In this article we will tell you how to grow tomatoes. Consider ways to harvest not only in greenhouse conditions, but also at home - on the windowsill and balcony. It is worth following the recommendations, and you will be able to grow tomatoes yourself - juicy, ripe and he althy!
How to grow good tomato seedlings?
Seedlings can only be grown in a warm room or a heated greenhouse. The timing of sowing tomatoes should be as follows: 60-75 days before the planned landing in the ground at a permanent place. Usually this is done from mid-February to early March.
Peat pots, boxes, kefir boxes, plastic cups or plastic bottles will fit for growing tomato seedlings. To sow the seeds, you must purchase a ready-made soil mixture or make it yourself by mixing black earth, humus and wood ash in equal parts.
Processing tomato seeds before planting is a mandatory procedure, which will subsequently help the bushes and fruits survive temperature changes, overcome diseases that destroy the culture. First of all, the seeds need to be hardened by putting them on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for a couple of days. Next, put for five minutes in a glass of water heated to 50 degrees, and then for the same time in the cold.
A weak solution of potassium permanganate will help to disinfect the seeds. Dilute it so that the water is only slightly pink. Put the seeds in the solution for five minutes, then rinse with cooled boiled water.
When the time for sowing tomatoes comes up, it will be necessary to select only the strongest and strongest specimens. Select large seeds, put them for five minutes in a 5% solution of s alt or ammonium nitrate. During this time, full specimens will sink, and empty ones will remain on the surface - there will be no harvest from such ones, so you can safely get rid of them.
Seeds that have passed all checks, hardening and disinfection, place in a gauze bag. Wet it and put it in a warm place for 2-3 days. Make sure the bag is always wet. In this way, it will be possible to quickly germinate the seed.
Sowing seeds
If seedlings will be grown in containers such as glasses, halves of bottles, boxes or boxes, then you need to fill them to the middle. Now almost all varieties do not need picking, so we will just add soil as the bushes grow, and not transplant them into larger pots.
Create holes 1.5-2 cm deep, place one seed in each, sprinkle with earth. Pour with warm water, cover with plastic and put in a warm, lit place. Maintain in this greenhouse the temperature of 20-25 degrees and humidity. After 10-12 days, the first shoots should appear, after which the polyethylene is removed.
When the polyethylene was removed, you need to put the seedlings for a week in a place where the temperature does not exceed 15 degrees. This is done so that the bushes do not go up ahead of time and their stems do not become thinner. After 7-10 days, you can put pots and boxes on the windowsill, where the sun will help the bushes grow and gain strength.
Seedlings should be watered only with settled water at room temperature. Do not overwater, but also make sure that the soil does not dry out. Watering is allowed only under a bush, it is impossible to water from a watering can, so as not to wet the stem and foliage.
Once a week loosen the ground a little to get more oxygen into it. But loosening must be done carefully so as not to damage the roots.
As soon as the bushes grow to 10 centimeters, add the first portion of the new earth, thus deepening the planting. Next time add the earth, when the bushes reach a height of 20-25 centimeters, deepen the stem by a third. Adding soil and deepening the stem will help develop a strong root system. The extra roots will come straight from the stem and help the plant get more oxygen and nutrients.
Terms for planting seedlings in the ground
To begin with, consider the question of how to grow tomatoes in the open field. Next, we will talk about greenhouse care and maintenance on the balcony.
Tomato beds must be prepared in advance, from autumn. Dig, bring in manure, humus,superphosphate. If the soil is acidic, neutralize the acidity with lime.
Tomatoes do not like to grow in the shade, so give them a sunny place where the sun will shine for at least 8 hours a day. But at the same time, the territory must be protected from the north wind, after all, tomatoes are a heat-loving crop!
Planting tomatoes in an open garden is worth it only when there is no threat of frost. Focus on your region, usually these are dates from mid-May to the end of the first decade of June.
Planting seedlings in open ground
Prepare the holes, preferably not too deep, longitudinal. Spill the earth well - first with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, then with clean water. Carefully remove the bushes from the boxes and glasses. If the root is slightly damaged, it's okay, the tomatoes will quickly restore them.
Place a bush in the hole so that it is slightly inclined, and not only the root, but also part of the stem is in the ground. An additional root will begin to form from the stem, and the whole system will become stronger, thanks to this, the tomatoes will receive more oxygen and nutrients necessary for growth.
