Tomato Black Prince: how to generous an overseas guest for a good harvest

Gardeners are curious people. They are experimenting with different varieties of tomatoes, trying to find the very plant that gives an excellent harvest, practically does not get sick, and requires a minimum of care. To help workers, breeders create many new varieties, often with a very exotic appearance. Here, for example, the Black Prince tomato - at first glance, it has very unusual fruits. But after tasting them, you will probably want to know its characteristics and the secrets of growing.

Description of tomato Black Prince

We have long been accustomed to the color assortment of tomatoes. The yellow color of the fruits no longer confuses us; we rejoice at the taste of pink tomatoes. But to black? This is somehow unusual and exotic. Although such tomatoes are increasingly found on the market. By the way, the appearance that is not entirely appetizing for someone is deceptive, in fact, tomatoes with such an unusual color are very tasty. So let me introduce, His Majesty - tomato Black Prince.

I will not say exactly where this variety was bred, there is a lot of conflicting information on this subject. And it doesn’t matter whether this miracle appeared in China or Holland. But the Black Prince is included in the State Register of Russia. It happened in 2000. The variety is recommended for cultivation in horticultural and personal plots, as well as in small farms in all regions of Russia. What is noteworthy, the tomato feels great both in the open ground and under film shelter.

Black Prince tomatoes can be grown in any region of the country

Appearance

Recently, the term "indeterminancy" is often found in the description of varieties. It means a tall plant. So, the Black Prince is just such a sort. Its height is as much as 1.5 m. And under suitable conditions, greenhouse, for example, the bush does grow up to 2 m. The stalk is strong. The leaves are medium in size and typical for culture. The inflorescence is simple, intermediate type. The first is laid over 7 - 9 sheets, the subsequent ones appear through 3 sheet plates. On average, 4 to 7 tomatoes are formed on the brush.

In one brush of the Black Prince variety, quite a few fruits can be laid

The fruits of the Black Prince have a flat round, medium silver shape. The unripe fruit is colored green with a darker stain on the stalk. Despite the fact that the variety is called Black Prince, the color of the ripe fruit is not black at all. It is rather red-violet-brown. The skin is thin, the flesh is juicy, sweet and fragrant. These combinations make tomato an ideal product for fresh consumption. True, the fruit contains more than 4 nests with seeds. But they are small and do not spoil the overall impression.

Tomato pulp The black prince is meaty and delicious

Grade characteristics

The set of characteristics of the Black Prince tomato is more than attractive, although there are some drawbacks.

1. The black prince belongs to mid-season grades. From the appearance of seedlings to the moment of ripeness, 115 days pass.
2. The hybrid variety. One of its advantages is self-pollination. But self-collected seeds can give unpredictable results. Therefore, it is better to buy seed material from trusted producers to grow the Black Prince.
3. The average weight of the fetus is from 110 to 170 g. Weight depends on the number of ovaries in the hand. The more of them, the lower the mass of tomato.
4. Productivity of marketable products is very good - 6.2 - 7 kg per 1 m².
5. Like all hybrids, the Black Prince has a good immunity to diseases and pests. The advantage is that it is rarely affected by late blight.
6. The variety is plastic, easily adapts to the environment and bears fruit until the colds.
7. But thin skin makes it impossible to transport and store for a long time, so the variety is not of commercial interest. The peel will not save the fetus from cracking.
8. By universal variety can not be reckoned. The large size of the fruit and thin skin make it impossible to use the variety in sunsets. But fresh tomato is simply a storehouse of useful substances that are indispensable for the body.

If you want to get large tomatoes of the Black Prince variety - the number of fruits in the brush will have to be normalized

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety - table

A distinctive feature of the Black Prince

Despite the fact that Black Prince is a hybrid variety, it is not a genetically modified plant. This is its difference, say from another similar variety - Black Moor. Therefore, you can eat Black Prince tomato without any threat to health.

Unlike the Black Prince, the tomato Black Moor is a genetically modified variety

Features of growing and planting tomatoes Black Prince

Tomato Black Prince is attractive because it is suitable for different regions. That is why the methods of growing and planting it are somewhat different. So, in the southern regions, the variety is perfectly grown in open ground with seeds. In cold regions, it is recommended to use the seedling method.

Seedling method

This method allows you to get an earlier crop. Therefore, it is so popular among gardeners in all regions of the country.

