This year the time had finally come: my terrace was finished, the garden furniture was properly inaugurated, and the children were able to romp around in the paddling pool and sandbox. My great pride, however, were my oversized vegetable boxes, which were supposed to bring us a rich harvest this year. Tomatoes were to be grown – that much was certain even before buying the seeds, as we all love eating tomatoes and you can do an incredible amount with them.
Which tomato variety to buy?
When buying, I decided on cherry tomatoes. This variety, which is also often called cherry tomatoes, is quite sweet in taste and ideal as a snack in between. Buying the seeds wasn't that hard – but creating real vegetables from them was more difficult. According to the packaging, pre-cultivation should be possible from March. However, this method is limited to growing in a mini-greenhouse on the windowsill. Said and done: a mini-greenhouse was bought. After a few days, the first seedlings could be seen, and pride and joy sprouted in me too.
After a week, the seedling had turned into a slightly larger stem, two leaves had formed – that looked nice for once. However, that was it. A growth stop occurred, the leaves curled up, and the plant died. Great!
But you don't let that discourage you, so I went for the 2nd attempt. With just as much enthusiasm, I planted several tomato seeds in my mini-greenhouse again, but after a week the result was the same again. It was almost bewitched. While my strawberries were happily dedicated to growth and my ornamental pumpkins were climbing more and more, the tomatoes preferred to say goodbye. Something didn't seem right. But since I never give up and would rather run in circles than accept a loss, I dared another attempt – the last one, as I decided. If it didn't work out now, I would just buy some larger, pre-grown plants at the weekly market. I solemnly swore that to the tomato seeds, which I put back into fresh soil – but banished the mini-greenhouse to the storage room.
And now my tip:when I noticed the first seedlings after a few days, I removed the pot from the windowsill, which was also regularly flooded with heating air, and placed the small plant pot on the terrace every morning – strictly speaking in the middle of the spring sun. In the evening, I brought my seedlings back inside – because frost should not mean the death of the plants this time. And lo and behold: it worked. The plant became bigger and more robust – after two weeks, the now typically jagged leaves appeared! A success all along the line.
What happens to the tomato seedlings?
When the Ice Saints had passed in May, the tomatoes were also ready for transplanting. I got special vegetable soil from the hardware store and planted my valuable mini-plants in the vitamin-rich soil. After a short time, you could see that the tomato plants were thanking me. They really grew in record time. After just one month, the plants were as tall as me (well, 1.63m isn't really tall, but the plants were gradually taking shape). After another three weeks, I basically did a dance of joy, because I discovered the first yellow flowers, from which the tomatoes were to sprout later. And since a week ago – strictly speaking after about half a year of cultivation, lots of care, and plenty of sun – I was able to harvest the first tomatoes. Truly delicious, sweet, and crunchy, the cherry tomatoes are best eaten with mozzarella or cream cheese. The peak season for tomatoes is therefore August to September. Next year I will be much smarter and will bypass the greenhouse right away and give the plants real sunbeams and plenty of fresh air.
What should I consider when growing tomatoes?
- Keep a distance of approx. 60 centimeters between the tomato plants. The plants usually become quite bushy and should not get in each other's way too much.
- Tomatoes need a roof over their heads – they really don't like water from above. This can also lead to fungi and other infections. If you have grown your tomatoes this far, you want to see the success and should therefore protect the sensitive plants.
- Tomatoes love sun. The more, the better, and the sweeter the fruits will be.
- Completely closed structures are not advisable for tomatoes. Tomato plants need light and wind.
- Regular watering is just as important: never let the soil of the tomato plants dry out completely, but ensure a good water supply. During hot periods in midsummer, you should even water in the morning and evening.
- It is necessary to support the plants from a certain size, as the plants can indeed become quite large. However, this depends on the tomato variety. Especially ideal are spiral rods made of aluminum or stainless steel. It is best to put the rods into the soil together with the young plants so as not to damage the roots later.Pruning (pinching out)
- The should also not be underestimated. Pruning means the regular removal of the side shoots in the leaf axils. These side shoots only cost the plant energy.Posted on: 04.09.2012
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Image by Janine, meinhaushalt.at
