Caspian Pink Information
Tomatoes come in all sorts of colors in modern gardening. Black, purple, yellow, orange, and the classic red to name a few. The Caspian tomato produces deeply pink fruits when ripe. Even the flesh is tinged a rosy pink. Not only is this a pretty sight on the plate, but the fruits are juicy, sweet and delicious. Caspian Pink was originally grown in Russia between the Caspian and Black Seas. It was apparently discovered by a Petoseed company employee shortly after the Cold War. The Caspian Pink tomato plant produces fruits of the beefsteak type. Fruits may be 10 to 12 ounces (280 to 340 g.), oblong with flat bottoms and thickly fleshed. Plants ripen from the bottom up and produce for many weeks. The meaty fruits are great freshly sliced or cooked to a mild, sweet sauce. While not widely available, some retailers online do have seed for this exceptional tomato variety.
How to Grow a Caspian Pink Tomato
The Caspian Pink tomato plant takes about 80 days to produce ripe fruit, making it basically a late season variety. Plant seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the date of the last frost and wait until soil has warmed and seedlings have at least two sets of true leaves before planting them outdoors. In good soil with average moisture and bright light, germination is in 7 to 21 days. As an indeterminate variety, these plants will need staking or cages to keep the vine-like stems from the ground. Keep soil moist, especially once flowering and fruiting commence. Feed weekly for maximum growth and during bloom to boost production. Indeterminate tomatoes benefit from pruning or pinching when plants are young. This removes suckers, which will not bear but suck nutrients and water from bearing stems. Plants that are 12 to 18 inches (30 to 46 cm.) tall are ready for pruning. Remove the leaf suckers at the axil of older stems that do not have flower buds. This redirects the plant’s energy to the producing stems and helps increase air flow and plant vigor. Another tip for deep roots and strong stems when growing Caspian Pink tomatoes is to remove the basal growth at planting. You can then bury the plant more deeply and roots will form on the underground stem, increasing uptake and stability.
