Tomato seedlings at home: how to sow and grow healthy tomato seedlings. Growing tomatoes at home - mini-garden on the window

Dwarf tomatoes look amazing in flower pots. The compact bush is covered with cherry tomatoes. To be able to enjoy them at any time, read how to grow tomatoes at home.

The content of the article:

A city apartment or loggia can be turned into a real greenhouse. Moreover, not only flowers, but also vegetables can grow here. Having learned how to grow tomatoes in an apartment, you can enjoy the bright, sweet fruits from spring to late autumn.

• Read the article about the dacha.

Tomatoes - the best varieties for growing in an apartment

Plants should not be tall, have a compact bush and bear fruit abundantly. Some varieties and hybrids meet these requirements. The small bush is simply strewn with delicious tomatoes. Here the best varieties tomato for growing at home:

• "F1 Balcony red";
• "Balconies of Yelou";
• "Balcony Miracle";
• "Red Pearl";
• "Yellow Pearl";
• "Bonsai";
• "F1 Bonsai micro";
• "Pinocchio".

"F1 Balcony red" very early ripening tomato f1. Already 85 days after germination, bright red tomatoes begin to ripen. They are small, but sweet and aromatic. The bush is not tall, reaches a height of thirty centimeters, it does not need to be pinched.

"Balconies of Yelow" A very decorative tomato, the description of this variety can begin with the fact that it belongs to the group of mid-early hybrids. From the moment of emergence of seedlings to the beginning of fruiting, 100-110 days pass. Compact, which is especially valuable when growing tomatoes at home, it grows up to 45 centimeters in height. The fruits are round, yellow color, sweet, with a slight sourness. Suitable for canning and fresh consumption.

"Balcony Miracle"- one of the most famous and time-tested varieties. From a low bush you can collect up to two kilograms of tasty fruits. Mass fruiting begins three months after germination, and the first tomatoes can be harvested after 80 days.

“Red Pearl”, “Yellow Pearl” successfully grown in gardens outdoors and closed ground, on a loggia or windowsill. The bush grows up to half a meter in height. Red fruits are sweeter than yellow ones, but both are very decorative varieties of tomatoes.

"Bonsai" It is distinguished by its unpretentiousness and early maturity. Already on the 85th day, red round fruits ripen. The bush is compact, up to thirty centimeters high. From each of them you will collect at least 500 grams of small, but colorful and tasty fruits.

F1 "Bonsai micro". With additional lighting in the morning and evening hours, these can be grown at home in winter. The dwarf bush looks great in a hanging basket and grows to just 15 centimeters.

If you plant seeds of the variety "Pinocchio" at the end of September, then by the New Year you will have red cherry tomatoes. The plant is unpretentious, early ripening. This tomato variety is one of the best for growing on a windowsill.

There are other varieties and hybrids of tomatoes that can be successfully grown at home.

Sowing tomato seeds in an apartment

Before planting, tomato seeds are treated by soaking them for 20 minutes in potassium permanganate, and then in a solution of Epin or another growth stimulant for 10 hours. This technique will help increase germination; tomato seeds will germinate faster.

After these procedures, the tomato seeds are placed in a bowl and covered with a damp cloth. In a warm place, after three days they will have small roots, then you need to plant them in a container filled with soil for seedlings. Tomato seeds are lowered to a depth of 1 cm, the distance between them is 3 cm.

Seedling boxes, covered transparent material, placed in a warm place. After the first shoot appears, place it on the windowsill closer to the light. They can withstand night temperatures at +15 - +17°, daytime temperatures around +22 - +25°.

In such conditions there will be seedlings, the cultivation of which is not difficult. The main thing is to avoid drafts, waterlogging and watering cold water. Since these factors can contribute to the development of plant diseases.

Transplanting tomato seedlings into pots

When talking about how to grow tomatoes in winter, it is necessary to note one important detail- increase in daylight hours. It can be achieved by placing it at a height of 25 cm from the top leaves of the seedlings fluorescent lamp. It is turned on when the weather is cloudy, and the daylight hours are also extended, including in the morning before dawn and in the evening after sunset.