Before sowing the seeds must be prepared.

1. Go through the seeds, leaving whole and large.
2. You can check the quality of planting material by soaking it in water. The seeds having a germ will sink to the bottom, empty seeds will float.
3. In order to disinfect the seed material, it must be held for 15 to 20 minutes in 1 or 2% manganese solution. Then the seeds are soaked for 10 to 12 hours in a growth stimulator. The solution is prepared according to the instructions.

Manganese will help disinfect tomato seeds before sowing

But it should be noted that there are already processed seeds on sale. They are covered with a special colored shell and are ready for disembarkation without additional preparation.

After that, wash the seeds, wrap them in a damp cloth and leave them in the refrigerator overnight, putting them on the lower shelf. Do not tighten the sowing, as wet seeds germinate very quickly.

For growing seedlings, you need loose nutritious soil and a rectangular planting container. Soil can be bought at the garden store. For your own cooking mixture you will need:

• 7 parts of peat;
• 1 part of sawdust;
• 1 part of turf land.

Or

• 3 parts of peat;
• 1 part humus;
• 0.5 parts of mullein and humus.

Before use, such a substrate must be calcined in the oven to disinfect.

To disinfect the soil, it can be calcined in the oven or spilled with a solution of the same potassium permanganate

Landing time

Planting dates largely depend on where exactly you will grow tomatoes in the future. If the seedlings are intended for open ground, then the seeds are sown in March-April. If the material is prepared for greenhouses, then sowing takes place earlier - in February-March.

The age of seedlings ready for transplanting into the open ground is about 60 days.

Step-by-step process

1. Moisten the soil with a spray gun, push rows with a wooden ruler at a distance of 5 cm from each other. In them lay the seeds every 2 to 3 cm. Sprinkle the seeds on top of the sown seeds with dry soil. Depth of landing no more than 2 cm.
2. For seed germination, you need to create suitable temperature conditions - not lower than 15 ° C heat. To create a comfortable environment, cover the container with glass or put on a plastic bag, put in a warm and well-lit place.
3. Remember to ventilate the greenhouse daily and moisten the soil from the spray bottle as needed.
4. Shoots will appear in 10 days. After this, the shelter can be removed, but do it gradually.

After emergence, the shelter is removed

Seedling care

For seedlings to grow strong and healthy, they need proper care.

1. Temperature is not higher than 25 ° С.
2. Proper watering - moisten with water at room temperature and strictly under the root. Do not allow overdrying and waterlogging of the soil.
3. If seedlings are pulled out due to lack of light, illuminate them with a phytolamp or fluorescent lamp.
4. Top dressing is carried out twice. After the appearance of the first pair of leaves and when 6 to 7 leaves grow on seedlings. In fertilizing fertilizers, they use universal complex fertilizers, adhering to the norms. Indicated on the package.

Illumination helps to avoid excessive stretching of tomato seedlings

Pick

This procedure is carried out when 2 to 3 true leaflets appear on the seedlings (do not confuse with cotyledons). The procedure consists in transplanting the seedling into a separate container in which the plant will have the opportunity to build up the root system.

Some experts recommend several picks, each time increasing the volume of the tank.

Step-by-step process

• Before starting the procedure, water the seedlings well. After 3 hours, you can begin to pick.
• Pour nutrient mixture into separate containers - about half the volume, moisten.
• Then, using a spoon, pry the seedling together with an earthen lump and move it into a new pot. Add enough soil so that the plant is buried before the start of cotyledon growth.
• After planting for 2 to 3 days, hold the seedlings in a shaded area. The first 2 weeks, plants need good, but not excessive watering. Keep the temperature within 22 ° C.

After picking, each seedling is in a separate container

For 1.5 - 2 weeks before planting in open ground, you can start hardening seedlings. Start by lowering the night temperatures, then briefly take the young plants outside. Increase the time spent in the fresh air every day by 30 to 40 minutes. From the bright sun for the first time, seedlings need to be slightly shaded.

Open transplant

In the southern regions, Black Prince seedlings are planted in open ground in mid-May. In cooler areas, these dates may move to the end of the month or even the beginning of June. If the weather is unstable, then the bed can be covered with a film cover, which is easily dismantled.

The transplant is carried out on a cloudy day or in the evening, so that the bright sun does not depress the planted plant too much. The distance between the bushes should be at least 60 cm. The row spacing is about 1 m. This is a prerequisite so that tall tomatoes do not interfere with each other to receive the maximum amount of sunlight and do not compete for moisture and nutrition.

