home

How to grow tomatoes for the New Year's table. How to grow tomatoes at home in winter

Tomatoes are very fond of not only adults, but also children. Growing tomato seedlings at home is of interest to many people who do not have the opportunity to do this on suburban area. Currently, you can find varieties that are specifically designed for growing at home on a balcony or loggia. How is the cultivation of indoor tomatoes?

Thanks to breeders at home, it is now possible to breed not only houseplants but also vegetables. Growing indoor tomatoes is no more difficult than growing a crop in a garden bed. In addition, at home there will be no insects on the bushes that spoil the crop.

Before you start growing tomatoes in an apartment, you need to choose planting material. Indoor varieties have their own characteristics.

short stature

Tall varieties of tomatoes are not suitable for growing at home. Due to the limited space, they will not have enough space, and they will not be able to grow normally and produce a stable crop. in a pot root system cannot develop normally. Low-growing varieties feel great in such conditions.

standard

Not everyone can form a bush, and this is one of the most important conditions that is necessary for a good harvest. Standard tomato varieties already have a main stem. They do not have to tie up and remove side shoots.

Ability to tolerate lack of sunlight and nutrients

Even in greenhouse conditions, seedlings do not receive enough light and useful trace elements. Specially created varieties of tomatoes for growing at home do not need a lot of sun. There are varieties of tomatoes that require artificial lighting only on cloudy days.

A feature of such varieties is the presence of short internodes. Thanks to this characteristic, the bushes do not stretch.

The main disadvantage of growing indoor tomatoes is that it is rarely possible to get a rich harvest. To a greater extent, such varieties are grown as ornamental. There is one more essential feature. All varieties of indoor tomatoes are perennials. Therefore, after harvesting, the bushes do not need to rush to throw out. After a while, they will begin to bear fruit again. As a rule, such varieties live an average of 5 years. But the most plentiful harvest can be harvested only in the first two years of cultivation.

Seedling planting dates and site selection for seedlings

How to grow tomatoes at home? First of all, you need to decide on the timing of planting tomato seedlings at home. There are two planting periods to plant tomato seedlings at home.

Seedling planting times:

Summer-autumn (we grow seedlings of tomatoes in mid-July - early August, and then the harvest can be obtained already in November-December);
Winter-spring (tomato seedlings are planted at home in November or December, and the harvest can be obtained as early as March-April).

How to grow tomato seedlings at home? To do this, it is necessary to solve the second important issue - this is the choice of a place for placing boxes with seedlings. It is best to choose southern windows, where the amount of sunlight will be much greater. Also, do not forget about the organization of additional lighting.

Additional lamps are placed at a distance of not less than 20-30 cm from the seedlings. Light day for growing tomatoes at home should not be less than 16 hours.

How to grow healthy tomato seedlings

To grow tomato seedlings, you need to follow some simple recommendations. Growing tomato seedlings is a very important stage that needs to be spent a lot of time.

First of all, it is necessary to disinfect the planting material. You need to take potassium permanganate (you can also use iodine). Dilute it in a glass of warm water. Pour the seeds into a glass and leave them for 20 minutes. After that, the planting material is poured with a growth stimulator solution for 12 hours. You can use the drug Epin.

The second stage is seed germination. You can do without it, but by sprouting planting material you can significantly increase the percentage of germination.

To germinate seeds, you need to take a small amount of warm water, a piece of natural cloth or gauze and a small saucer. Wet the cloth in water, place the seeds there and cover with the second half of the cloth. Put the bundle in a saucer and put it in a warm place (for example, on a battery). After 2-3 days, sprouts should appear. After that, you can start planting germinated seeds in a box.

How to grow seedlings

For growing seedlings, peat or ordinary plants are best suited. plastic cups but boxes will do. How to grow tomatoes to get in the future good harvest?

Growing tomato seeds at home:

First of all, you need to prepare the ground. It can be taken from the garden, or you can buy a special soil mixture for vegetable crops. Drainage is laid out at the bottom of the box (crushed eggshell, expanded clay, small pebbles or pebbles).
Next, pour out the substrate and pour it with a solution of potassium permanganate.
Make small indentations in the ground and plant the seeds, lightly sprinkle with soil (do not tamp). Water in a curing way.
Cover the container with glass and put it in a dark and warm place. Every 3 days the glass is cleaned for 20 minutes. This is necessary so that mold does not appear on the soil. It also needs to be watered regularly. warm water.
When the first seedlings appear, the containers are transferred to the southern windows, where there is a lot of sunlight. Glass is removed.

