off such leaves and take them out of the site.
Harvest Dates and Rules
With proper care, 2.5 months after germination, Rapunzel bushes will bring a bountiful harvest. However, the fruits themselves spoil very quickly. Therefore, do not leave them for long on the bushes, but collect them in a timely manner. Harvested, immediately realize, otherwise you will lose some of the fruits.
For transportation, collect fruits at the stage of milk maturity. As such, they are stored for up to 2 weeks. They must be transported in ventilated containers, in small layers up to 10 cm. In doing so, make sure that moisture does not get into the luggage.
Appointment Rapunzel
Tomatoes of this variety are suitable for conservation only if the fruits are freshly picked. For these purposes, it is better to collect the fruits of milk maturity.
This variety is not suitable for sale, as it is poorly stored. Fresh small tomatoes are very tasty. They can be cut into a salad or eat whole. This is a dietary product, so it is useful for sick people.
Comparison of Rapunzel with other varieties
We present to your attention a comparative characteristic of various varieties of tomato:
Name varieties or a hybrid | Application | Period ripening (day) | Number fruit on the one brushes (PCS.) | Weight one fetus (g) | Indicators productivity (kg / sq.m) |
Rapunzel hybrid | salads | precocious 75 | 40 | 25 | no data |
Red cherry grade | salads conservation | precocious 95-102 | 30 | 15-20 | 4 |
Long scythe grade | salads conservation | precocious 90-95 | 18-20 | 15-20 | no data |
Trebus hybrid | salads | precocious 90-95 | 20 | 25-30 | 10 |
Madeira hybrid | salads | precocious 85-90 | 12-15 | 20-25 | 4,4-7 |
Cherry Lycopa hybrid | salads conservation | precocious 95-100 | 8-10 | 40 | 12-14 |
In the morning grade | salads conservation | precocious 95-100 | 20-40 | 20-25 | 7,1 |
Reviews
Alina, 28 years old, manager, Chelyabinsk.Once tried in the USA. Just beautiful. I wanted to find in our country, nothing came of it. I ordered it on the Internet, they sent a fake. If you find - do not hesitate. You will not regret!
Sergey, 42 years old, summer resident, Moscow.The bushes already brought to me have been brought to me. I went out. I didn’t expect it myself. They look like grapes. Beauties! I have not seen or tried this before. Tasty!
Anatoly, 50 years old, farmer, Canada.I have been living in Canada for a long time. I am a farmer. He planted this variety. I like this. They grow without problems, even in a flower pot. Water them so that they are warm and light and that’s all. Tomatoes are excellent, only you need to be able to store. I advise if you can find.
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Tomato Rapunzel attracts attention not only with its fruits, like decorativeness, but also as tasty, interesting fruits that can be consumed fresh, added to salads and make preparations. Our recommendations will help you grow this tomato properly and get a high yield.