Content
Growing tomatoes on the windowsill allows you to get a harvest at any time of the year. Be sure to select varieties that can bear fruit at home. Tomatoes require good lighting, regular watering and fertilizing.
Variety selection
Not every variety of tomato can develop under indoor conditions. To get a good harvest, you need to choose the following varieties of tomatoes:
- Short. Only low-growing tomatoes feel comfortable in limited space. Tall plants require more free space as well as a supply of nutrients.
- Standard ones. Fruiting largely depends on a properly formed bush. Standard tomatoes have a strong stem and do not need tying or pinching.
- Ampelous. Varieties of this type are planted in hanging containers. As they grow, their shoots hang over the edges of the pots. Ampel tomatoes require more careful care, however, they are highly decorative.
- Resistance to external conditions. Plants on the windowsill may lack light. Therefore, you need to choose varieties that can produce crops in short daylight hours.
- Disease resistance.Indoor tomatoes are often affected by black leg and leaf mold. Hybrid varieties are characterized by increased resistance to diseases.
- Taste and yield. Productive plants are chosen for growing on the windowsill. During the season, you can harvest up to 2 kg of fruit from one tomato bush at home.
The best indoor varieties
The following tomato varieties are best suited for growing at home:
- Balcony miracle – an early-ripening variety that forms standard bushes up to 0.5 m high. The variety produces round, red fruits with a high sugar content. The plants tolerate a lack of light well and are suitable for growing in winter.
- Room surprise – standard variety, characterized by high early ripening. The height of the bushes is up to 0.5 m. The fruits have a bright red color and an elongated shape. In winter, tomatoes require additional lighting.
- Pinocchio – one of the best varieties for growing in pots. The height of tomatoes is up to 30 cm, the weight of the fruit is 20 g. The yield of plants reaches 1.5 kg.
- Micron NK – common cherry tomatoes on the windowsill, producing miniature fruits up to 15 cm in size. The variety has excellent decorative properties and does not depend on the length of daylight hours.
- Flora Petit – a common type of tomato, which is characterized by high fruiting. The height of the bush is 30 cm, the fruits weigh up to 40 g. The variety is suitable for growing in winter.
- Garden Pearl – an ampelous variety, the length of its shoots reaches 0.5 m. The plant has thin stems that can withstand numerous tomatoes. The bush does not need pinching. Each bush produces up to 300 fruits.
- Mascot – a mid-early ampelous tomato variety that produces sweet fruits weighing about 40 g.The plant is distinguished by long and abundant fruiting.
Soil preparation
The development and fruiting of tomatoes largely depends on the quality of the soil. These plants prefer fertile soil with the addition of humus. The soil should remain moist and permeable. Heavy, clayey soil is not recommended for this crop.
To plant tomatoes in a room, the soil is prepared from the following components:
- forest or meadow land - 5 parts;
- sand – 2 parts;
- rotted compost - 5 parts;
- peat – 1 part.
Since tomatoes on the windowsill in an apartment grow in limited conditions, they need to ensure the maximum supply of nutrients. This is ensured by introducing a whole complex of fertilizers.
To 1 bucket of the resulting mixture add a handful of wood ash, up to 10 g of urea, 40 g of potassium fertilizer and superphosphate.
Wood ash is a natural fertilizer for plants that saturates the soil with calcium, potassium and phosphorus. These microelements are responsible for the taste of tomatoes, stimulate metabolic processes and promote plant development.
Urea serves as a source of nitrogen for tomatoes. As a result of its use, cherry tomatoes on the windowsill grow green mass faster.
Landing rules
The technology for growing tomatoes includes pre-treatment of seeds with a growth stimulant. To do this, they are immersed in the prepared liquid for 10 hours. If the seeds float, they are not used for planting.
Instead of a stimulant, you can use a saline solution (1 teaspoon of table salt per glass of water).Processing time is 10 minutes. To disinfect plant seeds, you need to place them for half an hour in a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
The remaining tomato seeds are wrapped in a damp cloth and left for 3 days. During this period, sprouts will appear from the seeds.
To grow indoor tomatoes in winter, choose containers with a volume of 2 liters (for dwarf varieties), 4 liters (for medium-sized varieties) or 5 liters (for ampel plants). The shape of the container can be cylindrical or round. Pots must have drainage holes.
The procedure for planting tomato seeds at home is as follows:
- First you need to plant the seeds in containers made of plastic bottles. Leave up to 3 cm between plantings. The seeds are placed in the soil to a depth of 1 cm, after which they are watered, covered with film and placed in a warm place with a constant temperature of 25 degrees.
- After a few days, the first shoots appear. Then the containers with the plants are moved to a cool place and watering is limited. When the soil dries out a little, you can water it with warm water.
- After the tomatoes have 2-3 leaves, they are transferred to a permanent place.
Rules of care
In indoor conditions, you need to care for tomatoes especially carefully. This includes a set of measures to organize lighting and watering, maintaining humidity and temperature conditions.
