Growing tomatoes on a window in an apartment or on a balcony

Recently growing greenery and vegetables on the windowsill has become a popular activity among amateur gardeners (especially "home" ones), and tomatoes are no exception. However, due to a lack of knowledge, it is not possible to harvest a good harvest: tomatoes are sick, grow poorly, or set few fruits.

What conditions need to be provided for tomatoes in an apartment so that they bear fruit well at home, our article will be devoted.

Features of growing tomatoes on a windowsill

The agricultural technology for growing indoor tomatoes is very similar to the cultivation of ordinary tomatoes on the site (in the open field or in a greenhouse, namely closer to the second method). At the same time, of course, there are several features that must be taken into account when deciding to acquire low-growing tomatoes in an apartment:

• at the beginning of growth (in winter and early spring), they must be supplemented with phytolamps or full-spectrum LED lamps;
• on the windowsill or balcony where the pots are located, it is required to maintain a certain temperature and humidity, depending on the stage of seedling development.

Taking into account the specified nuances, which will be detailed below, you will noticeably increase your chances of getting a good harvest of tomatoes from your home garden.

When to sow tomatoes for growing on a windowsill or balcony: sowing and harvesting dates

To get a tomato harvest by the beginning of summer (before everyone else), it is advisable to sow tomatoes for growing on a window in the winter around December or early January.

However! You can plant them in summer to grow tomato harvest on the windowsill in winter - by the New Year.

Depending on the variety selected, tomatoes grown on the window ripen and begin to bear fruit 90-150 days after germination (on average 4 months = 120 days).

Note! The mass of fruits of indoor tomatoes, as a rule, is in the range of 20-30 g. Up to 1 kg of yield can be harvested from one plant.

What varieties of tomatoes are suitable for growing on a windowsill

For growing in an apartment (on a window or balcony), it is better to choose special varieties that are intended for growing in pots, balcony boxes or on a windowsill. This is directly written on the seed packaging.

However! These varieties can be grown both in the open field and in the greenhouse.

A suitable variety must meet the following characteristics, namely:

• be undersized (determinant, that is, have limited growth. It is even better if the seed packaging says that these are super determinant tomatoes - 20-30 cm in height);

As a rule, all determinant varieties have a standard appearance.

• have increased shade tolerance, in other words, be resistant to lack of light.

Naturally, it is desirable that the variety be early ripening, i.e. early ripening.

Varieties suitable for planting and growing on a windowsill or balcony in winter include: Arctic, Balcony Miracle, Balcony Red, Bonsai, Pearl Red, Window Yellow, Pygmy, Pinocchio, Pink Flamingo, Blue Bunch, Sweetheart, Tiny Tim (or Tini Tim), Room Surprise, Linda, Micron NK, Honey Bunch, Black Bunch, Filippok, Florida Petite.

By the way! Ampel varieties of tomatoes are great for growing on a windowsill or balcony. They will just look great in large balcony containers, hanging baskets (cushions).

Video: an overview of the seeds of tomato varieties for planting and growing on a windowsill or balcony

How to plant tomatoes on a windowsill: choosing a container, soil, preparing seeds - detailed step-by-step instructions

Growing tomatoes in an apartment is easy enough if you know exactly what to do. This will help a step-by-step instruction for planting and growing tomatoes in an apartment.

By the way! Initial sowing and care of tomato seedlingsintended for further cultivation in the apartment, in general, is similar to the activities carried out for further planting in open ground or greenhouse, about which you can read in detail in this article.

Video: growing tomatoes on a windowsill - briefly and step by step from "A" to "Z"

What container to plant

Tomato seedlings are initially planted either in common seedling containers or individual cassettes with a volume of 50-100 ml each.

And as soon as it becomes cramped for them (the time comes for the first pick of 1-2 real leaves), the plants are transplanted into separate plastic cups with a volume of about 500 ml.

During the next transplant, when the plants already have 9-10 pairs of true leaves, the tomatoes are planted in a permanent place in a pot with a volume ofminimum 1 liter per 1 plant (optimal - 2-3 liters).

Important! Regardless of the size of the planting container, there should be drainage holes at the bottom for excess moisture to escape. And in the final (permanent) pot, it is also advisable to pour a drainage layer, for example, from expanded clay.

What soil to plant

The soil for growing tomatoes must be moisture and air permeable, in other words, loose and, of course, fertile. Take and mix black soil, rotted compost (humus), peat and sand in a 2: 2: 1 ratio. Or, alternatively, a substrate of good compost and forest soil, mixed in a 1 to 1 ratio, is perfect.

Or make it even easier - buy ready-made soil for growing seedlings of tomatoes, peppers and eggplant (nightshade).

