Growing tomatoes on the balcony. Growing tomatoes on the balcony: how to grow cherry tomatoes correctly What pots are needed for balcony tomatoes

Would you like to receive new experience, plant your windowsill in an original way, save your budget and surprise your friends? Then it's time to find out how to grow tomatoes on the balcony. Fortunately, this does not require much space, money or effort, and the result will definitely please you. It is unlikely that anyone will remain indifferent to the fragrant and bright fruits grown in close proximity to kitchen table. You just need to choose the right variety of tomatoes, as well as create suitable conditions for them.

You can grow tomatoes both on an open balcony and on a glazed one. Both options involve some restrictions and conditions for creating a comfortable microclimate for plants.

An open balcony is suitable if you plan to harvest in the warm season. The minimum night temperatures at which seedlings can be taken out into the open space are +8…+10°C.

It is important to understand that the lack of glazing makes plants vulnerable to precipitation, wind and temperature conditions. For this reason, it is better to foresee in advance the possibility of bringing tomatoes into the room or the presence of a windproof and shading structure. This could be curtains, a screen, etc.

Tomatoes on the balcony open type are taken out no earlier than April-May

The glazed balcony allows you to enjoy your own grown tomatoes even in winter. If desired, you can guess the ripening period of the fruits so that they decorate festive table for New Year or family celebration. But for this, the balcony must be effectively insulated and landscaped.

High-quality thermal insulation allows you to maintain stable temperature regime, A good ventilation air - control its humidity and prevent the development of infections on the bushes.

These tomatoes will decorate any balcony

Note! Regardless of which balcony you are going to grow tomatoes on, you need to evaluate in advance the possibilities of placing the planting container. You should have easy access to each plant.

Tomato varieties for balconies and windowsills

Not all varieties of tomatoes are suitable for growing on a windowsill or balcony. It is recommended to give preference to the most low-growing species. There are a number of reasons for this:

• Such plants have a small root system. For one bush, a planting container with a volume of 3-3.5 liters is sufficient.
• The fruits of low-growing tomatoes ripen faster and more evenly.
• Small bushes absorb all nutrients from the soil better.
• They are easier to care for.

Low-growing varieties are ideal for any windowsill

Indoor tomatoes have the following characteristics:

• Small bush height. Usually it ranges from 20-60 cm.
• Standard building. This means the presence of a thick central stem around which the crown is formed.
• Abundant fruiting. The number of fruits on one cluster can reach 20 pieces!
• Modest size and weight of the fruit. Usually this is 15-70 g. Small round fruits, even without regard to the variety, are often called “cherries”.
• Resistant to lack of light. Although tomatoes are considered light-loving, most indoor varieties can be content with 5 hours of daylight.
• Determination. That is, stopping the growth of the bush after the formation of a certain number of flower brushes. This makes caring for the plant much easier.
• Precocity. Usually, within 80-95 days after planting the seeds, the first harvest can be harvested.
• High degree of decorativeness. Compact bushes with colorful fruits between fleshy leaves, they delight the eye.

The most popular tomatoes cherry tomatoes for growing on the balcony: “Bonsai”, “Balcony Miracle”, “Room Surprise”, “Angelica”, “Pinocchio”, “Garden Pearl”, “Pearl”, “Baby”, “Oak”. In most cases, reviews of these varieties are not just positive, but admiring.

Step-by-step instructions for growing tomatoes on the balcony

It would seem that 80-95 days is not so much. Planted, watered, harvested - that's all! In fact, you will have to do much more during these days. Don’t be alarmed, growing indoor tomatoes will not require Herculean efforts from you. Just attentiveness, compliance with a number of care rules and a little love for what you do.

Soil selection and preparation

Soil selection and preparation are important for proper growth and abundant fruiting of tomatoes.

Suitable for planting:

• Ready-made soil, which is easy to find in a specialty store. It is already enriched with essential minerals and is usually labeled accordingly, for example, “for tomatoes.”
• Personally prepared mixture: 1 part humus, 1 part turf soil and 1 part peat. An alternative could be a mixture leaf soil, peat and sand in a ratio of 2:1:1.

Having chosen the soil, it is important to properly prepare it for planting seeds. Preparation involves disinfection. You can do this in several ways:

1. Heat in the microwave. For this, 1-2 minutes are enough at a power of 800-850 W.
2. Warm up in the oven. At a temperature of 200°C, 10 minutes is enough.
3. Completely spill the soil with small portions of boiling water or a solution of potassium permanganate.

Soil for indoor tomatoes should be nutritious and fluffy

Subsequently, the soil is slightly dried or cooled, depending on the chosen disinfection method.

Preparation of tomato seeds - disinfection and germination

Like the soil, the seeds also need to be prepared for planting - select the bad ones, disinfect them, germinate them, especially if you took them from friends or bought them second-hand. Seeds in sealed packages from well-known agricultural companies undergo a disinfection procedure in the factory and are characterized by a high percentage of germination.

