How to grow and care for tomatoes on a windowsill at home for beginners
How often to water tomato seedlings on the windowsill is an important question that worries gardeners. Watering is an important step in plant care. It is through the water that the bushes receive all the nutrients.
First steps
Many people want to have a fresh harvest of vegetables to the table even in winter. Others do not have the opportunity to grow a plant in the garden themselves, even in summer. Therefore, the question may arise about how to grow tomatoes on the windowsill.
To grow tomatoes in an apartment, you need to invest patience, diligence and perseverance. In this case, a high-quality fresh harvest will delight you on the windowsill all year round. If there is a desire to harvest fruits in winter and spring, then it is better to plant in November. To continue harvesting in the summer, the seeds are planted in the spring (it is better to sow at the end of March).
Growing tomatoes at home begins with the correct selection of varieties. It is better to stop the choice on undersized and standard (having a strong stem and compactly located branches) types of tomatoes for growing on a windowsill.
They take up little space, they do not need large containers, a rich harvest can be harvested from them, there is no need to install a support and artificially pollinate.
The seeds should also be given special care. Only large seeds are selected from the pack, which are then necessarily disinfected. This will avoid the formation of a fungal infection in the future. You can keep the seeds for 5 hours in a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
A solution of potassium permanganate prevents only the development of diseases, but does not in any way affect the quality of growth. It is recommended to use special preparations to stimulate growth.
An important point in how to grow tomatoes at home is soil preparation. Better to buy primer in the store. It is not recommended to take ordinary land from the garden, as there is almost always a source of infection. You can prepare the soil yourself. A good mixture is made from woody soil, humus, compost and sand.
Suitable varieties
To grow tomatoes in winter, you need to choose the right varieties and know how to properly care for them. It is best to choose varieties with early ripening, self-pollinating, resistant to various diseases (a closed loggia or balcony is characterized by humid air and frequent development of fungal diseases).
You should also choose tomatoes for the windowsill, which do not have a very pronounced root system in order to fit in a pot or pots.
When choosing a variety, it is not necessary to take into account the weather conditions. But the length of daylight matters, since plants especially need lighting. For example, in Ukraine, the weather allows growing tomatoes, not only at home.For many years, vegetable growers have been planting varieties such as "Ballerina", "Pink Honey".
What varieties of tomatoes are best for a balcony? The following best varieties are very popular for breeding: "Room surprise", "Bonsai balcony", "Balcony miracle", "Butterfly", "Angelica". The technology for growing domestic cultivated plants has similar stages.
Such varieties of tomatoes as "Malyutka", "White Naliv", "Zelenushka", "Little Red Riding Hood", "Thumbelina" are also popular. At home, indoor tomatoes of these varieties do not exceed a height of 45 cm and fit a lot of fruits on a branch.
You can also try to grow high varieties of tomatoes. Among tall species, the variety "Cherry" is widespread. The small size of the fruit will delight in any season.
Tomatoes of high and medium growth on the windowsill in the apartment need pinching and the formation of bushes. Better to leave two or one stem.
Secrets for further care
There are many nuances in how to grow tomatoes at home. In a prepared container with moist soil, the seeds are sown in shallow pits (no deeper than 1 cm) at a distance of 1.5 cm. For convenience, you can take a stick with a mark and make depressions into which the seeds are sown. Then sprinkle with earth. After all the seeds are planted, water the soil through a strainer and cover with glass or polyethylene film.
An important rule of how to grow tomato seedlings is the choice of its location. Heating devices are always located near the windowsill, which dry the soil. Therefore, this place is not suitable for germinating seeds. Water the soil with a watering can as it dries.
The first shoots should be observed in a week. They begin to ventilate the container with sprouts, and the soil should be constantly moist. Watering is carried out early in the morning with settled water. You can release the container from the bag when 90% of the sown seeds have risen.
Tomato seedlings on the windowsill must be constantly turned with different sides to the window. This helps to ensure that the stems grow even and strong. If the tomatoes grow on one side, they tilt, stretch and develop poorly.
Growing tomatoes on the windowsill is not complete without picking. As soon as the first leaves develop, the bushes are transplanted into separate plastic cups, dive (pinch the long ends of the root) and add the first top dressing with trace elements. Only those that have grown larger and stronger should be transplanted into separate containers, and the rest can be left to grow in a common container.
At the bottom of the plastic cups, holes must be made through which excess liquid will come out and fungal diseases will not develop.