When planting seedlings of tomato Black Prince do not forget to observe the distance between the bushes

1. On a bed prepared in the fall, they dig a hole 50/40 cm in size. It should easily accommodate the root system.
2. The plant is placed in a direction from south to north, slightly inclined and covered with cotyledonous leaves.
3. After planting, the soil is lightly compacted and watered with at least 1 liter of water.

If nutrients were not added to the bed during soil preparation, they are applied directly to the well, mixed thoroughly with the soil. For one bush, add 50 g of ammonium nitrate and 100 g of potassium-rich wood ash.

Wood ash contains many useful substances necessary for the growth of tomatoes

Features of outdoor cultivation

Planted seedlings or tomatoes grown from seeds need good conditions and care. The most favorable temperature for the formation and ripening of fruits is 28 ° С. But if we are not able to influence the temperature regime, then we must ensure proper care.

Watering and feeding

Tomatoes The Black Prince is hygrophilous. This is due to the large size of the plant and its large-fruited. The soil under the bush should not be too dry. Therefore, water regularly. A good way to moisturize is the drip system. Thanks to this method, water gets strictly under the root, and the leaves and stem remain dry. Seedlings need more frequent watering, because its root system only develops the soil and is not able to satisfy the tomato's need for moisture.

For watering, choose the morning or evening hours. At this time, the sun is not so bright, and if water inadvertently fell on the leaves, burns will not happen.

Despite the Black Prince’s love of watering, it’s impossible to waterlog the soil. If the tomatoes grow in too moist soil, they will hurt, and the ripening fruits will become watery and crack. When making a watering schedule, it is necessary to take into account precipitation and the type of soil.

If there is no drip system, you can dig irrigation grooves along the bed

When growing the Black Prince, fertilizer can not do without. Top dressing is applied every 2 weeks, and you need to alternate the root with the extra root. From organics, tomatoes prefer humus and dung. Fertilizers with a balanced composition are used as mineral top dressing:

• Emerald;
• Ideal;
• Humate station wagon;
• Humate + 7;
• Fortica wagon.

Foliar top dressing is carried out only in the evening. The solution for it is prepared less concentrated than for fertilizer in the usual way.

Humate helps reduce soil acidity and has a positive effect on tomato growth

Garter and shaping

The tallness of the Black Prince suggests that you can’t do without a garter. It is especially important to tie up fruit brushes on which rather big tomatoes ripen. If this is not done on time, the brush simply breaks under the weight of the fruit.

• the plant is formed in 1 trunk on an individual support with the removal of the lower leaves and all stepsons. Stepsons should not be broken out, but carefully cut with a sharpened knife with a small blade;
• to increase the mass of fruits, the number of ovaries in the brush is normalized;
• at the end of the growing season, you need to pinch the growth point, otherwise the fruits that are set will not have time to ripen.

The black prince in a greenhouse and in the open field is formed in different ways

Features of growing in a greenhouse

Black Prince tomatoes are also successfully grown in greenhouses. Moreover, productivity, due to the formation of a bush and suitable conditions, is increasing. A feature of growing varieties in closed ground is the ability to sow seeds or plant seedlings. In one case or another, the greenhouse climate will help the tomato quickly develop and enter the period of fruiting. But in closed ground, there are nuances of their own, on which the health of the plant and its productivity depend.

• maintaining a temperature regime favorable for setting and ripening fruits in a greenhouse is easier to control;
• with moisture, things are somewhat different - often it is elevated, and this can provoke fungal diseases. Therefore, constant airing should become the norm;
• the same goes for watering. In closed ground, the soil dries out more slowly than in an open bed. Before starting watering, do not be lazy and check the soil moisture level;
• treatment of bushes from diseases and pests should be carried out in a timely manner, since in a comfortable environment the problem that has arisen spreads very quickly;
• greenhouse soil requires annual disinfection. In order not to accumulate pathogens, it is recommended not to use one greenhouse for growing tomatoes from year to year. If there is no other possibility, in small greenhouses they resort to changing the top layer of the soil or steaming it. On large areas using chemicals. The most common is a solution of copper or iron sulfate. You can also use sulfur drafts.