Important! Regardless of the origin (purchased or garden), the soil must be calcined - heated or steamed in the oven so that the high temperature destroys pathogenic bacteria and fungi. It is also possible to spill with a solution of potassium permanganate or Fitosporin.

Presowing seed preparation

Tomatoes sprout normally and without soaking, but to heighten the effect, it is still advisable to prepare them for sowing, namely: soak, germinate, process in one of the disinfecting solutions.

For example, in order to destroy pathogens on the surface of seeds, the planting material is soaked (etched) for 20-30 minutes in a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

Advice! Read more about the pre-sowing treatment of tomato seeds. in this article.

Direct landing

Indoor tomatoes are planted in exactly the same way as ordinary tomatoes intended for growing outdoors or in a greenhouse.

Thus, sowing tomato seeds for seedlings for growing on a windowsill or balcony is done in the following order (step by step):

• Prepared soil is poured into the seedling container.
• If you have a common rectangular container, then cut grooves 1-1.5 cm deep or make individual pits (if, for example, they are planted in cassettes).

It is not recommended to plant tomatoes deeper than 2 cm.

• Seeds are laid out at a distance of 2-3 cm from each other.

It is better to put 2 seeds in one cell. If both ascend, then remove the weakest.

• The crops are sprinkled with earth.
• Lightly moisten with a spray bottle.
• Until the emergence of shoots, the box is covered with glass or foil to create greenhouse conditions (microclimate).
• Containers with crops are placed in a warm (+ 22-25 degrees) and dark place.
• When the seeds sprout, the plantings should be quickly rearranged in a bright place, and the glass or film must be removed.

Video: growing tomatoes on a windowsill - choosing a variety and sowing in cassettes

Picking

By the way! The site already has a detailed article about picking tomato seedlings, intended for cultivation in the open field or greenhouse. In general, everything is done in the same way.

When young seedlings of domestic tomatoes have 2-3 true leaves (about 3-4 weeks after germination), the time will come for its first pick - transplanting into larger pots, so that the root system continues to develop.

Attention! Indoor tomatoes, as a rule, eventually grow quite small in size (height), which means that it is worth understanding that they will grow in different proportions.

Video: first pick after sowing

Transplanting seedlings to a permanent place in a large pot

4-5 weeks after the first pick, when the plant already has about 9-10 pairs of true leaves, the final transplant (by transferring) tomato seedlings into pots (at least 1 liter, and preferably 2-3) should be carried out, so to speak, on a permanent place for further growth.

It is not necessary to do, as shown in the photo above (the earth is only below, and on the sides you additionally fill it after transshipment). It is much easier to make a mold in moist soil, initially placing the seedlings in a glass there, and then transferring the plant itself (see the video below).

Advice! So that the earthen lump does not crumble during transshipment, the plant should be watered the day before transplanting.

Video: transplanting balcony (indoor) tomatoes to a permanent place of growth

How to care for tomatoes on the windowsill: basic rules and conditions for growing

The health of tomatoes and the volume of the crop depend on the quality of care. In order for indoor tomatoes to quickly develop in an apartment and set the maximum number of fruits, they need to be watered and fertilized in a timely manner. And first of all, it is necessary to create the most suitable light and temperature conditions.

Video: growing tomatoes on a windowsill

What should be the place and lighting (daylight hours)

Tomatoes are plants that need a long day of light.

To ensure that plants receive as much natural light as possible, tomatoes are best placed on southern windows in spring, as well as either western or eastern windows.
In the summer, it is optimal to take them out to the balcony or loggia.

Despite the fact that tomatoes like to live on light-colored windowsills, the leaves of young seedlings can get burns under the influence of bright spring and summer rays. To protect the plant from such injuries, the pots are transferred after dinner to the east and west windows. If it is impossible to make such a permutation, then they should be shaded with something (especially at lunch).

It is not recommended to grow light-loving tomatoes on northern windows.

However, in the winter and early spring period, you will still have to illuminate the seedlings using phytolamps or full-spectrum LED lamps.

By the way! You can only grow seedlings in the initial stage under lamps. And only then, when daylight hours noticeably increase to an acceptable duration, transfer it to a windowsill or balcony. Or hang lamps right on the window, even if it is north.

The optimal daylight hours for tomatoes are 14-16 hours.

Important! If you do not have the opportunity to light up tomatoes, then it is better to sow them not earlier than the second half of March-April. In winter, it makes no sense to grow them - they will stretch and that's it.

Temperature

The correct temperature regime is the key to the normal growth of any seedlings.

When growing tomatoes in an apartment on a windowsill or balcony, you should adhere to the following temperature conditions:

• Seeds sprout quickly and amicably at a temperature of + 20 ... + 25 degrees.
• Then you need to find a place where the daytime temperature is noticeably lower - about + 18 ... + 20 degrees.

