Tomatoes on the windowsill all year round variety. Growing tomatoes in winter on the windowsill at home from seeds and stepchildren

Tomatoes in the diet of Europeans appeared not so long ago - 400 years ago. And before that, for almost a hundred years, plants were considered purely decorative, and the fruits were poisonous. The Spaniards who conquered South America brought tomatoes.

Obviously, someone tried unripe tomatoes - and got poisoned. Indeed, raw green tomatoes cannot be eaten due to the high content of the poison solanine. This led to the fact that tomato bushes were grown in gardens for beauty.

To date, more than 4,000 officially registered varieties have been bred, about 5,000 more are of amateur selection, and the number of hybrids has already exceeded 20 thousand. Conventionally, all varieties can be divided into three groups - for open ground, for cultivation in greenhouses and indoor tomatoes. We will talk about the latter in detail.

The group of tomato varieties suitable for growing on a windowsill, balcony or terrace includes several types:

dwarf tomatoes;
tall tomatoes;
ampelous species (hanging);
ornamental varieties of potted tomatoes that nevertheless produce some yield of tasty, sweet fruit.

The fruits are quite large in size - with an apple, but the most popular are indoor and cocktail tomatoes.

By color, varieties of dwarf tomatoes are red, pink, yellow, white, chocolate and black, green and multicolor.

All varieties of tomatoes for the windowsill meet the following requirements:

be self-pollinating (there are no pollinating insects in the house);
standard, that is, do not require pinching and shaping bushes;
adapted to the conditions of a short day, especially in winter;
bushes are small in size;
with an early return of the crop, but stretched in time.
resistant to dry air, fungal diseases.

What varieties of tomato can be grown on the windowsill in pots?

The answer is unequivocal: these are self-pollinating indoor tomatoes with a compact form of bushes.

You should not take tall varieties for planting at home, and it's not just about big size the plants themselves. For full fruiting and ripening of fruits, they also need a certain amount of soil - a capacity no less than a bucket. It is problematic to keep such tomatoes at home in a standard flower pot and the yield will be minimal.

We present a short review with descriptions and photos of the most successful varieties of indoor tomatoes that can be grown on the windowsill all year round.

Indoor mini tomatoes of American selection

Among the numerous varieties from our vegetable growers, Florida Petit, Minibell and Tiny Tim are recognized as the most successful. All of them have a compact bush 20-30 cm high, the fruits are bright red in color, early ripening (80-90 days after germination), quite productive - one ratsenia within 2-3 weeks can produce up to 0.6-1 kg of sweet tomatoes. In the first two varieties, they are small, the size of Walnut, and Tiny Tim gives room tomatoes the size of an apple.

The first flowers appear above the 5-6 leaf, another inflorescence - 1 leaf above. Further, the bush ceases to grow in height, and forms numerous lateral stepchildren. You don't need to do any shaping.

Another undoubted plus is that additional lighting is also not needed - even natural lighting on a winter window ensures fruit ripening.

Dwarf varieties of domestic selection

Virtually unproblematic can be called these productive varieties for the windowsill and balcony: Pearl, Bonsai, Angelica. They are also low - up to 30 cm. The fruits are small, but there are many of them - the bushes are literally plastered with red tomatoes, and at the Pearl they have a rich crimson color and a plum-like shape.

is one of the most popular and productive indoor varieties growing both on the windowsill and in flowerpots and boxes on the balcony. Breeders have bred varieties of this variety with red, orange, yellow, pink and chocolate fruits.

The bush can grow up to 0.5 m, it is compact, with numerous branches, but requires a garter. Fruiting early, stretched for 1 month. In total, up to 2 kg of excellent tomatoes can be harvested from one plant. Very tasty, sweet fruits are different sizes- from small peas to the volume of a tennis ball.

The best varieties of tomatoes for growing at home in winter are Florida Petit, Bonsai and Balcony Miracle.

The Room Surprise variety looks very decorative. At good care so many pretty elongated fruits grow on it that the bush seems red, not green. This variety can be grown on a garter and in an ampelous form.

Micron NK is considered the smallest variety today, 15-20 cm tall, the berries are red and yellow, weighing 10-12 g, there are a lot of them, in total - up to 1 kg from such a small bush!

Pay also attention to the varieties Cherry Yasik, Balkoni Yellow, Skorospel, Mirabelle, Pieretta 225, Craiova, Boni-M. They can also be grown outdoors in garden beds.

Ampel varieties

Bushes with hanging clusters of small fruits are very beautiful, especially in hanging flowerpots and will decorate the interior and balcony.

The most productive among ampelous varieties is Pinocchio. The length of the lashes is up to 30 cm, at the same time it ripens up to 1.5 kg of red, even-sized tomatoes weighing about 20 g.

Pygmy is another amazing variety that does not require special care, with a guaranteed yield of almost 2 kg of red fruits weighing 25 g. The bush looks like a green ball covered with red peas.

Another ampelous variety is a dwarf form of the amazing Honey Bunch variety. It is distinguished by very large clusters of 20-30 plum-shaped yellow-orange tomatoes. This is the most delicious variety of all indoor. They also grow it in garden beds.

The cascade variety Tumbler is preferably grown in hanging flowerpots or balcony boxes. Productivity up to 2 kg of red, very tasty fruits. Demanding on lighting.

These have been listed the best varieties dwarf and ampelous tomatoes for home growing. From them you can collect your seeds for the next stage of cultivation.

There are even more hybrids - Citizen F1, Cherry Fingers F1, Red Abundance F1, Slastena F1, Arctic Cherry F1 and others. Their seeds for the next year do not retain their original qualities. But pinching allows you to save the variety. At the end of fruiting, you need to take the healthiest, non-fruitful stepson, root it in water and grow it like a full-fledged new bush.

Low growing varieties of tomatoes

On the windows in a warm house and on the balconies from May to September, when the temperature environment at night it will reach +15 degrees, you can also grow undersized (standard) varieties intended for open ground. There are no special differences in agricultural technology between dwarf and standard tomatoes.

Homemade tomatoes are suitable for growing on the window, which grow no more than 60 cm in height, and varieties with bushes up to 1.5 m can be used on balconies.

The best standard varieties with a guaranteed yield

(Aelita) - early, first ripening 65-75 days after sowing, tomato height up to 50 cm, red fruits 100-130 g, yield up to 2 kg per bush.
Tomato Russian garden. Height up to 35 cm, red fruits up to 60 g, yield up to 1.5 kg. Extra early variety - 60 days after the first shoots.
Golden (SeDeK) - bright lemon round tomatoes 150-200 g, ripening is extended, begins after 90 days. Hypoallergenic diet variety with a high content of betacortin.
Firewood - a bush up to 30 cm, long fruits - 12-15 cm, red, sweet, weighing up to 180 g. It grows even in containers of 1.5-2 liters.
Mongolian Dwarf - the height of the bush is 20-30 cm. And on such a baby there are 8-12 red tomatoes weighing 150 g.
Moscow dawns. It grows up to 50 cm, the yield is 3-3.5 kg of crane tomatoes weighing up to 120 g.
Beta - a standard variety of cherry types, fruits up to 50 g, a bush grows up to 50 cm.
Severin is one of the most unpretentious tomatoes for the house and balcony, 50 cm tall, red tomatoes weighing 80-100 g. Yields up to 4 kg of extended ripening.
A high-yielding variety of low-growing tomatoes Apparently-Invisibly produces up to 5 kg of tomatoes weighing 60-100 g per bush. Requires a garter, as the branches can break under the weight of the fruit!
Bushman - with a height of about 45 cm, the weight of tomatoes reaches 300 g. Very juicy, dense, red-raspberry in color.

Growing homemade tomatoes

To get a full harvest in winter, it is important to choose the right sowing time, otherwise dwarf plants will suffer from a lack of light.

If you are not going to illuminate your “home beds”, then the first sowing is done in August (no later than the 20th). Then you will receive the main crop under New Year and fruiting will last until mid-February.
The second sowing - mid-January, fruiting - in April-May.

With additional illumination of the bushes, you can sow in November or early December. Plants will begin to give the harvest in March-April, at the right time.