Greenhouse - a great place to grow tall tomato Black Prince

Indoor and outdoor processing

Despite the fact that the Black Prince has good immunity, treatment is an integral part of care when growing both in open ground and indoors.

Disease prevention begins at the stage of preparing seeds for planting. For this, a solution of manganese or hydrogen peroxide is used.

Blight and company

If in an open garden the tomato is least susceptible to late blight, then in an unheated greenhouse, where high humidity often prevails, the disease can develop suddenly and rapidly. To combat it, various means are used:

• Thanos;
• Ridomil Gold;
• Revus.

If the tomato is already ripening fruits, then getting rid of the identified problem in time is best done using folk remedies:

• garlic tincture - 200 g of chopped raw material is poured into a glass of warm water. After 24 hours, filter and add to 10 l of water. So that the solution does not roll off the leaves, a little grated laundry soap is introduced into its composition;
• milk solution or whey - per 10 liters of water 2 liters of any of the products.

Late blight kills all the efforts of gardeners

In addition to late blight, at different stages of development, the tomato may be threatened by a black leg or rot of the fruit. These diseases are easier to prevent. And all you need to do is follow the correct agricultural practices:

• remove plant debris from under the bush in time, especially in the greenhouse;
• observe the irrigation regime, and pour water strictly under the root;
• after watering, carry out loosening of the soil.

Rot on tomatoes is different, but one result - spoiled fruits

Pests

On an open bed in conditions of high air temperature and insufficient watering, Black prince can be attacked by spider mites, aphids or thrips. In the fight against this problem, 3 tried methods can be applied.

• proper agricultural technology will initially prevent the development of favorable conditions for the propagation of harmful insects;
• folk remedies are used when the number of insects is small or the crop is already ripening on the bushes. The most common way to repel a pest is through a soap solution. It is prepared in a ratio of 1: 4 or 1: 6. For greater efficiency, processing can be repeated several times;
• chemicals are used when there is no other choice. The choice of drugs is wide, but Planta-Pete, Actellik or Fitoverm are most often used. Before use, you need to carefully study the instructions. And remember that after processing it must take a certain time before you can eat tomatoes for food.

In the greenhouse, another threat can sneak up - slugs. In order not to cause harm to health, the following methods are used against them:

• manual collection;
• traps
• bio and phytopreparations.

If in the greenhouse processing can be carried out at any time, then for an open garden, choose a calm evening. And try to check the weather forecast, to combat the disease, any remedy must last on the leaves for at least a day. And if it rains, then the processing will have to start again.

Slugs taste like ripe fruits, and not yet ripened

Reviews about the variety Black Prince

Like the tomato variety Black Prince. The taste is sweet, I eat such tomatoes just like fruit. Very tasty. To grow yes, it’s difficult - I can’t say that they are more susceptible to diseases or pests, but it’s not enough on the bush. Yes, and seedlings are difficult to grow - whimsical. Plus seeds in a bag - one or two and miscalculated.

Artsalana

//zonehobby.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1405

Among the favorites, I’ll highlight the Black Prince variety. At first, the family was skeptical of him, repelled the black color of this variety, they thought that the tomato was somehow sick. But now in the summer the Black Prince first breaks down on the salad.

Nellie

//www.forumdacha.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3058

I don’t know why everyone took up arms against this tomato variety. I always grow some bushes. This year they ripened first (!!!), a week earlier than frankly early varieties. The first ripe tomato (weighing 270 grams!) We took off 10.07. In a salad, he is both beautiful and tasty. The pulp is juicy, soft, velvet. Doesn’t go to sunset - yes. Cracks from ripeness. But it’s good when there are DIFFERENT varieties for different delicious dishes. One of these days I’ll take a picture on a bush and be sure to post a photo. So, I am FOR the "Black Prince"!

Anfisa

//chudo-ogorod.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?start=10&t=1200

The Black Prince (Zedek) - sickly, very tall, from the hot sun there were non-maturing green spots. I didn’t like the taste.

kisa12

//forum.prihoz.ru/viewtopic.php?t=5374&start=1125

Already many gardeners appreciated the unpretentiousness of the Black Prince. Incredibly, this person of royal blood requires minimal attention. But then how tall and tall bushes of this variety hung with large fruits look beautiful and unusual in the garden and in the greenhouse. A fresh tomato in a salad will be an excellent source of vitamins for the whole family, because aronia tomatoes are considered one of the most useful.