To select seeds that are unsuitable for planting, pour them into a glass or bowl of water and stir. Good seeds will settle to the bottom, and the bad ones will float on the surface.

You can disinfect planting material using:

• Potassium permanganate – 1 g per 100 ml of water. It is recommended to soak the seeds in this solution for 15 minutes.
• Soda – 0.5 g per 100 ml. IN in this case Seeds should be kept for at least 24 hours.
• Special means. One of the most popular is Fitosporin. If you purchased it in liquid form, for processing it is enough to dilute 1 drop per 100 ml of water. In dry form, you will need ½ teaspoon for the same volume. The seeds are soaked for about 15 minutes.

Disinfection of seeds using potassium permanganate

You can plant the seeds immediately, or you can germinate them first. Practice shows that the germination rate in the second case is higher. For germination, planting material is wrapped in wet gauze or bandage and placed in a warm place. In a couple of days, sprouts will appear. After this, the seeds are ready for planting in the ground.

Note! As soon as the sprouts hatch, be especially careful that the gauze does not dry out.

Sprouted tomato seeds

Planting seeds and first picking of seedlings

At a distance of at least 3 cm from each other, holes or grooves 1-1.5 cm deep are made in the soil. Seeds are laid in them, which are then covered with earth and sprayed generously with water from a spray bottle. If you plant seeds straight from the package, they can be grouped in 2-3 pieces. But it’s better to lay out the sprouted ones one at a time.

The planting container is covered with a transparent moisture-proof material (film, plastic cover) and place in a warm place with an air temperature of +22…+24°C. This will create a greenhouse effect for better germination.

When sprouts appear, it is important to provide them with the following conditions:

• Be sure to ventilate the greenhouse so that the seedlings are not destroyed by fungal and other infections. To do this, remove the lid 1-2 times a day for 5-10 minutes, each time increasing the ventilation time.
• Make sure that upper layer the soil where the tender roots are located did not dry out. It is better to water with a spray bottle, since a regular stream of water can wash away the soil.
• Provide the seedlings with good lighting. Usually it is simply transferred to the windowsill.

The first picking of seedlings is carried out after the appearance of the third leaf, not counting the cotyledons. If you used a shallow container to sow seeds, then it is better to plant young plants in two steps: first in a regular 200 ml plastic glass, and then, after a month, in big pot for an adult bush 3-3.5 liters.

If you immediately planted germinated seeds in glasses, monitor the condition of the root system. If there are three normal sheets, it should occupy almost the entire volume of the container.

Important! Seedlings are planted one at a time. At the same time, stronger specimens are selected. The weak are disposed of.

When picking glasses, you should not make holes in their bottoms to drain moisture, otherwise there is a high risk of such a small amount of soil drying out. When planting in large pots, the presence drain holes and a drainage layer at the bottom of the container is a must!

For ease of picking, you can use a wooden spatula or a regular fork.

When and what to feed tomatoes

Seedlings need to be fed, as they require a large amount of nutrients to grow and bear fruit. For this purpose, complex mineral and organic fertilizers.

In stores you can find the following suitable compositions: “Emerald”, “Strong”, “Gumat +7”. From folk remedies you can use ash, banana peels, eggshells or infusion of onion peels.

The first fertilizing is carried out 12-14 days after the appearance of the first shoots. The second - 10 days after it, and the third - about a week before picking the seedlings into large pots. Tomatoes are also fed during flowering and fruiting – once every 10-12 days.

Important! Fertilizers are applied only to wet soil– a few hours after watering or even the next day.

Potassium and phosphorus, which are important for tomatoes, are contained in the ash.

When feeding tomatoes, it is important not to overdo it. All solutions are prepared in strict accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. For young seedlings, they use a dosage that is half the recommended one. Special attention give nitrogen fertilizers. If they are overdosed, there is a high risk that the bush will actively begin to grow green mass, “forgetting” about flowering and fruiting.

Caring for seedlings - watering and other activities

Caring for seedlings includes measures to create a favorable microclimate and proper watering.

Tomatoes – warm and light-loving plants. They feel great on south and south-east windows. Most varieties easily tolerate short-term exposure to even direct sunlight. However, on the hottest days it is better to shade the windows.

If the windows do not receive enough sunlight, use fluorescent lamps. They make it easy to extend the daylight hours for tomatoes during the cold season or cloudy weather. To do this, lamps are installed above the plants, at a distance of 25-30 cm from the tallest bush. They are usually turned on 2-3 hours before dawn or the same time after sunset.

Illuminating seedlings using lamps

The daytime temperature for comfortable plant growth is +22…+26 °C, and the night temperature should not be lower than +16 °C. Regular ventilation of the room will help regulate the temperature. It is worth noting that tomatoes love this procedure, but they are afraid of direct flows of cold air.