When the seedlings are 3 weeks old, they are fed with seedling fertilizer, diluted with water according to the instructions. To prevent fungal diseases of seedlings, you can spray them with 50 g of milk diluted in 500 ml of water.

After the third true leaf begins to form, the plants dive. First, each is planted in a small pot with a diameter of 5 cm. If you transplant the seedlings immediately into a larger container, the root system will develop worse.

After a month, the tomatoes are transplanted from small cups into larger containers. Pots with a volume of 3-5 liters are suitable for this. You can fill a balcony box with fertile light soil and transplant the tomatoes into it, maintaining a distance of 25-30 cm between them.

An interesting way to place plants in a canopy. To do this, they are planted in a hanging pot. Over time, the leaves and fruits will fall down, and the plant will delight not only with fruits, but will decorate a window, balcony, or loggia.

Growing tomatoes at home: care, pollination, harvesting

In the cold season, you need to water infrequently, when the earthen ball dries out. In summer this is done once every 2-3 days.

Tomatoes are heat-loving plants, so they need to be placed on a south or east window. If you notice that the bushes have begun to stretch out, long internodes have appeared between the leaves, most likely this is due to the heat. On a hot July day, the glassed-in loggia gets very hot, so keep an eye on the air temperature. It should not be higher than +30°. To reduce it, hang thin curtains on the glass and open the windows. On such hot days, you can bring the bushes into a room where it is cooler.

Since there are no pollinators in the apartment, do this process yourself. When the tomatoes bloom, shake their trusses lightly in the morning. At this stage, you can spray them with the “Ovary” preparation, which promotes the formation of fruits.

If you planted a variety that produces shoots, break them off as they grow, leaving a “stump” of 5 mm. During flowering and after another 2 weeks, feed the tomatoes with complex mineral fertilizer or ash, diluting 1 tbsp. l. in 500 ml of water.

When the fruits begin to ripen, pick the ripe ones to allow their fellow fruits to grow and develop better. If the tomatoes are sour, it may be due to lack of sun. Place them on a sunny windowsill for 2-3 days and the taste of the fruit will improve.

This is how interesting, exciting and completely easy it is to grow tomatoes at home.

Video tips about growing tomatoes on the balcony:

Video on how to grow tomatoes of the “Grandson” variety on a window:

Tomatoes are a crop that needs to be germinated before planting in open ground, in a greenhouse or in a home flower pot. There are many options for receiving quality seedlings, and each of them has its supporters. So, for example, seeds can be planted:

• dry or pre-soaked (pecked);
• hardened or not;
• With various options glaze;
• feeding or without additives.

Let's consider one of these options, simple, affordable and giving 100% results.

Buying seeds

Currently this is not a problem. The main thing is to choose a variety that will take root well in your climatic conditions. It is also important to pay attention to the production date. It is optimal that the seeds were prepared in the previous harvest. Germination and other indicators are standardized by law.

Seed preparation

After you have selected quality seeds from the bag, you need to prepare them for planting. You can plant tomato seeds in dry form - this method has a lot of fans. Moreover, it is believed that hybrid varieties No need to soak. But most gardeners still prefer to pre-soak the seeds.

You need to do the following:

• disinfect - keep for 24 hours at 0.8% acetic acid, treat with a 1% solution of potassium permanganate for 20 minutes, rinse;
• start growth - rinse with hot (about 60°C) water for 30 minutes;
• soak - place in warm (25°C) water for a day;
• harden (this increases resistance to temperature changes) - leave in the refrigerator for 24 hours, or for two days.

Useful: there are special mixtures for disinfecting seeds, as well as compositions for watering seedlings, which include the necessary antiseptic impurities.

After this, we select the required number of the best sprouted (sprouted) seeds and plant them in the ground.

Priming

There are enough mixture options in stores for vegetable crops, there are also specific soils for seedlings of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. You can make your own soil mixture by mixing in equal proportions:

• ordinary garden soil;
• humus;
• peat.

It is advisable to feed the soil with superphosphate, wood ash, water with mineral fertilizers. The latter should be added in the following proportions:

• potassium sulfate (contains sulfur, calcium, potassium, magnesium) 20 grams per 10 liters of water;
• urea - 10 g/10 l;
• superphosphate - 30 g/10 l.

Important: if you buy ready soil, it may already contain these fertilizers and fertilizers. Then you don't need to add anything.

Landing dates

The best seedlings of tomatoes are those that were planted 50–60 days before planting in open ground or in a greenhouse. Yes, for middle zone Russia:

• early varieties should be sown in mid to late February;
• greenhouse - in the first week of March;
• usual - in the last week of March.

But, of course, you need to be guided by climatic conditions and the heat-loving nature of the variety.

Planting seeds in the ground

You can use a variety of containers for tomato seedlings. Most often, seeds are sown in common containers, for example, plastic or even carton boxes, purchased and homemade boxes. Later the plants are planted - dived. But you can plant each seed in its own container, although this complicates care and slows down the development of the root system. The procedure is as follows:

1. Pour a layer of expanded clay into the box to prevent water from stagnating.
2. Add 5–6 cm of soil, compact it a little, water it a little, and loosen it.
3. We make grooves 1–1.5 cm wide and deep at a distance of about 5 cm from each other.
4. We spill the soil, and especially the furrows, with water or a nutrient mixture at a temperature of about 50°C.
5. We place the seeds at a distance of 3–4 cm from each other in the groove, lightly (!) pressing them into the ground.
6. We fill the grooves on top with loose soil and press it down lightly, but not too much.
7. Spray with water from a spray bottle. Everything should be slightly moistened; excessive watering is unacceptable.
8. We cover the top of the box with greenhouse film, glass or simply transparent polyethylene.
9. We place the container with future tomato seedlings in a place with sufficiently high illumination and a temperature of about 22–25°C.

What to do when shoots appear

After the seedlings appear (hatch), and this should happen in 3–10 days, the top covering of the box must be removed and the plants moved to a cooler room. The optimum temperature is 17–20°C during the day and 15°C at night. Insolation should be very high. Then the “loops” of the sprouts will very quickly unfold the first leaves - cotyledons, and later real leaves will appear.

Table of approximate timing of emergence of shoots from sprouted seeds.

The strongest are the shoots that appear on days 6–7 at a temperature of 25°C. They must grow together. Those that lag far behind can be cut off immediately, if, of course, you have enough seedlings. Just don’t “uproot” them, as this will disrupt the root system of other plants.

How to water and feed

After sowing the seeds, the first watering will occur somewhere on the 10th day. By this time, mass shoots should appear and take shape. To start, 1 teaspoon of water per plant will be enough.

Further, until the first true leaves appear, watering is carried out approximately once every 5–6 days. The soil should be moist, but not wet. Otherwise, oxygen will not reach the roots, and this will slow down their development or even cause rotting. Before picking, about 2 days before, tomato seedlings can be fed with mineral fertilizers and watered.

Important: picking is carried out when the soil is slightly dry. So the last watering before it needs to be done about 1-2 days before.

Picking

When the first two true leaves appear on the tomato seedlings (the lowest ones are false and are called cotyledons), it is possible and necessary to pick - planting the plants in individual pots. For this:

1. We take the group with the earth out of the box.
2. We carefully disassemble the clod of earth, separating one plant.
3. We pinch the main taproot (this may not be done if the tomatoes grow in dry soil that will be rarely watered).
4. We transplant the plant into an individual container with a volume of about half a liter. There should be holes at the bottom of the pot for water drainage. We fill the container with soil about 2/3, make a hole in which we place the young tomato. At the same time, you need to take it away from the group with a lump of earth, since the roots already have lateral processes- hairs that can be damaged by knocking down the ground.
5. Sprinkle the stem of the plant with soil about 1/2 or 2/3 from the root to the cotyledon.
6. Gently press down the soil around the seedling.
7. Lightly water the plant.

Video - Tomato seedlings: from germination to picking

What to do with seedlings from picking to planting in the ground

1. Plants need to be watered regularly, but the first watering after picking can be done no earlier than the 4th day. At first, tomatoes are irrigated approximately once a week, but as the seedling grows, the frequency of watering increases. You need to pour enough water to saturate the entire earthen ball. The next watering is only after the soil has dried. Before planting in the ground, the tomato will require daily watering. The water temperature is about 22°C, it is advisable to stand the water.
2. Plants need to be fed with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. It is better for beginning gardeners to purchase ready-made mixtures, dilute them in water and water young tomato seedlings. If you want to prepare the solution yourself, then its composition per 10 liters of settled water should be as follows:

• ammonium nitrate - 10 g;
• superphosphate - 35 g;
• potassium sulfate - 10 g.

The first feeding is carried out on the 12th day after picking. You can repeat feeding after 10–15 days.

Important: phosphorus and potassium are found in ordinary ash, so supporters of “clean” fertilizers can use a solution of 1 tablespoon of ash per liter of water.

1. Daylight hours for young tomato seedlings should be about 12 hours. It is advisable that the plants be oriented “to the sun” in the same way as they will be oriented on the site.
2. The ideal temperature for tomatoes is 22–24°C during the day and 14–16°C at night.
3. Hardening of seedlings is an important process, because in the natural environment it is impossible to achieve ideal conditions. So 10–12 days before planting in the ground, you need to gradually lower the temperature to 14–15°C. In 4–5 days the temperature can be set within 12–13°C. Ventilation, cloudy weather, changes in humidity - all this will accustom the plant to future real living conditions.

As a result, the tomato seedling should have 7 or more leaves, the trunk thickness should be about 7 mm, the height should be no more than 25 cm, and the root system should be well developed.

Let's summarize

Before planting tomatoes in the ground, they need to be germinated at home. To do this, prepare the seeds and soil, sow them, plant them after two leaves appear, feed them, water them, and maintain the correct temperature and light conditions. And then all the plants will certainly take root, and the gardeners will receive good harvest tomatoes.

As the experience of flower growers shows, plants are not only beautiful, but also edible. For example, indoor tomatoes. The growth and development of these plants depend on many natural factors. Let's look at the factors influencing growing tomatoes at home. At the same time, their root system is limited in nutrition, and lighting, soil composition and the container in which the tomatoes grow are also important.

On the windowsill it is impossible to provide the plant with adequate lighting, or at least the same as in a greenhouse: it is one-sided. And if you don’t regularly turn the box with the shoots the other way, they will begin to stretch out. The side of the world also matters: the western side provides little sun, so the fruits do not have the opportunity to form, and at best, the yield will be low. Tomatoes are highly sensitive to the intensity of the light spectrum, showing particular selectivity to blue-red radiation, as a result of which growing tomatoes at home is best done in the winter-spring season. Daylighting can be supplemented with artificial lighting.

Container for growing tomatoes

You need to select a container with a capacity of about 10 liters. Best form containers for tomatoes - round, cylindrical: square corners not occupied by the root system will be empty. To begin with, you can sow seeds (3 pieces each) in shallow containers, making them from plastic bottles, measuring 5 cm by 15.

Until germination, small containers should be kept in warm atmosphere(about 30 degrees) under a plastic cover. After germination, the film must be removed by placing the containers in the light at a temperature of 18 degrees. When the roots occupy all the land space allotted to them, the plants can be planted in a large container, and they can be replanted as much as you like, each time carefully removing the roots with a lump of earth. The last time tomatoes are replanted is when the inflorescences appear.

Temperature for growing tomatoes

On a sunny day, the normal temperature is about 25 degrees, on cloudy days - at least 15, at night - from 15 to 18. Good flowering can be ensured at a temperature of 20 degrees, at night - from 14. During the fruiting period, daytime optimal temperature is at least 26 degrees, at night - about 20.

