subject: Growing Winter Tomatoes: A How-To Guide [print this page] Growing Winter Tomatoes: A How-To Guide Growing Winter Tomatoes: A How-To Guide
When winter, otherwise known as frost, sets in, and conditions for growing tomatoes become harsh, you can extend the season by growing the tomatoes inside your house where the conditions can be regulated. You can go about this by starting the plants in the outdoor garden.
The biggest benefit of doing this is that the seeds at this time are so cheap. Just before frost fully sets in you can transfer the seedlings indoors. For a continuous supply of tomatoes, you can start the plants in intervals so that you have them in different stages of growth. Purchasing an ordinary lamp with a grow bulb will provide lighting that will enable the plants to grow.
We live in a world where there is excessive wastage by way of not recycling, so you could salvage used containers for use as an indoor green house. Drill holes underneath the container for draining excess water, and place a fair amount of growing medium into the container after which you can now start the seeds.
Ensure that they are always under the grow light for up to ten hours daily and as the plant grows bigger so too does the time spent under the light. The duration should be increased to up to fourteen hours.
The sides should be wrapped in plastic material as this helps in retaining moisture. Remember not to over water the seeds, it is not advisable since it may end up killing the plants.
When the seedlings reach the ideal size for transplanting, the focus turns to the preparation of the soil. Ensure the final pot is well drained. Clay pots retain less moisture than plastic containers. Preparation of the soil is done by mixing planting soil and potting soil.
The pot is then filled about three fourths full, at this point add water and let the soil settle all over the plant Just as it did when the plant was in its seedling stage. For tomato growing enthusiasts, part of their fun is derived from building up the soil as the plant contains to grow.
As the plant grows, lop off some of the lower leaves and continue adding the soil mixture until it is nearly an inch from the peak. Fertilizer should be added after a couple of weeks or you can substitute that with a slow releasing fertilizer stick.
It is imperative that when growing these types of winter tomatoes, you use the smaller varieties like pixie hybrid, small fry and others, though larger tomatoes such as the husky variety also grow really well in containers. Once they blossom, you have to aid them in pollinating. You can gently lift the branches with flowers, shake them thus releasing pollen.
The plant should be kept in the sunlight and as soon as the tomatoes ripen you can pluck them. For larger varieties of tomatoes support is needed to help hold them in place. All in all growing winter tomatoes is a tricky affair but can be very rewarding when successful.
