What are beef tomatoes, description and characteristics of varieties, growing rules

Not everyone knows that beefsteak tomatoes are a large-fruited, multi-chambered variety. They are grown in protected soil. Due to their high sugar content, the fruits are very tasty and sweet. These are vigorous hybrid varieties, productive, and have good immunity.

What are beef tomatoes?

There are many varieties of tomatoes. Fruit size is the main characteristic of any variety. Based on this, a classification has been developed that divides all tomatoes into three groups:

1. The first group includes small-fruited varieties, including cherry tomatoes. Their fruit weight does not exceed 70 g.
2. The second group includes tomatoes with medium-sized fruits. Their weight is greater than 70 g but does not exceed 100 g.
3. The third category includes all tomato varieties with tomatoes weighing more than 100 g. It is this category that includes the beef tomato variety.

The first varieties were developed by an American farmer, Johan Munster. The flesh of his tomatoes was very meaty, so he named them "beefsteak." Beefs are high-yielding F1 hybrids. The large, fleshy fruits can weigh from 150 to 1,500 grams.

General description of beef tomato fruits:

• shelf life is about 7 days;
• poor transportability;
• thin skin;
• tasty, dense, fleshy pulp;
• beautiful cut;
• multi-chamber.

Hybrids are resistant to fungi and viruses, and no chemicals are used in their cultivation.

Pros and cons

Plus	Minus
Impressive fruit size	Transportability is low
Compelling yield	Short shelf life
Stable immunity
The pulp is tasty and contains a lot of nutrients.

Beef tomato varieties

The beef tomato variety is represented by a large line of cultivars with different ripening periods.

Big Beef F1

A delicious hybrid popular with gardeners. They manage to grow Big Beef tomatoes weighing over 1 kg. Average-sized fruits weigh 300 g. These tomatoes ripen early, taking 100 to 110 days to mature. The harvest lasts for about 3 weeks.

Beef Brandy F1

This hybrid is mid-season (115 days). The bushes are formed into a single stem. 20 kg of fruit are harvested per square meter per season. Description:

• raspberry red;
• ribbed;
• fleshy;
• salad purpose;
• stored for 3 weeks;
• sweet and sour;
• weight 180-1000 g.

Negro Beef

Bushes 1.8-2.5 m tall are grown in greenhouses. They are trained into single or double stems. The flesh of ripe fruits is chocolate-colored and contains a high concentration of beta-carotene and sugars. Each tomato weighs 300 g.

Bull's heart

It ripens in 110 days and bears fruit until autumn. The bushes require pinching and staking, growing up to 2 m. They are planted in a 50 x 40 cm pattern. Harvesting is recommended at a controlled rate. The fruits are large, sweet, heart-shaped, and red. Individual specimens weigh around 700 g.

Beef Porter F1

They are grown in greenhouses and vegetable gardens. The bushes are tall (1.8 m), producing 7 to 8 clusters. The fruits are used for salads. They are round, red, and weigh 300-400 g, with the best specimens weighing 800 g. A single tomato bush yields up to 6 kg, and about 12 kg per square meter.

Big Boy

Grown in a greenhouse. The bushes are formed by two stems. The plant height is 1.7 m. The fruits are heart-shaped and red. Most tomatoes weigh 300-500 g. Record-breakers grow specimens weighing 1000 g.

Beef Pink Brandy F1

A mid-season salad hybrid with a long fruiting period. Pink Brandy tomatoes are enjoyed throughout the summer. The fruits are pink and weigh 300 g or more. They have a low seed content and a sweet flavor.

Beef Master

In the south, it's grown in open ground; in temperate regions, it's grown in greenhouses. Beef Master yields 10-16 kg/m². Hybrid characteristics:

• fruits ripen in 120-125 days;
• tomato weight 600 g;
• color red;
• flat-round shape with ribbing;
• high quality taste;
• salad purpose.

Mona Beef F1

The bush is indeterminate and tall (1.8 m). It is grown in a greenhouse. Ripens early (90-95 days). The fruits are very large—about 700 g—and ripen evenly. The flesh is sweet and sour, sweet and juicy. The yield of the Mona Beef hybrid is 16 kg/m², with a single bush yielding 4.5 to 6 kg.

Big Tasty F1

A mid-early, red-fruited hybrid. Grows in both open and protected ground. Description of Big Tasty fruits:

• weight 200-250 g;
• color red;
• the shape is round;
• ribbing is present;
• the pulp is fleshy and tasty.

Big Sasher F1

An early-ripening beefsteak tomato. This dark-fruited, cluster-forming hybrid is disease-resistant. The bushes are trained into two stems, planted at a rate of three bushes per square meter. A trellis is recommended for support. Big Sacher fruit characteristics:

• the shape is smooth, oval;
• weight 150-250 g;
• the pulp is dense;
• the skin is glossy, smooth.

Pink Beef

Semko seeds are sown in the second half of March. 55-day-old seedlings are planted in greenhouses at a rate of 4 plants per square meter. With this planting pattern, Pink Beef yields approximately 26 kg/square meter. Fruit ripens within 105-115 days. Description: weight 175-400 g, round shape, ribbed texture, red color. Advantages of beef tomatoes:

• productivity;
• resistance to fungi and viruses;
• the pulp is tasty and contains a large amount of useful microelements;
• easy care;
• drought resistance.

Features of cultivation and care

In protected ground, beef tomatoes are grown in any climate zone. Seedlings are sown in March. They are pricked out when the second true leaf appears. The seedlings are transplanted into the greenhouse 50-60 days after sprouting. The plants are vigorous, so seedlings are planted infrequently. No more than two plants are planted per square meter. Hybrid tomatoes are indeterminate, with unlimited growth.

Usually the bushes are grown in one stem, and all newly appeared stepsons are pinched.

The central shoot is tied to a support (stake or trellis). As the tomatoes develop, all the leaves at the base of the trunk are removed. To grow giant tomatoes, the harvest is rationed by removing some of the ovaries. Fertilizing is essential, as is regular watering. At the beginning of the growing season, beef tomatoes require phosphorus-rich fertilizer. The N:P:K ratio is 1:5:1. After flowering, the plants are fed with calcium nitrate.

Calcium-containing fertilizer prevents blossom-end rot in tomatoes. Potassium levels are increased during fruit formation and ripening. Fertilizers with a N:P:K ratio of 1:0.5:2 are applied. Spray the plants with a solution of complex mineral fertilizers at least twice per season.

Reviews from experienced gardeners

Lidiya, Zaporizhzhia: "The Big Beef variety has been my favorite for two years now. Firm, fleshy tomatoes, very tasty. They're perfect in salads. The slices are beautiful and don't fall apart. The bushes grow up to 2 meters, are disease-free, and the fruits don't crack."

Alena, Kharkiv: "I plant Big Beef and Beef Master. I prefer the taste of the latter hybrid. The tomatoes are sweet, fleshy, and bright red, just as good as the varietal ones. Big Beef has firmer flesh and a noticeable tartness, but the tomatoes are better shaped. Beef Master's tomatoes are a bit odd."

Vladimir, Moscow Region: "I had an unsuccessful experience growing Big Beef outdoors. I trained the bush into a single stem, but it grew strong and tall. The first cluster set late, at a height of 50 cm. I couldn't taste any ripe tomatoes due to late blight."