‘Grow Cherry tomatoes in pots’ can not only cultivate sentiment, and increase the joy of life. Regular consumption of Cherry tomatoes has anti-oxidation, softening of blood vessels, beauty and other auxiliary health care effects.
Cherry tomatoes are a kind of solanaceous vegetable crops that are loved and eaten by consumers of all walks of life. The green plants produce clusters of crystal clear grape-like Cherry tomatoes, the fruit is small and exquisite, the color is bright, there are purple cherry tomatoes, red cherry tomatoes, orange cherry tomatoes and other colors.The taste of cherry tomatoes is moderately sweet and sour, and the fruiting period is longer than other vegetables.
In this article you will learn:
- Growing environmental conditions for ‘Grow Cherry tomatoes
- How to choose suitable varieties to grow cherry tomatoes in pots?
- Planting container
- Planting substrate
- Four Nursery Production Methods
- Management of Pot grow cherry tomatoes after colonization
- Pest control for pot planting cherry tomatoes
- Harvest period
Table of Contents
Growing environmental conditions for ‘Grow Cherry tomatoes in pots’
Cherry tomatoes have the characteristics of warmth, light, fertilizer tolerance and semi-drought tolerance.You should create the following growth environment to grow Cherry tomatoes in pots:
1. Temperature.
Cherry tomatoes are thermophilic vegetables. The suitable temperature for growth is 20-28 ℃. When the temperature is higher than 35 ℃ or lower than 15 ℃, they cannot bloom or pollination and fertilization are poor after flowering.
2. Light.
Cherry tomatoes are light-loving vegetables. Within a certain range, the stronger the light, the stronger the photosynthesis, the better the growth, the more results, and the better quality. If the light is too weak, it is easy to cause weak, elongated plants, falling flowers and fruits, poor coloration, and poor taste.
3. Soil and substrate.
Cherry tomatoes have strong adaptability. But it is most suitable to grow in loose, fertile, well-drained pot soil or substrate rich in organic matter.
4. Moisture.
Cherry tomatoes require little water in the early stage of planting. In the period of fruiting, a uniform water supply is required. If it becomes dry and wet, it will lead to cracked fruit, which will affect the commercial nature of the fruit. The suitable indoor air humidity is 45%~60%.
Cherry tomatoes are highly adaptable. If in the courtyard, you should choose to plant in spring and autumn; if in the south, east and west balconies of buildings, they can be planted on an anniversary.
How to choose suitable varieties to grow cherry tomatoes in pots?
To grow cherry tomatoes in pots, you should choose Cherry tomatoes with short plants, good fruiting, beautiful fruit shape, bright colors and good taste.
Pot planting cherry tomatoes commonly used varieties are divided into two categories:
- The first category is the dwarf self-capped type, with a plant height of 20-30 cm, and each plant can bear 2 ears of fruit. Specific varieties include “dwarf red bell” and “red lover”. “Fruit”, etc..
- The second category is the infinite plant growth type cherry tomatoes, the plant height can reach 2 m or more, a single plant can set fruits 4~6 ears, the growth period is 5~8 months, suitable varieties are “Venus” , “Red Sun”, “Black Pearl”, “Emerald”, etc.
- Generally, 350~400 seeds per gram.
Choose planting container and planting substrate to grow cherry tomatoes in pots
Planting container
General households can choose plastic flower pots or mud tile flower pots to grow cherry tomatoes in pots.
Families with good conditions can choose purple clay pots or clay pots to be covered with colorful glaze pots, purple clay pots, wooden barrels, foam boxes, earthen jars and other containers.
But no matter what the container must be breathable, there must be a permeable hole underneath.
Dwarf varieties of cherry tomatoes should choose a flowerpot with a diameter of 22~28 cm.
The unlimited growth type cherry tomatoes should choose a flowerpot or a wooden barrel with a diameter of 35~45 cm.
Planting substrate
It is best to make the planting substrate with a 2:1 ratio of peat nutrient soil and vermiculite, and then adding 5%~10% of decomposed organic fertilizer.
You can also use 50% peat nutrient soil plus 25% garden soil plus 20% sand soil plus 5% decomposed Finely crush organic fertilizer.
Four Nursery Production Methods
Seedling transplanting is the best way to grow Cherry tomatoes. In order to ensure a higher germination rate of seeds, plastic nutrient bowls, flower pots or seedlings nutrient blocks can be used for seedlings in the family nursery. The general methods used before cherry tomatoes seedlings are as follows:
Put the cherry tomatoes seed in 50~55 ℃ warm water, stir constantly to heat the seeds evenly for 20~30 minutes.
Then remove them, put them in 30 ℃ water soak for 3~5 hours,wait until the seeds absorb enough water, remove them .
Wrap the seeds with gauze, put them in a container such as a tray, cover the bottom and surface of the container with a towel.
Bud forcing for about 30 h in an environment of 25~28 ℃, the germination can be achieved.
Sow seeds in nutrient bowls or plugs after germination.