After some time, the first pair of full-fledged leaves should appear on the seedlings. After this happens, the bushes can be planted in separate pots. You can grow tomato seedlings at home for cultivation on the balcony in the same way as for planting it in the garden.

Caring for indoor tomatoes

Young tomato seedlings are very tender. It can not be put in drafts and watered cold water. Also grown seedlings need a lot of sunlight. Therefore, the first weeks will have to be constantly turned on additional lighting. It is not advisable to flood the seedlings. If you pour it, then the bushes will start to hurt.

If tomatoes are grown in the summer, then you can periodically open windows and ventilate the balcony. Another important point of care is the application of mineral and organic fertilizers. In 1 liter of water it is necessary to dilute 2 gr. potassium sulfate, 2 gr. urea and 6 gr. superphosphate. Bring in mineral fertilizers follows every 10 days.

You can also use mullein as a fertilizer for tomatoes, chicken manure and wood ash. Dilute 1 kg of fertilizer in 10 liters of water and water the bushes every week. Irrigation water should be room temperature. Tomatoes need to be watered as the soil dries. It is desirable to pour water next to the bush, but not under the root.

After watering, you can weed the soil. This will allow moisture to be better absorbed and absorbed by the root system. Also, the soil will be saturated with oxygen, which has a positive effect on the growth of tomatoes.

Together with loosening, you can also spud tomatoes. This will help form a powerful root system and ensure a stable harvest. Plants need to be fertilized every two weeks. Dried and damaged leaves are recommended to be removed. They take away some of the nutrients, but do not participate in the process of crop formation.

To prevent late blight, plants can be sprayed with a solution of potassium permanganate and garlic juice. To prepare the solution, you need to take 15 gr. potassium permanganate and 1 tsp. garlic juice. You need to spray the entire bush.

How to increase the yield of indoor tomatoes

Growing tomatoes at home, you need to think about the artificial pollination of the bushes. In order for the ovaries to begin to appear, you can shake the bushes slightly during flowering. It is recommended to remove the top of the main stem and inflorescence. This will ensure that the fruits begin to form faster.

Another one effective procedure, with which you can ensure productivity - this is "tearing the roots". The essence of the method is that the tomato bush is taken for lower part trunk and very carefully pull it up, as if pulling it out of the pot. In the process, small roots that "suck out" nutrients, break off. After the procedure, the plants are watered and spud.

During the flowering of the second and third flower brush, to increase the fruiting of the plant, it is recommended to spray with boric acid. For 1 liter of water you need 2 grams. boric acid.

It is also very important to provide a favorable climate for plants. Tomatoes react negatively to sharp fluctuations in temperature. Most optimum temperature in the room should be not less than +17 and not higher than +25 degrees.

When growing tomatoes on a window, the humidity should be no more than 60% percent (they do not like abundant humidity). If the humidity is too high, then the tomatoes can get sick with fungal diseases. In the event that the air is too dry, then a container of water can be placed near the containers.

Well? Maybe it's time for us to take a chance and aim at growing tomatoes in our home garden.

Of course, we will not be able to grow so many vegetables at home to collect them in buckets, but you will definitely get a dozen or two red tight fruits in the dead of winter.

In addition, they will become a real decoration of your apartment, and you can enjoy sweet tomatoes and admire a cheerful little garden with bright fruits, thereby satisfying your gardening passions.

Want to? So, let's start growing a tomato on the windowsill at home and create a unique, beautiful, vitamin-rich home garden.

Tomatoes on the windowsill have long ceased to be exotic. Growing and caring for them is quite easy, you just need to know uncomplicated conditions such original agricultural technology.

Experienced gardeners will be happy to share with you the secrets of growing indoor tomatoes. Creating a home garden will bring you real pleasure!

This is a very pleasant and exciting activity, and in the arrangement home garden and your children will be happy to help in caring for him.

How to grow tomatoes on the windowsill? How to create the most favorable conditions for the ripening of a tomato crop on the windowsill?

This is what further discussion will go on.

Choosing the right variety

For a mini-garden on the windowsill, of course, you need varieties of dwarf, undersized tomatoes. Their fruits are small in weight, and the plants themselves readily settle in small pots.

There are a lot of varieties of tomatoes of this kind.

Experienced gardeners know what is being selected suitable variety tomato-babies not immediately, it is possible to choose the best one only by trying and making mistakes. After all, each apartment has its own atmosphere, different climatic conditions.