Agricultural technology is simple:

Harvesting from the fall of high-quality soil mixture, or buying ready-made soil.
Sowing in separate cups of 2-3 seeds, after the appearance of the first true leaf, remove weak sprouts. It is important to know that the picking of seedlings delays the onset of fruiting by 7-10 days!
Timely watering (you can’t overflow - the fungus will go), top dressing every 2 weeks with liquid fertilizers.
Transshipment into a permanent pot with a deepening of the stem by 5-6 cm. Minimum size capacity - 2 liters, optimal - 4-5 liters.
Disease protection. Chemistry in the house can not be used! Spray regularly with this composition: per 1 liter warm water take 50 ml of natural (from the market) milk and 5 drops of pharmacy iodine. Sometimes it can be treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, as well as decoctions of dry herbs. Before flowering - treatment with a diluted solution of live yeast.
During the flowering period, shake the bushes several times a day or run something soft over them. So pollination will be more complete.
For varieties with a height of 35 cm or more and fruits over 100 g, it is advisable to install props.

Such simple care will provide you with a few, but tasty and healthy homemade tomatoes.

How strange a person is arranged ... In the summer, at the time of fresh vegetables and fruits, for some reason I want to taste lightly salted tomatoes and cucumbers, but when the cold comes and you can get a jar of pickles from the cellar at any time, there is an insane desire to eat something from fresh vegetables and greenery.

What to do? Shopping in the store is dangerous. Who knows how the products were processed for quick maturation and long-term storage. Why not try growing tomatoes at home in winter? Sounds tempting? Then let's understand all the subtleties.

Useful window sill decoration

With the onset of cold weather, window sills except indoor plants start decorating jars with onions, or boxes with other types of greens. Such a mini-garden helps to replenish vitamins, give an extra taste to ready-made dishes, and requires almost no care.

For growing tomatoes, of course, you will have to spend a little more time, but the result is worth it. The only thing to consider before starting this important event is that growing indoor tomatoes is in many ways different from the same process in natural or greenhouse conditions, so first study all the subtleties, and then feel free to get down to business.

The main thing to remember is that:

tomatoes are photophilous plants, so they should be located on the south side so that there is no lack of lighting;
if the daylight hours are less than 13-16 hours, it is necessary to resort to additional lighting;

The listed requirements are very important, but those who want to grow tomatoes in the winter need to know a lot more no less significant information. Let's take a closer look at some points.

Variety matters

In spite of the widest range seeds, presented in agricultural stores, pick up suitable variety for home cultivation is not so simple. Do not blindly trust the recommendations of sellers. During a period of “stagnation” in sales, they may well advise beginners in gardening art to purchase seeds that are not in demand, and if a participant in an unsuccessful experiment asks questions later, they will simply write off mistakes and inexperience made by him.

To grow tomatoes at home on the windowsill, you need to select low-growing varieties with small fruits. Mikron and Balcony Charm proved to be the best. These tomatoes are suitable for year-round cultivation, differ in the low size of the bushes and small fruits.

At proper cultivation 3-7 fruits per week can be removed from one plant. Often on the windowsills you can find a cherry variety, but for it it is necessary to create certain conditions in terms of temperature and lighting, so it is not suitable for beginners.

In principle, to grow tomatoes on the windowsill in an apartment in winter, you can use any variety, for example, owners of a huge insulated balcony can also grow tall tomatoes, but it is impossible to predict in advance how they will behave.

Note! The yield of tomatoes depends on the environmental conditions, so to determine the most suitable variety, you can plant several representatives of each variety for the first time.

How to grow tomatoes at home. Step-by-step instruction

So, the place on the windowsill is ready, the boxes are selected, filled with soil, the seeds are bought (by the way, do not forget to check the expiration date on the package), which means it's time to start the process itself.

Seed preparation

In order for plants to be resistant to the troubles that await them in life, it is necessary to harden and stimulate growth. To solve the first problem, the seeds must be put in the freezer for a day, and then, after a couple of hours at room temperature, soak them in a strong solution of potassium permanganate (should be saturated Pink colour). To stimulate growth, it does not hurt to water them when planting with a weak yeast solution (dissolve in a liquid with a volume twice as large as indicated on the package).

Tank preparation

Tomatoes cannot be sown immediately in large boxes. For the first stage, it is necessary to fill half the peat cups with prepared soil (if it is not possible to purchase them, ordinary plastic ones are also suitable) and add 3-5 granules of potassium permanganate to each of them. You don't need to moisturize.

seed germination

So that the work is not in vain, you must be sure that the tomatoes will sprout. You can verify this with the help of preliminary germination. Seeds should be put in gauze and lightly moistened. If the humidity is maintained, after a couple of days the seeds will swell and sprouts will appear. When placing seedlings in the soil, be careful not to damage them.