Prepare nutrient soil before planting, generally use 2:1 ratio of peat and vermiculite as substrate. Then add 5% of the decomposed finely divided organic fertilizer, mix it evenly, and then sow after watering it thoroughly.
If 40 g seedling nutrient block is used to grow seedlings, water the seedling nutrient block thoroughly the day before use.
Sow 1~2 cherry tomatoes seed with bud forcing in a nutrient bowl, plug or seedling block.
Then cover it with a layer of 0.5~0.8 cm thick wet sieved fine sand.
Seedlings are divided or thinned when the flowerpots are grown with 2~3 true leaves. Colonization can be performed when the seedling age is 40~50 days, the seedling height is 15~2 cm, and there are 4~6 true leaves. Plant 1 plant in each pot, water it in time and water enough after planting.
Management of Pot grow cherry tomatoes after colonization
If you grow cherry tomatoes in pots, the management after colonization has:
- Adjust temperature and light
- Watering
- Topdressing
- Stick and prune
- Auxiliary pollination
1. Adjust the temperature and light.
Since Cherry tomatoes are crops that like warmth and light, adjusting the appropriate temperature and light is the key to promoting growth and development.
Tips:
- 5~7 days after Colonization, increase the indoor temperature as much as possible, 26~31 ℃ during the day and 18-20 ℃ at night.
- When the temperature does not exceed 30 ℃, do not open the window to release the wind.
- When you see that the color of the leaves near the growth point of the cherry tomatoes seedlings becomes lighter, it indicates that the seedling survival has been started, and the growth has begun. Lower the room temperature by 3~5°C, preferably 23~28°C during the day and 15°C at night.
- Pay attention to heat preservation in winter. If the temperature is too low, you should put cherry tomatoes in a place with high temperature and strong light, which is conducive to growth and development.
- For the south-facing and west-facing balconies, sunshades should be installed in summer from June to August to provide shade and cool down.
2. Watering.
After colonization and survival, Cherry tomatoes should not be filled with too much water to keep the pot soil moist and slightly dry. You need to ensure water supply during the fruit expansion period. The principle is to determine the frequency of watering according to different seasons, weather and plant growth.
3. Topdressing for ‘grow cherry tomatoes in pots’.
The first topdressing is applied when the first ears begin to swell.
In the future, topdressing will follow the principle of “eat less and more meals”, perform topdressing once every 7~10 days, and stop topdressing about 30 days before pulling the seedlings.
- It is advisable to choose fertilizer varieties with fully decomposed hemp residue, bean cakes and odorless liquid for fertilization, and should not use odorous and underdeveloped organic fertilizers.
- Minimize the use of chemical fertilizers.
- Apply 5-6 mL of organic liquid fertilizer with water for each 30 cm diameter flowerpot.
4.Stick and prune for ‘grow cherry tomatoes in pots’.
Infinite growth type cherry tomatoes grow in the process of using iron wire to make a round frame or use 4 bamboo poles to insert into a square frame:
- The height is 1~1.5 m, so that the plants are wound around the frame in a circle to extend the growth time and length of the plants.
- For cherry tomatoes of limited growth type, when the plant grows to 20 cm high, insert a bamboo pole or use iron wire to make a support frame to fix the plant.
5. Auxiliary pollination.
When the number of blossoms per ear of cherry tomatoes reaches 3/2, in a sunny day from 8:00 to 11:00 in the morning, use a bamboo pole or stick to gently vibrate the flower stalk to assist in pollination and promote fruiting.
Generally, dwarf varieties grow 2 ears per plant and fruiting 8-10 per ear.
Infinite-growing varieties fruiting 10-15 per ear, each plant can grow 4-6 ears, and the number of fruits per plant can reach 40-60.
Pest control for pot planting cherry tomatoes
The main pests prone to indoor potted Cherry tomatoes are aphids and whitefly.
When the amount of insects is small, manual capture can be used. When the amount of insects is found to be large, use biological pesticides such as spraying 100 times liquid of “biological soap” or 1000 times liquid of 5% “natural pyrethrum” for prevention and control.
The above two biological pesticides have extremely low toxicity, and the fruits can be eaten 3 days after spraying.
Harvest period
Cherry tomatoes can only be harvested and eaten until they have completely changed color. Since Cherry tomatoes are crops that are blooming, fruiting, and ripening at the same time, they can be harvested about 50 days after planting under suitable temperature and sufficient light growth conditions.
In winter and spring when the temperature is lower, it can be harvested 70 to 75 days after planting. Generally, the harvest period of dwarf varieties is about 30 days, and the harvest period of infinite growth varieties can reach 3 to 4 months.
All of above I have introduce how to grow cherry tomatoes in pots:
- Growing environmental conditions for ‘Grow Cherry tomatoes
- How to choose suitable varieties to grow cherry tomatoes in pots?
- Planting container
- Planting substrate
- Four Nursery Production Methods
- Management of Pot grow cherry tomatoes after colonization
- Pest control for pot planting cherry tomatoes
- Harvest period