The lack of a summer cottage is not a reason to give up the pleasure of planting vegetables, caring for them and harvesting. They can be grown at home, without tiring trips to the country. For example, there are varieties of small-fruited tomatoes for breeding in an apartment or on a balcony.
Cherry tomatoes on the windowsill will bring delicious fruits, as well as decorate the house. They can be grown at any time of the year, so that they are suitable for those gardeners who miss the beds in winter.
Description of Cherry Tomatoes
Miniature tomatoes got the general name of cherry, which means “cherry” in English. Today, there are more than 100 varieties of small-fruited tomatoes, differing in size, shape, color and taste. Cherry today is very popular: they are consumed fresh, made from them salads, pickled, salted and even dried. These fruits are stored for a long time without losing their qualities, which compares them favorably with other varieties.
The content of nutrients in tomatoes of cherry varieties is about 1.5 times higher than in ordinary tomatoes. 100 g of these small fruits contain a daily dose of vitamins A, C and group B, potassium and iron.
What varieties of cherry can you choose for growing a house
Cherry varieties have been developed for urban apartments, which grow to 0.5-0.6 m (some reach 1-1.5 m). In open ground and greenhouse conditions, higher and stronger bushes are grown, which give a richer crop. From one indoor bush, you can collect about 1.5-2 kg of fruits per season.
The following varieties of cherry tomatoes are usually recommended for home growing:
- Lycopa F1;
- Maxik F1;
- Kira F1;
- Balcony miracle;
- Orange hat;
- Red Riding Hood;
- Yellow hat.
Likopa F1 is a variety of cherry tomatoes, whose bushes can reach 1.5-2 meters in height. The fruits are juicy, with a dense skin, the flesh has a pleasant slightly sweet taste with a slight acidity. They resemble berries, the weight of each fruit is from 10 to 40 g. The taste and benefits of tomatoes of this variety are due to the high content of lycopene (for which it got its name). Fruits ripen within 90-95 days after emergence.
Lycopa F1 variety is highly resistant to fungal and some other diseases. Perfectly suited both for fresh consumption and for winter preparations. The fruits withstand long-term storage, while maintaining taste.
Maksik F1 is a cherry variety recognized as one of the best for canning. Matures within 90 days after germination. The fruits can lie for a long time, while maintaining freshness and beautiful appearance. Bushes of this variety are resistant to viral diseases, nematode, verticillosis.
Bushes of the Kira F1 variety reach a height of 1.5-1.7 meters. Fruit ripening usually occurs 95-105 days after emergence. On one brush there are 18-20 pieces of a round shape, slightly flattened on top. They are orange in color, dense, do not crack during heat treatment and mechanical stress. This is an unpretentious, easy-to-care variety.
Varieties marked F1 hybrid. Their seeds can not be collected for subsequent planting.
Balcony Miracle is a determinant variety whose bushes reach a height of 0.6 m. These tomatoes can be grown even in the winter, getting a crop about three months after the emergence. Fruits are excellent for fresh consumption as well as for preservation.
Varieties of Red, Yellow and Orange Riding Hood are distinguished by the color of the fruit, which is clear from the names. All these plants are very compact, grow up to 0.5-0.6 m. They can be grown in relatively small pots or planters, on the windowsill or balcony. Between seedlings and fruit ripening takes about 85-90 days. Decorative plants, they can decorate the apartment.
The cherry bush, studded with berries, placed on the table right in the pot looks very impressive.
Also undersized varieties of cherry tomatoes such as Bonsai, Strawberry, Golden Bunch, Rowan Beads were bred.
Planting cherry tomatoes at home
If you have a desire to start growing cherry tomatoes at home, you need to prepare properly: choose the material for planting, a place for the future home "garden". These plants need light, so you should place the pots in a well-lit place, near the windows in which the sun peeks most of the day. It is also necessary to prepare the supports that the grown bushes will need. In this quality, you can use sticks from any material: wood, plastic, metal. Pots must be selected high and sufficiently voluminous, about 8-10 liters.
Cherry tomatoes are grown from seeds or by the method of pinching adult plants.
As a rule, they are planted in late August or early September to get ripe vegetables for the festive New Year's table or in late November and early December for harvesting in a vitamin-poor March.
We describe the process step by step:
- training:
- soil and site selection;
- seeds for planting;
- seed planting;
- dive shoots.
After purchasing the seeds, you need to sort them out, and then place them for 12 hours in a solution to stimulate growth (you can buy in a specialized store). This will wake them up. After this, rinse thoroughly and wrap in gauze moistened with water until they swell.
After that, the seeds are placed in previously prepared soil, to a depth of about 1 cm from the surface. The most suitable soil for cherry is a mixture of garden soil and river sand in a 1: 3 ratio, to which peat and humus are added.
Before planting, soil should be decontaminated by soaking it with a solution of copper sulfate.
After this, for better growth and development of plants, it is necessary to introduce mineral fertilizer or ash into the soil. Then pour with settled water at room temperature or a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
Tanks with planted seeds are covered with polyethylene or a glass hood, creating greenhouse conditions. After the appearance of the shoots, the film or cap should not be kept above the plants all the time. Periodically, it is necessary to open them for access to fresh air and hardening.
When two leaves appear from the ground, you should dive the root by pinching it. This will help the root system to strengthen and develop well. Then the plants need to be watered with a weak solution of potassium permanganate and sprinkle the surface with a small layer of sand.
You can also grow seedlings in small containers, and then, after several leaves appear on the sprout, transplant it into a large pot. In such cases, two seeds are sown in small pots (you can take ordinary plastic cups). After emergence, they are evaluated, and a stronger and more developed sprout is transplanted into a large pot.
