Can tomatoes be grown on a windowsill in winter?

Good day to readers and friends of the blog!

Today's article will be about growing tomatoes on a windowsill. Right now, in January, it is already possible to sow "home" tomatoes in order to bring down the planting fever and not rush to sow other crops that are too early to sow. Here are some varieties that can be successfully grown at home, like flowers!

Tomato varieties for growing on the windowsill

• Balcony miracle
• Bonsai,
• Baby,
• Pearl,
• Room surprise
• Golden bunch
• Pinocchio.

Tomato seeds

I will sow the varieties Monetka and Pugovka. You can see their description in the article "Tomato varieties for the Urals". And a description of other varieties and many other tomatoes for growing on the windowsill can be found in the article "Cherry Tomatoes - Varieties".

Now in more detail,

How to grow tomatoes in winter at home

Growing tomatoes is

1. Seed preparation
2. Soil preparation
3. Sowing tomatoes
4. Features of home care.

If we sow tomatoes in January, then in May we can already taste the harvest!

Seed preparation

To know for sure that the seeds will sprout, you can germinate them. There are interesting ways in the article "How to accelerate seed germination." Or just put them in a damp cloth in a warm place for a couple of days.

Alla Shirokova gives wonderful advice in the comments to the article "How to sow seeds with all my heart":

“In the book of Vladimir Megre“ Anastasia ”in the chapter“ The Seed-Doctor ”there is very good advice: before planting, take one or several small seeds in your mouth, keep in your mouth, under your tongue, for at least nine minutes. Then put your hands between two palms, hold them like this for about thirty seconds ……… Open your palms, and the seed that lies in your hand, you gently present to your mouth. And breathe out the air on the seed from your lungs. You warm him with your breath, and what is in you, the tiny seed will know ... And the seed will determine the moment of its rise. The planets will all help him in that! .. AND NO PRE-TREATMENT OF SEEDS !!!!

But, if you think that seeds should undergo traditional treatment before sowing, then take a look at the article "Treatment of seeds before sowing".

Soil preparation

• Tomatoes love fertile soil, with the addition of humus. Loose, permeable, moist.
• Homemade tomatoes need a lot of moisture, and the roots do not like stagnant water and dampness.
• You need to make good drainage in the pots.
• Choose a suitable pot size for space and nutrition. For low varieties (up to 50 cm), a 2-3 liter pot will be enough.

Let everyone have such a tomato on the windowsill!

Sowing tomatoes

You can sow one seed at a time in a large pot (choose the largest ones). But it is better to sow a few seeds in a small container. Drizzle with warm water and cover with foil until germination. Then we remove the film and put it on a windowsill that is cool to 18 ° C so that it does not stretch.

We are waiting for two or three real leaves at the tomatoes. We choose the strongest of the seedlings and plant them. When transplanting, we deepen the plants to the very cotyledonous leaves, let more roots form. The plant will be more powerful.

Features of caring for a "home" tomato

1. Watering... It is not necessary to water the tomatoes often. But make sure that the soil in the pot does not dry out. It is better to water twice a week, as it should, completely moistening the entire earthen lump, than to water a little every day - the soil inside may remain dry. If the air at home is very dry, spraying will help.
2. Spraying... Tomatoes are not very fond of water on leaves in cold weather, but in an apartment in dry air you can spray them with water. Just do not do this during the flowering period.
3. Supplementing.With such an early planting, the plants need to be supplemented. The days are still short, there is little light.
4. Top dressing. While the plants are growing and gaining strength, they need nitrogen fertilizers. And during the period of formation and ripeness of fruits - potash.

Growing tomatoes on a windowsill in winter is no longer a secret for you.

If you have any questions about growing tomatoes at home, I suggest watching the video.

I tell you what came out of my growing tomatoes in 2015.

These are the bushes of the "Monetka" variety in the spring

Tomato variety "Monetka"First harvest!

The children really liked the tomatoes - I just took a sample and never saw them again. The younger one regularly checked the bushes and collected the crops.

