Tomato Cardinal

The Cardinal tomato variety meets many of the requirements that most summer residents show to the nightshade culture. The fruits have a very beautiful appearance and no less decent taste. Tomato Cardinal, due to its many advantages, has become a popular guest on the tables of many gardeners in our country.

Tomato Cardinal: variety description and characteristics

Tomato Cardinal: photo of the variety

By the timing of ripening tomato variety Cardinal mid-early... The first crop from the moment the first sprouts appear can be harvested in one hundred ten to one hundred and fifteen days. This is a hybrid culture. Shows the Cardinal tomato good results both in greenhouse conditions and in the open field.

Tomato Cardinal is indeterminate... In greenhouse conditions, such a bush can grow up to two meters. It is necessary to pinch the top of the stem from time to time. Under the open sky, the Cardinal tomato grows about one and a half meters. Such characteristics make such a variety mandatory for a garter.

To do this, you need to build a reliable support. It is worth noting that not only the stems of the plant are tied up, but also the fruit-bearing branches. One brush can contain about ten large enough tomatoes. Ripening does not occur abruptly. Fruits appear from the fifteenth of July.

It is necessary to form a Cardinal tomato bush. In this case, summer residents leave no more than two central shoots. Be sure to tie the bush to the trellises in time. Otherwise, the branches can simply break from heavy weight loads.

The first harvest, as you know, in a tomato is usually larger than the next. Tomato variety Cardinal is no exception in this regard. The first tomatoes of this variety in their weight can reach about nine hundred grams. And the next fruits are already smaller, about four hundred grams in weight.

The average weight is about six hundred grams. Cardinal tomatoes have a beautiful rich pink color. The shape of the fruit distantly resembles the heart. Inside, the tomato is sweet with a slight refreshing sourness. The texture of the fruit is fleshy, there is a lot of juice, there are not too many seeds.

Cardinal tomatoes are quite sugary. For this reason, most vegetable growers love fresh Cardinal tomato. Juice, various ketchups and pastes are also very tasty from these fruits.

The yield level of the Cardinal tomato is at a height due to the impressive size of the fruit. From one square meter, you can get about fourteen to fifteen kilograms of tomatoes.

Cardinal tomatoes: gardeners reviews

Tomato Cardinal: photo of the variety

Tomato variety Cardinal, based on gardeners' reviews, has quite a lot good qualities thanks to which Cardinal tomatoes are very popular among gardeners throughout the country.

• The fruits have very good tasting ratings. Inside, the fruits are fleshy, but outwardly they have a very beautiful appearance.
• The Cardinal tomato has a fairly strong immunity to major diseases and harmful insects.
• The seeds of these tomatoes usually sprout with one hundred percent probability.
• Tomato Cardinal can tolerate cold temperatures quite calmly.
• Tomatoes of this variety are well able to be stored without prejudice to their appearance.
• These tomatoes do not crack.

With all of the above advantages, gardeners also note some minuses:

• Such large fruits are not suitable for pickling as a whole due to their outstanding dimensions.
• Since the bush has a rather spreading shape, a rather large space must be allocated for planting.
• Cardinal tomatoes are large in size. Because of this, you need to organize strong supports, to which from time to time you need to tie up stems and shoots with brushes. This complicates the process of caring for such a variety a little.
• It is imperative to pinch such plants so that the bush has a normal shape and yield.

All of the above disadvantages are not per se. These are, rather, recommendations for care. But if you follow all these simple rules, you can achieve a truly decent yield of Cardinal tomato

Growing Cardinal Tomatoes

Cardinal tomatoes: variety photo

Tomato variety Cardinal shows the best results on light soil. It should be nutritious enough. You can prepare this soil yourself. To do this, you need to mix turf or garden soil and humus. The latter should be well rotted.

Do not neglect the rules of crop rotation. It is better to plant Cardinal tomatoes in those areas where legumes, cucumbers, onions, carrots, cabbage were previously grown. If the soil is not nutritious enough, then you can additionally add wood ash and superphosphate.

As a rule, the sowing time for Cardinal tomato seeds for seedlings falls on the last days of March-early April.

First, it is necessary to disinfect the planting material; for this, a manganese solution is used. You need to keep the seeds of the Cardinal tomato in it for about half an hour. After this time, the seeds of the Cardinal tomatoes must be rinsed with plain tap water. After that, leave them in the growth stimulator for eleven to twelve hours.

If you do not want to buy a ready-made growth stimulant in a garden store, then you can use fresh aloe juice, which must be diluted in warm water.

Then, when the seeds are ready for planting, they must be planted in a container that is filled with a nutrient substrate. The embedment depth is usually one and a half to two centimeters. Tomato seeds of the Cardinal variety can be planted immediately in peat pots. So when transplanting, you will not damage the delicate root system of the plants. Planting them directly in such a container is safer than diving.

After the seeds of the Cardinal tomato are sown, they must be watered. It is best to use a spray bottle for this. Then cover the containers well with plastic and put them in a warm place. Now it remains to wait for the first sprouts of tomatoes to appear.

How to properly transplant a Cardinal tomato into a greenhouse

Cardinal tomatoes: photo of the variety

As for the transplanting of Cardinal tomatoes to a permanent habitat, it is done for different conditions at different times.

So, for example, Cardinal tomatoes are transplanted into an open area around the first week of June. And tomatoes are transferred to greenhouses and hotbeds two to three weeks earlier. Before planting the Cardinal tomato variety, add wood ash to each planting hole, one tablespoon per hole will suffice.

It is better to tie up Cardinal tomatoes immediately after you plant them. It is best to install a trellis for these purposes. You can attach stems to it, as well as branches with heavy tomatoes.

Remember to form tomato bushes from time to time. From time to time you need to remove the leaves located at the bottom of the plants. Side shoots are usually removed as well. It is necessary to leave at the same time from one to two central shoots.

When the Cardinal tomato is tall enough, you need to pinch the top. Thus, the plant will cease to stretch upward.

As for watering, it should be moderate. For this, the water must be settled and warm. At least three times during the summer period, it is necessary to make nutritious dressings. You can use purchased complex fertilizers for this.

The Cardinal tomato variety shows excellent results both in the open field and in greenhouse conditions. There are no special care requirements, agricultural technology is similar to other varieties of tomatoes.

The Cardinal tomato variety is well suited for both personal and commercial cultivation. Indeed, thanks to the structure of the fruit, such tomatoes can retain their presentation for a long time, even during transportation.