Tomatoes in different dwellings will behave individually, this gives a certain shade of surprise to the upcoming chores.

So, we choose:

♦ For a small window sill. For a small windowsill standard size tiny tomatoes of dwarf varieties will be ideal:

Minibel. The height of the bush is about 30 cm. Tomatoes weighing 20-40 g are collected in compact clusters of 8-10 pieces.
Florida Petit. Plant height up to 30 cm, bright red fruitlets weighing 30-40 g are very sweet. In one brush of tomatoes, up to 15-20 pieces are collected.
Balcony miracle. One of the most popular ultra-early domestic varieties. Pink tomatoes weighing 20-30 g will delight you with a bountiful harvest after 80 days.
Balcony red. Bright red small tomatoes will be ready for the table 90-95 days after planting. The fruits are very sweet and fragrant.
Bonsai. Each bush about 30 cm high will bring you 500-600 g of bright, tasty little tomatoes.
Bonsai micro. Most small variety tomato on the windowsill. Bushes grow up to only 15 cm. They can be grown in a hanging basket, admire the beautiful view and feast on fragrant tiny fruits.
Pinocchio. If you plant small cherry tomatoes in September, a crop of fragrant fruits will be ready by the New Year holidays. This variety is considered one of the best for creating a garden at home.

♦ For insulated window sills. If your window sill is wider, has a good area for placing drawers or flowerpots, a garden on the windowsill can be created from tomato varieties with more large fruits and tall stem.

Balcony Elou. The first harvest of round tomatoes yellow color the variety will please you after 100-110 days. The taste of the tomato is sweet with a slight sourness, the bush grows up to 45-50 cm.
The pearl is red and yellow. The culture grows up to half a meter and has excellent decorative qualities. The Red Pearl fruits are sweeter in taste. Their weight reaches 50 g.
Hermitage. This productive variety recommended to grow in the northwestern regions. The fruits are quite large, their weight can reach 100 g.
Native. An early look of tomatoes. Fruits of crimson color, large (up to 180 g). This variety is especially resistant to cold conditions.
Igranda. Early variety, high yielding and resistant to sudden changes temperature conditions. The fruits are fleshy, round and bright red. Their weight can reach 150 g.
Russian Troika. Tomato bushes are small, they grow up to 60 cm. But the fruits are very large and fragrant, their weight sometimes reaches 300 g!

At first, you can try to plant several varieties of tomatoes at once on the windowsill and observe how the tomatoes will behave in order to stop at the ideal views for your apartment.

Arranging a garden on the windowsill

♦ What better fit windowsill? Tomatoes love light (if not enough, flower buds will fall), so the best home for them will be the most illuminated window sills (best on the south side).

Growing on the windowsill should be carried out with additional organization artificial lighting your garden (use fluorescent lamps, energy-saving).

It will be great if you use sources of short-wave radiation of red-blue light (phytolamps).

Additional lighting must be placed at least 25-30 cm from the top leaves of seedlings. The light day of tomato babies is 13-16 hours.

Lamps should be turned on for a tomato on the windowsill when cloudy weather reigned outside. They must be used in the early morning before dawn and in the evening, after the sun has gone.

♦ When to sow seeds. There are two terms for sowing tomatoes:

Summer-autumn. Seedlings are grown in July-August, you will already receive fruits in November-December.
Winter-spring. Seedlings should be started in November-December. The first harvest will wait for the owner in March-April.

Growing Features

When you buy seeds, consider the quality planting material very carefully. Always check expiration dates.

Expired seeds may remain in the ground, or you will get weak, stunted plants.

♦ Seed disinfection. Immediately before planting, we need to disinfect the seeds and prevent them from infection with late blight.

To do this, soak the seeds for 20 minutes in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Then, to increase germination and stronger growth, we will use "Epin" or any other growth stimulator - the seeds should be kept in it for about 10-12 hours.

♦ Germination. Having chosen the necessary varieties of tomato, we begin the process of seed germination. We place them in a small bowl, cover with moistened gauze and leave warm for 3-4 days.

As soon as our tomatoes have started small roots, we need to plant them.

♦ Where we plant. For growing tomato seeds, plastic or peat cups with a volume of about 200 ml are best suited.

You can use shallow pallets. We fill containers with soil:

You can use an earthen mixture (in the amount of 45% black soil, 5% sand and 50% humus). Add some manganese to it for disinfection. Make sure the soil is not clayey.
Or use a mixture of soil, humus (5 parts each), sand and peat (1 part each).

