Are the vegetables in the supermarket too expensive and don't taste that good? Then roll up your sleeves and grow the vegetables yourself. Because it tastes best when it comes from your own garden. In today's article we will explain to you how you can prefer tomatoes and when is the right time to do so.
Prefer tomatoes: When does it make sense to sow?
Tomatoes are true sun worshipers and a vegetable that really needs a lot of heat. It therefore makes sense to first grow the plants on the warm windowsill and then plant them out in the garden. Of course, you can also buy young plants in the garden center; it is much cheaper if you decide to sow and grow them at home. If you buy seeds, you also have a large selection of different varieties and can choose the best for your own garden.
From the end of February you can sow the tomatoes in nursery pots. In order for the cultivation to be successful, the seeds should be grown in a warm place in the house or in the greenhouse.
Grow tomatoes on the windowsill as early as February
Growing on the warm and sunny windowsill is possible from mid-February onwards. The young plants stay at home until the permanent frosts are over. Basically, the right time to plant outdoors comes right after the Easter holidays.
Cultivation is incredibly easy. You take an indoor greenhouse, an egg carton or a seed tray and fill the container with seed or potting soil. The tomatoes germinate in light, so you should only press the seeds lightly into the soil with your fingers. Then fill a spray bottle with lime-free water and spray the soil if necessary. It should be moderately moist. The seeds are then covered with a transparent lid made of glass or plastic. Every day you remove the lid for 2 - 3 hours and then air the plants.
The room temperature should be between 22 and 23 degrees Celsius. A heated room like the living room is best. Germination temperature is very important for a rich harvest. Basically, the warmer the seeds are, the stronger the plant and the larger the fruits.
It takes about a week for the seeds to germinate. After they sprout, the young plants no longer need such high temperatures. It is enough if you vary the room temperature between 17 and 19 degrees Celsius. When the tomatoes form their first pair of leaves, they can be pricked out.
Sowing vegetables in the greenhouse: Useful tips
If you have a greenhouse, you can also pre-cultivate the heat-loving plants there. If the greenhouse is heated, then the procedure is the same as on the windowsill. However, if the greenhouse is not heated, then you should wait until mid-March.Tomatoes needTemperatures above 20 degrees Celsius for germination and the young plants stop growing at temperatures below 17 degrees Celsius. It is therefore important that the cultivation pots are not only sunny, but also warm. To prevent the tomatoes from freezing, you can place the growing pots on Styrofoam saucers and wrap them with fleece. On particularly cold days, the plants can also be covered with transparent film.
Growing on the balcony: What should you pay attention to?
If you want to grow tomatoes on the balcony, the procedure is similar to outdoors. The cultivation trays are placed in a place that is as sunny as possible but also protected from the wind. You can also wrap the cultivation trays with bird protection net. You can hang a feeder at the other end of the balcony for hungry birds.
When growing, the following applies: frost protection is the priority. The cultivation containers are therefore placed on Styrofoam coasters and wrapped with transparent film. The film is removed for an hour a day so that the plants can be ventilated and the soil does not become moldy. By the way, you can use conventional potting soil for cultivation. A little sand is added to the soil to improve drainage. The substrate is only watered if necessary and after a finger test. It should remain moderately moist.
If the temperatures in March are still below 18 degrees, you can only use the sowing pots for a few hourson the balconyand then bring it back into the house.
You should pay close attention to the temperatures, especially when sowing seeds outdoors. If these are too low, you should wait a week or two before bringing them forward. The result of growing too early is wilted plants with yellow leaves that bear little fruit.
Prefer tomatoes: A few useful care tips
- If you prefer to plant the seeds in an egg carton or mini greenhouse, you don't have to prick out the young plants.
- The optimal temperatures for cultivation are: 22 degrees Celsius during the germination phase and 18 degrees Celsius during the growth phase.
- The right time for sowing begins at the end of February (window sill), mid to late March (unnamed greenhouse) and mid-March to mid-April (balcony garden).
Also interesting:Practical tricks for sowing: growing vegetables made easy!
