Characteristics and description of the Strawberry Dessert tomato variety

Those who have grown the Strawberry Dessert tomato note the undeniable advantages of this new variety. Its low maintenance and early ripening fruit make it popular among gardeners.

External characteristics of the variety

The variety's characteristics and description define the plant type as indeterminate (without restricting the growth of the main stem). These are tall tomatoes, capable of reaching a height of 1.7 m during the growing season. The plant requires support. It's convenient to grow tall tomatoes on a trellis, tying the bushes to a vertical wire as they grow.

It takes 120 days from sowing to harvest. Strawberry Dessert tomatoes begin bearing fruit in the first to second ten days of July. When grown outdoors, the plant continues to grow until the first frost.

This variety is suitable for greenhouse cultivation. In unheated buildings, ripening continues until temperatures drop below freezing. In a heated greenhouse, tomatoes produce fruit successfully until November in any region of Russia.

The fruits are fleshy and large, averaging about 300 g in weight, and are red with a ruby ​​hue. The fruit is rounded and flattened, with slight ribbing. The skin is thin, and the flesh is juicy. The average yield is 10-12 kg of ripe fruit per bush.

Taste qualities of fruits

Gardeners who have already planted Strawberry Dessert tomatoes note the excellent flavor of this variety's fruits. These tomatoes have a high sugar and dry matter content. This combination creates a rich, sweet flavor (like strawberries) with a distinct, characteristic tomato aroma.

The thin skin makes Strawberry Dessert tomatoes suitable for fresh vegetable salads. Their juicy flesh makes them ideal for pureeing (for adjika and lecho) or making tomato juice. Their large size and fragile skin make them unsuitable for pickling or marinating whole.

Agricultural technology of the variety

In Russia, tomatoes are grown exclusively from seedlings. Seeds are sown in mid-March. Up to 80% of the seeds germinate, with shoots appearing within 5-7 days. Seedlings should be pricked out when they have two true leaves, planting them in individual 7-cm diameter pots or in a common container at the same distance.

Tomato seedlings are transplanted indoors in early May. The planting pattern for tall varieties calls for a distance of approximately 40 cm between plants and a minimum row spacing of 60 cm.

The timing of planting Strawberry Dessert tomatoes outdoors depends on the end of frosts. The average time to plant seedlings outdoors is late May to early June. Seven to 10 days after planting, the seedlings should be tied to a support.

For normal growth and rapid fruit set, the bushes should be fed with complex fertilizers containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. You cannot water tomatoes with a solution of fresh mullein or bird droppings.It is recommended to add organic matter to the site in the fall, in rotted form.

The main difficulty of care is shaping the bush into a single stem. To do this, you need to monitor the tomato plants' growth and remove side shoots as they emerge from the leaf axils. It's best to pinch out overgrown side shoots rather than break them off, pinching them just above the first flower cluster.

To improve air circulation, it's recommended to remove leaves from under each newly formed fruit cluster. At the end of August, pinch the top of the bush to allow the fruit to fill out and ripen before frost.

Some tomatoes will need to be picked green. Strawberry Dessert tomatoes ripen well in a warm room.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Among the variety's advantages are its excellent fruit flavor and excellent shelf life. Other benefits of the Strawberry Dessert include:

• the plant is resistant to root rot and black leg, which allows you to save a large number of seedlings;
• the fruits are practically not susceptible to late blight and blossom end rot even in cool and humid summers;
• fruiting is extended, which allows you to harvest ripe tomatoes for fresh consumption throughout the season;
• high yields provide all the needs of the gardener.

The variety's shortcomings are few and limited to agronomic considerations. When growing Strawberry Dessert, it's necessary to constantly monitor the timing of side shoots and staking, ensuring the plants have reliable support. Due to the extended fruiting period, the final ovaries only fully develop in greenhouses.

In a greenhouse where Strawberry Dessert tomatoes are grown, it is recommended to maintain a temperature of around 24°C. If the temperature drops sharply to 8–10°C, the plants will stop growing.