Landing

Before you "settle" the seeds in pots, you need to slightly moisten the soil. Then, at a distance of 2 cm, make small indentations, put 2 seeds in each and carefully, without tamping, sprinkle with earth. Cover each pot with a film or glass and do not touch until shoots appear. It is desirable to keep such pots in a warm place, but not under the sun.

When the first shoots appear, you can remove the cover, increasing this time every day until the plants learn to live without this protection.

Dive

After two true leaves appear on the stem, you can dive. For this, a strict “audit” is carried out and only strong sprouts are selected. They are transplanted to a permanent "place of residence", the soil is slightly moistened and not touched for two days, so as not to interfere with the adaptation period.

After that, the pots can be rearranged on the windowsill to create the most similar to natural living conditions.

It is important! To make the tomatoes comfortable, the volume of the pot should be about 5-10 liters.

pasynkovanie

Developing, the plant begins to branch. To avoid wasting energy, you need to leave the main trunk and supplement it with a maximum of one branch, and remove the rest of the sprouts. When the ovaries begin to appear, no more than five can be left on each branch, and the rest should be destroyed. Also does not interfere with reaching optimal size plants cut off the top.

Care

Harvesting

Unlike those grown naturally, indoor tomatoes need to be harvested when the fruit has formed and has just begun to turn pink. Picked tomatoes are laid out on cardboard, placed in a warm, well-lit room and left to ripen.

Advice! When choosing tomato seeds for growing on a windowsill, you should not focus on a beautiful picture. Maybe, ideally, this is how the fruits look, but in any case, the manufacturer uses marketing moves to increase the number of purchases. Better to trust real reviews people, especially since in the era of the Internet, getting to know them will not be a problem.

There is a snowstorm outside the window, and you have fresh, self-grown tomatoes for dinner? This is not a fairy tale or fantasy, but a reality that is quite accessible to every reader. Try growing tomatoes on a windowsill. It's useful and also very exciting.

How to grow tomatoes on a windowsill in an apartment in winter: video

Video: Growing cherry tomatoes in winter

Video: Growing tomatoes Granddaughter on the windowsill

This video presents for you, full version origin tomato bush in a pot on the windowsill in the apartment high-rise building and on the east side. To distill the same tomatoes at your home, you need to purchase tomato seeds (Vnuchok variety) in a seed store. Then plant them in pots with freshly collected soil, and follow the instructions written on the pack of seeds. And that's it. You will also have such tomatoes all year round.

Today I will tell you how to grow tomatoes on the windowsill. If they had told me three years ago that I would grow tomatoes on the windowsill ... But there is a simple explanation for this - it’s worth growing one unusual herb and away we go ... After successfully grown oregano, thyme, lavender, tarragon, chives, lemon balm, watercress -lettuce apparently the turn of heavy artillery has come :).

Armed with the recommendations of my grandfather, an experienced gardener, I decided on this adventure. In stock: a large, bright balcony on the southeast side, cherry tomato seeds (positioned as balcony varieties), soil of dubious quality and 2 pots of 2 liters each (maybe they will be too small).

How to grow tomatoes on a windowsill

I offer my own version of growing tomatoes on the windowsill, in detail and in pictures. So far everything is going well!

2. Balcony golden seeds. I took a cotton pad and moistened it with warm water, poured out a dozen seeds, moistened them with a spray bottle.

3. Seeds Tomato Cherry. Same procedure as for Balcony Gold seeds.

4. Moistened another cotton pad and covered the seeds. A moist environment allows the seeds to wake up and swell a little. One day is enough, I got 2 days. Didn't wet additionally. I did not pickle with manganese, since it is impossible to buy it in a pharmacy.

5. Components for soil mixture: ready on peat and humus, . The soil was previously calcined in an old pan in the oven - about 2 hours. How to disinfect the soil wrote.

6. as the first potash fertilizer and additional soil disinfection.

7. Phytocide returns the necessary bacteria to the sterile soil, without which the plant will not absorb nutrients. I prepare the solution according to the instructions, moisten the soil (not abundantly, in no case should the earth be turned into mud). I water all the plants in the house with the remaining solution - most likely the bacteria in the water quickly die, so this watering cannot be called fertilizer.

8. Always add to the soil. Not more than 30% of the soil volume. Vermiculite is a mineral that has been processed at ultra-high temperatures to become porous. The pores in vermiculite are filled with oxygen, absorb a lot of water and gradually release it into the soil, preventing the roots from rotting. It is a natural source of potassium and magnesium. Perlite works in much the same way as vermiculite, loosening the soil like sand. The combination of these minerals improves soil quality.

