You’ve probably seen in stores more than once cherry tomatoes… They usually sit in a small basket and look great. These vegetables can decorate many dishes and add a piquant touch to them. These tomatoes, which are rather small in size, have a very pleasant sweetish taste with a slight sourness. Having tried them once, you will certainly have a desire to grow such vegetables yourself, and it is quite possible to do it. These tomatoes can be grown at home on your windowsill., but in order for the harvest to be good, you should know a few nuances.
Features of cultivation and care
In order for your cherry tomatoes to grow without causing any particular problems, and bring a good harvest, several nuances should be taken into account:
- First you need choose the right pot for this plant. They should be cylindrical in order to better fill with the root system. It is not advisable to use pots, the shape of which resembles a rectangle or square. And after the containers are selected, they must be filled with nutrient soil.
- A southern or eastern window sill is perfect for placement, since the plant loves light very much.
- Also tomatoes will need illumination, as otherwise they begin to throw off the buds. For this, it is desirable to use a blue-red shortwave source.
- Seeds are sown in pallets, after which they are covered with polyethylene film (glass). They are kept in a place where it is dark and rather warm, ranging from 25 to 30 degrees. When the first shoots appear, the film is removed, and after 2 real leaves grow, the plants must be dived into the pots, where they will grow.
- Once the tomatoes are transplanted to a permanent location, they must be properly cared for, which is very similar to that of simple outdoor tomatoes. Plants need timely watering, pinching, prevention and treatment of diseases, fertilization, garter to the support.
- If you have the desire and experience, then these plants can be grown hydroponically.
Optimum humidity
Cherry tomatoes, of course, love moisture, but it should be borne in mind that its excess can lead to a rapid build-up of stepsons and green mass in the plant. When the weather is cloudy, these plants need to be watered 2 times less than usual. In tomatoes of this type, the pistils are spliced with stamens (because of this, they are self-pollinated), however, if the soil moisture is very high and the air temperature is kept at 30 degrees, then the ovaries are extremely poorly formed. You can improve the situation with a brush. She just needs to walk over the flowers, which will significantly increase the number of ovaries.
Features of reproduction
The stems and cuttings of this plant root very simply and easily. Therefore, it is not necessary to grow cherry tomatoes from seeds. You can easily move them out of your garden. You can also root shoots or stepchildren.
In order for the stepsons to take root, as quickly as possible, very little fertilizer for the flowers must be added to the water poured into the glass. And if they are provided with good indoor conditions, then their rooting will occur after only 7 days. So, just an excellent seedling in the spring is obtained from plants that you rooted in the fall. And these seedlings can be obtained in just half a month. Plus, this type of seedling begins to bear fruit after just a month, and that’s all, because they are part of an adult, well-developed plant.
Also, another advantage of this type of plant reproduction and planting them in open ground is that they have time to give a crop long before late blight begins to actively spread.
Few tricks
There are several tricks in growing cherry tomatoes:
- So, you can plant newly rooted shoots in June for the second time, and they will actively bear fruit until mid-autumn.
- German gardeners know one trick that allows them to exclude the pulling out of seedlings if they do not have enough light. And this is very easy to do. You will need a soft brush that you need to gently brush over the leaves and tops of the shoots from time to time. As a result, the hairs are slightly damaged. located on their surface, due to which the seedlings begin to grow much slower and bush.
- Some gardeners also grow cherry tomatoes in buckets made from iron. Such plants are not planted in open ground. The fact is that thanks to such an unusual capacity, tomatoes are not infected with late blight. And this is because iron can significantly inhibit the growth and development of this fungus.
Hybrids and varieties for the windowsill, as well as the loggia
Cherry Lisa F1;- F1 bead;
- Baby;
- Minibel;
- Date F1;
- Craiova;
- Bonsai;
- Thumbelina;
- Pygmy;
- Greenfinch F1;
- Cherry Lycopa.
The choice of soil mixture and feeding features
Surely a large number of people who decide to grow cherry tomatoes on their windowsill find it very difficult to resist the bright packages of fertilizers that are available in literally every store. After all, it seems to them that without them the plant simply cannot grow normally and bring a good harvest. But here it is worth considering that abundant feeding of plants can do them very great harm.
And you should also know that the substances contained in fertilizers can accumulate in the fruits, as a result of which they become poisonous. And in order for cherry tomatoes to grow well, it will be enough to choose the right planting soil and feed them with any WMD once every 2 weeks, or use simple plant tinctures for these purposes.
The soil mixture is prepared simply. To do this, you need to mix sand, compost, peat, garden and turf soil. It is also recommended to add a little charcoal.
According to many experts, conventional mechanical mixing of the earth is less effective than that which is carried out with spraying of layers. Due to this, the soil is restructured, and as a result, when watering, the liquid will be more evenly distributed over the substrate.
Using the above tips, you will certainly be able to grow strong and healthy cherry tomatoes that will delight you with their harvest for a long time.
