Growing tomatoes has a reputation for being difficult and challenging. Let the following instructions convince you otherwise. This is how you grow tomatoes yourself – without a green thumb.
How can I grow tomatoes myself?
To grow tomatoes yourself, start growing them in March by sowing them on a sunny windowsill. Prick out the plants after the second pair of leaves and plant them outdoors after the ice saints. Watering regularly, fertilizing organically and breaking out side shoots are important care measures.
Growing and planting made easy
The cultivation by sowing starts on the sunny windowsill in March. After the seeds have soaked in water or chamomile tea for a few hours, they are sown in a lean substrate. The light germinators receive a wafer-thin layer of sand or earth in order to be gently moistened. Spoiled with warm temperatures of 20 to 24 degrees Celsius, they germinate within 10 to 14 days.
So that the seedlings don't rot, move them to a cooler and brighter place. The plants are pricked out as soon as the second pair of leaves appear. Carefully transplanted into individual pots with nutritious soil, growth is now progressing quickly. During this phase, the seedlings must neither dry out nor be drowned. They can't tolerate full sun yet.
Plant and care professionally
After the cold days around the Ice Saints, we head out into the open air. In a sunny location, the bedding soil and pot substrate are enriched with compost. Plant the young tomatoes so deep that the soil reaches the lower leaves. Keep an eye on a planting distance of 60-80 centimeters. A trellis supports upright, stable growth right from the start. The central care factors are:
- water regularly without wetting the foliage
- fertilize organically every 14 days from the second week onwards
- prune out unnecessary side shoots every few days throughout the season
- Competitive shoots break out at the base of the trunk
- attach long tendrils permanently to the trellises
- mulch repeatedly within 10 centimeters of the root collar
Reliable rain protection is of central importance. If there is no space for tomatoes in the greenhouse, cover the plants with a tomato house (€219.00 on Amazon) or a special hood. Otherwise there is a risk of late blight infestation with every rain shower.
Pollinate in the greenhouse and on the windowsill
Busy bumblebees and bees cannot reach the flowers of tomato plants indoors to act as pollinators. The hobby gardener takes on this function. Immediately after flowering, the plants are shaken at midday. Alternatively, stroke the flowers with a brush to distribute the pollen for fertilization.
Tips & Tricks
Do not throw away dead parts of tomatoes. Dried and burned, they turn into an excellent fertilizer for next year's crops. The ash is particularly rich in potassium. Tomato plants need this nutrient even more than nitrogen because it promotes fruit formation.