10. I made holes in 100 g cups, filled them with earth. Seeds were applied 2 per cup, pressed into the ground quite a bit, 3-5 mm. Wet the surface with a spray bottle. The glasses were marked with the letter of the variety. It is convenient when all the cups are in one tray to turn them at the same time, for the sun.

11. I built a quick greenhouse from a bag, bamboo sticks and adhesive tape. Sowing thyme also fell under the film, for the company :). Seedlings sit in the greenhouse until the first shoots - loops. The temperature should be around 18-20 degrees, it is advisable to place the seedlings in the shade until they sprout. She covered the greenhouse for the night for a few more days, look at the weather and trust your intuition.

12. 4 days after sowing. The first time we irrigate the seedlings - carefully, from the sprayer, do not flood. We take it out into the light, but watch the temperature - the cups warm up, you can cook weak roots in the hot sun.

13. 7 day. yellow tomatoes they look much healthier, hatched faster and stretch well. Every day I irrigate the crops a little.

14. 14 days. The first true leaves have appeared. You can make the first top dressing with mineral fertilizer. But if you make ashes, you can get by before transplanting into a pot. We irrigate the soil and spray on shoots - either early in the morning or in the evening. If the weather is cloudy and it is damp outside, you should not sprinkle the leaves (so as not to provoke fungi).

15. First true leaves on yellow tomatoes.

16. First true leaves on red tomatoes. The sprouts did not stretch out, everything suggests that they have enough light and nutrition. Can be moved to pots.

17. I have 2 liter pots. Most likely, for the root system of these varieties of tomatoes there will be little of such a volume and they will have to be transplanted before they decide to bloom. Moreover, it became a pity for the handsome men, and decided to put a couple in pots. The pots should have holes for draining water, 3 cm of drainage (expanded clay).

18. I poured prepared soil (the same as for seedlings).

19. We remove the seedlings from the cup, turning it over, holding the seedlings. Everything is very easy.

20. Put the soil cup in the pot.

21. I poured the soil into the pot, around the tomatoes.

22. I marked varieties in pots with pictures cut out of seed bags.

23. It would be possible to wait a little longer, the seedlings were too small. But through the glass, I saw the roots that had reached the bottom, I decided not to torment the plants.

24. Yellow bushes are likely to be larger.

25. A little less than a month has passed. This is Cherry.

In winter, when a blizzard and cold knocks on the window, fresh tomatoes on the windowsill seem to be something exotic, unattainable, and this only makes it more attractive. How realistic is it to grow them in the harsh season? If you know the small nuances of "agrotechnics in pots", it is no more difficult than ordinary tomatoes in the beds. When there is a warmed balcony, the cultivation of tomatoes can be organized on it.

Varieties that "get along" in the house

All "works on tomatoes" are tightly linked to the availability of free space. If there is enough space on the balcony, you can choose almost any variety for planting - high, low, branched or not very. When only free space on the windowsill is available all year round, cherry varieties or miniature bushes specially bred for “home breeding” are suitable for growing, quickly “giving” the crop. Among them can be both red and yellow varieties of tomatoes. Quality ingredients from external coloring does not depend.

Cherry varieties: Bonsai, Balcony miracle, Baby, Balcony charm, Golden bunch, Chinese room, Room surprise, Rowan beads, Bullfinch, Japanese dwarf and others.

Ordinary tomatoes that are suitable for a winter window sill: White filling, Bull's heart, Leopold, Siberian precocious, Florida Petit, Yamal.

Tomato varieties for balcony cultivation can be taken a little higher “in height” and with larger fruits, otherwise their care will be the same as for vegetables on the windowsill.

It is important to check the expiration dates, which are always indicated on factory seed packages. Often inexperienced vegetable growers cannot understand why their indoor tomatoes do not sprout in winter. It is possible that this is the result of an overdue implementation period.

Miracle on the balcony

The special love of gardeners "at home" was won by the tomato "Balcony miracle". This is a compact determinate variety, up to 50 cm high, ultra-early (maximum ripening period 90 days), the weight of each bright red tomato is up to 65 g, rounded. The usual yield is up to 2 kg per bush. If the plant is "allocated" large area- the harvest in winter can be obtained higher.

