The summer season is coming to an end, the harvest has already been harvested, a long, boring winter lies ahead. And who told you that cherry tomatoes grow worse on a windowsill than on a garden bed? Cheerful bushes hung with bright fruits will delight you all winter, decorate the interior and make a pleasant variety on the menu. Such a simple gardening will delight you and your loved ones, add variety to gray everyday life. And how wonderful it is to serve a New Year's table with bright red tomatoes that can be plucked directly from the bush. Today we’ll talk about all the features and intricacies of home gardening.
How to grow cherry tomatoes on a windowsill?
The first thing you need is to prepare special containers, buy good seeds and a soil mixture. To grow fruit plants in winter, in conditions of lack of sun and nutrients (the pot is very limited in its resources), you will need specialized fertilizers and top dressing. Cherry tomatoes on the windowsill grow no worse than in open ground, especially if you choose a place with adequate lighting. It is desirable that these were windows facing west or south. The air temperature should be above 20 degrees, otherwise the yield will decrease.
Soil preparation
Let's start with how to plant cherry tomatoes. It is better to buy land in a store, always loose and fertile. If you decide to make the soil mixture yourself, then you need garden soil, leaf humus, peat. Before landing, be sure to disinfect the ground. To do this, you can pour pots of boiling water with potassium permanganate dissolved in it. Some gardeners prefer to calcine the soil in the oven, but this option is suitable if you require a small amount.
Choose a pot
Cherry tomatoes on the windowsill will grow in any pots that you pick for them. But in order for them to actively bear fruit, the volume of land for one bush should be at least 5 liters. It is advisable to choose containers that are not too deep and wide. Pay attention to the drainage holes to remove excess moisture, without them the roots will suffocate without oxygen.
For every 2 pots, or 10 liters of soil, you need to add a matchbox of urea and potassium sulfate, a handful of wood ash. In such circumstances, your tomatoes will feel just fine.
The best varieties for home growing
Not all cherry tomatoes are stunted. Varieties today are represented in such abundance that time should be spent to study their features so as not to accidentally buy a garden giant. There are varieties of Russian selection that are successfully growing both in open ground and on the balcony. There are tomatoes that bear fruit of scarlet color, these are the well-known Winter cherries, Andryushka and Bead. They are successfully grown on balconies and loggias, as well as simply on window sills. Today this company was supplemented by red cherry tomatoes. These are such varieties as Sparrowbush, Queen Margot. In order to diversify the winter table or prepare a beautiful vegetable assortment, you can plant varieties of yellow and orange cherry. This Lemon, Golden Bead and Noon. From cocktail tomatoes of domestic selection, you can recommend the varieties of Sunny Bunny, Marishka and Rosita.
Ampel Hybrid
Growing cherry tomatoes on the balcony, I want the bush to take up as little space as possible, but at the same time give a lot of fruit. Under these criteria, the Ampelny hybrid is perfect. It will grow well in a pot, old barrel or hanging pots. A distinctive feature is the formation of a bush. Instead of stepsons, he forms brushes, so the bush resembles a Christmas tree, which is all hung with bright red toys. Like all of the above small-fruited hybrids, it forms fruits weighing up to 50 g, has a high yield and excellent taste of tomatoes. They are tasty, dense and very beautiful.
Growing seedlings
Cherry tomatoes on the balcony are grown in the most common, seedlings. So you have the opportunity to observe the growth of seedlings and select only the strongest, strongest and healthiest for picking. The pick itself promotes the development of additional roots and the proper formation of the bush. For growing seedlings you will need any wide containers with a depth of 8-10 cm. Fill them with earth, water well and place near the battery. Seeds before sowing need to be soaked in a growth stimulator in order to achieve more friendly seedlings.
Sowing seeds in the soil, you need to cover the sowing capacity with plastic wrap. Until the first shoots appear, the pot will be warm, near the battery. After the emergence of sprouts, the film needs to be removed and the drawer with seedlings should be transferred to the windowsill. It is desirable that it is lighter and a little cooler, so that the seedlings do not stretch. This period lasts about 20-25 days, and it will end with the formation of two real tomato leaves. Now you are already growing real cherry tomatoes. Seedlings are ready for the first pick. Since we are preparing seedlings for growing on the balcony, there will be several transplants.
Seedling picks
Tomatoes are transplanted almost painlessly, but you need to be careful not to damage the fragile stalk. The first pick is carried out in pots with a diameter of 8-10 cm. The tip of the root is pinched so that the root system develops better. Pots should be placed on a light windowsill, the air temperature should be about 23-25 degrees. Now you need to constantly take care of the seedlings, water, loosen the earth and every ten days to introduce complex mineral fertilizer into the soil.
During this period, a disease called the black leg is especially fatal to plants. For prevention, it is necessary to periodically water the soil with a solution of potassium permanganate. The second danger is the lack of sunlight. In winter, daylight hours are short, so you should arrange the illumination of tomatoes, otherwise the seedlings will stretch and die.
Cherry tomatoes are transplanted at home for the second time when the plants form 6-8 true leaves. Now each seedling needs to allocate an individual pot with a volume of at least 5 liters. When transplanting, tomatoes should be deepened by 10-12 cm to form a strong root system.
Further care
Now the plants transferred the final transplant to the pot, where the entire growing season will grow. Cherry tomatoes at home need regular watering as the soil dries. So that a crust does not form on the surface, the soil must be regularly loosened. 10 days after transplanting, you need to introduce complex mineral fertilizer into the soil. Each plant will require approximately 250-300 ml of solution. Concentration is indicated on individual packaging. Every two weeks, it is necessary to repeat top dressing to ensure conditions for normal fruiting.
Stepson
Almost all varieties form stepchildren during growth - these are lateral shoots that develop in the axils of the leaves. Low-growing houseplants form in two or three stems. To do this, leave the top of the central stem and one or two stepson. The rest are deleted. Ideally, the undersized plant is a central stem and two stepson at different levels. In addition to stepsons, you need to remove diseased and yellow leaves, as well as foliage, covering the fruits of the lower hands. By the way, the number of brushes also needs to be limited. On each stalk, you can leave four bundles of ovaries, then pinch the crown.
Pollination
Tomatoes are self-pollinated plants, however, you can increase the yield by manual pollination. To do this, it is recommended to open a balcony during flowering so that a fresh breeze walks in the room, or simply shake flowering branches. When most of the brushes have formed, the tops and flowering branches are removed so that the fruits can fully develop. To speed up the growth and development of the fruit, one more technique is used. The plant is taken at the base of the stem and pulled up, as if trying to pull it to the surface. This is necessary to cut off small roots. Then the plant is spudded and watered. The root system meets the powerful development of additional roots, and this has a positive effect on the growth and ripening of fruits. Do not forget about the benefits of fertilizers. With a lack of nutrients, it will be difficult to wait for a good harvest, because a pot is a closed and limited ecosystem.