Description of the exotic tomato Blue P20, cultivation and care

The exotic Blue P20 tomato isn't everyone's cup of tea. Gardeners are sometimes dissatisfied with its taste and grow it solely for its beautiful, unusually colored fruits. But the variety does have its advantages.

General characteristics of the plant

The bush is indeterminate and, in open ground, reaches a height of 1.6 m during the summer season, but can grow even taller in a greenhouse. The plant's stems are strong, but they still require support. Due to its tendency to branch, it is necessary to pinch off side shoots and train the bushes into 2-3 trunks.

The Blue P20 tomato variety is a hybrid of the American Indigo Rose variety, well-known in Russia, and has inherited not only its unusual coloring but also its high resistance to late blight. Reviews from gardeners in the Leningrad Region and their Ukrainian colleagues note the absence of signs of the disease, even in unfavorable weather conditions. Tomatoes are not susceptible to Alternaria., fusarium and other diseases of nightshade plants.

The American variety has proven well-suited to Russian conditions. It tolerates sudden temperature fluctuations in summer, when hot spells alternate with cold rains, is resilient to dry soil, and requires little care.

The yield is average. The Blue P20 variety was not developed for industrial vegetable production, so it's hard to expect it to match the performance of modern commercial hybrids. However, it is quite capable of providing early tomatoes for the table and decorating salads until late fall. Over the course of the season, each plant yields approximately 4 kg of tasty and attractive medium-sized tomatoes.

Fruit characteristics

This is an early-ripening variety. The seed producer (Biotekhnika) states that fruiting begins 95-100 days after sowing. However, in Russian conditions (in open ground), the first tomatoes of technical maturity will only be available in late July, with vine tomatoes ripening in August. A single stem produces 3-5 clusters of uniformly sized, round, non-ribbed tomatoes. A cluster can hold 6-8 tomatoes, each weighing approximately 100 g.

The most unusual feature is the fruit's color. The Blue P20 variety contains anthocyanins, which give its skin a blue hue. The color appears on the part of the fruit adjacent to the stalk. The violet-blue color is especially noticeable on tomatoes at the technical stage of ripeness, but it persists after ripening. Tomatoes containing anthocyanins are beneficial for humans: the pigment inhibits the development of cancer cells and helps strengthen vascular walls.

It is believed that it is its content that protects the tomatoes themselves from fungal diseases.

The dense skin of Blue P20 tomatoes protects the fruit well from cracking, does not burst during heat treatment during canning, and does not discolor when exposed to a hot vinegar and salt solution. These tomatoes are easy to transport and can be stored at room temperature for 2-3 weeks when unripe (blanched), gradually reaching full ripeness.

The flesh is dense, yet soft and juicy. The seed chambers are large, containing a few seeds. The fruit walls are thick, up to 1 cm. The flesh is uniformly dark red, a very rich color. When harvested at technical ripeness and artificially ripened, a discolored area may remain near the stalk.

According to the manufacturer, the taste is excellent, with a sweet, dessert-like flavor. However, some gardeners describe the Blue P20 tomatoes as mediocre in flavor, with a sharp acidity and relatively little sweetness. The discrepancy may be caused by different tomato growing conditions: with a lack of warmth and sunlight, many sweet varieties lose some of their sugar content and become sour or tasteless.

The Blue P20 variety is versatile. These purple-red tomatoes look stunning in salads and sliced ​​dishes, and can be used for delicious appetizers. These small, thick-walled, portioned tomatoes are perfect for stuffing salads for buffets and make a beautiful addition to a festive platter or sandwich.

Purple tomatoes also look unusual when preserved. However, the juice they produce is quite ordinary, albeit darker in color. Beautifully colored tomatoes can be used for drying; the skin's color will be fully preserved this way.

Agricultural technology of the variety

Growing Blue P20 tomatoes in central Russia is only possible from seedlings. This method allows you to get ripe tomatoes slightly earlier if you sow the seeds 70-90 days before transplanting them into the ground. When growing seedlings, the first flower clusters can appear indoors. You can also save seeds from your own plants; the variety retains all the characteristics of its parent.

Sow according to the usual rules for tomatoes: in a soil mixture of equal parts garden soil, humus, and fine sand. Add 1 tablespoon of ground chalk per 5 kg of the mixture. Disinfect the soil directly in the containers by watering it with a hot solution of potassium permanganate (dark pink). After cooling, scatter the tomato seeds over the wet surface and cover with 0.5 cm of dry soil or sand. Germinate under plastic or glass at 25°C.

When the tomato plants reach 2-3 true leaves, transplant the seedlings to the cotyledons. It's easier to plant them in individual pots: they can be moved apart as they grow to prevent them from becoming too leggy. They are planted outdoors in the first ten days of June, after the last frost has passed. They can be transplanted into a greenhouse 2-3 weeks earlier.

To ensure sweeter tomatoes, plant them in the sunniest, warmest spot, protected from north winds. The soil should be loose and permeable. Lime (1-1.5 kg of chalk or dolomite per square meter) and 2-3 buckets of fine sand per square meter are added to heavy, compacted soils. During fruiting, water once every 5-7 days, applying 20-30 liters of water per square meter.