Before germination, the seeds are grown in greenhouse conditions, then the temperature is reduced to 15 degrees for a week, then raised again. When the sprouts rise to 15 cm, they dive into b O larger containers. Tomatoes "Balcony Miracle" love light (although they ripen even in conditions of its deficiency), do not require tying up and removing stepchildren.

A positive effect during winter cultivation will be given by: assistance in pollination, good watering, fertilizers, accurate loosening of the soil, formation of a bush.

Feeding options:

Special preparations.
Liter solution: 5 g of superphosphate, mixed with potassium sulfate and urea - 1 g each.

The most productive top dressing in winter during flowering and fruit formation.

Growing the Balcony Miracle at home will allow you to collect excellent tomatoes from the windowsill in winter for salads, preparations, and even freezing.

Main growing conditions

Growing tomatoes on a balcony or windowsill requires a number of necessary conditions:

The best location is near the south windows. Almost impossible - in the north.
Decontaminated, non-clay soil. Not less than 5 liters per bush.
Along the bottom - drainage with expanded clay or sand.
Air humidity up to 65%.
Light day for seedlings is at least 12 hours even in winter, preferably 13-16.
If necessary, illuminate with lamps installed no closer than 30 cm from the seedlings.
Water the tomatoes on the balcony or windowsill carefully, warm water without over-wetting, but without over-drying. On average once every 3 days.
Air temperature indicators: during the day 25-26 degrees, at night up to 15-16. If it's hotter - ventilate, tomatoes are not afraid of drafts.
Do not grow on a balcony without insulation before April.
Loosen the soil and top up if necessary.
Spraying of leaves, garter of branches is possible.
Do not turn the pots with bushes so that there is no dropping of tomatoes from the branches.
It is desirable to install containers on rack stands.

It is not necessary to often fertilize tomatoes with nitrogenous and organic fertilizers in winter. Otherwise, powerful, rough bushes will grow with a minimum of small fruits.

Instructions for winter growing tomatoes on the windowsill

Before you “start” the winter process of growing tomatoes at home, you need to stock up on everything necessary materials. "At hand" should be:

seeds well-known manufacturers with a "fresh" expiration date.
Seed cups.
Containers for planting after picking - "cut-off" bottles, pots.
Lighting lamps.

Main stages of work

Preparation of containers and tools . “Fry” at high temperature (in the oven) or treat with a preparation from fungi and bacteria. In case of using new peat pots, before planting, soak them in a solution of mineral and organic fertilizers, dry.
Land preparation. Tomatoes on the windowsill, as in outdoor cultivation, prefer "breathing", clean land. Ordinary soil can be spilled with hot potassium permanganate, steamed in a water bath, or seriously frozen. Examples of mixtures for self-preparation: an equal part of the earth, humus, peat and sand; on two parts of the earth, 4 "measures" of humus and peat, 1 - sand. It is good to shed with a mixture of urea and potassium sulfate, diluting into 10 liters of water according to the volume of a matchbox. Pour a handful of ash there. The looseness of the soil is increased with peat or sawdust.
Germination of seeds. To prevent late blight, soak them in a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour, dry and treat with a growth stimulator. To germinate the seeds, “wet” with warm water and leave on a damp cloth in a warm place.
Seeding rules varieties for the balcony and window sill. Sprouted tomato seeds are planted in lightly watered soil in small holes (up to 1 cm), 1 each. Dry ones are buried in 2 or 3 copies with a distance of 2 cm. Cover with a film or lay glass on top and transfer to a warm place, but without "African heat". To harvest tomatoes on the windowsill in winter and in early spring sowing is carried out in October and late November. The continuity of the collection of tomatoes can be ensured by the following crops in mid-February and late March.
"Moving" to permanent place. When shoots have appeared, the covering material is removed, and the pots are rearranged closer to the window. Further, it is important to ensure that the sprouts have enough light and heat in winter.

Raise containers with tomatoes from time to time to see if excess moisture has accumulated in the pan. She needs to be cleaned up. Pour water at room temperature.

Conducting a dive. During the period of appearance of 2 permanent leaves. After the “procedure”, the strongest sprouts receive a more capacious “container” for growth - 7-10 liters. The roots of seedlings are deepened by 3 cm, watered. Growing tomatoes on the balcony will take place in such large containers. More large varieties immediately tied to pegs. Any tomatoes in the winter after transplantation do not touch for about a week, so that the bushes take root calmly. When it is still cool outside, it is better to bring tomatoes from the balcony into the room at night. With the onset of heat, all landings "move" to the balcony.
Winter top dressing of tomatoes on the windowsill. Seedlings are "supplied" every 10 days - with organic matter and ready-made mineral fertilizers. Act according to the instructions on the package, do not forget to gently loosen the ground around the trunk. With the advent of 2 true leaves, fertilize the seedlings in winter with a solution of trace elements. The most important rules work: for young plants, the dose, reduced by 2 times compared to the instructions, is carried out according to wet soil, preferably without touching the leaves.
Pinching and pruning. Stems that begin to grow from the axils of the leaves are called stepchildren. They are harvested so that they do not take food from the ripening fruits. For the formation of 2-3 stems undersized varieties you can leave the appropriate number of stepchildren. The rest are removed manually, preferably in the morning, while there is no strong sun. Low-growing and standard varieties can not be pinched, but the bush should not be thickened either. Sick and yellowed leaves are cut off. After the formation of brushes, you can cut off the lower leaves.

You can not remove all the leaves. In this case, the synthesis of organic materials will be disrupted.

Bush formation. After fruit set, 4-5 brushes are left on each trunk. All others are removed along with the top of the stem and inflorescences. When the fruit formation itself begins, the tops are pinched and the flowering tassels are removed.
Help with pollination. Tomatoes of "balcony" varieties are also self-pollinating, but help in winter will not hurt them. It is enough to shake the flower brushes slightly and tap on the stem. So that the ovary does not fall off, it is permissible to spray the bush with a solution boric acid- for 5 liters of water 1 g and add a little potassium permanganate.
Disease prevention. Without proper care tomatoes in winter can also get sick when grown on a windowsill. If they are “filled in”, mold, rot or late blight are provided. For its prevention, a mixture of the following composition is well suited: half a glass of garlic and a little potassium permanganate (half a gram) are added to a three-liter container of water. You can use spraying "Fitosporin". The appearance of whiteflies, even when grown in winter on a window, is facilitated by acidification of the soil. To prevent acidification will help the introduction of crumbs of chalk, ash, dolomite flour or slaked lime. There are also special preparations deoxidizers.

Responsibly caring for the bushes with all preventive measures you can be sure that the tomatoes will ripen in the right amount.

Harvesting

To grow a full-fledged crop on the windowsill, it is important to collect the fruits on time. In winter, poured tomatoes are removed, which have begun to turn slightly pink. They are placed for ripening on a window or in a dark box. The process will go to the end, and all the freed useful material the bush will "throw" on the cultivation of the fruits remaining on the branches.

Knowing how to grow tomatoes at home on a windowsill or balcony, you can pamper your loved ones with “delicious plantings” not only in summer, but also in winter. This will especially please children, who will examine each plant with the greatest curiosity and will certainly taste small tasty “tomatoes”.

With the onset of winter, all activities on household plots and dachas freezes, and lovers of work in the beds have to wait for spring. But a true lover, this will not stop. After all, there are many horticultural crops, which can be successfully grown at home, on a windowsill or insulated balcony. And the matter is not at all limited to simple cultivation "on a feather" or another. Cucumbers and tomatoes, traditional inhabitants of summer beds, can be grown indoors with no less success. The main thing is to create suitable conditions and follow the rules that are not at all complicated.

Necessary conditions for growing tomatoes on the windowsill

Location and lighting

One of the main conditions is good lighting. The best place for growing tomatoes in winter - window sills of south-facing windows. The east and west windows are less suitable, and the north ones are not suitable at all.
But even with the most optimal placement of light, it may not be enough. Daylight hours are short in winter, and tomatoes require a minimum of 12 hours of daylight. You can extend it by highlighting with phytolamps or conventional fluorescent lamps.

Humidity and watering

V winter time the air in the rooms is too dry, and this is not conducive to growing tomatoes. Optimal Humidity air should be in the range of 60-65%. It is not difficult to achieve it. How - .
Tomatoes on the windowsill should be watered regularly, but without waterlogging the soil. Subject to temperature regime and normal air humidity, it turns out - once every 2-3 days.

Temperature

The optimal temperature for growing tomatoes at home is considered to be + 24-26 degrees during the day, and lowering to +16 at night. But these are average values. Deviations are also allowed. With more high temperatures cultivation, you should regularly ventilate the room.

