Last updated on October 23rd, 2023 at 08:35 pm
Tomatoes – one of the most popular vegetables at all. Best immediately from the plant to the mouth! Amateur gardeners try year after year to get the maximum harvest of different varieties. It is not always the fault of the grower if the desired goal is not achieved, the tomato plants may even die, nature has its own rules. Nevertheless, there is a lot that can be done, from seed to ripe fruit. A large part of the success is the right location.
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The location after sowing
Sowing your own tomato plants can be done directly in the garden bed or on the balcony in late spring. As soon as it is fairly certain that there will be no more frosts. In our latitudes, this can be expected from mid-May. The ice saints have proven to be a good point of reference. After that everything should go well. A small disadvantage of direct sowing in the open: The small, sensitive, plants are exposed to nature unprotected. Those who are content to watch a plant grow and are satisfied with a small harvest shrug their shoulders here. Those who want more are looking for alternatives. This is where indoor or greenhouse pre-growing comes into play.
- Outdoors – after the frost in a place with plenty of light and heat.
- In the apartment – light and warmth are also the key here.
The advantages of growing within four walls are obvious. Seed is cheaper than a purchased young plant, with the controlled supply of light and temperature, vigorous growth is ensured before it goes into the garden (on the balcony), hail, storms, snails and other vermin do not occur 99.9 percent. For germination, the plant does not require light and uniform moisture. However, it likes it warm. 20 degrees is the minimum, 24 – optimal.
When the seed has sprouted
Already after a short time, depending on the variety, after three to twelve days, the first seedlings appear. In the open field, nothing more can now be done than to ensure, if possible, that the small plants are protected from too much sun, moisture and vermin. A film or other covers can help.
In the greenhouse, the main focus now is to ensure that it does not get too hot with many hours of sunshine and that moisture does not collect. Remedy at this time of year can still be ventilation in dry weather.
In the apartment should be rearranged when the first leaves appear. Now tomatoes need a lot of light for healthy growth. In March it can still happen that it does not work out with the sun hours, which would provide sufficient brightness and warmth in the windowsill. Daylight lamps and heating will then help. At the latest, when the third leaf has formed, the temperature should be lowered to about 16 degrees. Otherwise, the small roots will not keep up with the necessary water absorption.
The ideal location in summer
Tomatoes originally come from hot areas, in South and Central America. Therefore, they like it sunny. With sufficient watering, tomato plants feel right at home in the blazing sun. Only one catch has a location completely without shade: sunburns can occur in the not fully grown plant on the leaf, and later on the fruit. This is not dangerous, but reduces the yield.
Plenty of sun is good
Shade for rest is recommended
In greenhouses, another problem can arise besides sunburn. The high demand for water that occurs when it is too hot, during growth, leads to a veductory congestion. This makes the plants susceptible to diseases. Ventilation by opening is not always given now, as it is often humid in summer. Here problems can be prevented by creating partial shade. With luck, a location for the cottage could be chosen immediately, which ensures this. Otherwise, foil or similar is recommended to cushion the greatest solar radiation.
Tomatoes in a pot probably cause the least effort. Whether on the balcony or in the garden – that the plant has it sufficiently shady and protected, can be regulated by rearranging. Constant changes of location tomato plants do not like so much, but diseases get them even less.
Gardens with a lot of shade
If you have a garden where it is largely shady, you should make sure, as much as you can, that there is partial shade. It also helps to keep the plants indoors longer and only move them to the garden bed when they are stronger. Even more important than that the tomato has it sunny, is the amount of temperature it gets. Also the light.
Provide more favorable conditions through pruning and weeding.
In cold summers, tomatoes do not thrive under the full foliage of trees, as an example. As a rule of thumb for high-yield cultivation: two to three hours of sunlight should be guaranteed, brightness requires even more. So, best of all, where you are not encroaching on your neighbor’s garden, thin out bushes and trees a bit and keep the space for the plants clear of other growth.
By the way
Even those who do not have a garden or balcony-like, can grow their own tomato. Under an eaves and even in the apartment, given enough space, healthy growth is possible for tomato plants in pots. If the eaves is sufficiently permeable to light, a place by the window guaranteed, there is little to prevent a harvest. Educate then becomes necessary, and to the water supply should be increased – these are the disadvantages.