Soil for tomatoes

Feeding tomatoes

• It is advisable to feed tomatoes every 7-10 days with a mixture of 1 g of urea, 1 g of potassium sulfate, 5 g of superphosphate per liter of water.
• The first fertilizing is carried out with the appearance of the first leaf (a teaspoon of Agricola-Forward fertilizer per liter of water).
• The second feeding is for the time the third leaf appears (a tablespoon of Effekton fertilizer per liter of water).
• Third feeding (after picking): for 10 liters of water - a tablespoon of nitroammophoska, calculating one glass for every two pots.
• The fourth - on the 15th day after transplantation. For 10 liters of water - a tablespoon of potassium sulfate and superphosphate (a glass for one container).
• Fifth - 15 days after the fourth. For 10 liters, a tablespoon of nitrophoska (a glass for one plant).

IN further watering and fertilizing is done weekly, prepared from a solution containing 1 g of urea and potassium sulfate, 5 g of superphosphate per liter of water. You can also feed with mullein, diluted with lukewarm water in a ratio of 1:5, or chicken droppings (1:15).

Tomato care

• The soil needs to be loosened periodically.
• Watering is carried out 2 times a week, without over-moistening the soil and without wetting the stems.
• Fertilize with a solution of mineral or organic fertilizers every 10 days.
• Tomatoes need to be tied to pegs stuck in pots. For the convenience of plants, ladders with a height of 70 cm are installed in the container.
• Pinching (removing shoots in the leaf axils) is mandatory. With the formation of fruits, it is necessary to tear off the top so that the main forces of the plant are distributed for the ripening of the fruits.
• Artificial pollination of tomatoes is done with a brush, but without pollination you can also get a good harvest.
• When flowering begins, stop watering.
• Remove the reddening fruits and ripen them.
• To humidify the air, use a glass of water by placing it next to the plant.
• When ventilating, remove the tomatoes from the windowsill.
• The seedlings are turned over daily to the light so that the stems do not stretch.

And don’t forget the gardener’s simple rule: it’s better to underfeed than to overfeed the plant.

Selection of tomato varieties

It is advisable to opt for decorative variety tomatoes that do not take up much space and sometimes do not require pinching, for example:

• “Minibel” (height - 20 cm, fruit weight - from 20 to 40 g);
• (pink fruits up to 2 cm in diameter);
• "Florida petit" (height - 30 cm, fruit weight - up to 40 g, about 15 pieces in a bunch);
• "Bonsai" (up to 15 cm in height).

Varieties for growing on a windowsill:

• "Winter"
• "Craiova"
• "Mini"
• "Pazio"
• "Alaska"
• "Snowdrop"
• "Japanese Dwarf"
• "Bullfinch"
• "Snow Tale"
• "Yamal"
• "Cherry"
• "Korean indoor."

Willy-nilly, in the autumn-winter period we had to give up growing tomatoes.

But since last year, I decided not to deprive myself of my favorite pastime even in winter.

And he began to grow semi-decorative tomatoes at home, near the window. This brought a lot of positive emotions and allowed my grandson to enjoy delicious and sweet cherry tomatoes in winter.

Tomato variety for home growing

For sowing, I used seeds of the low-growing standard variety Red Dwarf. Attempts to grow the usual varieties that I plant in the summer did not lead to a positive result.

I used 4-5 liter containers for growing. flower pots. After all, tomatoes will grow in the house, which means that the aesthetic component, perhaps, comes first.

Soil for growing tomatoes at home

Because future harvest the children will eat, I stocked up on my soil. I'll explain why. Most of the soils sold are a peat substrate with the addition of chalk to reduce its acidity and a set of dry mineral fertilizers.

This soil is suitable for flowers and seedlings, but you are unlikely to get tasty and harmless tomatoes from it. My soil recipe is simple: turf soil and high-quality compost in equal parts, plus 1 tbsp. spoon of wood or herbal ash per 1 bucket of mixture. I mix the soil thoroughly and sift from roots and large lumps.

I planted seedlings into pots 1/2 filled with prepared soil, which at first grew in a small container 3-4 cm deep.

Before sowing, the seeds were stimulated in ACH (aerated compost tea). I do it myself. In essence, AKCh is a homemade preparation with effective microorganisms (EM) that dissolve complex chemical compounds, and some of them also fix air nitrogen, improving plant nutrition.

It may seem, what does seed stimulation have to do with it?

The fact is that ACS contains a huge amount of substances - from hormones to antibiotics, which disinfect and improve seed germination. And even the aeration process itself is very useful for them.

I will give a recipe for preparing a small amount of AKCH. I pour 2 liters into a 3 liter jar clean water(rain or spring), I put 80 g (half a 200-gram glass) of compost and 10 ml of EM molasses. This composition is aerated for 24 to 30 hours using air compressor(3-5 l/min) with sprayer. I place the seeds in gauze bags in the ACH from the beginning of its production and keep it there for the entire 24-30 hours.

The only drawback of AKCh is its short shelf life, no more than 3-4 hours after preparation. Therefore, I use the prepared AKCH immediately when sowing seeds, and the rest is used to feed other plants from the winter garden.

Lighting tomatoes at home

Having sowed the seeds in a small container (additional lighting), I put it in a warm and dark place until shoots appear (usually for 3-5 days). After this, the plants need very good lighting. But in winter, even near a south window on a sunny day, daylight hours last no more than 7-8 hours.

And this is extremely little for sprouted tomatoes; additional lighting has to be arranged. I settled on special LED lamps.

Firstly, they consume little electricity. Secondly, they do not heat up, which means they are more fireproof than halogen or gas-discharge lamps. And thirdly, they are environmentally friendly (do not require special disposal).

Efficiency LED lighting based on the fact that they mainly use only two of the entire light spectrum: blue with a wavelength of 445 nm and red with a wavelength of 660 nm. Scientists have proven that it is precisely these ranges of light that plants absorb more actively. Moreover, blue light promotes rapid cell division and a reduction in their length, which prevents the plant from stretching, while red light is actively involved in the synthesis of chlorophyll.

I made an elongated lamp from small light bulbs, under which I placed the sprouted seedlings. Tomatoes, especially at the very beginning of growth, are demanding on the length of daylight hours, so for the first two days they were constantly illuminated, and later switched to a 12-hour additional lighting mode.

It is very convenient to use a timer socket; just set it up and you no longer need to turn the lamp on and off. I also use this equipment when growing seedlings, so it doesn’t sit idle.

Caring for tomatoes at home

At the age of 10-15 days, in the phase of two true leaves, I picked the seedlings, selecting the largest, strongest and “correct”. When picking, you can use fresh AKCH for watering, diluted 1:10 with water. Place the transplanted plants in pots by the window under a lamp and do not water them for 5-7 days, allowing the root system to develop.

IN further care was simple: watered once every 5 days and fed AKCH once every two weeks.

Despite the fact that the variety was low-growing and did not require pinching, after a month I removed the two lower leaves and after another week I added soil to form additional roots. And at the same time he tied the bush to a wooden rod.

From the beginning of flowering, for better fruit set, the bushes were occasionally shaken and immediately sprayed with water or diluted AKCH from a spray bottle so that the airborne pollen would stick.

The fruits that appeared did not turn red at the same time, but since they did not overripe for quite a long time, I left them right on the bush - for more decorative effect. That season, the ripening happened just in time for the New Year holidays, and a couple of pots of tomatoes decorated the table well.

The entire growing process from sowing the seeds to ripening the fruits took me 100-120 days. This is worth considering if you want to grow tomatoes by a certain date.

Growing indoor plants is for lovers of green pets. If we grow plants at home, mostly intended for the soul, then we can try to grow plants for food. This turns out to be not so difficult. For example, tomatoes on the windowsill are no longer exotic.

Tomatoes grow well not only in the garden or summer cottage. You can also create a “bed” on the balcony. Growing tomatoes and caring for them in an apartment is not much different from growing them in open ground and caring for indoor plants.

