Tomatoes on the windowsill: how to grow and care for beginners at home in winter

How often to water tomato seedlings on the windowsill is an important issue that worries gardeners. Watering is an important step in plant care. It is through water that the bushes receive all the nutrients.

First steps

Many 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 of 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 crop will delight on the windowsill all year round. If there is a desire to collect fruits in the winter and spring, then it is better to plant in November. To continue harvesting during the summer period, planting of seeds is carried out in the spring (it is better to sow at the end of March).

Growing tomatoes at home starts with choosing the right varieties. It is better to stop the choice on undersized and standard (having a strong stem and compactly arranged branches) types of tomatoes for growing on a windowsill.

They take up little space, they do not need large containers, they can be harvested richly, there is no need to establish a support and artificially pollinate.

Seeds should also be given special care. Only large seeds are selected from the pack, which are then necessarily disinfected. This will help prevent future fungal infections. You can keep the seeds for 5 hours in a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

A solution of potassium permanganate only prevents the development of diseases, but does not affect the quality of growth. To stimulate growth, it is recommended to use special preparations.

An important point on how to grow tomatoes at home is soil preparation. It is better to buy soil in the store. It is not recommended to take ordinary land from the garden, since there is almost always a source of infection there. You can prepare the soil yourself. A good mix is obtained 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 have a not too pronounced root system to fit in a pot or planter.

When choosing a variety, it is not necessary to take into account weather conditions.But the length of daylight hours matters, as plants especially need lighting. For example, in Ukraine, the weather allows you to grow tomatoes, not only at home. Vegetable growers have been planting varieties such as "Ballerina", "Pink Honey" for many years.

What varieties of tomatoes are best suited for a balcony? The following best varieties are very popular for breeding: Room Surprise, Balcony Bonsai, Balcony Miracle, Butterfly, Angelica. The technology of growing home cultivated plants has similar stages.

Popular are also such varieties of tomatoes as "Baby", "White Pouring", "Zelenushka", "Little Red Riding Hood", "Thumbelina". At home, indoor tomatoes of these varieties do not exceed 45 cm in height and fit a lot of fruit on a branch.

You can try to grow high varieties of tomatoes. Among the tall species, the Cherry variety is common. The small size of the fruit will delight in any season.

High and medium-sized tomatoes on the windowsill in the apartment need pinching and shaping bushes. It is better to leave two or one stem.

Secrets for further care

How to grow tomatoes at home, there are many nuances. 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 recesses into which the seeds are sown. Then sprinkled 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. Near the windowsill there are always heaters that dry the soil. Therefore, this place is not suitable for germinating seeds. Water the soil with a watering can as it dries.

In a week, the first shoots should be observed. They begin to ventilate the container with sprouts, and the soil must be constantly moist. Watering is carried out early in the morning with settled water. You can empty the container from the package when 90% of the sown seeds have sprouted.

Tomato seedlings on the windowsill must be constantly turned with different sides to the window. This contributes to the fact that the stems grow even and strong. If the tomatoes grew on one side, they bend, stretch and develop poorly.

Growing tomatoes on the windowsill is not complete without a pick. As soon as the first leaves develop, the bushes are transplanted into separate plastic cups, dive (pinching the long tips of the root) and make the first top dressing with microelements. Only those that have grown bigger and stronger should be transplanted into separate containers, and the rest can be left to grow in a common container.

At the bottom of plastic cups it is necessary to make holes through which excess liquid will come out and fungal diseases will not develop.

Picking is necessary in order to make a branched root system of a small size. When picking, it is important not to damage the small roots of the seedling and replant it together with the earth that the roots have enveloped. From now on, top dressing is applied every 12 days.

To grow indoor tomatoes, all subsequent days they need to be properly watered and the soil loosened. You need to water under the root, with little pressure, otherwise the roots will be exposed. Do not allow 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 entire earth in a cup. The ideal option is a bucket of about 10 liters, a pot with a capacity of 3 liters is also suitable for the Cherry variety.

After the potted plants have adapted and established themselves, fertilizing can be done (approximately 12 days after transshipment).

Further courtship

How to grow tomatoes on the window, there are other rules. After the tomatoes are in their permanent place, they need additional care.

To grow tomatoes on your windowsill in winter, you need care and special conditions. Small bushes are afraid of drafts and watering with cold water. The temperature of the water intended for irrigation should be approximately 22 degrees. Do not overdo it with water, constantly wet soil becomes a source for the development of diseases.

You need to pour water near the bush, and after moistening, the earth must be loosened to reduce evaporation. Loosening should be done carefully, without damaging the roots. Hilling can also be carried out at the same time, as this helps to strengthen and develop 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 manure.

After the seedlings are grown, be sure to carry out additional feeding during the period of rapid color, the formation of ovaries and during fruiting.

If high and medium growth varieties were chosen from seeds for growing tomatoes on the windowsill, then additional stems (stepchildren) are formed in the bushes. Stepping is needed to improve fruit nutrition.

As the plant develops at home in a pot, dry leaves are removed, especially those that are close to the root. Dried leaves prevent moisture from reaching the roots.

Appearance of tomatoes

From the moment the ovaries appear, further care for cultivated plants is required.Homemade tomato bushes do not require artificial pollination. But to improve the process of ovary formation, it is recommended to shake the stem slightly every 4 days during the flowering period. So the pollen from the top flowers will crumble to the bottom row.

Some experienced gardeners use a different method, which allows the fruits to take shape faster in winter on the windowsill. To this end, the bush is taken at the base and carefully pulled up. During this procedure, small roots break off, which take nutrients. Then it is recommended to water and spud the plant.

Tomatoes on the windowsill during the formation of the ovaries are useful to feed foliarly. You can dilute 1 g of boric acid in a liter of water.

If the bushes are high, then it is necessary to fix the branches at the support, otherwise they may break under the weight of the tomatoes.

Do not leave tomatoes on the bushes until fully ripe. They are harvested unripe.

Meeting with problems

Growing tomatoes without problems at home is not possible for everyone. Very often, especially beginner gardeners, are faced with the problem of withering plants and yellowing leaves. Why tomato seedlings wither, there are several explanations:

• increased indoor humidity or excessive soil watering;
• 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 sun;
• diseases and 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 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 moving the seedlings to another place, replanting or removing wet soil, then it becomes more difficult to save the crop from diseases.

The cause of diseases most often becomes poor-quality soil (even if it was purchased in a store). If the plants dry, wither, brown spots appear 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 the Black Leg. The leaves of tomatoes darken, fall off, and the roots begin to rot. It is better to get rid of such a bush immediately so as not to infect other plants.

Recommended