Add urea to the finished soil (8-10 g of urea per bucket of soil). Mix in wood ash(1-2 cups), superphosphate (40 g) and potash fertilizer(40 g).

Mix the ground mixture thoroughly and lay out in cups.

♦ Landing. We place the tomato seeds in small depressions at a distance of about 2 cm between each seed. They should be placed at a depth of 1-1.5 cm.

Lightly moisten the soil before sowing. We cover the sown seeds with a film or glass, such a coating will retain moisture well in the soil.

We place the containers in a dark and warm place (+ 25-30 ° C) and wait for shoots. The soil can sometimes be wetted.

♦ Transplant. After the tomatoes have given the first shoots, we transfer the containers with them to the windowsill and create a daytime temperature regime of + 22-25 ° C, a night temperature of + 15-17 ° C. We remove the coating.

And when two true leaves appear, the tomatoes must be dived and planted on permanent place residence.

The volume of permanent pots for young tomatoes on the windowsill should be about 7-10l.

♦ Care. Small tomatoes are afraid of drafts and watering with cold water. Excessive watering also harms them (they can pick up infectious diseases).

Tomato seedlings can be gently aired on too hot days.

To provide the tomatoes with normal humidity - when airing, place a glass filled with water next to them. After the end of the ventilation, the glass is removed.

At further care our tomatoes should be regularly watered and fed (dilute 1 g of potassium sulfate and urea and 5 g of superphosphate in a liter of water). Fertilizers need to be applied every 7-10 days.

Plants can also be fertilized with mullein diluted with water (ratio of 5 parts of water and part of mullein), chicken manure (15 parts of water per part of litter).

Use water for irrigation at a comfortable room temperature (+20-25°C). Plants should be watered as the soil dries out.

We water our tomatoes on the windowsill abundantly, wetting the whole earth, while it is advisable to pour water on the soil near the bush, but not at the very root.

Be sure to loosen the soil after watering - this will slow down the evaporation of moisture.

We begin to apply top dressing as soon as the tomato grows 5-6 true leaves, at the beginning of flowering, also in the process of forming ovaries.

Do not forget to loosen the soil near the roots. But do it very delicately - the roots of the tomato are still too tender and can be damaged.

Simultaneously with loosening, carry out hilling of plants - this will contribute to the formation of new roots. If the earth has settled a little, add a portion of fresh (peat or nutrient mixture).

Sometimes stepchildren (additional stems) may appear in some varieties of tomato. They need to be carefully removed (stepchildren). Pasynkovanie will improve the nutrition of tomato fruits.

We will also remove dried leaves (especially those located closer to the root of the plant - dry leaves inhibit the access of moisture to the root system).

We are waiting for the harvest

During flowering, our tomatoes can occasionally be shaken slightly and run over the flowers with a delicate feather - this way we will improve the pollination process.

After the fruit set has occurred, the top of the stem and inflorescence should be removed to help the fruit form faster.

To protect young tomatoes from late blight (this fungal disease threatens tomatoes even in winter), tomato leaves and stems should be periodically treated with infusion of manganese and garlic (for 3 liters of water, ½ g of potassium permanganate and half a garlic head).

Experienced gardeners use another technique for the faster formation of tomato fruits on the windowsill.

It's called "pulling the roots": take the tomato by the lower region of the stalk and very carefully pull it up, as if you want to pull the plant out of the ground.

During this movement, small roots break off. After the procedure, the plant should be watered and spud.

During the flowering of tomatoes experienced gardeners it is advised to carry out additional spraying of the second and third brushes of plants, so that the fruits are better formed and tied. Spray the tomatoes with a solution of boric acid (dilute a gram of the substance in a liter of water).

When our tomatoes are already ripening, the branches of the plant should be tied to sticks-pegs. Otherwise, under the weight of the fruit, the stems may break.

It is advisable not to wait for the full ripening of tomatoes on the bushes, but to clean them brown.

AT room conditions tomatoes will ripen quickly, and the next crop will ripen better and faster on the bushes.

Balcony Wonders

As home greenhouse You can also use your own loggia perfectly. If you have them insulated, you can successfully grow tomatoes on the balcony from early cool spring to gloomy late autumn.

On insulated balconies / loggias, it is best to sow tomatoes in early March, if your balcony is open, postpone the event to the end of April.

The most ideal loggias and balconies for tomatoes are southern or southeastern. On the northern windowsills, and even on the balconies, tomatoes can freeze, and on the southwestern ones it will be too hot in the summer heat (if you grow tomatoes in such places, shade your plantings on hot days and ventilate them).

