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Surely there are few people who do not like tomatoes. These delicious vegetables are very nutritious and saturate the human body with useful substances. And perhaps it’s no secret to anyone that home-grown vegetables are much tastier than store-bought ones. But what if you don’t have a vegetable garden where you can grow tomatoes? You can arrange to grow tomatoes on the balcony.
We suggest you learn how to grow balcony tomatoes. The article will give specific recommendations and will consider all the nuances and stages of growing tomatoes on the balcony.
What variety of tomatoes to choose
There is little space on the balcony, so the variety of tomatoes should be chosen carefully. So, the variety should be undersized with large and abundant fruits. The following tomato varieties are suitable for growing on the balcony:
- Cherry.
- Cascade Red.
- Micron-NK.
- Red Pearl.
Particularly noteworthy are the hybrid varieties of tomatoes, which were bred by breeders, taking into account the wishes of gardeners:
- F1 Balcony Red is an early maturing variety. The ripening period of tomatoes begins 3 months after the emergence of seedlings. Fruit size is medium. Tomato has a pleasant sugary taste. For a good development of the bush, you do not need to cut off the stepchildren. The growth of the bush is up to 30 cm.
- Pinocchio is another tomato variety that has already come to the taste of many balcony gardeners. This variety is grown because it is not whimsical, and also for the earlier ripening of tomatoes.
- Balkoni Elou is a hybrid variety of tomato. The bush reaches a height of up to 45 cm. The fruits are distinguished by a bright lemon color. The variety is suitable for conservation.
- Balcony miracle – this hybrid variety is also early maturing, but also prolific. The height of the bush is 50 cm. About 2 kg of fruit can be collected from one bush. At the same time, the average weight of each tomato is on average 65 g.
You can also grow tall tomato varieties on the balcony. Varieties such as White filling and Bull’s heart develop well in such an unusual environment. The fruits of these tomato varieties are juicy and fleshy. To grow tall tomatoes, you need to prepare large pots. They will need to be installed on the floor.
Preparing the balcony for growing tomatoes
The arrangement of a miniature garden on the balcony can be organized only if it faces the southwest or southeast. The balcony, located on the north side, is not suitable for growing plants, since the sun shines in its direction only 3 hours a day. The south side will not work either, since there is too much sun on such a balcony, which also negatively affects the development of tomato bushes.
If the pot with a tomato bush is heavy and needs to be installed on the floor, then it is better to place it closer to the balcony wall or railing. It should be borne in mind that the tomatoes on the balcony do not like sudden gusts of wind, because of them the growth of the bushes slows down. If you decide to plant ampelous tomato varieties, then they should be grown in hanging pots. But so that caring for tomatoes does not cause unnecessary trouble, the pots should not be hung very high. Tall tomato bushes can be attached to trellises made of plastic, rope and wood. In turn, it is better to fix the tapestries on a free wall that is maximally protected from the wind.
Together with tomatoes on the balcony, you can plant herbs. Such a composition looks very harmonious, and also the herbs will scare away pests from tomato bushes. So, herbs such as mint, curly and ordinary parsley, lettuce, celery and oregano coexist perfectly with tomatoes.
Soil and seed preparation
To achieve maximum fruiting tomato on the balcony, it is important to properly prepare the soil for sowing. If there is no time for self-preparation of the soil, then you can purchase a special soil mixture consisting of turf and humus in equal proportions. Also, to improve the friability of the soil, peat or sawdust is added to it.
It may seem to a novice gardener that growing a tomato on a balcony is a thankless task. But, if all the initial stages are performed correctly, then the tomato bushes will need minimal care in the future. After preparing the soil, it’s time to start preparing the seeds for sowing to obtain seedlings. The beginning of these works falls on the end of February – the beginning of March.
Start by soaking the tomato seeds. Place them on a cloth, cover with warm water and leave the seed warm until germination.
There are several ways to plant tomato seeds in the ground:
- Fill special cups with soil and pour boiling water over it, sowing can be done only after the soil has completely cooled down. If you do not have the opportunity to purchase such cups, then you can grow tomatoes on the balcony in plastic bottles. To do this, cut off the neck from them, cover them with soil, make holes and place the seeds in them. If you first germinate tomato seeds, then you will need to place 1 seed in a glass, and not germinated – 2-3. There is no need to make holes in the glass, since there is not much soil in the glass and all the liquid will be absorbed by the plants. Cups with crops should be placed in heat and covered with cellophane. After the appearance of sprouts, 2 to 3 days should pass and the crops should be transferred to a cool place with artificial lighting. Watering is carried out as the soil dries.