Important! On the coldest days, when the batteries are literally "fried" in order to protect the tomato leaves from the influence of warm air, the heating devices must be covered with something.

• And at night, the temperature should drop to + 15 ... + 18 degrees.

Note! In cooler conditions, the seedlings do not stretch, which often happens with tomatoes with insufficient light and high temperatures. You can lower the temperature by ventilating the room for half an hour or by moving the containers to the floor (but not next to the battery).

In summer, however, you can take your potted tomatoes out into the fresh air or balcony.

Humidity

It is necessary to spray tomatoes grown on the window only if the air in the room is very dry, and you have, so to speak, no other way out. Otherwise, the tomatoes cannot be saved.

By the way! However, during flowering, you can spray exactly the flowers with water from a fine spray once a day so that the pollen sticks to the pistils better. This is all the more important if the humidity is low.

And when the temperature in the apartment is below +20, it is not possible to spray the plants at all: excessive humidity and cold air are the main reasons for the appearance black leg or phytophthora.

Note! Generally, spray tomatoes should only be in case you spend foliar feeding or treating diseases. Sprinkler irrigation is prohibited for tomatoes.

Watering

Tomatoes react poorly to both drought and overflow: in the first case, the fruits may sprinkle during formation, in the second, the plant becomes ill black leg, late blight... Therefore, watering should be carried out strictly as the soil dries up, avoiding extreme phenomena.

As for the frequency and amount of watering, it depends on the humidity and temperature in the room, as well as on the size of the growing bushes themselves.

Subject to the temperature regime and normal air humidity, watering is carried out 1 time in 5-7 days.

Out of turn, tomatoes are watered the day before transplanting: removing the rhizome from moist soil is much easier and less painful for the plant.

Since chlorine is harmful to plants, you need to water indoor tomatoes either well settled water, or filtered.

Top dressing

The first feeding of the plant should be done after picking, spilling the transplanted seedlings with Kornevin solution (according to the instructions). Or you can use such a popular similar tool as "Root".

In the period between picking and replanting to a permanent place, you can feed the seedlings with any nitrogen fertilizer (to activate the growth of green mass).

By the way! Read about how to feed tomato seedlings in this material.

Further, after you have transplanted the tomatoes for permanent residence - in pots, you can begin to feed them with complex mineral fertilizer, for example, nitroammophos (16:16:16).

By the way! It is especially useful to fertilize tomatoes with nitroammophos during the period of fruit setting (flowering). The proportion for liquid root dressing is as follows: 2 grams of fertilizer must be dissolved in 1 liter (20 grams per 10 liters of water and per 1 square meter of the garden).

Of course, you can use other potash-phosphorus fertilizers, which you prefer, for example, prepare an ash solution.

Worth knowing! Adult plants can be fertilized both by leaves (foliar dressing) and by root dressing (root dressing). But for young seedlings with delicate leaves, leaf feeding is contraindicated.

It is also very good to feed the tomatoes with humic fertilizers (for example, Potassium humate). You can water at the root or spray the foliage (diluted according to the instructions).

Shaping (pinching) and tying

The vast majority of hybrids and varieties of tomatoes intended for growing in a pot on a windowsill or balcony do not need to be formed, i.e. you do not need to pinch anything, remove any stepsons, since these are undersized determinant varieties.

But it often happens that the seeds are of poor quality and the tomato does not grow quite the way it should, as it is written on the package. If your plant continues to stretch upward, pinch the top.

Advice! You can remove the lowest leaves, they still get too little light.

You also need to make sure that the bush does not thicken - remove the fruiting brushes, old leaves and even branches.

Nevertheless, you should still put pegs and tie up, because the pot is small, and the bush can grow quite voluminous and fill it up. Alternatively, you can set up some kind of support nearby.

Growing problems

There are a number of problems and diseases of tomato seedlings that you may encounter in the process of growing tomatoes on a window:

• Blackleg manifested by a dried stem at the base of the seedling; develops with high humidity, thickening of crops against the background of a lack of light, as well as when planting seeds in contaminated soil.

More about what is black leg and how to avoid this most dangerous seedling disease, readin this article.

• Pulling seedlings... Lack of light, high temperature and waterlogged soil are the main reasons for stretching tomato seedlings (however, like any other).
• Yellowing of leaves seedlings.

By the way! About, what to do if tomato seedlings start to turn yellowand you cannot define the disease, read in this material.

• The leaves and stems of the seedlings may turn purple.

Advice! The site has a separate article about why the leaves of tomatoes turned purple.

Thus, growing tomatoes on a windowsill is not only fun, but also a useful activity, thanks to which you can replenish your vitamin supply and get the earliest harvest. And if you don't have a plot of land or a summer residence yet, then this is a great way to practice growing vegetables, albeit at home.

Video: growing indoor tomatoes in winter