Tomatoes on the windowsill - planting and growing

Preparing for landing

At the initial stage, these works resemble. For planting, you can use either small containers or seedling cassettes.
Land for planting should be used loose, permeable to air and moisture. For the first stage, growing seedlings, you can use the usual universal mixture. In the future, use more nutritious land. It can be prepared independently by mixing leafy soil, humus, peat and sand in equal parts. Instead of leafy soil, you can use turf. But if it is heavy, then increase the proportion of peat.
Attention should be paid to the preparation of seeds. First of all, they should be sorted. To do this, they are soaked in a glass of lightly salted water. After a while, some of them will come up. Such seeds are discarded, remaining at the bottom of the glass, are considered suitable for planting. Before planting, it is recommended to disinfect them by soaking for 20-30 minutes in a pink solution of potassium permanganate.

Sowing seeds and growing seedlings

First of all, you should decide on the variety of tomatoes that you plan to grow on the windowsill. There are a number of varieties that are specifically recommended for indoor cultivation. But even among ordinary tomatoes, you can choose the right ones. You should not choose with very large fruits. In a limited space, achieve good results it will be difficult for them. For beginners, we advise you to choose special varieties.

The time when seeds are sown for winter cultivation tomatoes does not matter, you choose it yourself. You can sow them immediately with the onset of autumn, you can also in the middle of winter. For an uninterrupted harvest, seeds can be sown in October and then again in the middle of winter. That is, there is no time limit.

Sowing is done in individual containers, cassettes or seedling boxes. Strongly bury the seeds in the ground should not be, otherwise the germination period will increase. The maximum planting depth is 2 cm. Moisten the soil after sowing. To do this, it is better to use a spray gun so that the seeds do not go deeper into the ground with water.
The container with seeds is covered with a film, glass or a transparent cap, and placed in a bright and warm place.

The entire period of seed germination and seedling cultivation, you should monitor the humidity of the earth and air, regularly ventilate them by removing the cap. Provide lighting.

With the appearance of a pair of true leaves on the seedlings, feed them with a weak solution of mineral fertilizer.

When the seedlings grow well and get stronger, you can start transplanting into permanent pots.

Growing tomatoes in pots

The size of the pot should be selected based on the variety grown. Accordingly, the larger the specimen grown, the larger the pot will be needed. The largest varieties are planted in pots with a volume of 5 liters, an average size of 3-4 liters, and the smallest, dwarf ones, in 2 liters.
As already mentioned, sufficient lighting is required for successful cultivation, regular watering without waterlogging and normal humidity.

Note! To prevent the bush from looking one-sided, periodically rotate the pot relative to the light source. But this can be done only before flowering and fruit set. In the future, it is highly likely that due to such turns, the bush may drop flowers and fruits.

When the tomatoes on the windowsill are sufficiently adapted, this is about three weeks after planting in permanent pots, they can begin to feed. Mineral fertilizers are suitable for top dressing every ten days.

Important! You should not be overly fond of organic and nitrogen fertilizers. Otherwise, you will get large bushes with a huge number of leaves and a minimum of fruit.

For tall varieties, appropriate support should be taken care of. Also, tall and medium-sized varieties of tomatoes grown on the windowsill should be pinched.

It should be borne in mind that tomatoes that are grown on the windowsill are not pollinated by insects, for lack of any. Therefore, we need to help them in this. Tomato varieties designed specifically for indoor growing are usually self-pollinating, but extra help can't hurt, and for regular varieties she is required. You can use the time-consuming method - to transfer pollen from flower to flower with a brush, but you can also just shake the bush so that the pollen gets where it needs to be.

If you want to get fruits of larger sizes, then the brushes should be thinned out, leaving only 5-6 of them on the stem, and pinch the top of the stem.

Harvesting should also be a little different than in the garden. You should not wait for the full ripening of the fruit. Their ripening is uneven, so those that begin to turn pink must be removed and put on ripening. This will release the forces of the plant for further development.

Diseases and prevention

As for open ground tomatoes, the main danger for indoor tomatoes is late blight. Its main reason is excessive watering. If the plant is sick, then it is already very difficult to save it. Therefore, mandatory preventive measures. First of all, do not overmoisten the soil and ventilate the room. Also spray with any antifungal drug.

How to grow tomatoes on a windowsill - video

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