Seat the bushes, keeping the distance. If the variety is undersized, then leave 30 centimeters between plantings, if tall, then at least 50 centimeters.
Irrigation of tomatoes in the open field
After planting, seedlings should not be watered for several days. Next, take a look at the weather conditions. If the summer is too hot, then water the tomatoes once or twice a week with plenty of water. If athe season is rainy and cool, then watering cannot be done at all.
Apply water only under the bush, do not allow drops to fall on the stem and foliage.
As soon as the fruits begin to set, it will be necessary to intensify watering. Apply water the same number of times a week, but in a larger volume.
Ground Tomatoes
How to grow tomatoes in a greenhouse to get a bountiful harvest? It seems to many that it is easier to do this than in the open field, but there it was!
The first thing to consider is the ability to ventilate the greenhouse. Vents must be placed not only on the sides, but also on top. Every morning it is necessary to open these windows, and close them at night. If you forget to open, or if there are no vents, then the tomatoes may die from the heat. If you forget to open it consistently, then the tomatoes will become more susceptible to various diseases, and you won’t have to talk about a good harvest.
The greenhouse should be located in a sunny area. The beds in it are prepared for sure. Add peat, sawdust or ash, humus to the soil.
Planting tomatoes in a greenhouse: timing, features
Greenhouse is a favorite tool for vegetable growers when growing various heat-loving crops.
The timing of planting a tomato can be completely different. If the greenhouse is the most common, then the bushes will need to be planted from mid-May to early June. Be guided by the weather, there should be no threat of frost, since an ordinary greenhouse, whether glass or polyethylene, can let frost in, andtomatoes will die.
How to grow early tomatoes? This is one of the gardeners' favorite questions. If the greenhouse is equipped with heating and additional lighting, then you can plant tomatoes even in winter! Usually seedlings are placed in such greenhouses from February to March.
Before planting, it is necessary to decontaminate the ground. To do this, pour a liter of potassium permanganate solution into each well (1 gram per 10 liters of water). The preparation "Barrier" also disinfects the soil well. One bottle of 0.25 liters must be diluted in a bucket of water.
Plant bushes with a slope, digging part of the stem into the soil along with the root. Do not water the tomatoes for the first 5 days. If it's too hot and the soil is dry, start watering earlier.
How to water tomatoes in a greenhouse?
First rule: it is unacceptable for the earth to dry out completely, but it should not be too wet either. In a greenhouse, it is quite difficult to keep track of the condition of the soil, since there is a lot of moisture in such conditions.
Be guided by the state of the bushes. If the foliage begins to wrinkle, then it's time to add water. Water only in the evening, under the bush.
Water bushes more during fruit set.
Tomatoes on the windowsill
Many are interested in the question of how to grow tomatoes at home. To do this, you need to know some tricks.
Firstly, the ideal place for growth will be the sunny side - window sills on the south side. But still, lighting will not be enough for tomatoes if you wantharvest in winter or early spring. It will be necessary to install additional lighting - agro-lamps.
Secondly, you need to choose the right variety of tomatoes. Tall ones will not grow at home, as they need a larger amount of soil. Undersized varieties will grow well at home, for example Balcony Miracle, Little Florida, Oak. The fruits of these tomatoes are medium-sized, but their taste is wonderful, as evidenced by the many positive reviews of apartment gardeners.
Ampel varieties of tomatoes also grow well at home, which feel ideal in hanging pots. Fertile varieties: Citizen F1, Red Abundance, Talisman and others.
It is not recommended to sow seeds in pots immediately, use the seedling method. Plant the seeds in small cups, and then transplant the bushes, which have grown up to 20 centimeters in length, into flower pots. Follow the watering rules in the same way as with normal cultivation. Do not allow the earth to dry out completely, but do not overfill.
Tomatoes on the balcony
There is nothing easier than growing tomatoes in buckets on the balcony. You can choose not only undersized, but also high varieties of tomatoes.
You can grow tomatoes in buckets both on an open and glazed balcony, as well as in a garden. A convenient way is that on a good summer day the culture is in the air, and in bad weather the bushes can be carried away and hidden indoors.
Recommended seedling method of planting. Seeds should also be sown 65-75 days before the planned transplant to a permanent place.
Planting tomatoes in buckets is no different from other methods. But the bushes should be placed not lying down, dropping part of the stem, but vertically, deepening only the root. This is done so that an additional root system does not come from the stem, since more soil is required, and there is no opportunity to create such conditions in the bucket.
Two stem tomatoes
Growing various crops, we carefully study the recommendations on the seed packaging, where there are terms that are incomprehensible to beginner gardeners.
For example, all novice gardeners are interested in how to grow tomatoes in two stems. There is nothing difficult in this, but mistakes should not be made, as this will lead to a decrease in yield and an increase in the ripening period of fruits.
Under the first brush of ovaries, the second stem will begin to grow, it will be as strong as the main one. You cannot delete it, since it will have as many tomatoes on it as on the main one.
The bush will eventually be forked, this is called growing in two stems.
To prevent the entire bush from growing, reducing the yield, it is necessary to pinch off the tops of the two main stems as soon as the plant reaches its maximum size.
It is necessary to consistently pinch the tomato, removing all extra shoots that begin to grow from the leaf axils. As soon as additional shoots grow up to 8 centimeters, they need to be carefully pinched off. If this is not done, the plant will give all its strength to their growth, and not to the formation of fruits. Don't feel sorry for these sprouts, they won't produce a harvest, only abundant foliage.
Garterbushes
How to grow tomatoes without tying? This is possible only in the case of planting undersized varieties, the length of which does not exceed 50 centimeters. The rest of the bushes need a garter, without which they will break and die.
You can install tapestries, you can just put sticks the size of a bush, and stretch threads between them. You need to dig sticks near the bushes even at the time of planting the seedlings in the main place, so as not to damage the developed root in the future.
If the sticks are wooden, they must be free of bark and treated with a drug that can be bought at the store.
It is necessary to tie up the bushes when the first tassel with ovaries appears. Wrap the stem carefully, pull it to a stick and tie so that the bush holds well, but cannot be damaged by the thread.
Further garters are made as the plant grows, with each new ovary.
Hilling tomatoes
Hilling bushes is necessary to saturate the soil with oxygen. Using a hoe or spatula, rake the soil up to the stem of the plant so that a pile forms around it.
Hilling is needed for bushes that grow in a greenhouse or open ground.
It is difficult to perform such an operation if tomatoes grow in pots or buckets. A simple loosening will help. Take a small stick and carefully, so as not to damage the roots, make holes in the ground.
Pollination of tomatoes
Pollination is usually done by bees. But how to growtomatoes on a windowsill or in a greenhouse where insects can't get in? You will have to pollinate yourself, and there is nothing difficult about it.
In good, sunny weather, walk from bush to bush. Gently take the flower brush and shake it gently. Do the same with each brush.
Some mistakenly believe that it is possible to pollinate a crop by spraying brushes with water from a spray bottle. This cannot be done, as the pollen, along with water drops, will fall into the soil.
Tomato food
How to grow a good crop of tomatoes? No matter how high-yielding variety you purchase, you cannot grow many tomatoes without proper and timely top dressing. We suggest going through this important point.
Feeding seedlings:
- The first feeding should be done when 2-3 true leaves appear on the sprout. To do this, you need to prepare a solution of urea: a tablespoon is diluted in a bucket of water.
- The second feeding is done a week after the first. To do this, dilute a spoonful of nitrophoska in a liter of water. This solution is enough to feed 30 tomato bushes.
- Further top dressing is carried out every 12 days before planting the bushes in the ground. It is recommended to use Agricol No. 3 or Effekton O.
If the plant lacks nitrogen, the foliage will begin to turn yellow and fall off. If phosphorus is needed, then the stem of the bush will turn purple. The pallor of the bush and green veins indicate the need for iron.
Feeding in the ground:
- The first dressing is done when planting seedlings in the ground. Put a spoonful of humus and wood ash in each well.
- Second feeding should be done 2-3 weeks after planting. To do this, you need to prepare a liquid solution of mineral fertilizers: for 10 liters of water, take 40 grams of phosphorus, 15 grams of potash and 25 grams of nitrogen fertilizers.
- With abundant flowering, a third dressing of bird droppings, mullein and a tablespoon of potassium sulfate will be required. Dilute a bucket of water and water the bushes.
- To speed up the ripening of fruits, feed the bushes with a solution prepared from a spoonful of sodium humate and two spoons of superphosphate diluted in a bucket of water.
In this article we talked about how to grow tomatoes. You just need to make a little effort, be guided by the recommendations - and you can achieve a high yield!