Temperature and humidity
In order to grow, tomatoes need to be provided with a certain microclimate. Tomatoes on the windowsill react negatively to temperature fluctuations. During the day, plants need to be provided with a temperature in the range of 20 to 25 degrees, and at night - from 18 to 20 degrees.
In cloudy weather, the temperature should not fall below 17 degrees during the day and 15 degrees at night. If these indicators decrease, then the development of tomatoes slows down and flowering stops completely.
If it is necessary to increase the temperature for plants, then turn on the heaters. The indicators can be reduced through ventilation.
Tomatoes on the window prefer a humidity of no more than 60%. This crop prefers dry air. Excess moisture leads to the spread of fungal diseases of tomatoes. In such conditions, shoots develop quickly, however, the appearance of ovaries is slow.
If you need to increase humidity, then place containers with water next to the plants. This indicator can be reduced using special devices that can remove excess moisture.
Lighting organization
If tomatoes grow without lighting, the shoots become too tall and thin. Growing tomatoes on the windowsill in winter necessarily involves installing a lighting system.
It is best to select the south side for plants. If there is a lack of sunlight, additional lighting is installed. It is installed at a distance of more than 30 cm from the plants.
The following types of devices are used to organize lighting:
- Sodium lamps - give a warm orange light. For tomatoes on the windowsill, 70 W lamps are suitable. Such a plant lighting system requires an additional control device, is large in size and is expensive.
- Phytoluminescent lamps are an economical and durable option.The main disadvantage is the lilac and pink radiation, suitable for plants, however, unnatural for the human eye.
- LED lamps are the best option for lighting in an apartment in winter. These devices have high efficiency, are durable and have the ability to adjust the spectrum for plants.
The initial stage of tomato growth requires a 2:1 ratio of blue to red spectrum. After picking, the lighting intensity decreases, and the ratio of blue and red spectrum should remain 1:1.
Additionally, you can wrap containers with plantings in foil and whitewash the walls. After entering through the window, the sun's rays will reflect off the foil and hit the plants. This method is quite effective, however, on the north side or in cloudy weather you will have to use lighting devices.
Features of watering
Growing and caring for tomatoes on a windowsill in winter is impossible without organizing watering. In the early stages of development (during the first 30 days), tomatoes require regular watering. Then the intensity of moisture application to plants decreases.
Warm, settled water is required for irrigation. Tomatoes react worse to excess moisture than to lack of it. Excessive watering often causes diseases and depression in tomatoes. The need for moisture increases during fruit formation.
If the plants have survived a dry period, then they need to be watered in several stages with small amounts of water. Its excess after drought will lead to cracks in the fruits,
When planting plants in boxes, water the soil around the bush.If you water directly under the bush, this will lead to exposure of the root system. Therefore, periodically you need to add a little earth to the container.
Feeding tomatoes
Fertilizer application ensures normal growth of tomatoes and fruit formation. Feeding is carried out in several stages. First, the plants are fed with mullein solution in a ratio of 1:5. The first treatment is carried out no earlier than the tomatoes are planted in a permanent place.
Subsequent treatments are carried out at intervals of 10 days. For this, superphosphate (5 l) and potassium sulfate (1 g) are used. The components are dissolved in 1 liter of water and watered at the roots of the plants.
Before flowering begins, you can add 1 g of urea to the solution. When inflorescences appear, any nitrogen fertilizing is stopped.
When the second and third inflorescences appear, the tomatoes are sprayed with boric acid (1 g of this substance is dissolved in 1 liter of water). To prevent inflorescences from falling off, plants are sprayed with biostimulants.
Pollination of inflorescences
Tomatoes are capable of self-pollination, so artificial pollination is not necessary. To improve fruit set, you can periodically shake the brushes where the inflorescences are located.
Ventilation will help improve the tomato's ability to self-pollinate. One option is to direct air flow from a fan onto the plants.
When growing tomatoes at home, you can carry out pollination using a brush. The procedure is carried out before lunch.
Bush formation
A properly formed bush receives more sunlight. It also ensures that the plants are ventilated and a certain level of humidity is maintained.
For medium-sized tomatoes, one stepson is left above the first flower cluster, which is tied to a support. For low-growing varieties, you need to leave 2-3 of these stepsons.
As they grow, the stems of the plants are tied to pegs. Shoots that form in the leaf axils must be removed. Otherwise, the tomato will direct its forces to their growth, and not to the formation of fruits.
Additionally, remove yellowed and dried leaves from tomatoes on the windowsill. If foliage on the lower part of the plant covers the fruit, this should also be removed.
Conclusion
It is quite possible to get a good harvest of tomatoes on the windowsill if you follow landing rules and plant care. Tomatoes are demanding on light and do not tolerate excess moisture. Additionally, you need to take measures to form a bush, pollinate inflorescences and timely feeding.
