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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 not a secret for anyone that vegetables grown with their own hands are much tastier than store vegetables. But what if you don't have a vegetable garden where you can grow tomatoes? You can arrange growing tomatoes on the balcony.
We invite you to find out how to grow balcony tomatoes... The article will give specific recommendations and will consider all the nuances and stages growing tomatoes on the balcony.
Which variety of tomatoes to choose
There is little space on the balcony, so the tomato variety should be chosen carefully. So, the variety should be undersized with large and abundant fruits. The following varieties of tomatoes are suitable for growing on the balcony:
- Cherry.
- Cascade Red.
- Mikron-NK.
- Red Pearl.
Special attention should be paid to 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. The tomato has a pleasant sugary taste. For good development of the bush, you do not need to cut off the stepsons. The growth of the bush is up to 30 cm.
- Pinocchio is another tomato variety that many balcony gardeners have already enjoyed. This variety is grown because it is not whimsical, as well as for the early ripening of tomatoes.
- Balconi Elo is a hybrid tomato variety. The bush reaches a height of 45 cm. Early ripening. The fruit has 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. From one bush, you can collect about 2 kg of fruit. Moreover, the average weight of each tomato is on average 65 g.
Tall tomato varieties can also be grown on the balcony. They develop well in such an unusual environment such varieties like White filling and a bull heart. 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 a tomato
Arrangement of a miniature garden on the balcony can be organized only if it faces southwest or southeast. The balcony on the north side is not suitable for growing plants as the sun only shines 3 hours a day. The south side is not suitable either, since there is too much sun on such a balcony, which also negatively affects the development of tomato bushes.
If the pot with the tomato bush is heavy and needs to be placed on the floor, then it is better to place it closer to the balcony wall or railing. It should be borne in mind that tomatoes on the balcony do not like sharp gusts of wind, because of them, the growth of bushes slows down. If you decide to plant ampel 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 trellises on a free wall that is maximally protected from the wind.
Together with the tomatoes on the balcony, you can plant spicy herbs. Such a composition looks very harmonious, and also herbs will scare away pests from tomato bushes.So, herbs such as mint, curly and common 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 parts. Also, to improve the looseness 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 tomato bushes in the future will need minimal care. 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 - 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 carried out only after the soil has completely cooled down. If you do not have the opportunity to purchase such cups, then you can also grow tomatoes on the balcony in plastic bottles. To do this, you need to cut off the neck from them, cover them with soil, make holes and place seeds in them. If you first germinate tomato seeds, then you will need to put 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 a warm place and covered with cellophane. After the sprouts appear, 2 - 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 out.
- 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 need to be moved to the windowsill to provide the seedlings with enough light. Watering is carried out as the soil dries out. In this case, it is important to add tomato sprouts with warm water, preferably settled.
Transfer to 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 are planting tomatoes in long containers, then the distance between the plants should be 25 cm. Now we will consider how to grow tomatoes on the balcony step by step.
In order to ensure good drainage, expanded clay or broken tiles should be placed on the bottom of the container / pot. The soil can be enriched with organic fertilizers. Then the pot needs to be filled with 1/3 of the soil mixture and the tomato seedling should be laid. Spread the roots out to the sides and gently press into the soil. Then gradually pour the soil into the pot, compacting it with your hands. Do not add 1/3 of the soil to the top of the pot. Lightly tamp the soil and pour plenty of warm water over the tomato seedlings, do it slowly so that moisture is absorbed into the soil evenly.
After transplanting seedlings, it should not be touched for the first week. So, you allow the tomato bushes to take root.
Low-growing varieties of tomatoes can be planted in 2 - 3 seedlings next to each other. So, a lush and beautiful bush will form.All dry and outwardly diseased leaves must be cut off to prevent the spread of diseases. In the period when the first fruits appear, 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 develop color on them, it is important to timely feed the 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 is a prolonged spring and there is still no heat on the loggia, then you will have to bring the pots of plants into the house for the night, and again take them outside for the day.
For the prevention of late blight and other tomato diseases, you need to process the bushes with a composition of potassium permanganate and garlic. To do this, dilute 0.5 tbsp in 0.5 liters of water. l. crushed garlic and 0.5 g of potassium permanganate. Another option for disease prevention is to spray the bushes with a phytosporin solution.
Fertilizing and watering should be done every week. Starting from the second stage of tomato development, bushes are actively formed, letting out lateral shoots. Leave 2-3 stems, and the rest of the shoots, or as they are also called, stepchildren, need to be torn off or cut off.
After the fruit brushes are formed, the lower leaves must be cut off. 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.
You need to pick off the stepsons very carefully so as not to damage the stem. Trimming or pinching is best done in the morning. Leave 4 bundles of ovaries on each stem, and pinch the crown.
A few secrets of growing
Balcony cultivation of seedlings and subsequently tomato bushes differs from the garden one. We suggest you familiarize yourself with a few more secrets:
- If your loggia is not glazed, then tomatoes should not be planted earlier than April, provided that the temperature does not drop below 23 ° C during the day and 13 ° C at night.
- 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 fertilizers. But don't overdo it. Otherwise, powerful bushes will remain practically sterile. The optimal period between feeding is 10 days.
- To prevent the stems of the bush from breaking under the weight of the fruit, they must be tied to a support.
- In order for the bush to form faster, you need to break off the small roots. To do this, slightly pull the plant upward, as if pulling it out of the soil.
So, as practice shows and the photo examples given in this article - growing tomatoes on the 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 the balcony:
