According to nutrition specialists, salads are a real help for our health, but also for keeping our body in a great shape. Many people turn to supermarkets to shop for vegetables and fruits. Considering that you can’t be sure that what you buy from such a shop is 100% natural, it is better to resort to classic methods, even if it means getting out of your comfort zone. So we suggest you grow tomatoes in pots just right in your balcony. It’s not hard to do this at all. All you have to do is follow the below tips.
Tomatoes planted in pots – bio way with a great taste
First of all, you need to know that planting tomatoes in pots requires seedlings. These can be purchased in the spring from growers. To make your balcony garden look exquisite you must be careful what you buy:
– some small pots or even plastic boxes, depending on the number of seedlings in which they grow their roots;
– soil purchased from specialist stores, otherwise it is possible that the soil won’t have the special properties it needs to grow this plant (tomatoes need a nutrient-rich soil, so it is also good to contain humus);
– Several deep pots with a diameter of at least 30 cm in order to move the seedlings once they have grown. At the bottom of each pot you have to make one hole through which to drain excess water and you need to put a paddle under each pot. This is to keep the drained water so that the soil in the pots can extract the necessary quantity of the plant;
– a natural nettle fertilizer if you want to have a rich organic culture. It also has the role of an insecticide.
It is prepared as follows: put 200 gr of nettles in a container, place a heavier stone above the plants so they are pressed, then pour water over them and let it to soak for a month. Then, the liquid obtained is diluted with water, mixing some of the nettle macerate with ten portions of water.
So, once you buy the seedlings, in February, you need to keep them in a warm place (temperature above 68 degrees Fahrenheit) and wet them periodically. In April or May, you can move them into large pots. For this, you have to fill these pots with earth in a proportion of 3/4. Then remove the tomato stems from the seedlings and incorporate them into the soil in the pots.
Right after planting, you can water them by adding to the water and the nettle macerate which has a fertilizer role.
Once you plant the tomatoes in the pot, you will need to water them periodically, so as the soil to be always wet. There must be no excess of water, but neither the dryness is beneficial to your tomato culture. In addition, tomatoes need light for at least six hours a day, so place the pots strategically in your balcony.
Do not think that if you have potted tomatoes you do not have to deal with the typical gardening activities! If you want to have a rich harvest, you will have to remove the foliage that grows at the base of the branches of the fruit.
Also, as the stem grows, you will need to use small sticks (wooden sticks or metal rods) to keep the plant in a vertical position. Tie the plant easily to the wooden stick. You also have to know that once the stem has reached a height of 60 cm, you can stop its growing by periodically reaping the tip.
Image Credits: Gardencenter
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