As for watering, it is rare but plentiful. In the cold season, the bushes are watered once every 5-7 days, and in the warm season - once every 2-3 days. It is important to monitor the condition of the soil. You may need to adjust the watering regime taking into account the microclimate on the balcony.

Tomato seedlings need to be watered at the root

Formation of a bush - how to properly perform pinching

Growing balcony tomatoes involves timely removal of side shoots. Why is this necessary?

1. Thinning the bush allows light to reach all the leaves.
2. The plant is well ventilated, this reduces the risk of many infections and harmful insects.
3. The fruits after this procedure develop more fully.
4. The bush has a well-groomed and more decorative appearance.

It is easy to carry out pinching: the emerging shoots are broken off with your fingers, leaving a “stump” of 1-1.5 cm. To avoid infection, it is better not to use scissors.

Bushes are usually formed into 1-3 stems. One stem is left for standard varieties. It is thick and provides excellent support vertical position a plant that does not need support or tying up. If you want to form a bush with 2-3 stems, save the first stepsons.

Technique for growing tomatoes at home

Many indoor tomatoes are determinate. After releasing four to five flower clusters that appear after 2-3 leaves, they stop growing. In terms of caring for the bush and its formation, this is very convenient. In indeterminate varieties, even after releasing 8-9 clusters, stepchildren continue to appear. Such plants require more attention.

Pollination - is it necessary indoors?

For self-pollination of balcony tomatoes, air fluctuations when ventilating the room are enough. But if you notice that they do not set fruit, look for a problem in the microclimate. This is what it should be:

• Air temperature within +22…+25 °C. At higher values, the pollen will become sterile, and at lower values, the flowering process will simply slow down.
• Soil humidity - at least 70%. Dry soil often causes flowers to fall off.
• Air humidity – 60-65%.

If you see that the tomatoes on the balcony are not blooming, try shaking the top brushes slightly. Then the pollen from them will fall on the lower flowers. But for the desired effect, the plant needs to be watered a few hours after this procedure.

Artificial pollination can be done by touching the brush to the flowers

Tomatoes can be grown not only in pots, when the crown of the plant traditionally points upward. There is an alternative and much more original option - planting in plastic bottles, but... upside down!

Bottle planting technology

Slightly grown seedlings are usually planted in bottles. At the same time, it is better to abandon standard varieties with thick stems. They will not look entirely aesthetically pleasing.

The sequence of actions should be as follows:

1. Cut off the bottom of a clean 2-3 liter plastic bottle. The cut line is where the width of the container becomes stable, without narrowing or widening.
2. At the bottom of the cut part, make 1-3 small holes intended for drip irrigation plants. You can use a heated nail or a hand drill.
3. Turn this element upside down and insert it into the bottle. Mark and make 2-4 holes around the perimeter so that you can insert a strong rope into them and tie the planting container to the support. Disassemble the structure.
4. Take the seedling along with a small lump of earth and carefully insert it into the container through the cut off bottom. Insert the stem with leaves into the neck. To prevent the soil from falling out of it at first and retain moisture, the roots of the seedling can be wrapped in a paper napkin, toilet paper. Another option is to make a plug for the neck from moss or foam rubber.
5. Fill the planting container with soil, lightly compacting it. Please note: it should not be laid to the top (the top in this case is the bottom of the bottle)! Leave a free space equal in height to the cut piece.
6. Place it in the bottle so that the holes for the rope line up. Pull it through and securely tie the container to the support.

This may seem incomprehensible and complicated, but somewhat themed photos And the video will definitely help you figure it out.

Making a hole for hanging seedlings in a bottle

Placing a plant in a bottle

Advice! For the convenience of hanging planting containers, you can use plastic buckets. You just need to make holes in them for the seedlings.

Advantages and disadvantages of using hanging containers

Growing tomatoes upside down has its pros and cons. The advantages include:

• Convenient watering. You don’t have to focus on watering around the root or along the walls of the container. It is enough to pour water into the inverted bottom, and it will flow drop by drop into the ground.
• Decorative planting and its originality. A bush with its roots up is a mesmerizing sight in itself, and if it also bears fruit, the effect is doubly amazing.
• Saving space. Using vertical space allows you to free up the window sill for traditionally growing greenery.
• There is no need to tie up the bushes.

Bottles with soil can be placed in decorative flowerpots

With all the tangible advantages, this method of growing tomatoes also has disadvantages:

• Bye root system small, water can flow down through the neck of the bottle. The solution may be the above-mentioned plugs or substituting another pot with a plant under the planting container.
• A bottle with a fruiting bush can weigh up to 25 kg, so you will have to take care of reliable support for the plants. Most often, metal brackets are used for these purposes.
• A bottle of soil limits light access to the plant while it is small.

