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Growing tomatoes using Maslov's method: gardeners harvest by the bucketful
18.12.2023 06:50
Tomatoes are grown in the garden using different technologies. One of them is the Maslov method. It is simple and highly effective.
To appreciate all the advantages of the technique, it is worth understanding the rules and applying them in practice.
Anastasia Kovrizhnykh , an expert of the online publication "BelNovosti", an agronomist and landscape designer, spoke about the method of growing tomatoes using Maslov's method.
Justification of the method
The author of this method of growing tomatoes is engineer Igor Maslov. When developing the method about four decades ago, he took into account the important biological characteristics of nightshades.
Plants easily form adventitious roots. They develop from rudiments in the form of whitish tubercles located on the stems.
Adventitious roots penetrate a large volume of soil and firmly hold the plants in the ground. This adaptation indicates that tomatoes are creeping plants and are prone to lodging.
To keep tomatoes upright, gardeners have to constantly hill and tie up the bushes. Maslov suggested not to resist the natural inclinations of the plant.
The main idea of the method is the ability of tomatoes to realize the natural position of shoots. In practice, this is done in two ways.
First option
In the area where tomatoes are planned to be grown, a trench is dug about 12 cm deep. The direction of the ditch should strictly correspond to the north-south line. Seedlings are planted in the prepared soil.
In this case, the plants are placed in the trench not vertically, but at an angle. To do this, not only the root, but also the lower part of the stem is placed in the hole. Only a third of the above-ground organs of the plant remains on the surface.
The top of the seedling should be directed to the north. This is an important point. According to the laws of heliotropism, growing tomatoes will direct their growth to the south - the side of the world with greater insolation. As a result, the plant will straighten up naturally.
The advantages of this method include:
• Less volume of earthworks.
• Possibility to use overgrown seedlings.
• Formation of a large number of roots.
Second option
Using this method leads to the formation of very powerful and strong bushes. Ovaries are formed not only on the upper branches, but also at the very ground. As a result, the plants do not bend under the weight of the fruit. For this, the lower lateral shoots are not cut off on tomatoes. The main work is done with them:
1. Remove excess leaves from the lower branches.
2. Bend the shoots towards the ground and pin them down.
3. Hill up the cuttings to a height of 10-12 cm.
4. Water the bed with warm water.
After rooting, the branches begin to actively grow and bloom. They bear fruits that are no smaller in size than those that ripen on the main stem.
To use the second growing option, you must initially plant the seedlings at a large distance from each other.
The step can be from 0.9 to 1 meter. Care of plantings includes regular watering, fertilizing, sanitary pruning. Stepchildren on Maslovsky tomatoes are not removed.
The main achievement of the method is high yield. Tomatoes grown in an unusual way are capable of producing 80% more fruit compared to bushes grown in the traditional way.
Earlier we talked about what to bury in the ground when planting potatoes.
