We grow tomatoes in ridges boxes

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We at SeDeK often experiment with different methods of growing vegetable crops. It is important for us not only to bring the variety, but also to see how it will behave in real conditions, which gardeners from different regions of the country have.

So, in addition to the greenhouse complex for testing various varieties and hybrids, we placed on the test site the usual ridges-boxes, which are widely used in many summer cottages, bearing in mind that not everyone has the opportunity to build a tall greenhouse.

During the tests, we liked this method very much: it annually confirmed its high efficiency. In the baskets we grow almost all crops, but we would like to pay special attention to tomato, as one of the most beloved and common vegetable crops in our country.

Briefly about the features of growing crops in ridges-boxes

Location

If the site is located on a slope (and this very often happens), the direction of the ridges must be perpendicular to the direction of the slope so that the ridges are in the form of terraces. The surface of each ridge should be strictly horizontal.

Ridge preparation

The easiest way to use wooden boards. They are easy to manufacture, it is easier to install shelters on them, they look neat, they well fence off beds from row spacing. The ideal ridge size that has developed over several years of testing is 120 x 600 cm. Such a ridge is easy to “maintain”, and it is universal for different cultures. In addition, weeds simply do not take root in narrow ridges, and it is quite easy to remove them from the row-spacings with an ordinary chopper or plane cutter.

Row spacing

They never dig. This is one of the main pleasant features of the method, which frees up time and saves strength. It is easy to walk along wide aisles with a wheelbarrow and buckets, move the watering hose. Non-cultivated area gives additional scope for the development of the root system.

The soil

Before installing the boxes, the site is dug up and its surface is leveled. Features of soil cultivation require a separate explanation, in more detail you can study this issue on the website www.SeDeK.ru. Let us explain briefly: compost, peat and river sand are added to the fertile soil of the garden, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are added. If necessary, deoxidizing materials, for example, dolomite flour, are added.

Arc Installation

As arcs, you can use flexible branches of hazel, ordinary slats. We use iron arcs from thick wire rod, as well as from reinforcement. It is very convenient to reinforce non-woven covering material on these arcs (for example, lutrasil). And it is necessary at all stages: in the spring, when it is necessary to allow the soil to warm up and retain moisture; in the summer when it is necessary to protect plants from adverse weather conditions. In the middle zone in the second half of summer, it is simply necessary to cover plants with non-woven material in order to avoid their defeat by late blight. The non-woven fabric is fixed on two wooden planks, fortified along the boxes along the tops of the arches. Thus fixed lutrasil can be easily raised and lowered, depending on weather conditions. Additional slats, fortified in the upper part of the arches along the duct, allow you to conveniently tie the plants.

Care of ridges

At the end of autumn, it is necessary to tilt the soil from the walls of the bed to the center so that the box does not deform in frost. For the next season, you can leave the same boxes, treating them with a drug that prevents rotting of the material. They will look like new. At your request, you can paint or even paint them, if required by the design of your site.

What varieties of tomatoes are best used for growing in ridges-boxes?

Sowing tomato seeds for seedlings for subsequent planting in ridges-boxes should be carried out in the traditional time for this culture - in the second decade of March. And you can plant plants in boxes in the second half of May.

Plants are planted in ridges in 2 rows at a distance of 30-60 cm from each other. The distance depends not only on the compactness of the plant, but also on your capabilities: if you can’t often appear on the site in order to pinch plants in time, then you should leave more space between them. The distance between the rows is 80 cm. A similar row-spacing is necessary for loosening the soil and hilling plants. The interval between the ridges will facilitate watering. Hilling should be carried out once so as not to injure the root system later.

Tomatoes should be early ripe, resistant to temperature extremes and only determinant (i.e. limited in growth). They are easy to tie to arcs, plants do not overlap each other with sunlight, the space between them is well ventilated. Among the standard varieties stand out "Flash", Betalux, "Cottager SeDeK", The Pink Leader. Ultra-mature variety "Flash" gives the harvest 95 days after germination. Due to the shortened internodes, a short bush is literally covered with tasty fruits weighing 80-120 g. The plant is quite compact, which allows you to thicken the plantings and increase the yield per square meter. In such a bed there will be no place not only for diseases, but also for weeds.

Precocious variety "Cottager SeDeK" It features a thick, powerful stem that reliably holds the weight of the fruit. This variety, due to its high resistance to various stresses, adverse weather conditions and high fruit setting in cool weather, is very popular in all regions of Russia.

Shrub varieties such as Amur Dawn, "Dream gardener", Irina SeDeK, "Gold", unlike standard, give a more powerful plant. The variety "Amur Dawn" has pink fruits (they are considered especially tasty and sweet), rather large. And this with a plant height of only 60-65 cm! They are ideal for early, country, the most fragrant salads. The Golden variety with lemon-yellow skin and pulp is rich in beta-carotene.

Very interesting varieties of the new series NEPAS. Their names - speak for themselves: NEPAS - means NON-PASTABLE. But do not flatter yourself. Of course, they give stepsons, but the plant does not grow too widely, as is the case with bush varieties. You can still pinch plants if you want to get larger fruits. Without conducting stepsoning, you will not only increase the ripening time of the fruits, but also increase their number on the bush.

In the series NEPAS 14 varieties, each of which has its own distinctive feature. For the preparation of salads and fresh consumption, choose fruits Nepas, Nepas 2 (Crimson), Nepas 3 (Pink), Nepas 7 (Giant. The mass of fruits is 150-200 g, and this is an excellent result for a standard plant and open ground), Nepas 12 (Large. Fruit mass 100-150 g), Nepas 14 (Sugar. The name is quite clear: this variety produces very tasty, “sugar” fruits).

For harvesting, dense fruits with a high dry matter content of the following varieties are suitable: Nepas 4 (Orange heart-shaped. Has a bizarre, very decorative fruit shape) Nepas 6 (Red with nose) Nepas 5 (Orange with a nose) Nepas 8 (Carrot. Has an elongated shape, hence the name) Nepas 9 (Elongated) Nepas 10 (Striped. Has very decorative round red fruits in a yellow strip) Nepas 13 (Plum).

There are cherry tomatoes among them - Nepas 11 (Indoor). The name was not given to him by chance - a plant 25-35 cm tall is very convenient to grow in a pot on a windowsill, on a balcony or loggia.

CEO of SeDeK Group of Companies - Sergey Dubinin

Online store "Harvesting bed"