Learning how to grow tomatoes at home has several benefits. This will allow you to produce fresh and flavorful tomatoes during the winter months, when those from the grocery store are likely imported and tasteless. Indoor cultivation is also useful if you live in an apartment and do not have access to an outdoor space to grow vegetables. In any case, growing tomatoes at home is just a not very demanding process that requires only little equipment.
Steps
Step 1. Choose a suitable spot for the tomato plant
Having adequate light is crucial when growing tomatoes indoors. The ideal place in your home to arrange the plant is near a tall floor-to-ceiling window facing south (or north if you live in the Southern Hemisphere). If you don't have a south-facing window, an east-facing window is the next best option.
Step 2. Select a tomato variety to grow
When growing indoors, you won't be successful with all the varieties you can choose for outdoor growing. There are several important considerations when choosing a variety.
- To grow inside tomatoes that produce fruit gradually and steadily throughout the winter, grow a non-specific variety. Establish tomato varieties - those that reach a certain length and then stop growing - don't do so well indoors.
- It is also preferable to grow cherry or pear tomatoes rather than larger varieties to slice. In fact, these bear fruit well even indoors.
Step 3. Place the tomato plant in an appropriate container
To grow the tomato plant and grow it enough to produce fruit, you need to use a large container. A 19 to 20 liter plastic pot is ideal, but a larger container is also fine. Avoid using one smaller than 19 liters.
Step 4. Buy grow lights for tomato plants
Growing fruit and vegetables indoors requires the use of the full range of fluorescent lamps, often referred to as grow lamps, plant lamps, or aquarium lamps. Two tubes will typically be enough to grow 1 tomato plant. You can find different types of stands and supports for these lamps at hardware stores and nurseries.
Step 5. Help the tomato plant for pollination
When grown outdoors, tomatoes rely on the vibrations created by bees, birds and the wind to distribute their pollen and develop fruit. To simulate this effect, gently shake the plant's flowers daily or place a fan nearby to create a stream of air.
Step 6. Grow the tomato plant as you would outdoors
Aside from the special considerations mentioned above, indoor tomato plants need little additional care that is not required for outdoor plants. Turn on the grow lights every day and turn them off at night to simulate the sun rising and setting. Ripening times will vary based on tomato varieties and the conditions in your home.
Advice
- The procedures for watering and fertilizing tomatoes indoors will be similar to those followed outdoors. However, the soil in the pot will typically not dry out as fast as the soil outdoors.
- Consider placing traps with sticky substances for insects near the tomato plant. Insects that commonly infest house plants, such as aphids, whiteflies, and spider mites, severely damage the tomato plant if you are not vigilant.