Also, many gardeners planting cherry tomatoes at home use the method of pinching. From an adult bush you need to separate the twig and put in a container of water. About a week later, thin roots appear, after which you can plant the plant in prepared soil in a large pot.
Homemade Cherry Tomato Care
Many varieties of cherry tomatoes, as a rule, are not very whimsical. However, they require care, otherwise a good harvest will not be. These plants need proper watering, maintaining a stable humidity, temperature. They need a certain amount of light and heat.
In order for the cherry to grow well and bring a bountiful harvest, it needs good and long-lasting lighting.
In winter, there is not much sun in most of the territory of our country, so cherry bushes need to create additional lighting, daylight hours for them should be at least 16 hours. If the plants do not have enough light, then the process of photosynthesis will go slowly: this is indicated by the pale color of greenery. Ovaries will not appear on such a bush, and the harvest will not wait.
You should also maintain a certain temperature regime: during the day - around + 20 ... +25 ° C, at night - at least +18 ° C. Containers with plants should be placed in the light, in a place where they will not be disturbed by the flow of cold air. If tomatoes are grown on the balcony, then in regions with a temperate climate they must be brought into the apartment at night, even in the summer. After all, the temperature can drop below +18 ° C, which can seriously damage the plant.
It is necessary to regularly remove yellowed or dried leaves from the bush. Most varieties also require periodic pruning. It is needed so that the plant does not go into growth, releasing strength on the greens, but brings more fruits. When ovaries appear on the bush, 4 or 5 brushes are left. At the same time, the upper part is attached, cutting off 3-5 cm.
Cropped branches, the so-called stepchildren, can be used to grow new bushes. To do this, they are placed in a glass or a jar of water, and after the roots appear, they are planted in a pot.
Watering
In order for a bush of cherry tomatoes to feel good, it should be properly watered. Both deficiency and excess moisture are harmful to the plant. If the bush is poured, then it will simply rot on the vine. This can be avoided if before draining the soil, put a drainage layer in the pot. Small or medium expanded clay is best suited for this purpose.
To less often water the plant, but at the same time to prevent the drying of the earth, experts recommend using a special hydrogel, which is also placed under the ground.
In summer, cherry tomatoes need to be watered every two or three days if the weather is sunny and hot. If the summer is cool, the weather is cloudy, then the cherry trees require watering only twice a week. To do this, use well-defended water. The soil should be moistened in the morning or in the evening, when the activity of the sun is not high.
Humidity in the room where the bushes of cherry tomatoes are located should be about 70%. Together with watering, you need to arrange a small shower for the plants, spraying them from the spray gun. It is also necessary to periodically ventilate the bushes, while not allowing the air flows to be cold. For this purpose, you can use a fan that will blow them with warm air.
Top dressing
To get a plentiful harvest, fertilizers should be applied to the pots with cherry tomatoes. The most suitable for them are superphosphate, wood ash, humus (should not be fresh). During the formation of the ovaries and the ripening of the fruit, fertilizers should be applied approximately every 2 weeks, alternating them.
Fertilizers containing nitrogen can also be used, but in limited quantities.
Cherry tomatoes need fertilizers, but you should not abuse them. They are necessary for the plant to develop well, and the fruits are tasty and healthy. Excess fertilizing will certainly affect these benefits and organoleptic properties of tomatoes is not the best way.
Some Cherry Care Tips
Many varieties of cherry trees for planting in an apartment are self-pollinating. For pollination to occur, several bushes and air movement in the place where the pots with them are located are necessary. You can place a fan near the plants. 
Yellow hat
Experts also recommend helping tomatoes pollinate using a small brush or cotton swab. It is necessary to collect pollen from the flowers of one plant with a brush and carefully transfer to others. This should be done in the early morning, as pollen ripens at night. The fact that the flowers are pollinated can be judged by the fact that the petals are slightly bent back.
Like other indoor plants, cherry tomatoes can get sick or be attacked by pests. A diseased plant will not yield a good crop, and will not please the eye.
The most common pests of these crops are spider mites and aphids.
If harmful insects are found on the plant, then it is necessary to ventilate it and spray it more often from the spray gun. For prophylactic treatment, 1% Bordeaux fluid is suitable. When fruit ovaries appear, to prevent infection, experts recommend spraying the plants with garlic infusion.
To prepare it, you will need 100 g of garlic and half a liter of water. Slices need to be chopped, placed in a jar, pour water and leave for 24 hours. Then strain the liquid through cheesecloth and dilute in 5 liters of water. Then add 20 g of grated laundry soap to the solution and mix well to dissolve. The resulting product is sprayed with plants once a month.
If preventive measures do not help, it is necessary to treat the bushes with insecticides. In specialized stores you can pick up preparations for the destruction of insects, designed specifically for cherry tomatoes. You can also use broad-acting insecticides by calculating the dosage according to the instructions on the package.
When the bush grows, it must be maintained. For this, a support is placed in the pot, to which the stem is tied. Shoots of ampelous varieties of cherry can be let out on specially tied ropes.
Experts recommend picking fruits from the bush after they have fully ripened. Tomato, ripened on a branch, rich in useful substances, has a pronounced pleasant taste and aroma. As a rule, the fruits ripen evenly, and they can be harvested with whole brushes.
If tomatoes are supposed to be stored for a long time, then they can be harvested during milk ripeness or brown. That is, at the moment when they are not yet ripe. In the same way, you can harvest a crop intended for the manufacture of home preservation.
Experienced gardeners recommend planting cherry tomatoes in metal containers. It is believed that this reduces the risk of fungal disease.
Growing cherry tomatoes at home is quite simple, if you follow all the rules of care. It is worth the time and effort to grow tasty and healthy fruits that will delight the whole family all year round.
