Tomatoes to grow in a greenhouse
Tomatoes are tasty and juicy vegetables full of vitamins and minerals. They are rich in vitamins A, B1, B2, K, C, PP and phosphorus, calcium, iron, sodium, malic and citric acid, sugars, and lycopene. These nutrients have a beneficial effect on our health, and thus on our well-being.
Tomatoes are fantastic addition to dishes and you can find them on the table in many forms. From fresh salad, meat sauce, or soup puree, cold soups, and even jam for sandwiches and desserts (tomato preserves are very popular in Western Europe, e.g. . in Portugal). Tomatoes that come from own cultivation have the best taste qualities, which is why many people like to sow tomatoes in their home garden.
Best tomatoes to Grow in a greenhouse
The cultivation of tomatoes in a greenhouse is one of the most popular vegetables. Growing tomatoes in a greenhouse has many advantages as it provides the tomatoes with the heat they need to grow, protects them from wind and rain, and also acts as a barrier to pests.
Greenhouse tomato variety
Choose a variety of tomato that will fit into the tunnel you have. For the cultivation of tomatoes, it is worth having a greenhouse with a height of at least 1.8 m.
Thanks to this, the plants will be able to grow freely and you will be able to move comfortably in it. It is also worth paying attention to whether a given variety of tomato is resistant to diseases, as well as to its agrotechnical requirements.
More about growing tomatoes in greenhouse.
Here are the recommended varieties of tomatoes to grow in a greenhouse :
High-growing varieties:
Boderine – early variety (fruits ripen at the end of July, beginning of August), easy to grow. The fruit has a dark red skin and is long-lasting. The variety prefers humus and well-aerated soil.
Brooklyn – tomato variety ideal for tunnel crops, early. Plant seedlings from the beginning of March. It yields very abundantly. The fruit is slightly ribbed and is durable for a long time.
Tsarine – an early variety for cultivation in tunnels. Seedlings are planted at the end of June at the latest. The variety gives a very good yield.
Determinate varieties:
Ivet – a popular variety, slightly flattened, dark red fruit. 3 plants should be planted per 1m²
Minaret – a variety that produces durable fruit, well-colored, easy to grow. Early variety, gives abundant yield.
Good to know!
The determinate varieties are those that do not require pinching out the apical shoots, grow to a given height and finish growth. They have a limited growth force. They do not need additional support with stakes. As a result, they require much less work, but usually the yield is not as abundant as in the case of high-growing tomatoes.
In addition to the above-mentioned varieties of tomatoes, it is also worth paying attention to the so-called cherry tomatoes, which are especially popular in amateur gardens.
They form small fruits, but numerous and usually tasty, perfect for salads and decoration of dishes. They are easy to grow vegetables – less demanding than large-fruited tomatoes and less susceptible to diseases.
Sowing seeds and production of tomato seedlings for the greenhouse
Growing tomatoes in a greenhouse is best when you have a strong and healthy seedling, that you have grown from the seeds. That is why it is so important to correctly carry out all stages of the production of greenhouse tunnel tomato seedlings. Preparation time for seedlings takes approx. 6-8 weeks. The best medium for growing seedlings is peat with a pH of 6.0-6.3.
Sowing seeds
Sow Tomato seeds in boxes in rows along the long edge. You should do it at the beginning of March (sowing about 2 weeks earlier than for tomatoes intended for cultivation in the ground). Decontaminate seedbad and use special special soil for sowing vegetables.
After sowing the seeds, cover them with about 0.5 cm layer of soil or sand. Then you have to provide the sown seeds with a temperature of about 25-26 ° C, which is optimal for seed germination. Therefore,you should sow seeds in heated greenhouse or at home on window sills, where the seedlings will get plenty of sun and warmth.
Seed germination
Once the seeds have germinated and form cotyledons, the temperature should be reduced. 20 ° C during the day and around 16 ° C at night. You should remember that the emerging seedlings should have plenty of sun and constantly moist soil.
Quilting for boxes
About 2 weeks after sowing, single leaves should start to appear on the germinated plants next to the cotyledons. This means that you can transplant the seedlings into larger boxes. You should transplant young tomatoes to a such depth that the distance between the substrate and the cotyledons is approx. 1 cm. The distance should be 5×5 cm. When the seedling has 3 true leaves (after about 2 weeks), transplant it into pots with a diameter of 8-10 cm.
Features of a properly developed tomato seedling:
- A well-developed root system that has outgrown the pot,
- Plant height 18-30 cm,
- Formed 6-8 leaves.
Plants are now ready to go in to the tunnel. The seedlings for the tunnel are planted a little earlier than the ground, because we don’t have to wait until the risk of frost is over. In practice, seedlings usually migrate to greenhouse at the beginning of May.
Planting tomatoes in the greenhouse
If you want tomato cultivation to be successful, you have to pay attention to the stage of planting tomatoes. Prepare substrate properly. First, make sure the substrate is free of weeds and pathogens. You should remember that due to the transmission of diseases, tomatoes should not grow on the same site for more than 3-4 years. Therefore, every year, place the tunnel on a different plot.
Then you should feed the substrate with well-distributed manure or compost in the amount of 3-4 kg / m². When planting tomatoes, you should keep a distance of about 50 x 50 cm. For example for low-growing varieties it may be, for example, 40-50 cm, and for the highest ones, 60-70 cm.
Care of tomatoes in the greenhouse
After planting, tomatoes must be properly cared for. The tomato is a demanding plant in this regard. It should be provided with a constant, high temperature of 22-27 ° C during the day and 17-21 ° C at night. The tomato also needs constant sunlight. During the care of tomatoes, air humidity should be kept at the level of approx. 60%.
The substrate should be constantly moist, but not too much. It is better to water a tomato once properly than a few times but with less water. It is important to water directly on the soil and not to wet the leaves, which minimizes the risk of fungal diseases.
Let’s not forget to remove the side shoots growing from the leaf axils, i.e. make the so-called pinching. This treatment allows for more effective plant management in terms of yield.
Since there are fewer insects inside the greenhouse than outside and there is no wind or rainfall, it is worth pollinating the tomatoes. You can do it, for example, by shaking the clusters of flowers by hand so that the pollen falls off them. As a result, more fruit will develop. It is best to perform the treatment when the pollen from the flowers begins to sprinkle on its own.
In the second half of August, topping is also performed, i.e. the removal of the top of the main shoot, leaving two to three leaves above the last developed inflorescence. Thanks to this, the plant will no longer waste energy creating more flowers, the fruit of which would not have matured anyway.
Tomatoes are harvested in the tunnel successively as the fruit matures. The last tomatoes harvested in autumn, which are still green, can be used for preserves or moved to a warm room where they will still mature (for this purpose, many people place them, for example, on a cloth on the window sill).