- Before sowing, tomato seeds are treated with a solution of potassium permanganate. Then they need to be placed in a soaked cloth on a plate and wrapped in cellophane. The environment in which the seeds will germinate should be warm and moist. Then the germinated tomato seeds are placed in the soil, covered with glass and again in a warm place. After the tomato sprouts appear from the ground, the containers should be moved to the windowsill to provide the seedlings with enough light. Watering is carried out as the soil dries. It is important to add tomato sprouts with warm water, preferably settled.
Transplanting into containers
Usually a month is enough for the development of strong tomato seedlings. And then the period comes when it needs to be transplanted into spacious pots or containers. If you plant tomatoes in long containers, then the distance between plants should be 25 cm. Now let’s look at how to grow tomatoes on a balcony step by step.
In order to ensure good drainage, expanded clay or broken tiles should be placed at the bottom of the container / pot. The soil can be enriched with organic fertilizers. Then the pot needs to be filled with soil mixture by 1/3 and lay the tomato seedling seedling. Spread the roots out to the sides and press lightly into the soil. Then gradually pour the soil into the pot, compacting it with your hands. Do not add soil to the top of the pot by 1/3. Lightly tamp the soil and pour plenty of warm water over the tomato seedlings, do it slowly so that the moisture is evenly absorbed into the soil.
After transplanting seedlings, it should not be touched during the first week. So, you will allow the tomato bushes to take root.
Low-growing varieties of tomatoes can be planted 2 – 3 seedlings side by side. So, a lush and beautiful bush will form. All dry and outwardly diseased leaves should be cut off to prevent the spread of disease. During the period of the appearance of the first fruits, the color must be removed from the top. This is done so that moisture and nutrients get into the developing fruits.
After the fruits begin to turn pink, they must be removed from the bush and placed in a box for further ripening. In this case, the beneficial properties of the fruits will not be lost, and new fruits will form on the bushes, while the previous ones will not take juices from them.
Top dressing and care features
In order for the bushes to develop well and color form on them, it is important to carry out timely feeding of plants. Start doing this in April. Mineral fertilizers can be used for this.
If you decide to grow tall varieties on the balcony, then the size of the bushes will be correspondingly large, and so that they do not break under their own weight, you need to tie them up. If there was a protracted spring and there is still no heat on the loggia, then you will have to bring the pots with plants into the house at night, and take them out again for the day.
To prevent late blight and other diseases of the tomato, you need to treat the bushes with a composition of potassium permanganate and garlic. To do this, in 0,5 liters of water, dilute 0,5 tbsp. l. crushed garlic and 0,5 g of potassium permanganate. Another option for disease prevention is to spray the bushes with a solution of phytosporin.
Fertilizing with mineral fertilizers and watering should be done every week. Starting from the second stage of tomato development, the bushes are actively formed, letting out side shoots. Leave 2-3 stems, and the rest of the shoots, or as they are also called, stepchildren, need to be cut off or cut off.
After the fruit brushes are formed, cut off the lower leaves. If you do not cut the bushes, then they will have a very large volume and, as a result, the inflorescences will not be laid.
Stepchildren must be cut off very carefully so as not to damage the stem. Trimming or pinching is best done in the morning. Leave 4 bunches of ovaries on each stem, and pinch the crown.
Some Growing Secrets
Balcony cultivation of seedlings and subsequently tomato bushes is different from the garden. We invite you to familiarize yourself with a few more secrets:
- If your loggia is not glazed, then you should plant tomatoes no earlier than April, provided that the temperature during the day does not fall below 23ºС, and at night – 13ºС.
- In order to avoid the development of fungal diseases on a closed balcony, it is important to maintain a certain level of humidity within 60-65%. To do this, you need to systematically ventilate the balcony.
- Plants should only be watered with warm water.
- For the development of powerful and tall bushes, you need to regularly fertilize them with organic and nitrogen top dressing. But don’t overdo it. Otherwise, powerful bushes will remain practically barren. The optimal period between top dressing is 10 days.
- So that the stems of the bush do not break under the weight of the fruits, they must be tied to a support.
- To make the bush form faster, you need to cut off small roots. To do this, slightly pull the plant up, as if pulling it out of the soil.
So, as practice and photo examples given in this article show, growing tomatoes on a balcony is a feasible task for every amateur gardener. The process of growing tomatoes will bring you not only a good harvest, but also positive emotions. Such relaxation after a hard day in a noisy city can help you protect yourself from psychological disorders.
We invite you to watch a video that shows step by step how to grow tomatoes on a balcony:
