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This is a completely unique technology for growing organic vegetables at home, a real innovation of the twenty-first century. The birthplace of the new method of growing seedlings is Japan. There is nothing surprising about this. Firstly, the Japanese are simply obsessed with the idea of environmentally friendly products, and secondly, they cannot afford large plots of land. Land in Japan is a commodity as expensive as it is scarce. Student T. Hasegawa designed a device based on a plastic container in which luxurious fruits grew. Soon method growing tomato seedlings in five-liter bottles was adopted in post-Soviet countries. In fact, what's wrong with having a vegetable garden on the balcony? It turns out that plastic eggplants are equally suitable for picking young plants and for producing tomato bushes.
Brief description of the method
This is an effective and economical way to obtain high-quality material for planting tomatoes. In this case, seed germination is carried out not in soil, but in ordinary toilet paper. Clean sprouts, not stained with soil, are easier to pick. In the same way, it is easier to finally plant ready-made young seedlings in the ground.If you are preparing seedlings in a city apartment, this approach is also convenient from a hygienic point of view. The soil will not be scattered, there will be no dirt in the room. You can use this method when growing flower seedlings (marigolds, petunias), as well as vegetables (eggplant, cucumbers).
Preparatory stage
The first stage is calibrating the seeds and keeping them in a strong solution of potassium permanganate (15 minutes) for disinfection. Now you can start preparing a kind of soil for sowing grains. We will need:
- Plastic bags (those used for garbage are suitable).
- Toilet paper.
- 1.5 liter plastic bottle with a cut off neck.
The procedure is as follows:
- Cut the bags into strips 100 mm wide, and the toilet paper into strips, each of which is equal to the length of the bag.
- Place the paper on top of the bags and sprinkle it with water.
- Place the seeds on top of the paper at 40mm intervals.
- Roll the resulting strip into a tight roll so that its diameter matches the diameter of the plastic container.
- Pour 3 cm of water into the bottle and place the roll in it.
- The resulting container must be placed in a well-lit place. Shoots will appear in a few days.
You can germinate tomato seeds in another, so-called horizontal, way.
- Cut a clear plastic bottle lengthwise.
- Line the halves with several layers of toilet paper.
- Place tomato seeds between layers.
- Spray the paper with water.
- Wrap plastic film over the bottle halves and place in a well-lit place. Additional watering is not required due to the greenhouse effect.
Let's continue the experiment
When two small leaves appear on the sprouts, the young plant must be plucked and transplanted into individual pots. As a rule, two tomato sprouts are planted in one pot. This is especially true for tall varieties. If you plan to grow dwarf varieties in plastic containers, prepare a separate pot for each sprout.
Experts advise using peat pots, since you can plant the plant in the ground with them. However, this requires additional material costs. Therefore, to save money, you can use ½ liter plastic cups. Another way to save money is to use plastic bottles with cut off necks for planting picked sprouts.
Growing tomatoes in bottles
Tomatoes are planted in bottles for growing on the balcony when the seedlings reach the age of 50-60 days. Hardening, despite all its usefulness, can be neglected, since the plant will develop indoors. Now prepare the container for planting. Cut off the bottom of a plastic liter container (about a third). You only need the part of the bottle that has the neck. Take the grown bush of seedlings out of the cup and place it in the cut bottle so that the roots are in the container and the top comes out. Now fill the container with fertilized, high-quality soil and water the plant generously. It is convenient to hang the structure like a flowerpot.
You can plant picked plants in five-liter containers.There the plant will develop until the fruit is harvested.
Popular varieties for growing on the balcony
- Balcony miracle - a popular low-growing variety. Fruits with excellent taste. The plant is resistant to late blight and cloudy weather. There is no need for its stepsoning.
- Room surprise. Compact (no more than 500 mm) plant. It has good germination and productivity.
- Mystery. Low-growing variety (no more than 400 mm). The fruit ripening period is 85 days. The fruits are tasty, weighing up to 100 g. The variety is resistant to cloudy weather and diseases.
- Balcony bonsai has a height of no more than 300 mm. The fruits are small, round in shape, with excellent taste. The plant is productive and very attractive in appearance.
As you can see, there is nothing particularly difficult about growing your own vegetable garden on the balcony. You can provide your family with delicious and healthy tomato dishes without spending a lot of money.