Until late autumn, the bush was just as small and compact. New stepchildren were constantly growing and at once new tomatoes bloomed and sang. Nice sweet taste! They would still delight us with fruits even now, but we had a fire at home. Unfortunately, all the plants died, maybe something could have been saved - but we had no time for that.

I liked these little Coins. This year I will plant it again))))

And here is a photo of the Pugovka variety

The first tomato

He became the only one that ripened on the bush))) My baby was harvesting green. Didn't let them sing at all! But like ordinary tomatoes, they ripened later.

And here are 2 bushes nearby

Baby and giant)))

They are on the window

Coin and Button

I was very surprised at the height of the bush - there were even thoughts that the seeds of the wrong sort were caught. But the stepsons also grew and bloomed constantly. He grew up to a meter and did not grow anymore.

You can read other interesting articles:

• Growing tomato seedlings at home
• About seedless tomato cultivation
• Growing cucumbers on the windowsill
• How to grow remontant strawberries from seeds

Best regards, Sophia Guseva.

Recently, growing tomatoes on the windowsill has become a popular activity among amateur gardeners. However, due to a lack of knowledge, it is not possible to harvest a good harvest: tomatoes are sick, grow poorly, or set few fruits. What conditions need to be provided for tomatoes in an apartment so that they bear fruit well at home?

Features of growing tomatoes on a windowsill

The technology for growing miniature indoor tomatoes is very similar to the cultivation of ordinary tomatoes on the site. At the same time, there are several features that must be taken into account when deciding to acquire low-growing tomatoes in an apartment:

• for good fruiting, they need to be supplemented with phytolamps;
• in the room where the pots are located, you need to maintain a stable temperature and humidity;
• you cannot pour tomatoes, otherwise they will get sick with a black leg;
• growing containers must match the size of the plant;
• tomato flowers need to be pollinated on their own: during the flowering period, a soft brush is applied to the flowers 2-3 times a day.

Taking into account the specified nuances, which are described in detail below, the chance that growing tomatoes on a window in winter or at any other time of the year will be crowned with success at times.

What varieties are suitable for growing on a windowsill

For growing in an apartment, it is better to choose determinant (undersized) varieties of tomatoes that do not need tying, are unpretentious to the composition of the soil and the length of daylight hours. Most varieties with such characteristics are standard hybrids. Depending on your wishes, you can plant super early or mid-season varieties. Such varieties of tomatoes as Bonsai, Balconnoe miracle, Pygmy, Pinnochio, Room surprise have excellent characteristics.

Despite the fact that the tomatoes of these varieties do not grow more than half a meter, the plants form about 2 kg of yellow or red fruits weighing from 15 to 100 g. Among the many tall varieties of tomatoes for growing on the windowsill, cherry tomatoes are suitable, which do not require special conditions.

How to plant and grow - features, conditions and step-by-step instructions

Growing tomatoes in an apartment is quite simple if the recommended requirements are followed exactly. Anyone who will take proper care of the plants will be able to enjoy bright juicy tomatoes in the middle of winter.

Video: how to grow tomatoes on a windowsill

What should be the place

To ensure that plants receive as much natural light as possible, tomatoes are best placed on south or east windows. If this is not possible, you can put the pots on the west window, but the culture will have to be supplemented. It is not recommended to grow light-loving tomatoes on northern windows.

Temperature

When growing tomatoes on a window, it is very important to maintain the correct temperature regime. Deviations from the established ranges are fraught with slow development and poor productivity of the vegetable crop. When growing tomatoes on the window at home, you should adhere to the following recommendations:

• Seeds germinate quickly and amicably at a temperature of + 23- + 25 C.
• When the seedlings are 7 days old, the temperature is reduced to + 20- + 22 C. Being in colder conditions, the seedlings will not stretch out, which often happens with tomatoes in closed rooms. You can lower the temperature by airing the room for half an hour - the plant is not afraid of drafts.
• The optimum temperature at night is + 15- + 16C.

Important! On the coldest days, when the batteries get very hot, in order to protect the tomato leaves from the influence of warm air, the heating devices are covered with a wooden shield from above.

Humidity

It is necessary to spray tomatoes grown on the window only if the air in the room is very dry. When the temperature in the apartment is below +20 C, it is not at all possible to spray the plants: excessive humidity and cold air are the main reasons for the appearance of a black leg.

Lighting

Due to the fact that tomatoes are plants that need a long day of light in order to form many high-quality fruits at home, they need to be highlighted. The lamps turn on from 8 to 11 am and from 16 to 19 pm. The latest invented hybrids are unpretentious in the amount of light, however, for better productivity, it is even recommended to supplement them in the shortest days of winter.

Important! Indoor tomatoes can be grown without additional lighting from mid-February.

Despite the fact that tomatoes love to live on light windowsills, the leaves of young seedlings can get burned under the influence of bright spring rays. To protect the plant from such injuries, the pots are transferred to the east and north windows. If it is impossible to make such a rearrangement, in the brightest hours they are shaded with gauze or paper.

Tying and pinching

The vast majority of hybrids and varieties of tomatoes intended for growing in an apartment on a window or windowsill do not need to be tied up, since they are endowed with a low, powerful stem.Only some varieties, the height of which exceeds 50 cm, need support. Medium-sized tomatoes are formed into 2 stems, tall ones - into one.

What container to plant

Tomato seedlings are initially planted in seedling containers, and as soon as they become cramped, they are transplanted into separate peat pots or plastic cups with a volume of more than 200 ml. Using peat cups, you need to control the amount of watering, otherwise the containers may simply fall apart.

During the next transplant, when the plants have 4-5 pairs of true leaves, the tomatoes are planted in a permanent pot. The size of the planting container must be selected based on the characteristics of the cultivated variety: the more compact the plant, the smaller the planting container volume should be.

Based on this rule, for planting dwarf varieties, you need to use pots up to 2 liters. Indoor tomatoes are recommended to be planted in 3-4 liters containers, ampelous - in 5 liters. Regardless of the size, the bottom of the planting tanks should have drainage holes to drain excess water.

What soil to plant

For planting low-growing tomatoes in an apartment, use a special substrate of industrial production or a self-prepared mixture: mix garden soil, rotted compost and peat in a ratio of 5: 5: 2: 1. A potassium sulfate matchbox and about the same amount of urea are added to a bucket of potting soil. Pour a handful of wood ash into the mixture and mix thoroughly. The finished substrate is poured into a container and proceeds to planting.

Important! Regardless of the origin, the soil must be calcined or frozen: high or low temperatures will destroy pathogenic bacteria and insect larvae. Moreover, in order to prevent tomato contamination with dangerous diseases, you need to calcine the tool that will be used when working with the soil at home.

Preparing seeds for planting

First of all, bad planting material is discarded. Seeds are poured into a container with salt water and mixed thoroughly. A few minutes after the water stops spinning, good seeds will sink to the bottom, and bad ones will remain on the surface. The floating seeds are drained along with the water, and the remaining ones continue to be prepared for planting in the apartment.

To destroy pathogens on the surface of seeds, planting material is soaked for 15-20 minutes in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. After the end of the time, they are taken out of the container and laid out on a paper towel. After drying, they are treated with a growth stimulant in accordance with the instructions. The substances contained in such preparations accelerate the germination of seedlings and increase the resistance of seedlings to diseases.

Direct landing

Indoor tomatoes are planted in the same way as ordinary ones, intended for growing in the open field. Landing is carried out in the following sequence:

1. The disinfected planting material is laid out in a damp cloth and placed in a warm place so that they hatch. Please note that if the fabric dries out, it needs to be sprayed, otherwise the embryos will dry out and the seeds will not hatch.
2. A prepared soil mixture or a special substrate is poured into the seedling container and grooves are made with a depth of 1 cm. It is not recommended to plant tomatoes at a depth of more than 2 cm: the seedling time is doubled. Seeds are laid out at a distance of 2-3 cm from each other.
3. The crops are sprinkled with earth and slightly moistened. Until the emergence of shoots, the box is covered with film or glass, which are removed from time to time so that the soil does not become moldy.
4. As soon as the seedlings throw out 2-3 pairs of true leaves, they are transplanted into pots of appropriate size, the bottom of which is laid with drainage material.