A balcony or loggia gives plants more room to grow. Therefore, under such conditions, you can also breed tall small-fruited cherry (cherry) and cocktail varieties of tomatoes:

Minibell, Tiny Tim, De Barao, Carlson, Angelica, Pearl, Butterfly, Ballerina, Romantic, Verlioka, Red Banana, Gina, Max, Cascade Red and many other varieties.

Germinating seeds and transplanting tomatoes for permanent residence should be the same as when growing tomatoes on a windowsill. Since you can grow taller tomatoes on the balcony, we will form them into two stems:

To do this, we will leave one stepson under the very first inflorescence. We tie the stepson to an additional peg or to a trellis. More undersized varieties can be formed into 2-3 stems (in addition to the first stepson, we also leave the second one).

Tomato stepchildren on the windowsill, as well as on the balcony, are better not to cut, but to gently break off with your fingers. Break off carefully, trying not to touch the leaves and the central shoot.

Additional stems should be removed as soon as they can be grasped with your fingers.

At the same time, leave 2-3 cm of the column from the stepson. It is best to hold such an event in the morning.

Tomato stems are long and can easily break off. To prevent this, as the tomato seedlings grow, we will tie them to a trellis or pegs.

In the future, tomatoes are tied to the stakes two more times, and when using a trellis, it is necessary to twist the tops of the tomatoes around the twine tied to the trellis weekly.

Do not forget to ventilate your pets after each watering by opening the balcony doors. If suddenly your tomatoes begin to twist the leaves during the day - do not worry. This is quite normal for tomatoes.

But if the leaves rush straight up, located at an acute angle, while not twisting at all, this should alert you.

The reason for this behavior of tomatoes can be too dry soil, insufficient ventilation or poor lighting.

You should not be zealous with watering and top dressing (especially with fertilizers containing nitrogen and organic matter).

At the same time, tomatoes begin to "fatten" - to let out powerful, thick stems, to grow strong stepchildren.

But at the same time, weak flower brushes are formed.

To correct the situation, use the following tricks:

Do not water your pets for a week and a half.
To stun growth, carry out foliar top dressing of tomatoes with superphosphates (3 tablespoons per 10 liters of water). Tomatoes are processed at the rate of a liter of the mixture for each plant.
Increase the ambient temperature to +27-28°C.
The flowers of such plants should be pollinated by hand with a soft brush.

Otherwise, care and concern for balcony tomatoes does not differ from our actions when growing a tomato on a windowsill.

Of course, not all vegetables can be grown at home, but still there are quite a few that feel great visiting us.

This is all kinds of greens (), and citrus fruits (, tangerine), and vegetables (, cucumbers, etc.). Growing at home will be discussed in the next article in the series "Garden on the windowsill"

See you soon, dear readers!

Tomato plants (popularly tomato) are so familiar and present on the table of every family. Fragrant in fresh salads, fermented, marinated, salted, cask, in the first courses, in the second, in appetizers, pizzas and what traditional borscht does without tomato paste. And they came to us from distant shores South America. This factor should be taken into account when choosing a site for planting young plants in open ground. Since they like a lot of sun and more sandy soil, so that there is no stagnation of water during irrigation or precipitation.

And the rest are more detailed nuances, growing tomatoes, you will learn from our article.

The best days according to the lunar calendar for planting tomatoes in 2018

For different regions Russia has various approximate dates for planting tomatoes. For example, residents of the middle zone can safely plant young plants already in early June, being sure that night frosts will not kill them. In greenhouses, you can land a couple of weeks earlier. And the southern regions start planting young plants mainly at the end of April. On average, the stage of growth from seeds to plants ready for planting occurs in 75-80 days. Therefore, you can start sowing seeds for the middle lane as early as early March.
The most suitable days for sowing seeds (for growing in heated greenhouses) in January 2018 are considered according to Lunar calendar January 1, 12, 13, 14, 20, 21, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29.
Refuse any work in the beds on the days of the new moon (January 16, 17, 18) and with a full moon. There will be two full moons in January on January 2 and 31.

Already in February better conditions for germination of tomato seeds in seedlings. But there is still a chance of developing diseases before getting enough sunlight, which can lead to seedlings stretching. And the quality and quantity of the crop obtained directly depends on this. good days for sowing seeds are considered: February 6, 7, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26; (new moon) - February 15, 16, 17.
full moon not in February 2018.

March is considered the best month for planting seedlings. Daylight is increasing, the days are getting warmer. Suitable days for sowing: - 5, 6, 7, 15, 20, 21, 24, 25; it is best to dive according to the lunar calendar - 1, 10, 11, 12, 15, 24, 25, 28, 29; the most bad days in March - March 16, 17, 18 and two full moons - March 2 and March 31.

In April, if there are warm days, then the seeds can be sown under a film in open ground, this speeds up the harvest time by about two weeks. Better days for sowing: 20, 21, 27, 28, 29 you can dive plants: 6, 7, 8, 20, 21, 24, 25, 26, 29 April do nothing: new moon - April 15, 16, 17 and full moon - 30 April.

Growing conditions for tomato seedlings

Firstly, the air temperature for seven days should not fall to 14 ° C during the day and 10 ° C at night. And increase it daily to 24°C and 12°C at night. Tomato sprouts are very sensitive to the lack of light, so additional lighting is simply necessary during their growth period. A sunny day for plants is at least 12 hours.
Secondly, tomato seeds must be prepared for planting. For 15-20 minutes they are soaked in a slightly pink solution of permanganic acid (1 g per 100 g of water). Then rinse and dry.

In order not to catch the seeds from the water for a long time, wrap them with gauze before soaking them.

The prepared soil is slightly rammed and moistened. Gently spread the seeds on the surface at a distance of at least two centimeters, and between rows of at least three centimeters.

Tomato seedlings: growing at home.

A quality crop can only be obtained from healthy seeds and, accordingly, strong seedling tomato. But in order to grow them yourself, you need to try very hard. This is painstaking and demanding work. Which at the right approach will reward you with a good harvest.

Step 1. Preparatory work

Tomato seeds retain their qualities of good convergence and yield for seven years, always look at the date of manufacture of the seeds on the package.

The soil before planting can either be spilled with boiling water or heated in the oven. This helps to get rid of pathogenic bacteria leading to plant diseases.

Step 2. Sowing tomatoes for seedlings

First of all, decide on a place to install containers. It should be warm, sunny and with a complete absence of drafts.
It is more convenient to take containers wide and not deep along the bottom. It is advisable to steam the soil with boiling water and cool. And not just before planting, thoroughly moisten it.

Seeds should be laid no deeper than two centimeters deep. And try not to part, so that later it would be less necessary to dive them.
To enhance growth, you can apply the greenhouse effect. Just cover the container with cling film (be sure to make a few holes for air circulation) the approximate time for sprouts to germinate will be at least 10 days.

Step 3. Caring for tomato seedlings

Good seeds are 50% of the success of a good harvest. The rest depends on the care of the plants. A reasonable approach will save you from losing seedlings due to disease.
Use the greenhouse effect first. By placing the containers on the sunniest window. A favorable temperature for good seedlings is considered to be 20-24 degrees. After germination, it is lowered to 18 degrees. The earth should not dry out, but it does not need to be flooded either. A conventional spray gun will be a great helper in this matter. Water for irrigation should be at room temperature. The condensate from the film is regularly removed to avoid rot. After germination of sprouts, the oilcloth is removed from the containers.

Step 3. Picking (transplanting into large cups, pots)

Dive grown seedlings should begin after three leaves have appeared on them. Although there are two opinions about this procedure. Some gardeners are for her, others consider her stressful for young plants. But this procedure must be carried out without fail:

Approximately on the tenth day from the shoots of sprouts, you can already dive plants. But first, thoroughly pour the soil. You should not do this at the time of the dive, otherwise the earth will be heavy, which will complicate the whole process. With a special spatula (you can use a teaspoon), remove the sprout from the ground and deepen it into a separate container to the cotyledon leaves. Seal and water the tomato.

Step 4. Preparation for planting for permanent residence (in the greenhouse, on the balcony, in the exhaust gas)

When the stalk of sprouts is at least a centimeter in diameter and the first buds appear, you can begin to prepare it for transplanting to a permanent place of growth. Such plants already have fairly strong and strong roots. If the weather is already sunny and warm, then you can safely transplant them into a greenhouse, and if there is a possibility of night frosts, then it is better to cover the greenhouse with an additional layer of protective material.
In the process of transplanting, in each prepared hole, pour 1 tablespoon of superphosphate and fill it with water, after it has been absorbed, you can safely transplant the plant.

» Tomatoes (tomatoes)

Tomatoes all year round are no longer a curiosity. But if not from a supermarket bag, but from a windowsill in own apartment is an exclusive. Juicy, ripe, sweet and, most importantly, organic fruits on your table will delight the whole family. At the same time - no cost or money or time. This review provides a description and characteristics of the best varieties of potted tomatoes.