Features of growing tomatoes in an apartment

Even a novice lover of indoor vegetables can grow tomatoes at home. But there are also some peculiarities. You should adhere to only a few basic rules:

First of all, it should be noted that the tomato is a very light-loving plant and tolerates direct sunlight well. For its cultivation, windows facing the south are suitable, and in case of insufficient natural lighting, additional artificial lighting is required in the form of fluorescent lamps.

If you decide to grow tomatoes on a windowsill, it is better to opt for dwarf, low-growing varieties. For growing tomatoes on the balcony, where large volumes of soil can be provided, taller and larger-fruited varieties are suitable. For home garden also choose early ripening varieties. Recommended are "White filling" and "Siberian early ripening", a low-growing tomato variety "Leopold", small-fruited tomatoes and "Cherry" tomatoes. Suitable for “apartment” tomatoes dwarf varieties: Ruby, Oak, Bonsai, George Bush, Canada News, Japanese indoor, Balcony miracle, "Florida Petite" (Little Florida), Pinocchio, Pierrette 225. Low-growing varieties of tomatoes are perfect for the windowsill: "Ox's ear", "Pink angel" , “Renet” (very early varieties), “Yamal”, etc. Their fruits, however, are not so large, but they are no less enjoyable. Outdoors, plants grow 25 - 35 centimeters tall. In the room they stretch up to 40 - 50 centimeters, but at the same time, the plant’s trunk is strong enough, and there is no need to tie up the plants.

Growing tomatoes on a windowsill in winter and summer

There is severe frost outside the window, and there are fresh tomatoes on the windowsill? It is possible with a little effort and love.

Let's focus our attention on dwarf tomatoes. Why on them?
Dwarf tomatoes are not afraid of straight ones sun rays, tolerate shade well, are not afraid of drafts, and are unpretentious in care. And most importantly, tomatoes produce fruits weighing up to 50 grams. For a crop grown on a windowsill, these are good indicators!

You can sow indoor tomatoes in 2 terms. If you want to New Year's table to have your own red tomatoes - sow the seeds in August-September. Then fruiting will be from December to January.
The tomatoes will begin to turn red in March if you sow the second batch in December.

To grow tomatoes on a windowsill you will need:

Select containers for growing (better cylindrical than square ones or choose the most illuminated window sill (preferably southern), organize additional lighting (preferably with a source of short-wave red-blue light) - if there is a lack of light, the buds fall off;
plant the seeds in covered trays plastic film, before the emergence of shoots, you need to keep the pallets in a dark and warm (25-30 degrees) place, then the film is removed, after the appearance of two “real” leaves, the plants are picked and planted on permanent place;
after planting in a permanent place, the seedlings are cared for in the same way as in open ground - watering, pinching, fertilizing, disease control;
If you wish and have sufficient skills, tomatoes can be grown hydroponically at home.

Any housewife will come up with many ways to decorate various dishes nice little ones. Or you can put it on the table in beautiful pot a whole bush with ripe fruits - both a snack and a decoration!
Small sweet tomatoes are good both fresh and canned. By the way, they do not crack when canned.

Growing tomatoes on the balcony

Start germinating seeds no later than March or April.

1 way
For sowing seeds we use 200 ml plastic cups. It is advisable to choose transparent cups so that you can control the watering, which is important. You should not make holes for water at the bottom of the cups, because if the volume is small, the soil will not have time to absorb a sufficient amount of water.
Fill the cups with soil, pour boiling water over them and let cool. Using a pencil, make holes in the soil and place the seeds in them. If the seeds are dry, put 2-3 seeds in one glass (leave the strongest sprouts after germination), and if they are germinated, you can distribute one in each glass.
Next, put the cups in a warm place (about 25°C) and cover them with film to prevent moisture evaporation. On the third or fourth day, as soon as the first shoots appear, we transfer the crops to a cool windowsill with artificial lighting so that the seedlings do not stretch out too much, and do not water until upper layer the soil does not dry out to avoid the development of fungal diseases.

2 way

Treat the selected tomato seeds with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, wrap in a damp cloth, place on a saucer, and the saucer in plastic bag. Keep the seeds warm, near the radiator or in the kitchen, close to the stove. Make sure the cloth is damp at all times.
A few days will pass and the seeds will produce white roots. Now you will need flower pots or just cans, for example, from condensed milk. Make five or six holes in the bottoms of the jars and add earth, then to a depth of about 3-5 mm. Place one sprouted seed and carefully pour lukewarm water over it. Only one seed is placed in each pot.
Cover the jars with glass or a plywood board and place them in a warm place again. Water a little warm water without over-wetting the soil. Tomatoes prefer direct watering, at the root. For this, use plastic bottles, they are placed upside down in the soil and thus moistened. When the shoots appear in a day or two, the plants can be opened and moved closer to the light, to the windowsill, not forgetting to water them with water at room temperature.
After about a week, water the seedlings with a solution of mineral fertilizer, and after a few days with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

The first stage of work is completed. Now you just need to watch how the plants develop and water them. In April, feed the tomatoes twice with a solution of mineral fertilizer and once with a pink solution of potassium permanganate.
At the end of April or early May, transplant the plants from the jars into buckets. First, punch two or three holes in the bottom of the bucket for drainage. excess moisture and for oxygen access to the roots. Fill the bucket three-quarters full with universal soil for fruits and berries. indoor plants. Carefully, together with the earthen ball, transplant the seedlings into a bucket, deepening the roots by about two and a half to three centimeters, and water thoroughly. Plant one plant in each bucket and tie it to a stake.
Now let the seedling take root well, without exposing it to the sun for five days. Then, if the weather is not rainy, you can take the buckets out onto the balcony, but on cold days and nights it is better to put them indoors. When warm weather sets in, leave the plants on the balcony overnight. Small pegs must be replaced with large ones and the plants must be tied to them with a cloth or clothesline. And when the tomato takes root well and begins to grow, add soil every ten days until the bucket is filled to the brim.
The second stage of work has been completed. All that remains is to water the plants well and feed them with mineral fertilizer once a week.

Shoots will grow and produce side shoots— stepsons - shoots developing in the axils of the leaves. Medium-sized tomato varieties form two stems. To do this, leave a stepson under the first inflorescence of the flower cluster and, as usual, tie it to an additional stake or trellis. For low-growing tomatoes, 2-3 stems are formed, for which, in addition to the first stepson, a second stepson is also left. They form a second crown with flowers, in no way inferior to the main one. Stepchildren that appear at the top of the plant, after the 8-9th leaf, are good. Ideally, a low-growing plant should have a stem and two stepsons at different levels. In addition to the stepsons, diseased and yellowed leaves are also removed, as well as leaves covering the fruits of the lower clusters of the plant when these clusters are fully formed. The remaining leaves should not be cut off, as they are needed for the synthesis of organic materials.
It is recommended to leave four bunches of ovaries on each stem, then pinch off the tops.

Tomatoes are self-pollinating plants, so there is no need to resort to artificial pollination. However, you can increase the efficiency of their fertilization by hand pollination. To do this, it is recommended that during flowering, gently shake the flower brushes and lightly tap the stem so that the pollen from the upper flowers falls onto the flowers located below. or open the balcony for air flow.

When most of the fruits are formed, the top and flowering clusters of the plant are removed so that they do not interfere with the fully formed fruits from developing fully.
To speed up the formation and development of fruits, a technique called “root tearing” is also used. The plant is taken by the lower part of the stem and carefully pulled up, as if trying to pull it out of the soil in order to tear off the small roots. Then the plant is watered and hilled. After this, accelerated growth, formation and ripening of fruits occurs.

When the fruits are already ripening, tie the branches to a stick, otherwise they may break off. And by the beginning of July you will already be harvesting - 50-70 tomatoes from each plant (in 12 bunches)!
It is advisable not to wait for the fruits to turn red on the bush, but to pick them when they are brown. Such fruits room conditions ripen well, and other fruits grow better on the bushes.

You need to believe in your strength and pay a little attention to your green pets so that they thank you not only with beauty, but also with delicious, juicy fruits.