Thus, when choosing one or another method of growing tomatoes, you should carefully weigh its pros and cons.

Problems of growing indoor tomatoes - pests and diseases

To ensure a bountiful harvest, tasty fruits, and beautiful bushes, you need to carefully care for the plants. This will prevent the development of diseases and the appearance of harmful insects. However, you need to know the enemy by sight in order to understand how to deal with him if he appears.

The main diseases of tomatoes on the windowsill:

• Late blight. It is expressed in the appearance of brown spots on all parts of the bush and even the fruits. Reason – high level humidity combined with heat. Late blight easily affects neighboring plants, so it is better to dispose of the diseased plant.
• Blackleg. It affects young seedlings growing too densely and in an excessively humid environment. They turn black at the surface of the earth, become thinner and die. During this period, it is necessary to remove diseased plants, reduce watering and thin out the seedlings.
• Gray rot. Formed on tomatoes of any ripeness. First, small gray spots appear, which, as they grow, become watery in nature and emit a putrid odor. Affected tomatoes are thrown away along with the soil.

Manifestation of late blight of tomatoes

Common pests found on tomatoes include:

• Whitefly. An adult specimen does not exceed 1.5 mm in size and has a yellowish body. The larva, on the contrary, is green and flat. It is she who damages the leaves by sticking to them. Visually, the affected areas are characterized by black spots, as they are actively colonized by sooty fungi.
• Spider mite. Lives on back side sheets. The affected areas first resemble dots, which then grow into a “marble” pattern.

Adult whiteflies on the back of a leaf

Spider mite infestation

Effectively deal with harmful insects Special substances help - insecticides. They can be found in specialized stores.

Video master classes on growing balcony tomatoes

Vertical beds and other ways to compactly plant tomatoes and herbs on the balcony:

Details about growing tomatoes on the balcony and windowsill:

It is very exciting to watch how small seeds gain strength day after day, turning into beautiful fruit-bearing tomato bushes. Add potted greens to them in the form of lettuce, parsley, and basil. Plant a few decorative peppers– and you will create an amazing mini-vegetable garden on the windowsill with your own hands!

Not having your own summer house or garden is not a reason to give up your dream of growing organic vegetables yourself. And the owners of balconies, glazed loggias or open terraces there is nothing to worry about at all - in the summer, vegetables grow and ripen well in houses among flower arrangements. And the tomato is one of the most popular crops among balcony gardeners, because it grows well, ripens quickly and pleases for a long time bountiful harvests.

Before filling all the available space with pots of seedlings, it is important to remember: success successful growing The number of tomatoes on a balcony in an urban environment depends on the correctly selected variety. After all, not every plant will agree to grow indoors in a small area. But do not despair - breeders have developed many varieties that develop well and bear fruit on balconies.

There are many varieties of tomatoes. When choosing, carefully read their characteristics

If you are the happy owner of a large balcony space and can afford to place large containers with soil, then you can opt for large-fruited varieties of tomatoes: Bull's heart, Carlson, De Barao. Owners of more modest living spaces will have to look for theirs among the dwarf varieties. You can sow, for example, Yellow Pearl, Cascade Red, Verlioka, Red Banana, Ruby, White Fill, Canada News, Oak or Little Florida. Small Cherry tomatoes performed well in the balcony environment.

Other varieties intended for growing on balconies are also popular: Max, Balcony Miracle, Gina, Belkoni Red, George Bush, Japanese indoor tomato, Bonsai Micro, Siberian early ripening.

General characteristics of balcony tomatoes

At least taste it balcony tomatoes do not differ from their garden “relatives”, but still there are some differences between the two species. To a greater extent - regarding appearance plants.

Features of dwarf varieties:

1. Compact root system.
2. The fruits are small and regular in shape.
3. Low plants (no more than half a meter in height).
4. Doesn't need tying.
5. The fruits ripen faster than in the garden.
6. High yield (about 2 kg).

Growing seedlings correctly

Properly grown seedlings are the key good harvest

The process of growing tomatoes begins with sprouting seeds. They do this from the beginning of February and continue until April. At early sowing The first fruits will be in April, spring seeds will be harvested in September. Also, when deciding to make a small one on the balcony, it is important to take into account the level of lighting, since tomatoes are light-loving plants. That is best place a southern balcony will serve as a tomato plantation. In poorly lit loggias, the lack of sunlight is compensated by artificial lighting (lamps daylight).

There are several ways to germinate tomato seeds: directly into the soil and with pre-soaking.

Method No. 1

Soaking the seeds

1. Cover the saucer with a piece of cloth, place the seeds on it, and cover with a damp cloth on top.
2. Place the saucer in a plastic bag.
3. Place in a warm place (you can put a board under the bottom of the plate on a radiator).
4. Periodically moisten the cloth with seeds.
5. When white roots appear in the grains, plant them in the ground.
6. Water with warm water, but do not over-water it.