Thanks to the efforts of breeders, many different hybrid varieties tomatoes, unpretentious, but very fruitful, which easy to grow on the windowsill of the house in an ordinary flower pot . Maintaining a microclimate suitable for tomato growth, you can indulge yourself in the winter with the unique taste of homemade tomatoes.

As the ripening time of various early maturing varieties varies from 90 to 110 days, easy to calculate the date of planting seeds to New Year's table ripe fragrant fresh tomatoes. The main thing is to choose the right variety that meets all your wishes. You will be able to collect big harvest from a limited area at any time of the year.

The best indoor varieties for a mini-garden at home

Standard and ampelous varieties are suitable for a window bed of tomatoes. They develop in height no more than 35-45 cm, do not branch, which means that they do not need to be tied up. Many hybrids are adapted to short daylight hours and lack of sunlight, good resistance to the most common diseases (blackleg, leaf mold).

From neat small bushes you will get 1-2 kg of fruit per season. If planted in batches in several bushes with an interval of 20-30 days, you can provide yourself with vitamins for the whole winter. In addition, indoor tomatoes have excellent palatability and high content sugar and vitamins in the pulp (compared to conventional).

The best standard hybrids for growing on a window at home are:

balcony miracle

Forms standard bushes about 0.5 m high, tolerates lack of light well, fruits are round, red, weighing 70-100 g with high sugar content. Tomato begins to bear fruit already 80 days after germination.

Micron NK

The smallest of famous varieties, the height of the bush barely reaches 15 cm, sweet fruits of red or bright yellow color weighing 10-12 g, ripening period 100-110 days. This variety is more decorative and is completely independent of the length of daylight hours.

Pinocchio

compact bushes, one of the best indoor tomatoes, fruits are sweet, round, weight - up to 20 g. It can be grown in the garden in the summer, and in the fall, transplanted into pots, brought home. And if you sow the seeds after September 20, you will harvest the first harvest by the New Year. - mid-season, ripens in 105-115 days.

Bonsai

Early maturing variety (matures in 85 days), unpretentious to light, yield is not the highest - 0.5 kg, but the fruits are very tasty and sweet;

honey bunch

Early maturing standard bush with a dense crown, height - 40 cm fruits are sweet, juicy, yellow. Differs in high productivity.

There are a lot of indoor and balcony varieties, and they all enjoy well-deserved popularity: Cherripalchiki F1, Balcony Yelow, Pearl yellow, Bonsai micro, F1 Balcony red, Room surprise, etc. Unique Feature is that they can grow more than one season. Dried bushes can be left in pots, watered occasionally, and after a while green leaves will begin to appear again. Tomatoes are able to grow this way up to 5 years, but the yield will decrease. The bushes bear fruit most abundantly in the first 2-3 years.

Cherripalchiki F1

Proper preparation of seeds for planting at home

The principle of growing a tomato at home is no different from growing in a garden: first we get seedlings from seeds, then we dive into pots in a permanent place. In advance, you should worry about preparing for planting seeds and soil.

It is better to buy seeds in specialized stores in order to be sure of the quality and compliance with the variety indicated on the package.

But still, before planting, it is better to check and sort the full grains from the empty ones again. To do this, dip them in salted water for 10 minutes (1 teaspoon per 200 g of water). Semi-dry or empty seeds will float, while healthy, full-fledged seeds will sink to the bottom. They need to be soaked for 20-30 minutes in a solution of manganese, to protect future plants from late blight.

To speed up the germination of seeds for a couple of days, you can put them in a damp cloth to “peck”. Tomato seeds prepared in this way are sown in a container for seedlings in moistened soil to a depth of 1 cm and at a distance of 3 cm from each other. After that, the soil is lightly tamped, covered plastic wrap and clean in a warm place until shoots appear. The film needs to be pricked in several places so that excess moisture does not accumulate under it, as this can cause seedling diseases. It is desirable to withstand daytime temperature + 22-25 degrees, night - + 15-17.

After about a week, the first leaves (false) appear, the temperature at this time is lowered to 20 degrees and the room is occasionally ventilated. It is also necessary to monitor the humidity - do not overdry, but do not overmoisten, so that the seedlings do not get sick with a “black leg”.

You can prepare the soil yourself or buy a ready-made substrate. For healthy plant growth and a good harvest, this mixture is most suitable:

the soil itself must be from 50% humus, 45% black soil, 5% sand;
for enrichment 1 cup of wood ash is added to one bucket of soil, by 1 matchbox superphosphate, potassium sulfate, urea.

Fill containers with this mixture - plastic cups with drainage holes or wooden boxes with pallets 10-12 cm high.

Transplanting tomato seedlings and further care

After the appearance of 2-3 true leaves on the seedlings, it is necessary to pick the seedlings, i.e. you need to choose the strongest and most developed sprouts and plant them in pots or other containers specially prepared for this. The size of the container should be 8-10 liters, for the smallest ornamental varieties tomatoes, you can take a container of 4-5 liters. In the process of caring for plants, you must follow the basic rules and technologies of agricultural technology:

Lighting. Pots with tomatoes are placed on the windowsills on the south side. Once every two days they are turned 180 degrees so that the plant is even, does not lean in sunny side. In cloudy weather, as well as in the mornings and evenings, it is necessary to provide plants with additional illumination - a phytolamp or even ordinary electric lamps (except for those varieties whose growth does not depend on the length of daylight hours).

Watering. Indoor tomatoes are very sensitive to watering. Regular soil moisture helps good growth, formation of ovaries and ripening of fruits. The lack of moisture will lead to the fall of the fruit, but its excess leads to the spread various diseases- rot, late blight, fungal infections. You need to water 2 times a week, moderately and without irrigating the stems. With the beginning of flowering, watering should be stopped and resumed with the appearance of ovaries.
Feeding tomatoes. Three weeks after the seedlings dive and then every 10-15 days, we fertilize the plants with special mineral and organic fertilizers, which we apply to moist soil on the second day after watering.
Whip tying. Low standard bushes with a stable trunk usually do not need support. The branches of medium-sized tomatoes are tied to pegs that are stuck into the ground, trying not to damage the root system.

Pasynkovanie. Be sure to carry out stepsoning, i.e. removal of “stepchildren” shoots in the axils of the leaves throughout the entire growth of plants for its correct formation. Stepchildren thicken the plant, take away nutrients, reduce the yield of tomatoes.

After the formation of the main ovaries, it is also necessary to rip off the top.

Pollination. Indoor varieties a fairly good harvest is given even without pollination, but if desired, pollination can be carried out with a brush, carefully running it over the flowers.

Growing hybrid varieties of tomatoes on the windowsill in winter time – this is not only a benefit, but also a great pleasure, a very interesting activity. With a little attention and free time, you will get a harvest of exclusive varieties of bright, sweet and very healthy tomatoes from your windowsill. Caring for such a plant will be easy even for beginner gardeners.

Healthy tomato seedlings - a guarantee bountiful harvest tomatoes. The mistakes that novice gardeners make at the stage of sowing seeds and growing seedlings will certainly affect the fruiting of an adult plant. In this case, there can be no trifles! Let's try to deal with all stages of growing tomato seedlings, starting with determining the timing of sowing and ending with planting bushes in open ground (in boxes - if growing on a balcony is supposed).

Approximately tomato seeds should be sown 55-65 days before planting seedlings in open ground or a greenhouse. Seeds germinate quite quickly - 5-10 days after sowing. So average term keeping seedlings on the windowsill (from germination) is 45-60 days.

It is important to correctly determine the timing so as not to overexpose the seedlings on the windowsill. This is fraught with inhibition of the growth of an adult bush and a decrease in yield.

Average sowing time for tomatoes:

in the southern regions of Russia and Ukraine - from the 20th of February to March 15 (landing in the OG - from April 15 to May 20);
in central regions Russia - from March 15 to April 1 (landing in the OG - from May 10 to early June);
in the northern regions (Siberia, Urals) - from April 1 to April 15 (landing in the OG - from May 25 to June 15).

To accurately answer the question of when to plant tomato seedlings, you need to know about the end date spring frosts in your region. Counting from this period 55-65 days ago, you can accurately determine the date of the desired landing.

If you plan to plant tomato seedlings not in open ground, but in a greenhouse or on a glazed balcony, then sowing can be started 2-3 weeks earlier.

Growing conditions for tomato seedlings

When growing tomato seedlings on a windowsill, create conditions for the seedlings with:

plenty of light - it is desirable that the windows face south, not obscured by trees (with a lack natural light artificial supplementary lighting is required);
high humidity - spray tomato seedlings 1-2 times a day, use air humidifiers, etc.;
warm - during the day the optimum temperature for tomato seedlings is 18-25 ° C, at night - 12-15 ° C.