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If you would love to try growing tomatoes outdoors and harvesting them yourself, but the cold climate in your area prevents you from doing it, there is still an option that you can try out. Why not grow your own tomatoes indoors?
One of the things you must take into account before you start is that growing tomatoes indoors is just as demanding as growing them outside. You will need to pay attention to all aspects of the process in order to be able to enjoy red, ripe tomatoes all through the summer. The first thing you should do is buy the seeds, taking into account which varieties are your favorite, and then prepare the potting soil. The soil for growing tomatoes should be rich and full of organic material. Once you have that, wet it but not too much, because too much water can cause rot. Plant the seeds and water them every time the soil is dry. Once the plants have two or four leaves, you must transplant the plants into bigger containers, with the same potting mix.
Keeping the tomatoes at a temperature of about 80ºF, and making sure they get at least 6 hours of daylight are important aspects to growing tomatoes indoors. If this is not possible, you must provide lighting by means of fluorescent tubes. Water the plants every time the soil gets dry but do not soak them. Also, avoid wetting the leaves and stalks. Too much moist on leaves can cause fungus and mildew, among other diseases that can ruin your plants. Always water the soil directly, preventing water from getting to the plant. Also be sure to add a good fertilizer to the soil, whether organic or not, so that the plant has the strength to form the fruit.
Once the plants are big enough, you need to clip the ends of the branches in order to make them branch out and yield more. Get rid of any dry or yellowing leaves and carefully watch out for signs of pests or diseases. When the flowers begin to form at the end of the stalks is a good time to replant the tomatoes in bigger containers. An important part of growing tomatoes indoors is being able to help pollination. You can do this by gently shaking the containers, so that the pollen falls out of the male flowers and fertilizes the female ones. If this is successful, you will notice that when the flowers fall there are very small green globes. These are your future tomatoes.
Keep carrying out all the work described above, and remember to be constant in your watering to avoid cracks in the fruit. Cracks are formed when tomatoes that have not been watered in a long time are watered and absorb large quantities of water, causing them to grow too much and break the skin. Watch out for aphids and other signs of disease, and you should be able to enjoy your own home-grown tomatoes after three months of planting the seeds. Growing tomatoes indoors will give you a lot of satisfaction!
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Author Bio Box: Patricia Wainwright
Get all the facts about vegetable gardening and organic gardening at GreenThumbArticles.com!
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