Video: how to grow indoor tomatoes in winter

How to care after planting and before harvest - tips

The health of tomatoes and the volume of the crop depend on the quality of care.In order for indoor tomatoes to develop quickly in an apartment and set the maximum number of fruits, they need to be watered and fertilized in a timely manner.

Watering

The soil in the pot must be slightly damp for the fruit to form and ripen. Tomatoes react poorly to both drought and overflow: in the first case, the fruits can be sprinkled during formation, in the second, the plant gets sick with a black leg, late blight.

Since chlorine is harmful to plants, you need to water indoor tomatoes only with well-settled water. In order for the particles of a chemical element to sink to the bottom, the water must be defended for a week. Using a filter, you can reduce the water preparation time to several hours. As soon as the soil dries out, the seedlings are watered moderately.

Subject to the temperature regime and normal air humidity, watering is carried out 1 time in 5 days. Out of turn, tomatoes are watered the day before transplanting: removing the rhizome from moist soil is much easier and less painful for the plant.

Top dressing

At the beginning of development, upon reaching the age of one week, indoor tomatoes in pots are fed with nitrogen fertilizers, which stimulate plant growth. During the setting of fruits and pouring them into the soil, potassium dressings are added.

You can fertilize seedlings with ordinary mineral mixtures diluted in half with water. In order not to burn the roots, top dressing is applied 2 hours after watering. The optimal time for manipulation is cloudy weather. All types of fertilizers are applied no more than once every 2 weeks in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations.

Worth knowing! For adult plants, fertilizing can be applied to the leaf or under the root. For young seedlings with delicate leaves, leaf feeding is contraindicated.

Terms of germination and harvesting

When the right conditions are created in the apartment, tomato seedlings appear on the surface 6-10 days after sowing. The germination time may be delayed if the room is too cold or the seeds are sown too deep. In such cases, seedlings begin to emerge only on the 14-17th day.

Window-grown tomatoes ripen 85-110 days after planting, depending on the variety selected.

Growing tomatoes on a windowsill is not only fun, but also a useful activity, thanks to which you can replenish the supply of vitamins for the whole family, which is especially important in winter.

Video: growing tomatoes on a windowsill

Many people have long practiced growing greenery on the windowsill. This does not cause much trouble and provides the whole family with essential vitamins, even in winter. Urban residents of Germany, France, and other European countries grow cucumbers and tomatoes on the windowsill. Such seedlings perform not only an aesthetic function, but also provide people far from agriculture with a small supply of self-grown vegetables. Their experience shows that growing tomatoes on a windowsill in winter is possible. In this article, we'll take a look at how to grow tomatoes on a windowsill.

Growing conditions

Tomatoes that are planned to be grown on the windowsill in winter are also called "indoor". Indoor tomatoes do not require conditions that are fundamentally different from growing conditions in the open field. However, there are some peculiarities. Basic rules that even an inexperienced gardener can easily follow:

• the tomato loves light, therefore it is best to place the seedlings on the south side. Daylight hours of the plant are 13-16 hours;
• if there is no south side in the apartment or house, it is worth resorting to artificial lighting with fluorescent lamps, fluorescent lamps, energy-saving lamps. Recently, specially designed phytolamps have appeared on the market. In any case, the lamp should be placed at a distance of 25-30 cm from the seedlings;
• the ground should not be clayey.If you want to grow tomatoes with soil from the garden, you need to add ordinary sand to it, as well as a little potassium permanganate (for disinfection). Competently selected soil will ensure comfortable growth of tomatoes on the windowsill.
• it is not worth pouring water over the plant, because it threatens with diseases, for example, "black leg";
• the temperature during the day should be 20-25 degrees, at night it can be lowered to 15-16 degrees. On especially hot days, do not be afraid to ventilate the room, this will not harm the plant at all.
• Organic fertilizers will help you grow tomatoes. They are good in small quantities, but too much will lead to lush growth of greenery, but not fruits;
• the capacity should correspond to the size of the plant, which can be recognized by the name of the variety.

Which varieties are suitable

There is a huge number of different varieties of tomatoes on the agricultural market. How to choose the right ones that are not afraid of even winter and how to grow tomatoes on the windowsill? For growing on the windowsill, varieties of low tomatoes are best suited.
The fruits of these tomatoes are generally light and lightweight, ideal for growing in small pots with little soil. There are also incredibly many varieties that meet such requests. Here are just some varieties of tomatoes for the windowsill:

• Cherry;
• Bullfinch;
• Japanese dwarf;
• Mini;
• Yamal;
• Balcony charm;
• Room surprise;
• Rowan beads and many others.

If the windowsill is insulated, choose a tomato variety with a higher stem and large fruit for growing on the windowsill. The varieties of weighty tomatoes Bull's Heart and White filling are suitable for those who have very wide window sills with the ability to place flowerpots or boxes. But it should be borne in mind that over time, the bushes will become quite tall and it will be necessary to transfer the plants to the balcony or place them on the floor. Experienced gardeners know that different varieties behave differently on the same land. With growing tomatoes on the windowsill, the story is the same: only by trial and error you will find a variety that is ideal for the conditions of the apartment. For the first time, you can take several different varieties and observe the difference in their growth.

You need to be careful about the quality of the seeds you buy - always check the expiration dates on the original packaging. Often inexperienced gardeners cannot understand the reason why the seeds do not germinate. It is the overdue implementation that can ruin your first growing experience.

Growing instruction

Having chosen the necessary varieties of tomatoes for the windowsill, we begin the process of germinating seeds.

Before sowing seeds, it is necessary to carry out prophylaxis against late blight.

To do this, we soak the seeds in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for a quarter of an hour (maximum half an hour). The next step will be to prepare the land. Peat cups are ideal, you can also use plastic ones. For seedlings, such cups should have a volume of at least 200 ml. We fill the cups with a soil mixture (if purchased ready-made) or mix it ourselves according to the following formula: 5 parts of soil + 5 parts of humus + 2 or 1 part of sand + a little peat.

For 10 liters of the finished mixture, you need to take a small amount of urea (no more than a matchbox) and the same amount of potassium sulfate, as well as wood ash. All this can be purchased in specialized stores. Mix the mixture well and place in prepared cups.

We start sowing.

Tomato seeds should be at least 2 cm apart - this distance is very important for simultaneous germination. You need to sow seeds in damp ground to a depth of no more than 2 cm.

With a deeper planting, it will take a little longer to wait for seedlings.

Sprinkle the seeds in the dimples with earth, and cover them with glass or film on top. This will keep moisture in the ground until the seeds emerge. We place the cups in a warm, but not hot place, and wait for the first green stalks to appear. You can wet the soil from time to time.

After the shoots have appeared, we transfer the cups to the windowsill. Naturally, we remove the film or glass. At this stage, it is important to monitor the heat and light for the tomatoes, as well as ensure regular, rationed watering. A pick, that is, the seedlings of the strongest sprouts in a separate dish, are carried out after the appearance of two real leaves. The volume of the pot for the subsequent growth of the tomato should be much larger - 7-10 liters.

Next, we follow this care plan:

1. Once every 8-10 days, we carry out fertilizing with mineral or organic fertilizers, the instructions for breeding are always indicated on the package. A weak solution of potassium permanganate will also be useful for growing tomatoes on a windowsill;
2. Do not forget to loosen the ground at the roots. We do this very carefully so as not to damage the thin roots;
3. When the need arises, wooden or specialized plastic pegs should be placed in the ground, to which the tomatoes will be tied;
4. Over time, additional stepchildren will appear on the plants. The process of removing them - pinching - will provide better nutrition for the tomato fruit. One stalk can be left to form a second stem;
5. After the fruit is set, we only leave 3-5 clusters for growing on each stem. We also remove the top of the stem, the inflorescence. Such measures will help the rapid development of already set fruits;
6. We cut off the dried leaves, especially carefully monitor those that are closest to the root. It happens that it is they who block the access of water to the root system and slow down the cultivation;
7. You can also help the plant with the pollination process. To do this, lightly shake the plant and run it over the flowers with a soft brush or feather. We carry out this procedure very carefully.
8. Late blight is a typical nightshade disease. Tomatoes on the windowsill, like their counterparts in the open field, suffer from this fungal scourge even in winter. To prevent it, you need to process the stems and leaves with tincture of garlic and potassium permanganate (12 garlic + 12 grams of potassium permanganate + 3 liters of water). You can also use the phytosporin spray method.

Now you know how to grow tomatoes on a windowsill even in winter. In order to better understand some of the details of planting and care, it is worth watching the videos and photos that are presented on our website.

It is always a pleasure to taste homemade, lovingly grown tomatoes. Having the desire and diligence, you can please yourself and your loved ones with them all year round.

Video "Growing tomatoes on the windowsill"

The plot is about how to prepare tomato seeds before planting, how to plant them correctly and how to care for a plant when grown indoors.

In any season, you can buy fresh vegetables and fruits in the store, but their taste does not always correspond to the high price. You can grow greens, cucumbers and tomatoes on the windowsill in winter, even novice gardeners can do this task quite well. Do not tackle difficult tasks at once, start with a few bushes of the same low and most hardy variety. When you gain experience, you can twine the room with long vines with colorful fruits.

The easiest way

If you have never worked with the land, then preparing seeds, watching young shoots like a small child will be too tiring, and you will have to wait a very long time for tasty fruits. At the thought of growing and picking seedlings, lighting, problems with pollination, one gives up. Therefore, green onions, dill and parsley are grown on windowsills by many families, and vegetable crops are planted by a few. If you are afraid of difficulties, there is a simpler and faster method.

In August or September, cut off the stepchildren from the part of the tomato bush where there are already fruit clusters. Choose a plant with medium-sized fruits.Dip the cut in water, you can add a root formation stimulator to the liquid. When roots begin to appear, plant the shoots in boxes or pots of fertile soil. You need to take care of such plantings as for adult plants, a bush from a shoot will develop quickly, and you will soon enjoy delicious tomatoes.

Since different varieties have been bred for open ground and indoor cultivation, you will not get a rich harvest from your stepson. This method is good for beginners: the first winter you will learn how to care for adult bushes, the next season you will master growing from seeds. If there is no summer cottage, you can plant tomatoes in the room or on the balcony during the warmer months. Then you do not have to buy vegetables pumped up with chemistry, your garden will supply seven vitamins all year round.

Make no mistake when choosing a variety

When growing tomatoes indoors, difficulties arise that are unfamiliar to summer residents who work only with open ground or greenhouses. Breeders take these features into account when breeding indoor varieties. A novice gardener may not pay attention to whether there is an inscription on the package that tomatoes can be grown indoors or on the balcony.

If you take plants intended only for open ground, various problems can arise:

• a powerful root system requires a large amount of land;
• a tall, heavy bush can overturn the pot;
• there are no pollinating insects in the room.

For growing in a room, it is advisable to choose dwarf varieties or standard hybrids. They are compact and do not take up much space. If necessary, the pot can be easily transferred to another window.

Experts recommend the best varieties for breeding on the windowsill:

• "Dubok";
• "Pygmy";
• "Balcony Miracle";
• Bonsai;
• "Little Red Riding Hood";
• "Room surprise";
• "Leopold".

You can buy the most suitable varieties for home growing, but the seeds may not resemble, and all the work will be done in vain. To prevent empty boxes with single weak sprouts from spoiling the mood, check the quality of the seed in advance. You can wrap 10 seeds from each bag in a damp cloth and keep them warm for several hours. See how many seeds have swollen and are ready to release roots - you will get so many plants from a dozen seeds.

Good soil is important for the harvest

For growing tomatoes at home, you can purchase special soil or seedling soil. It is believed that the land is supplied for sale completely ready for filling in boxes. You can take the manufacturers' word for it, but it's best not to risk it. Go through all the soil, crush the dense lumps, see if there are large fertilizer granules in the ground. Only when the whole mass becomes fine, crumbly and homogeneous, can it be used for planting and growing any crops.

To grow strong bushes, you can prepare the soil yourself. Take 5 parts each of garden soil and rotted compost, 2 parts sand and 1 part peat. For each bucket of mixture, add a handful of ash and a matchbox of urea and potassium sulfate.

In any land, harmful microorganisms, fungi, insect larvae live. Both your own and purchased soil must be calcined in the oven to destroy the infection. Be sure to also disinfect containers, tools and gloves.

Before placing soil in pots and boxes, make sure that the drainage holes of the containers allow moisture to pass through. Pour a layer of gravel at the bottom, then backfill with soil. It is better not to tamp the soil with your hands or special tools - you will not be able to calculate the effort correctly. Pour water over the earth, and it will fall as it should. There are techniques for growing vegetables in a small amount of soil or in a single nutrient solution. You can try the hydroponic method, but tomatoes will absorb a lot of fertilizer. Healthy products can only be obtained from natural soil.

How to sow seeds correctly?

In rare cases, it is possible to keep the tomatoes harvested at the dacha fresh until the New Year. From late December until summer, tomatoes can only be purchased at the store. If you need fruit for the winter, plant the seeds in 2 stages: early October and late November. When the first plantings complete fruiting, the second batch of bushes will grow up. If you want to harvest from the windowsill all year round, add 2 more crops: in February and at the end of March.

If you have not tested the seeds for germination, before sowing, dissolve a tablespoon of salt in a glass of water and drop the seeds into the liquid. Drowned specimens can be sown, but floating ones are not suitable for this purpose. So that the seedlings are strong and do not hurt, put the seed in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 20 minutes, and then treat it with a growth stimulant. After that, you can wrap the grains in a damp cloth and leave in a warm place until they are pecked.

Seedlings do not like crowding. Sow the grains at least 2 cm apart. After sowing, sprinkle the seeds with a layer of soil 2 cm thick, tamp lightly and cover with foil. Before emergence, keep the planting at a temperature of about + 23⁰ C, it is desirable that the bottom of the boxes is also heated. In about a week, cotyledon leaves will appear, and young plants will need different conditions.

Advice

It is convenient to grow seedlings in a special greenhouse for the windowsill. When choosing a model, give preference to a design in which bottom heating is provided.

Care of young plantings

When shoots appear, the temperature should be reduced to + 20⁰ C. If the room is cool, leave them under the plastic, but do not forget to ventilate daily. During this period, the greatest danger is the black leg, which can destroy all plants in a few days. The causative agent of the disease likes high humidity, low temperatures and stagnant air. Provide your pets with the right conditions and good care so that the fungus does not start in your home garden.

Plants need light, but the bright sun can burn the leaves. On a clear day, shade them with tulle or a paper screen. Do not let the soil dry out, but do not water too often and abundantly. The surface of the soil should always be slightly moist, then the root system will be comfortable, and the fungus will not settle on the plantings.

Advice

Chlorine is harmful to tomatoes, so it is better to use rain or melt water for irrigation. If you take liquid from the water supply, let it sit for about a week.

When the second true leaf appears, the seedlings can be fed with microelements. Dilute the solution to half the concentration recommended by the instructions, and water the plantings. The work must be carried out in cloudy weather or temporarily move the boxes to the north window. It is undesirable to pour the nutrient composition onto dry soil - water the plants, and feed them after a couple of hours.

How to grow strong seedlings?

You need to dive seedlings when the third true leaf develops. Take plastic cups with a volume of 200 ml and allocate a separate container for each bush. It is better not to use peat pots: in a warm room they either dry out or crack from moisture. Transparent vessels are also undesirable: in the light, an earthen lump will grow moss on all sides.

For the first three weeks, it is not necessary to water the plantings with nutrient solutions. The injured root system should take root and start working at full strength. After that, feed the seedlings with complex fertilizer, which includes manganese, twice a month. Pour the nutrient solutions gently around the stem to avoid splashing onto the green parts of the plant.

When the roots fill the entire volume of the glass, a transplant will be required to a permanent place. Containers and pots for them must have a volume of at least 3 liters, and for tall varieties, 5 liters may not be enough. Water the soil well the day before transplanting so that the moisture soaks the soil well overnight.It is easier to remove the root system from moist soil without damaging the processes.

Adult plant care

Too dense greenery is harmful to tomatoes even in open beds, and on a windowsill in a small amount of soil, this rule is especially important. If growing tall bushes, keep only one strongest stem. Medium-sized varieties can be allowed to grow in 2 trunks; dwarf tomatoes do not need shaping. Tear off stepchildren in time and remove the lower leaves - these processes are not useful, and they require a lot of nutrients.

In winter, the daylight hours are too short, because of this, the bushes grow elongated, and the fruits are poorly tied. It is not difficult to solve this problem: install fluorescent lamps above the plantings and turn them on in the morning and evening. Tomatoes grow and develop best if the daylight period lasts from 7 to 19 hours. For growing in a room or in a winter greenhouse, it is recommended to use self-pollinated varieties, but if you help the tomatoes, the fruits will begin to set more actively. You can "tickle" the flowers with a soft brush, or you can gently shake each bush.

With a limited amount of soil, plants constantly require feeding. Apply compound fertilizers twice a month. When choosing a composition, keep in mind that plants need nitrogen for the active development of green mass. When the fruits begin to set and pour, nitrates should be limited, but more potassium should be added. Foliar feeding will not harm adult plants, but solutions can be poured on young seedlings only under the root so that drops do not fall on the leaves.

In a small amount of land, tomatoes will not be able to develop all the fruits that have formed on them. When the ovaries appear, leave no more than 5 of the strongest brushes on the bush, and cut off the top and other fruit shoots. As soon as the tomatoes on the window start to turn pink, pick them and place them in a wooden box to ripen. In this case, the plant will have more strength for the development of other fruits.

Problems when growing tomatoes on a windowsill

Watch your pets carefully and they will inform you if there are any problems. Sometimes an inexperienced gardener himself creates discomfort for the plants. Tomatoes grow well at a daytime temperature of about + 22⁰C and a nighttime temperature of + 17⁰C. A thermometer in the middle of the room can show just such values, but on the window, the sun's rays heat the bush, or the battery blows up hot air currents. Yellow curled leaves show that the tomatoes are hot, and a bluish tint occurs when there is a sharp temperature drop from the wind from an open window or cold jets of air from unsealed window cracks.

Tomatoes can wither away from illiterate watering. It is useless to often moisten the topsoil, because the roots take water from the depths. Water the plantings about once every 5 days, but generously so that the liquid appears in the pan.

The wrong composition of fertilizers also immediately affects the appearance of the plants.

• With a lack of nitrogen, the lower leaves turn yellow, and with a calcium deficiency, the upper leaves.
• Wrinkled leaves indicate that you have overfed the plantings with calcium and this element prevents them from absorbing potassium.
• Leaves become thick and tough when the plant lacks sulfur.
• A yellow border at the edges of the leaf indicates a lack of magnesium.

If pests have attacked the plantings, look for traces of their vital activity, eggs, larvae and adults in the most secluded places, most often on the underside of the leaves. Noticing insects, treat the bushes with insecticides or folk remedies: infusion of garlic, tobacco, soapy water. If there are no signs of the appearance of parasites, but the plant differs from the rest of the specimens in growth, shape, color, if spots or other damage are visible on its parts, the infection is most likely to blame.Destroy damaged specimens or take them to another room - quarantine them and try to cure them in isolation from a healthy mass. Treat the rest of the plantings with a disinfectant solution.

It happens that a person does everything right, but tomatoes still grow very poorly. In this case, consider in what mood you approach the plants. If work is a burden, you force yourself to feed and water the plantings by force, it is better to give up this activity, there is no point in it. Plants are living organisms, they react to the emotions of the owner. Do not work with tomatoes after a quarrel or an unpleasant conversation: all the negativity will go to planting. Better take a walk in the fresh air, put your thoughts in order. Approaching the windowsill with plants, smile, talk affectionately with your green friends, and they will gladly please you with a rich harvest.