by Surely many of us have tried to grow tomatoes in containers: on a balcony, on a windowsill, on a terrace, etc. With good care and the right choice of variety, they can give a good harvest and please with their decorative appearance.
Growing tomatoes in containers has many advantages:
- you can collect fruits all year round,
- no need to dig and weed the beds,
- the soil in containers warms up well,
- tomatoes do not suffer from rain and fog,
- plants are not threatened by soil pests,
- the plantings take up little space,
- Watering and fertilizing are carried out in a targeted manner.
For growing in containers, low-growing standard varieties with strong stems and compact arrangement of brushes are best suited: Pinocchio, Florida Petite, Bonsai, Japanese Indoor, Balcony Miracle, Indoor Surprise, Little Prince, Pygmy, City Dweller F1 etc.
Tomatoes can be grown in individual containers of 5-7 liters or in common containers of several pieces. The plantings should not be compacted, otherwise the roots of the tomatoes will become tightly intertwined and will have difficulty absorbing nutrients.
If tomatoes are growing in transparent containers (for example, in five-liter cut-off bottles from drinking water), then they can be wrapped in white paper or oilcloth so that the soil does not turn green and does not overheat in the sun.
Soil for growing tomatoes
Since our tomatoes will grow in a limited space, we need to take care of the bushes’ nutrition from the very beginning. Regular peat soil in its pure form is not suitable for long-term cultivation of tomatoes – it is necessary to add biohumus, humus or compost to it to obtain a more fertile soil mixture. You can use granulated horse compost or bird droppings when planting (1 tbsp per bush is enough).
The soil for growing tomatoes must contain some kind of loosening agent: sand, perlite or vermiculite. This will make the soil mixture breathable and allow moisture to be distributed evenly in the container.
In addition, hydrogel can be added to the soil for growing tomatoes, which is capable of accumulating moisture with nutrients and gradually releasing them to the plant roots.
As the bushes grow and the soil settles, add small portions of vermicompost or rotted compost on top so that the tomatoes grow lateral roots and the nutrition of the plants is more effective.
Watering tomatoes in containers
One of the most significant disadvantages of a container garden is the need for frequent watering. If your tomatoes are in the sun most of the day and the soil does not contain hydrogel, they need to be watered every day on hot days. To do this, use settled water at a temperature of 22-25°C. Try to water the tomatoes in the morning and only under the roots, so that water does not get on the leaves.
During the fruiting period, do not allow the soil to dry out, alternating with excessive moisture, as this can lead to cracking of the fruit.
To reduce moisture evaporation from containers, it is advisable to mulch the soil surface. Rotted sawdust, hay, sphagnum moss, coffee grounds, and crushed tree bark are suitable for this.
Top dressing of tomatoes
Container tomatoes need more frequent fertilizing than their counterparts growing in the garden. Depending on the soil composition and the bush habit, container tomatoes are fertilized once every 10-14 days. It is advisable to alternate root and foliar fertilizing, organic and mineral. In the first half of the growing season, the following fertilizers are suitable for fertilizing tomatoes: nitroammophoska (15 g per 10 l), Agromaster 18:18:18+3, Kristalon Yellow, Agricola for tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, Novofert Universal, as well as complex liquid organomineral fertilizers that contain nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in approximately equal parts, humic substances and microelements.
During the flowering and fruiting period, tomatoes need phosphorus and potassium, as well as calcium, boron, magnesium, iodine, manganese, iron, and zinc. For feeding, you can use potassium sulfate, AVA Teplichnoye, Fertika Lux, Kristalon Orange, AgroMaster 3:11:38+4 fertilizers, etc.
The condition of tomatoes can tell you whether they have enough nutrition or not. For example, if there is a lack of nitrogen, the lower leaves turn yellow; if there is a lack of potassium, you can see a brown border along the edges of the leaf blades; if there is a deficiency of boron, the fruits do not set; and if apical rot appears on the tomatoes, it means they do not have enough calcium.
Formation of bushes
Low-growing container tomatoes are fairly easy to care for. Often they don’t even need to be side-sonned. But if the bushes are growing very lush, poorly ventilated and illuminated, and some ovaries are falling off, you may need to remove the lower side-sons, and pinch the tops of some upper side shoots and remove the leaves up to the first flower brush. You shouldn’t cut off a lot of leaves at once, because this will stress the plants.
But first of all, you should cut off the lowest leaves that come into contact with the soil or mulch material, since moisture accumulates on them, and this increases the risk of developing various infections.
Do not forget to periodically inspect tomatoes so as not to miss the appearance of pests or the onset of disease. During the fruiting period, a safe and effective means of protecting tomatoes from most fungal and bacterial diseases are preparations based on hay bacillus: Fitosporin-M, Alirin-B, Gamair, Baktofit. They are based on different strains of hay bacillus, which work differently. These preparations have proven themselves well, especially when used at an early stage of the disease, as well as for prevention. Remember that any disease is easier to prevent than to treat later.
Take care of your tomatoes throughout the season and you will be able to harvest from your mini garden all year round!