Method number 2

1. Place the seeds in the refrigerator for several days to harden.
2. Carefully place the tomato seeds into fabric bags.
3. Pour hot water into a thermos.
4. Place the seed bags in a thermos with water and leave overnight.
5. Plant the seeds in soil (purchased or from the garden). Sow in furrows no deeper than 1 cm.
6. Water generously and cover the seeds with soil.
7. Wrap containers with seeds in plastic bags, creating a greenhouse effect.
8. Before seedlings germinate, ventilate the pots with soil daily by removing the bag.

Method number 3

Dwarf varieties tomatoes - ideal for growing on balconies

1. Fill a 200-gram plastic glass (preferably transparent) with soil and pour boiling water over it. Wait until the soil cools down.
2. Using a pencil, make a hole in the ground and place several seeds (if already sprouted, then one per cup).
3. Cover the containers with film and place in a warm place.
4. After the sprouts appear (on the 3rd day), place the containers in a cool place (window sill).
5. It is advisable to illuminate with artificial light, water only when the top layer of soil dries out.

Growing seedlings

To grow tomato seedlings, you can use either a purchased mixture or soil from the garden, preferably from a bed in which nightshade crops have not grown before. It is also easy to prepare the soil yourself by mixing peat, turf soil and manure humus in equal parts.

With the appearance of seedlings, wait until the plants grow stronger and stronger, then transplant them into larger containers for a permanent “place of residence.” Planting tomatoes is an important process, so we will pay attention to all stages.

You can make containers for seedlings yourself

First of all, prepare containers for subsequent planting of nightshade crops on balconies. These can be conical buckets, large pots, wooden or plastic boxes. But it’s worth considering: one plant will need about 3 liters of soil.

The next stage is preparing the drainage layer. Since tomatoes do not tolerate excess water, drainage is indispensable. The easiest way is to cover the bottom of the pot with 2 centimeters of small pebbles or pieces of expanded clay. And only after that can you fill the container with soil or earthen mixture. Fill the mold no more than three-quarters full.

When planting tomatoes, deepen the plants 2 cm lower than they grew in the previous form. Gently sprinkle soil on all sides and pour plenty of warm water under the root. Place pots of tomatoes in the sun no earlier than a week later - wait until the plants take root.

Important: balcony tomatoes do not like excess moisture and lack of fresh air, this means that on cold nights it is advisable to take containers with plants into warm room. But in the heat, do not forget to ventilate the room, in particular this applies to glazed balconies.

Feeding tomatoes

Experienced agronomists advise watering nightshades on balconies only when necessary - when the top layer of soil dries out. It is better to do this in the first half of the day using warm water(more than 20 degrees). Pour the liquid not under the bush itself, but around it.

Tomatoes need not only to be watered, but also to be fed periodically

But even the most the best varieties tomatoes growing on the balcony need feeding. Experienced gardeners use it as fertilizer. different variants mixtures. For example, someone prefers exclusively organic products and waters their tomatoes with a solution chicken manure or mullein (dilute with water 1:5). But more often they use mineral fertilizers, which are sold in specialized stores. 30 g of a ready-made mixture of mineral fertilizers and 10 liters of water is quite enough to water a fairly large balcony garden. For the first time, such fertilizing should be done about a week after planting the tomatoes on the balcony. In the future, feed the “bed” every 10 – 12 days. To make tomatoes on the balcony develop more quickly, you can use foliar fertilizers.

Experts call a urea solution (add 1 teaspoon of urea to 3 liters of water) a good feeding option. You can also mix a tablespoon of superphosphate and wood ash with 3 liters of water, or use nitroammophoska dissolved in water for watering (1 tablespoon per 3 liters of liquid).

How to form a beautiful bush?

Methods for forming bushes

Beautiful bushes tomatoes can also serve as a decorative element for the balcony. But a beautiful tomato “crown” does not form on its own. To make the bushes look aesthetically pleasing and produce as much harvest as possible, it is better to grow low-growing plants with two stems. If there is room on the balcony for tall plants tomatoes, then leave only one shoot - it’s better to get rid of all the stepsons. Also, do not forget to remove shoots coming from the leaf axils from time to time, but at the same time try not to damage the main stem. This is done in order to “clear” the bush from excess branches, making room for inflorescences and better lighting of the plant. To avoid the development of diseases, you should promptly clean the bush from yellowed, fallen or already diseased leaves.

The main enemies of tomatoes

The most common problem when growing tomatoes on balconies is fungal diseases caused by excess moisture. You can overcome the problem by increasing the lighting of the balcony and frequently ventilating the room. Good results Bordeaux mixture helps fight tomato fungi.

Ingredients for the mixture:

• copper sulfate (10 g) diluted in water (0.9 l);
• slaked lime (20 g), diluted in 100 g of water.

Mix the ingredients. Keep ready mixture no more than a day.

The most common tomato diseases:

• late blight, or brown rot of tomatoes;
• blackleg;
• anthracnose, or root rot;
• Phomaz, or brown rot;
• top rot.

If we talk about pests, the ones that cause the most trouble to tomatoes are spider mite and whitefly. You can get rid of the first by spraying the bush with an infusion of onion and garlic peels (pour 200 g with a liter of water). The whitefly is destroyed by means such as Confidor.

Not everyone has a garden, but many want to own vegetables V summer season. Not all of them know that gardeners have long practiced growing tomatoes on the balcony. This method will allow you to plant garden crops at home. It’s worth describing it step by step.

Between the balcony plants at home and the plants planted in open ground, there are a number of differences, so before planting it is important to choose the right varieties of future tomatoes.

What should balcony tomatoes be like?

The main difference between plants grown on a window and greenhouses is their final size. Varieties that are used for planting in the garden can grow to a height of a meter or more. Caring for such a plant at home is very problematic, since tall bushes have a highly developed root system that requires a lot of soil.

Low-growing varieties are perfect for planting on the windowsill of a house. In addition, they should bear fruit abundantly, because tomatoes on the window have very small fruits due to the smaller amount of nutrients. Therefore, the harvest of even 10 such tomatoes on the windowsill of a house will seem very modest.

When you go to a store that sells seeds, you should take a closer look at varieties such as:

• Pinocchio;
• Balcony miracle;
• F1 balcony red;
• Pearl (yellow and red);
• Balcony tree;
• Thumbelina;
• F1 bonsai micro;
• Cherry;
• Button;
• Bonsai.

The bushes of these varieties are low-growing and, at home on a windowsill, grow to a maximum of half a meter. The fruits on them are arranged in large clusters, so that during ripening the bush is strewn with many small berries. Due to the difference in conditions and varieties, plants planted at home, unlike greenhouse plants, require completely different care.

Soil for planting

Cherry tomatoes, Thumbelina, Miracle and other small-sized varieties should be grown on the windowsill of the house in prepared soil. There are several variations of the mixture. So, in specialized stores you can purchase ready-made mixtures:

• "Tomato and pepper";
• "Exo".

You can prepare a mixture for Miracle tomatoes and other varieties at home. There are several simple recipes.

1. To 1 part of vermiculite you need to add a tablespoon and a glass of ash, then add 4 parts of compost. Stir the resulting mixture into the soil, the amount of which should correspond to the compost.
2. Mix in a ratio of 1:1:1 turf land, manure humus and peat.
3. Sand and peat are mixed in one to one proportions, and 2 parts of leaf soil are added to the resulting mass.

In the resulting soil indoor tomatoes cherry, Balcony Miracle and others grown at home will be able to receive the necessary nutrients and will grow better on the windowsill.

Landing

In order to grow Balcony Miracle tomatoes and other varieties at home on the window, you need to prepare a special container. Each bush is planted separately.

Choose a container volume for planting of at least 3 liters. The container material can be absolutely any. So, instead of clay pot Many people plant tomatoes in plastic bottles.

The technology for planting cherry and other species is very simple; step by step it can be divided into several stages.

1. A drainage layer is placed at the bottom of the pot. They can serve brick chips or gravel. The thickness of this layer should be approximately 3 cm.
2. On top of the drainage, compacting it a little, lay specially prepared soil so that about 2 cm remains to the top edge of the container.
3. From the seedlings you need to select the largest seeds, after which they need to be soaked for 25-30 minutes in a solution of potassium permanganate, consisting of 10 g of the substance and 1 liter of water.
4. Rinse the seeds thoroughly with clean water.
5. Ready seeds can be planted in the soil. The depth of the recess in the soil of the pot can vary from 1.5 to 1 mm.

The final stage of planting cherry seeds and other tomatoes on the window - either in plastic bottles or in clay containers - is abundant watering. Next, the pots are covered with glass and placed near the window on the south side of the apartment.

Care

Thumbelina, Balcony Miracle and other indoor tomatoes grown at home on a windowsill require special care, different from that to which plants planted in open ground are accustomed. This is due to the fact that there is a limited amount of nutrients in a closed pot.

Watering should occur as the soil dries. Typically, indoor cherry tomatoes can live without additional watering for up to 8-10 days. Before giving water to plants living on the windowsill, it should be allowed to sit for several days. But this is not all care.

Periodically, the sprouts will require feeding, which begins 12 days after the balcony miracle shows its first shoots.

In order to grow tomatoes on the balcony, the room must be constantly maintained at an optimal temperature. So, during the day, the thermometer readings can vary from 18 to 22 degrees, at night the average value can vary from 15 to 16 degrees.

Extreme heat cherry, Balcony miracle and others low growing tomatoes, growing at home on a windowsill, are extremely disliked. Therefore, you should open the window from time to time to ventilate the room. Care also includes protection from unnecessary drafts. Therefore, in case of cold weather, it is necessary to install some kind of dense panel, for example made of plywood, between the window and the cherry.

Bottom line

Growing tomatoes at home is not as complicated a process as it might seem at first glance. Besides, why should the balcony room of the house be empty when it can be usefully used for planting tomatoes?

A guarantee of success in growing is the purchase of tomato seeds suitable for planting at home and compliance with growing technology. Caring for tomatoes is also not difficult, the main thing is to make sure that the soil does not dry out. Then juicy and tasty tomatoes will grow at home.

The balcony can be used for different purposes. It is often placed flower pots and flowerpots, arranging a greenhouse. But indoor gardening can be more practical. Growing tomatoes on a balcony or windowsill in winter and summer is a great idea: the plant is pleasing to the eye, filters the air, and will even produce fruit. In addition, in the cold season, natural tomatoes are very difficult to find, but if they are grown with your own hands, it is doubly pleasant.

Which variety to choose

The process of growing tomatoes at home is not much different from growing tomatoes in a greenhouse or in open ground. Perhaps the scale and specificity of the microclimate. To successfully achieve your goal, the main thing is to choose the right variety. Indoor tomatoes should develop well in dry indoor air and, possibly, with a lack of natural light.

Tomatoes on the balcony - Balcony miracle

If you plan to grow tomatoes at home, then should be given preference miniature varieties . They do not take up much space, the bushes are not tall, but they can produce a good harvest. Varieties such as Malysh, Dubok, Rusich, Cherry, Bonsai and Balcony Miracle tomatoes are perfect. Their fruits are small, but very juicy, and the plants themselves are fertile.

If free space more and it is possible to grow tomatoes on a balcony or loggia in large boxes or flowerpots; you can take varieties whose fruits are heavier. The best option is White filling or Bull's Heart. The bushes themselves are also quite tall, because as soon as they grow up, they will have to be moved from the balcony to the floor. It's important to remember that different varieties behave differently on the same balcony, so find the best option This is only possible through personal testing.

How to create the right conditions at different times of the year

Tomatoes on the windowsill in winter and summer are quite unpretentious. The hardest part is growing the first batch. It is at this time that the basic theory is studied and the first practical skills are acquired. And then everything becomes much simpler, and the process of growing tomatoes does not cause anxiety - only pleasant contemplation of the result of the work.

Important: If you plan to grow tomatoes in winter, this will only be possible if the balcony (loggia) is well insulated and has additional heating.

In order for homemade tomatoes on the windowsill to produce a harvest, the following conditions must be met:

• use quality seeds;
• create the necessary microclimate;
• choose the right container;
• choose the right soil;
• ensure timely watering.

Seeds need to be taken either from trusted sellers who sell goods that they work with themselves, or in factory sealed packaging. In the second case, it is important to look at the expiration date - otherwise the seeds run the risk of not germinating. For the first time it is better to take different seeds(either different companies, but one variety, or different varieties). This will allow you to understand which tomatoes are easier to care for and the fruits of which plants you like best.

It is convenient to use disposable plastic cups for planting seeds. It is convenient if they are transparent: this way you can monitor the amount of water during watering. Growing tomatoes on a windowsill in winter and at other times of the year requires strictly moderate watering. A lack of moisture will not allow the plant to develop, and an excess will lead to the formation of weak flower clusters, and possibly to rotting.

The best condition for tomato growth is a temperature of 26°C during the day and 15°C at night. It is advisable to have a thermometer on the balcony - it will allow you to determine the actual temperature in the room. It is noteworthy that tomatoes, unlike many other plants, are not afraid of drafts. If it is too warm on the balcony, you can open the window for short-term ventilation.

Note: Modern window designs have such a mode - “ventilation”. If you use it, Fresh air the air will enter the balcony or room through the side slots opened in the window block. This will protect the tomatoes from sudden currents of cold air, which can be detrimental to the plant.

For optimal lighting, it is recommended to place a fluorescent lamp on the balcony or use special phytolamps. In winter it gets dark early, and naturally sunlight not enough for plants. Especially if the windows do not face south. Therefore, the use of additional lighting fixtures it is simply necessary if you want the plant not only to grow, but also to develop, and ultimately to bear fruit.

Indoor tomatoes - growing on a glassed and illuminated balcony

On the balcony where the tomatoes grow, bright lighting should be at least 10 hours a day. It is important to remember that glass lets through Sun rays, but they filter some of them, so homemade tomatoes cannot always get everything from the sun through the window that plants in the open ground receive. In warm sunny weather, if possible, it is recommended to open the windows at least briefly so that the plants can soak up the sun without any obstacles - this will significantly speed up the growth rate.

It has already been said before about the importance of insulating the space for growing and caring for tomatoes. you will find out by reading our article.

For additional lighting on the balcony, a socket is required. We talked about that here.

To store the future harvest, you may need a balcony cellar. You can find out how to make it yourself by following this link. The article describes various options homemade cellars.

If you are interested in how to grow tomatoes on a windowsill, do not forget about the soil. Its composition is also important. For balcony plants, you can choose the same soil as for seedlings. The simplest option: take soil from the garden, add a little sand and peat or humus. Also, a handful of wood ash and a teaspoon of potassium sulfate and superphosphate should be added to the mixture. It is not recommended to choose too clay soil. An alternative option is to purchase a special mixture for planting.

How to grow tomatoes

The process begins, of course, with planting seeds. To do this, small holes are made in separate cups or an oblong container for seedlings at a depth of 1-1.5 cm, and 3 seeds are planted in them (if they are already sprouted, you can do one at a time). Then the seeds are carefully sprinkled with soil, watered, covered with film - and the mini-greenhouse is placed in a warm place.

At about 10-12 days, you can plant the strongest and tallest shoots in separate flowerpots. Since even domestic tomato bushes are quite large, flowerpots should have a volume of at least 3.5 liters. After transplanting, water the tomatoes again and place them in a warm place - this will help the plant grow stronger faster. When the bush becomes too heavy, it is necessary to give it support: tie it to a post stuck in the ground, or, for example, to window handle. This way the tomato will continue to develop properly.

What care is needed for tomatoes? Caring for plants is simple: it is important to water them in a timely manner and also feed them with fertilizers. It is recommended to use mineral and organic fertilizers for feeding for the first time - a week after planting in flowerpots, and then - once every 10 days - they strengthen the tomatoes and accelerate their growth.

Watering tomatoes should be done every three days with water at room temperature, so that during the break the soil does not have time to dry out completely. It is not recommended to pour water onto the top layer of soil. It is better to use a syringe with a long needle or a rubber “bulb” for these purposes: the container along the wall of the pot is lowered into the middle of the layer, and water is already sprayed out there, evenly distributed throughout the entire lump of earth.

In order for balcony tomatoes to properly accumulate their strength, it is important to remove the shoots, leaving one at a time in front of the first inflorescence. This will ensure maximum fertility of the bush and best growth fruits But if the varieties are low-growing, 2 stepsons should be left to form bushes of three stems.

Tomatoes are self-pollinating plants, which makes the job easier for the beginning home gardener. But during the flowering period, for a better ovary, you can gently tap the stem and brushes of the bush. After setting the fruit, the top of the shoot is plucked. The same is done with the remaining inflorescences - they will no longer have time to set.

You can plant not only tomatoes on your balcony or windowsill. Read about the features on our website.

And when there are already cucumbers and tomatoes, then dill is not enough for a complete salad. we told you here.

Tomato diseases: how to identify and how to treat

The main indicator of a plant's health is its leaves. With normal development, they may curl a little during the day, but at night they always straighten out. If this does not happen, if they turn yellow or acquire a whitish coating, if they fall off, the plant requires treatment.

First of all, you need to look for pests on the bush itself. They are often hidden on the back of the leaf. If there are insects, they must be removed, and subsequently a regular inspection is carried out - they may appear again. Their presence prevents the normal, full development of the bush.

Also very dangerous for tomatoes is a disease called late blight. This is a fungal infection that affects not only the leaves of the plant, but also the fruits. But that’s not all: it easily spreads to neighboring plants, so it can very quickly infect the entire garden. Dampness creates favorable conditions for the development of infection.

Visually, late blight looks like burgundy spots that gradually increase in size and merge. When this disease is detected, it is recommended to spray the bushes with a mixture of slaked lime and copper sulfate. It is prepared according to the following recipe: dilute 10 g of copper sulfate in 900 ml of water, and 20 g of slaked lime in 100 ml of water. Then, stirring continuously, pour the lime solution into the vitriol solution - and the mixture is ready.

It is important to remember that its shelf life is only 1 day, so it is better to prepare the “medicine” immediately before use.

Advice: When late blight develops, it is better to immediately remove ripened fruits from the affected bushes; fruits that are almost ripe must be removed and lowered for 2 minutes hot water, and then put it in a dark and always dry place for ripening.

Knowing how, growing tomatoes on the balcony is not difficult. But how much pleasure the process itself and harvesting your harvest bring. These tomatoes are always juicier, more aromatic and tasty than store-bought ones. And, of course, much more useful - after all, they are grown with your own hands and, most importantly, with love.

Tomatoes on the windowsill video

And here we invite you to watch a video on the topic of our article. In it, an experienced gardener gives his advice.