Content
Ampel tomatoes are grown in hanging containers. For planting, special varieties are chosen that branch well and give a rich harvest. To grow ampelous tomatoes at home, you need to provide them with the necessary microclimate, install lighting, and prepare the soil for plants.
Variety selection
For growing at home, the following ampelous varieties are used:
- Mascot - one of the most demanded representatives of ampelous tomatoes. It is an early ripening variety with a long fruiting period. The weight of the fruit is up to 20 g. The talisman is valued for the taste of the fruit and is a good decoration for windows.
- F1 Citizen - a variety that gives large raspberry-colored tomatoes. For planting plants, a container with a volume of more than 4 liters is selected. The length of the main shoot reaches 0.8 m. The bushes must be pinched. Ripening of tomatoes takes up to 100 days.
- Cascade Red F1 - compact bushes, on which many shoots up to 0.5 m long are formed. The hybrid is easy to care for and does not require pinching. It is enough to remove dry and yellowed plant leaves. For planting, containers with a volume of 5 liters or more are required.
- Red abundance - tomatoes capable of producing a good harvest with proper care. The fruit resembles cherry in taste and appearance. The bush grows quickly and gives shoots up to 0.6 m long without pinching.
- Garden pearl - a low-growing plant, which is distinguished by numerous shoots and small fruits. The weight of tomatoes does not exceed 20 g. The bush is suitable for growing on a window, since it has a height of up to 40 cm. The variety stands out for its unpretentiousness and abundant fruiting.
Creation of conditions
Tomatoes require special conditions that are conducive to their development and fruiting. At home, you need to monitor indicators such as temperature, humidity, light level.
Temperature and humidity
Growing ampelous tomatoes requires compliance with a certain temperature regime. In the summertime, you need to keep the temperature at 21-26 ° C. In cloudy weather, it is allowed to decrease to 20 ° C.
At night, the temperature for plants is maintained at 16-18 ° C. If necessary, additional heating is installed in the room where the tomatoes are grown.
A short-term cold snap of 10 ° C will not have a negative impact on plantings. If the temperature drop outside lasts for several days, then the plants develop more slowly, flowering and pollination stop.
Airing and installing plant fans will help reduce the temperature. Tomatoes are not susceptible to drafts.
Attention is also paid to ground temperature. Its value should be between 20 and 25 ° C. With an increase in this indicator, an earlier harvest is obtained, however, the fruits grow small. At lower rates, tomatoes will ripen later, but their number will be more significant.
Tomatoes do not tolerate high humidity. Its performance when growing these plants should remain at the level of 60-70%. It is possible to reduce the indicators by airing. To increase the humidity of the house, containers with water are installed.
High humidity provokes the development of diseases, negatively affects the process of pollination.
Lighting installation
Tomato is a light-demanding crop.With a lack of light, the plants stretch out, form a thin stem and shoots. Intense lighting can speed up the ripening of tomatoes by 2 weeks.
Plants prefer direct light, so in cloudy weather or winter, the quality of the fruit may deteriorate. Ampel varieties cope better with a lack of illumination.
The minimum illumination for tomatoes on the window is 2,000 lux. For the formation of the ovary, this indicator should be at least 4,000 - 6,000 lux. Optimal illumination for plants is 20,000 lux.
If a on the balcony or the window does not have enough sunlight, then you need to equip additional lighting. For growing tomatoes, you can use the following types of devices:
- Sodium lamps - emit red and orange light, which has a positive effect on plants during flowering and fruit formation. Such lamps do not irritate human eyes and can be used at home. The disadvantage of sodium lamps is the complex connection and large dimensions.
- LED bulbs - the most common option for organizing tomato lighting. Their increased cost is compensated by economy, durability, simple repair, low heating, no flicker.
- Phytolamps - devices designed to organize lighting for plants. The simplest option is bicolor lampemitting red and blue color spectrum. For mature plants or dense plantings, multispectral instruments are used. They are used in cloudy weather to stimulate fruiting.
Soil preparation
For planting tomatoes, purchased soil is used or the necessary soil mixture is prepared. Plants prefer loam or sandy loam soil with good air and moisture permeability.
All components are mixed, after which the soil is watered with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Such a procedure will destroy harmful bacteria that live in the soil.
Top dressing will help to improve the properties of the soil: 1 tbsp. l. ash, 1 tsp. potassium sulfate and superphosphate per 10 kg of soil. Complex fertilizer for plants contains phosphorus, potassium and calcium, which are necessary for the full development of tomatoes.
In a container for tomatoes, a drainage layer is first made, consisting of expanded clay chips or coconut substrate. Then soil is poured and plant seeds are planted.
Landing rules
The planting of ampelous tomatoes at home begins in March. The material is placed at a depth of 3 cm. Before planting, they are soaked for 20 minutes in a solution of potassium permanganate of low concentration, and then washed with water.
Ampel tomatoes are planted in one of the following ways:
- in an ordinary pot;
- in suspended containers;
- "Upside down".
For growing tomatoes, a 4 liter container is selected. You can place ordinary containers on a windowsill, hang on a balcony or loggia. Suspended structures take up less space.
You can pre-plant plants in small containers. When the seedlings sprout and get stronger, they are transferred to a permanent place. The procedure takes place in May. Tomatoes are transplanted together with a lump of earth so as not to damage the root system.
The original way to grow tomatoes in pots is to plant them "upside down". For this, holes with a diameter of up to 10 cm are made in the container, through which the plant stem passes. The root system of the tomato remains in the container.
This technology increases the yield of tomatoes, since the shoots experience less stress and are better ventilated. The free top of the pots can be used to grow herbs, lettuce, or other plants at home.
Care features
Caring for ampel tomatoes includes regular watering, loosening the soil and fertilizing. Organic and mineral components are used for feeding.Fertilizers are used by watering the plantings or spraying over the leaf. Depending on the variety, plants are pinched and excess shoots are removed.
Watering and loosening
Tomatoes need a constant supply of moisture. For irrigation, warm water is used, which must flow under the root of the plants. The procedure is carried out in the morning or evening.
Tomatoes tolerate short-term drought well. After a long absence of watering, moisture should be introduced gradually in small portions. Otherwise, it will cause cracking of the fruit.
Watering is done as the soil dries up. After planting in pots, the plants are watered abundantly, after which a break is taken for 10 days. In the future, it is enough to water the tomatoes once a week. Moisture must penetrate the entire depth of the container. During the period of fruit ripening, the intensity of watering can be increased to speed up this process.
Additionally, the soil is loosened. The procedure improves the penetration of moisture and nutrients into the soil. The loosening depth should not exceed 3 cm, so as not to damage the plant root system.
Fertilization
Fertilization is an obligatory step in caring for ampel tomatoes at home. The first feeding is done after the appearance of the second leaf in plants. To strengthen the immunity of plants and increase resistance to diseases, treatment with the drug "Fitosporin" is performed.
To feed the seedlings, a mullein-based solution is prepared (at a concentration of 1 liter of fertilizer per 10 liters of water). Mineral dressings are no less useful for tomatoes.
They are prepared by mixing the following components:
- ash - 50 g;
- superphosphate - 30 g;
- manganese sulfate - 0.3 g;
- boric acid - 0.3 g;
- water - 10 liters.
Each bush needs up to 0.5 liters of solution. The next treatment is carried out after 10 days. Before the ovaries appear, it is better to abandon nitrogen fertilizers, which lead to active growth of shoots.
During the flowering period, you can feed the ampelous tomatoes with boric acid. The concentration of the substance is 2 g per bucket of water. Boric acid prevents leaf curling, promotes the formation of new inflorescences in plants.
Foliar processing helps to ensure a quick supply of nutrients to plants. It is carried out by spraying tomato leaves. The solution is prepared from mineral or organic components.
For foliar feeding, double superphosphate (5 g) is diluted in a bucket of water. The remedy is especially effective during the fruiting period.
At home, adult tomatoes can be sprayed with 1 liter of low-fat milk, which is previously diluted in 5 liters of water. If you add 15 drops of iodine to the solution, then it can be used to prevent plant diseases. Processing is carried out every two weeks.
Conclusion
The method of growing ampelous tomatoes is selected based on the free space that is allotted for planting. Planting care includes the arrangement of the lighting system, regulation of humidity and temperature conditions. Fertilizers must be applied to help the plants form the ovary.
