A high-yield tomato greenhouse on the balcony is a good alternative to the often tasteless supermarket vegetables, especially for city dwellers. There is no need to fear weather-related crop failures, nor the formation of dangerous brown rot on the beloved red fruits.
How to grow tomatoes in a greenhouse on the balcony?
A tomato greenhouse on the balcony allows you to grow your own tasty tomatoes. Ideally, sowing begins in mid-March and the plants need around seven to eight weeks to grow. Comfortable temperatures are between 14 and 30 degrees and sufficient light, air and moderate watering are important for them to thrive.
They are one of our favorite vegetables and taste best when eaten where they grew up (if possible under the sun). So what could be better than a tomato greenhouse on the balcony protected from rain and hail. If you have nothing to do with crafts and DIY, you can find them as ready-made sets in all imaginable sizes and sometimes for less than 100 euros in specialist shops. Then all you have to do istake care of the right plants or simply grow them yourself. Here is an overview of the tomato varieties that are particularly suitable.
Growing tomato plants on the balcony?
In terms of the time required, it takes between seven and eight weeks for cultivation if the seeds are sown approximately five millimeters deep. Nevertheless, at least in the cold house, sowing should not begin before mid-March. Incidentally, letting the seeds germinate on the windowsill is not a good solution because the light, which is particularly important for plants that are just sprouting from the ground, only comes in from one side. Germination in the tomato greenhouse on your balcony takes abouteight days, based on temperatures between 22 and 25 °C Afterwards you can prick out and plant in pots. Only plants that already have developed cotyledons should be used.
Continue individually in the pot
The heat requirement is no longer quite as high in the tomato greenhouse on the balcony. Just over 20 °C during the day and 16 °C overnight are sufficient until the plants have grown to a cutting size of around seven centimeters. In addition to moderate watering, a little liquid fertilizer can be used to help form stable roots if necessary. From the beginning of May, the tomato plants should be so strong that they can be planted outdoors with two seed leaves and around six leaves.
Tip
Tomatoes really like lots of light and air. The already stable plants should therefore under no circumstances be shaded. Their optimalfeel-good temperatures are between 14 and 30 degrees and they grow particularly well on hot summer days when the tomato greenhouse on the balcony is properly ventilated early in the morning.