Indoor tomatoes – growing in the winter on the window

Growing tomatoes on the windowsill allows you to harvest at any time of the year. Be sure to select varieties that can bear fruit at home. Tomatoes need good light, regular watering and top dressing.

Variety choice

In room conditions, not every variety of tomatoes can develop. To get a good harvest, you need to choose the following varieties of tomatoes:

• Низкорослые. В ограниченном пространстве комфортно себя чувствуют только низкорослые томаты. Высокорослым растениям требуется больше свободного места, а также поступления питательных веществ.
• Standard. Fruiting largely depends on a properly formed bush. Standard tomatoes have a strong stem, do not need to be tied up and pinned.

  

• Ampel. Varieties of this type are planted in hanging containers. As they grow, their shoots hang over the edges of the pots. Ampel tomatoes require more careful care, however, they are highly decorative.
• Resistance to external conditions. On the windowsill, plants may experience a lack of light. Therefore, you need to choose varieties that can produce crops with a short daylight hours.
• Disease resistance. Indoor tomatoes are often affected by black leg and leaf mold. Hybrid varieties are distinguished by increased resistance to diseases.
• Taste and yield. For growing on the windowsill choose productive plants. During the season, from one bush of tomatoes at home, you can collect up to 2 kg of fruit.

The best indoor varieties

The following varieties of tomatoes are best suited for growing at home:

• Balcony miracle – an early ripe variety that forms standard bushes up to 0,5 m high. The variety produces round red fruits with a high sugar content. Plants tolerate a lack of light well and are suitable for growing in winter.
  High Yielding Balcony Tomatoes

• Room Surprise – штамбовый сорт, отличается высокой скороспелостью. Высота кустов составляет до 0,5 м. Плоды имеют ярко-красный цвет и удлиненную форму. В зимнее время томаты требуют дополнительной подсветки.
• Pinocchio – one of the best varieties for growing in pots. The height of the tomatoes is up to 30 cm, the weight of the fruit is 20 g. The yield of plants reaches 1,5 kg.

  

• Mikron NK – common cherry tomatoes on the windowsill, giving miniature fruits up to 15 cm in size. The variety has excellent decorative properties and does not depend on the length of daylight hours.
• Flora Petit – a common type of tomato, which is characterized by high fruiting. The height of the bush is 30 cm, the fruits are formed weighing up to 40 g. The variety is suitable for growing in winter.
• Garden Pearl – ampelous variety, the length of the shoots of which reaches 0,5 m. The plant has thin stems that can withstand numerous tomatoes. The bush does not need pinching. Each bush forms up to 300 fruits.
• Mascot – среднеранний ампельный сорт томатов, дающий сладкие плоды, весом порядка 40 г. Растение выделяется длительным и обильным плодоношением.

Soil Preparation

The development and fruiting of tomatoes largely depends on the quality of the soil. These plants prefer fertile soil with the addition of humus. The soil must remain moist and permeable. Heavy, clay soil is not recommended for this crop.

For planting tomatoes in a room, the soil is prepared from the following components:

• forest or meadow land – 5 parts;
• sand – 2 parts;
• rotted compost – 5 parts;
• peat – 1 part.

Since tomatoes on the windowsill in the apartment grow in limited conditions, they need to ensure the maximum intake of nutrients. This is achieved by applying a whole complex of fertilizers.

A handful of wood ash, up to 1 g of urea, 10 g of potash fertilizer and superphosphate are added to 40 bucket of the resulting mixture.

Wood ash is a natural fertilizer for plants, which saturates the soil with calcium, potassium and phosphorus. These trace elements are responsible for the taste of tomatoes, stimulate metabolic processes and promote the development of plants.

Urea serves as a source of nitrogen for tomatoes. As a result of its use, cherry tomatoes on the windowsill quickly grow green mass.

Rules of landing

The technology of growing tomatoes includes pre-treatment of seeds with a growth stimulator. To do this, they are dipped in the prepared liquid for 10 hours. If the seeds float, then they are not used for planting.

Instead of a stimulant, you can use a saline solution (1 teaspoon of table salt per glass of water). The processing time is 10 minutes. To disinfect plant seeds, you need to place them for half an hour in a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

The remaining tomato seeds are wrapped in a damp cloth and left for 3 days. During this period, sprouts will appear from the seeds.

Для выращивания зимой комнатных томатов выбирают емкости объемом 2 л (для карликовых сортов), 4 л (для среднерослых разновидностей) или 5 л (для ампельных растений). Форма контейнера может быть цилиндрической или круглой. В горшках нужно предусмотреть дренажные отверстия.

Порядок высадки семян томатов в домашних условиях является следующим:

1. First you need to plant the seeds in containers made of plastic bottles. Between plantings, up to 3 cm is left. The seeds are placed in the soil to a depth of 1 cm, after which they are watered, covered with a film and placed in a warm place with a constant temperature of 25 degrees.
2. After a few days, the first shoots appear. Then containers with plants are moved to a cool place and watering is limited. When the soil dries out a little, it can be watered with warm water.
3. After the appearance of 2-3 leaves in tomatoes, they are transferred to a permanent place.

Care instructions

In room conditions, you need to take care of tomatoes especially carefully. This includes a set of measures to organize lighting and irrigation, maintain humidity and temperature conditions.

Temperature and humidity

Для произрастания томатам нужно обеспечить определенный микроклимат. Помидоры на подоконнике отрицательно реагируют на температурные колебания. Днем растениям нужно обеспечивать температуру в диапазоне от 20 до 25 градусов, а ночью – от 18 до 20 градусов.

In cloudy weather, the temperature should not fall below 17 degrees during the day and 15 degrees at night. If these indicators decrease, then the development of tomatoes slows down, and flowering stops completely.

If it is necessary to increase the temperature for plants, then turn on the heaters. You can reduce the performance by ventilation.

Tomatoes on the window prefer a humidity of no more than 60%. This culture prefers dry air. Excess moisture leads to the spread of fungal diseases of tomatoes. In such conditions, shoots develop rapidly, however, the appearance of ovaries is delayed.

If you need to increase the humidity, then next to the plants have containers with water. This indicator can be reduced with the help of special devices that can remove excess moisture.

Lighting organization

If tomatoes grow without illumination, then the shoots become too tall and thin. Growing tomatoes on the windowsill in winter necessarily involves the arrangement of a lighting system.

It is best to highlight the south side for plants. With a lack of sunlight, additional lighting is equipped. It is installed at a distance of more than 30 cm from the plants.

Для организации подсветки применяются следующие виды приборов:

• Sodium lamps – give a warm orange light. For tomatoes on the windowsill, 70 watt lamps are suitable. Such a plant lighting system requires an additional control device, is large and expensive.
• Phytoluminescent lamps are an economical and durable option. The main disadvantage is the lilac and pink radiation, suitable for plants, however, unnatural for human eyes.
• LED lamps are the best option for lighting equipment in an apartment in winter. These devices have a high efficiency, are durable and have the ability to adjust the spectrum for plants.

Начальная стадия роста томатов требует соотношения синего и красного спектра 2:1. После пикировки интенсивность освещения снижается, а соотношение синего и красного спектра должно оставаться 1:1.

Additionally, you can wrap containers with plantings in foil and whitewash the walls. After penetrating through the window, the sun’s rays will be reflected from the foil and fall on the plants. This method is quite effective, however, on the north side or in cloudy weather, you will have to use lighting fixtures.

Features of watering

Growing and caring for tomatoes on a windowsill in winter is impossible without watering. In the early stages of development (during the first 30 days), tomatoes require regular watering. Then the intensity of moisture application for plants decreases.

For irrigation, warm, settled water is needed. Tomatoes react worse to excess moisture than to its lack. Excessive watering often causes diseases and depression of tomatoes. The need for moisture increases with the formation of fruits.

If the plants survived the dry period, then they need to be watered in several doses with a small amount of water. Its excess after drought will lead to the appearance of cracks in the fruits,

When planting plants in boxes, water the soil around the bush. If you water directly under the bush, this will lead to the exposure of the root system. Therefore, periodically you need to add a little earth to the container.

Top dressing of tomatoes

Fertilization ensures the normal growth of tomatoes and the formation of fruits. Feeding is carried out in several stages. First, the plants are fed with a solution of mullein in a ratio of 1:5. The first processing is carried out not earlier than the planting of tomatoes in a permanent place.

Subsequent treatments are carried out with an interval of 10 days. For this, superphosphate (5 l) and potassium sulfate (1 g) are used. The components are dissolved in 1 liter of water and the plants are watered under the root.

Before flowering, you can add 1 g of urea to the solution. When inflorescences appear, any fertilizing with nitrogen is stopped.

When the second and third inflorescences appear, the tomatoes are sprayed with boric acid (1 g of this substance is dissolved in 1 liter of water). To prevent the inflorescences from falling off, plants are sprayed with biostimulants.

Pollination of inflorescences

Tomatoes are capable of self-pollination, so there is no need to carry out artificial pollination. To improve fruit set, you can periodically shake the brushes where the inflorescences are located.

Airing will help improve the ability of a tomato to self-pollinate. One option is to direct airflow from a fan onto the plants.

При выращивании помидоров в домашних условиях можно провести опыление с помощью кисточки. Процедура проводится до обеда.

Shrub formation

A well-formed shrub receives more sunlight. Plants are also ventilated and a certain level of humidity is maintained.

У среднерослых томатов над первой цветочной кистью оставляют один пасынок, который подвязывают к опоре. Для низкорослых сортов нужно оставить 2-3 таких пасынка.

As they grow, the stems of plants are tied to pegs. Shoots that form in the axils of the leaves must be removed. Otherwise, the tomato will direct forces to their growth, and not to the formation of fruits.

Additionally, yellowed and dried leaves are removed from the tomato on the windowsill. If the foliage on the bottom of the plant covers the fruits, then it should also be eliminated.

Conclusion

It is quite possible to get a good crop of tomatoes on the windowsill if you follow the rules for planting and caring for plants. Tomatoes are demanding on light and do not tolerate excess moisture. Additionally, you need to take measures to form a bush, pollinate inflorescences and timely top dressing.