A pick is necessary in order to make a small branchy root system. When picking, it is important not to damage the small roots of the seedling and replant with the soil that the roots have covered. From that moment on, fertilizing is applied every 12 days.
To grow indoor tomatoes, all the following days they need to be properly watered and loosened the soil. You need to water at the root, with a small pressure, otherwise the roots will be exposed. It is impossible for the water to fall on the leaves and stems. In sunny weather, you need to water in the evening.
After picking, you can immediately transplant the seedling into a permanent large pot or use cups for a while. In the latter version, it is necessary to transplant into large containers when the roots of the plant envelop the whole earth in a glass. The ideal option is a bucket of about 10 liters, for the Cherry variety a pot with a capacity of 3 liters is also suitable.
After the potted plants have adapted and established, top dressing can be applied (approximately 12 days after transhipment).
Further courtship
There are other rules how to grow tomatoes on the window.After the tomatoes are in their permanent place, they need additional care.
To grow tomatoes on your windowsill in winter requires care and special conditions. Small bushes are afraid of drafts and cold watering. The temperature of the water intended for irrigation should be approximately 22 degrees. Do not overdo it with water, constantly moist soil becomes a source for the development of diseases.
You need to pour water near the bush, and after moistening, they must loosen the earth to reduce evaporation. Loosening must be done carefully, without damaging the roots. Hilling can also be carried out at the same time, as this contributes to the strengthening and development of the root system.
Growing tomatoes on a windowsill is not complete without regular fertilization. The following recipe is popular. A little superphosphate, potassium sulfate and urea are added to a liter of water. You can use mullein or chicken droppings.
After the seedlings are grown, it is imperative that additional feeding is carried out during the period of violent color, the formation of ovaries and during fruiting.
If for growing tomatoes on a windowsill from seeds, high and medium-sized varieties were chosen, then additional stalks (stepsons) are formed in the bushes. It is necessary to carry out pinching to improve the nutrition of the fruit.
As the plant develops at home in the pot, dry leaves are removed, especially those that are close to the root. Dried leaves prevent moisture from reaching the roots.
The emergence of tomatoes
From the moment the ovaries appear, further care of cultivated plants is required. Home tomato bushes do not require artificial pollination. But to improve the process of forming the ovaries, it is recommended to shake the stem slightly every 4 days during the flowering period. So pollen from the top flowers will crumble to the bottom row.
Some experienced gardeners use another method, which allows the fruits to take shape faster on the windowsill in winter. For this purpose, the bush is taken at the base and gently pulled up. During this procedure, small roots break off, which take away nutrients. Then it is recommended to water and sprinkle the plant.
It is useful to feed tomatoes on the windowsill during the formation of ovaries by foliar method. You can dilute 1 g of boric acid in a liter of water.
If the bushes are tall, then it is necessary to fix the branches at the support, otherwise they may break under the weight of the tomatoes.
Do not leave the tomatoes on the bushes until they are fully ripe. They are harvested unripe.
Meeting problems
Not everyone succeeds in growing tomatoes without problems at home. Very often, especially novice gardeners, are faced with the problem of plant wilting and yellowing of leaves. Why tomato seedlings wither, there are several explanations:
- high humidity in the room or excessive watering of the soil;
- the presence of drafts in the room;
- a large number of fertilizers, especially those containing nitrogen;
- cold air or cold water for irrigation;
- lack of space for plant development;
- lack of lighting or prolonged exposure of the plant to the rays of the sun;
- diseases and insect pests;
- lack of useful components in the soil.
Therefore, homemade tomatoes are not placed near opening windows, the gap between the bushes should be at least 2 cm, fertilizers are applied no more often than once a week. Be sure to monitor the humidity and room temperature.
When the bushes turn yellow and dry, the reason may lie in diseases. If the consequences of improper plant care can be quickly eliminated, for example, by placing seedlings in another place, replanting or removing wet soil, then it becomes more difficult to save the crop from diseases.
Poor quality soil (even if it was purchased in a store) most often becomes the cause of diseases. If the plants dry, wither, brown spots appeared on the stem, then, most likely, we are talking about a fungal disease - Fusarium. You can save diseased plants by transplanting them into another soil, but before that, the container should be disinfected.
If it is wrong to water the plants in the apartment in winter, then there is a high probability of the appearance of such a disease as "Black Leg". Tomato leaves darken, fall off, and roots begin to rot. It is better to immediately get rid of such a bush so as not to infect other plants.
