At the beginning of the 21st century, the Oxheart tomato variety became very popular on the market, attracting amateur gardeners and industrial businessmen with its impressive size, relative ease of cultivation, juiciness, fertility and palatability suitable for many gourmet dishes.
Read a detailed description of the variety, its characteristics and planting nuances in our material.
Description and characteristics
Italy is considered the birthplace of the Bull’s Heart. This Italian tomato reaches an impressive weight of 500-600 gr. It is tall and can be ribbed or smooth. Fragrant and tasty fruits have few seeds, thin skin and pink, tasty flesh. Ideal for carpaccio, it is also recommended to add the variety to all summer salads.
As for the color, the standard tomato “Bull’s Heart” has a red or orange color, there is also a black hybrid. All varieties of the variety have appeared on the market since 2010, and are the result of crossing with other types of tomatoes.
They may differ in taste, sometimes in shape, but, as a rule, they have much in common with the original.
Tomato is very good for health. It improves eyesight, gut health, reduces hypertension, diabetes, skin problems and urinary tract infections.
It is a source of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and protects against coronary heart disease by reducing blood steroid lipids.
Helps maintain healthy teeth, bones, hair and skin. It is very low in calories due to its high water content (94%).
Productivity
The crop can be harvested from August to October.
To get tomatoes from July, you need to sow the seeds indoors or under a canopy in February-March in fine fresh soil.
Landing
Now that the characteristics and description of the variety have been left behind, it’s time to figure out the correct planting and care technology.
Growing seedlings
It takes one season to get perfect tomatoes. It is best to start growing seedlings indoors 6 weeks before planting outdoors. Further, it is very easy to transplant into open ground. Do this a week or two after the last frost.
Low temperatures have a bad effect on seedlings, especially if you take it out of a warm room to the street when there is frost in the air. They run the risk of deforming in the wrong climate. This is called catfacing and should be avoided by waiting until the soil has warmed up and stabilized. Tomato crops will grow better if the crop is transplanted into the ground, rather than waiting for full growth in containers. When transplanting, make sure the soil almost reaches the lowest leaves of the stem.
This vigorous plant needs to be moved out of hiding at the stage of formation of 3-4 leaves at least. It is recommended to do this when 5 to 6 true leaves appear. Can be planted in 40 liter pots, but requires a place with direct sun. Watering should be regular, and the seeds can be soaked the day before sowing to speed up germination.
Avoid growing plants near representatives of the Brassicaceae (Cabbage) family: cabbage, broccoli, radishes, mustard, cauliflower, turnips and others. Also avoid planting next to potatoes, corn, and fennel herbs.
Oxheart tomatoes like the proximity of fragrant herbs because their presence protects against pests.
Soil Preparation
For best results, start by sowing the seeds in a well-drained, soilless mix.
Sow them 1-1,5 cm into the mixture at room temperature. When transplanting tomatoes into your garden, plant the seeds in warm soil.
The ideal temperature is between 60 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit (15-30 degrees Celsius). Warm soil promotes faster germination.
Before germination, it is necessary to maintain the soil moisture, but make sure that it is not damp. Water them moderately as soon as you notice that the seedlings have broken through the soil.
Bull’s heart, like other tall tomato varieties, needs well-drained soil rich in organic matter. Use fertile loams and clay to increase yields. Although, if you want to harvest faster, plant in lighter soil that heats up and drains quickly.
Great land is the most important element. You can’t just focus on proper care! Therefore, keep an eye on weeds and get rid of them in time so that the grass does not absorb moisture and compost. When the tomatoes begin to form, it is very important to water them abundantly.
Tomatoes grow well in moderately acidic soil. Make sure the pH is between 6,0 and 6,8. Suitable land should be loose and fertile, it is desirable that other crops do not grow there before.
The presence of other varieties of tomato does not affect the yield, but in the same land “Bull’s Heart” will bear fruit no more than three years in a row.
Landing technology
The most important aspects of growing tomatoes:
- crop rotation of other varieties of tomatoes;
- regular air circulation;
- maintaining soil temperature.
A common mistake newbies make when planting Oxheart is underestimating the space needed for the plants. They can grow up to two and a half meters in height and up to one meter wide, so a minimum distance of 90 cm between stems is a must.
It is very important to mulch crops to maintain soil moisture and control weeds. Use black mulch to keep the soil warm, or red mulch to get enough light for the tomatoes.
Watering
Make sure the tomato planting has a constant supply of moisture. This is necessary for good stem development, so make sure to water regularly early on. It is bad if there is not enough rainwater on the site (less than 2,5 cm per week).
Proper watering is vital to the variety: increasing the frequency of watering when the tomatoes are just starting to form will prevent bud rot and produce large fruit.
Additional fertilizing
While the crop is growing, it is best to fertilize the soil with an organic mixture rich in potassium, phosphorus and moderate levels of nitrogen. Most growers turn the soil over and use mulch such as straw or winter cover crops. This keeps the soil loose and allows the tomato roots to breathe. In this way, other problems that are characteristic of a tall tomato, such as some diseases, are eliminated.
Side dressing with a uniform mixture (10-10-10) is recommended as the first flowers form. Compost or compost tea can also be used in organic cultivation.
Pasynkovanie, formation
As with most tomatoes, pinching back the first shoots will encourage growth. They should be tied to the grate and placed in a vertical position.
When the Oxheart is not held perpendicular to the ground, rot and other problems often occur.
Diseases and pests
The main danger that your tomatoes face is diseases if they are not properly cared for and you think that the soil will do its job.
Some of the common illnesses include:
- anthracnose;
- Fusarium;
- early rot (alternaria);
- late late blight;
- flower drop;
- damping off.
As for pests, the most common ones include aphids, flea beetles, tomato hornworms, rodents, etc.
You can deal with this scourge in many ways, for example:
- water the plants with a strong jet of water to get rid of aphids;
- collection of beetles, larvae and eggs by hand;
- use of shelters for flea control.
Harvesting
The best time to harvest tomatoes is when they are fully ripe, but not too ripe.
Then they have the most flavor, keep their shape, the flesh is not too soft for a knife. You can understand that the tomato is ripe by the lower end of the fruit.
An important note: the Bull’s Heart Black tomato has a greenish and dark brown color at the top, even when fully ready to pluck. Ripe and ready-to-eat fruits can be seen in the photo.
Harvest the entire crop when the tomatoes are at their peak color. Usually it is from 65 to 90 days, depending on the climate.
The ripe fruits of the “Bull’s Heart” have a rich red color, they are easy to pick from the vine.
