Description of the Moscow Delicacy tomato variety, cultivation and care features

Almost all gardeners who enjoy growing vegetables in their gardens grow tomatoes. Before planting tomatoes, it's recommended to choose the right variety. While there are a huge number of different types of tomatoes available today, the Moskovsky Delikates tomato is a popular choice among vegetable growers. This variety is known for its high yield and resistance to common vegetable diseases.

Description of the variety

The Moskovsky Delikates tomato variety is considered a medium-ripening tomato. The first harvest occurs three and a half months after the first shoots emerge. A distinctive feature of these tomato plants is their long fruiting period, allowing harvesting to occur within two to three weeks.

The plant is popular with vegetable growers because it doesn't require much maintenance. Regular watering and fertilizing are sufficient to increase yields. Other advantages of this variety include:

• excellent taste;
• productivity;
• resistance to pests and diseases.

During the fruiting season, the bushes bear fairly large, cylindrical fruits with a ribbed surface. Ripe fruits are covered with a bright red skin, beneath which lies a watery pulp. Each ripe tomato weighs 100–170 grams. Thanks to this, vegetable growers harvest at least eight kilograms of tomatoes per square meter of garden. The harvested Moscow delicacy is used in fresh vegetable salads, tomato sauce, ketchup, and preserves.

Growing

Before planting, it's recommended to thoroughly study the cultivation instructions for this tomato variety. Moscow Delicacy can be grown outdoors or in greenhouses. The choice of planting location depends on the climate of the region where the tomatoes will be grown. In the southern regions of the country, they are planted directly outdoors, while in the northern regions, they are planted in greenhouses.

Growing any tomato variety begins with planting. This mid-season variety is planted from seedlings in late March. First, the seeds are planted in containers no smaller than 50x50 cm.

The bushes will grow much more poorly in smaller pots. Before planting, water the soil with warm water and add organic fertilizer. Then, make holes in each pot and plant the tomato seeds in them.

The seedlings are transplanted into open ground after the first 3-5 leaves appear. Before planting the seedlings in the garden, the area is completely dug over and cleared of weeds. Then, holes are dug 30-40 cm apart and the seedlings are planted.

Care Features

To get a good harvest of this Moscow delicacy, it's not enough to simply plant it. You also need to learn how to care for tomato plants.

When growing the Moscow Delicacy tomato variety, it is recommended to adhere to the following rules for caring for the planted bushes:

• Watering. Tomato plants should be watered regularly with clean, settled water. Watering should be done only through drip irrigation to avoid any liquid getting on the leaves.
• Fertilizing. Tomatoes require periodic application of organic or mineral fertilizers.
• Pinching. To encourage faster growth and better fruit production, regularly pinch out the side shoots of this delicacy variety.
• Loosening the soil. Weed the tomato-growing area 2-3 times a season to loosen the soil and remove weeds.

Particular attention is also paid to bush formation. During cultivation, all bushes are trained into two stems to increase yield and accelerate seedling growth.

Advantages and disadvantages

Almost everyone who has planted the Moscow Delicacy claims that this variety has many advantages compared to other tomato varieties.

The main advantages of tomatoes include the following:

• long fruiting period;
• resistance to common tomato diseases;
• large and juicy fruits;
• ease of care when growing;
• the ability to collect 2–3 kg of ripe fruits from one bush.

Thanks to the above-mentioned advantages, this variety is popular among vegetable growers. However, despite all these advantages, the Moscow Delicacy has two drawbacks:

• rotting of ripe tomatoes due to waterlogged soil;
• the appearance of blossom-end rot when bushes are located close together.

Pests and diseases

Before planting this variety, it's recommended to familiarize yourself with the diseases and pests that can cause damage to the planted bushes. Knowing the characteristics of these diseases and pests will help you understand their specific manifestations.

It's no secret that the Moskovsky Delikates cream tomato is disease-resistant. The plant is particularly resistant to the common disease late blight. Even if neighboring plants are affected by late blight, Moskovsky Delikates bushes will not be infected.

A serious threat to bushes is posed by an insect called a nematode. This pest resides in the soil, from where it penetrates the plant's root system and gradually attacks the stems. Over time, it lays its larvae there, causing the bushes to wither.

When the first signs of nematode infestation appear, you will need to immediately remove the affected bushes to prevent the insects from spreading to healthy plants.

Harvesting and storage

Tomatoes are harvested at different stages of ripeness, depending on the purpose of harvesting them. Most often, growers of this variety harvest reddened tomatoes. These are used for pickling and marinating. Some prefer to harvest green tomatoes, which are often added to canned dishes. An advantage of unripe tomatoes is their long shelf life. They remain intact for much longer than red tomatoes.

Only large tomatoes with no visible damage on the surface are selected for storage. If they break off along with the stem, the harvested crop is stored upside down. No more than 10–12 kg of tomatoes are placed in each storage container. If you add more, they will begin to press against each other, causing them to spoil quickly.

Plastic crates or cardboard boxes can be used as storage containers. It's recommended to line the bottom of the fruit storage containers with several layers of paper to prolong their shelf life and prevent spoilage.

Gardeners' reviews

Irina, 35 years old:

"I spent a long time searching for a tomato variety that was easy to grow and didn't require much care. After reading reviews, I decided on the Moskovsky Delikates and was pleased. The bushes grow very quickly and produce a large number of fruits. The variety's taste is also impressive; the fruits are juicy and even slightly sweet."

Andrey, 30 years old:

"My neighbor had been recommending planting Moskovsky Delikates for a while, but I'd been putting it off for a while. I recently decided to plant them and regretted putting them off. All the plants I planted grew without any problems. I harvested them before the first autumn frosts."

Conclusion

For a good harvest, many recommend growing Moskovsky Delikates tomatoes. Reviews from vegetable growers confirm that this variety is easy to grow and produces a high yield.