Growing tomatoes in greenhouse
Tomatoes are in first place among vegetables to cultivate under cover. This is due to the fact that the tomato is a plant with high heat and light requirements, and growing tomatoes in a greenhouse brings numerous benefits.
Prepare place for planting tomatoes in a greenhouse
The tomato is a plant with high thermal requirements and moderate requirements to substrate and soil moisture. Without greenhouse it can onlygrow in the frost-free period, from mid-May to the end of September.
Greenhouse allow to extend this period significantly, depending on whether you have a heated greenhouse or not, as well as sufficient lighting in the greenhouse.
Before you plant tomatoes in a greenhouse, you must properly prepare the place for their cultivation. The soil for tomato cultivation should be rich in nutrients, fertile, well-maintained and slightly acidic 5.5-6.5.
You should use 3 – 4kg of manure or compost per 1m². Then you should be mix it with the soil to a depth of 30 – 40 cm.
It is also good to cover the surface of the beds with a thin layer of garden bark or straw chop planting station. Straw mulch reflects light and therefore creates better conditions for photosynthesis, especially at the beginning of tomato growth in a greenhouse.
When to plant tomatoes in a greenhouse?
Time when to plant tomatoes in the greenhouse largely depends on whether the greenhouse is heated or not.
In an unheated greenhouse, you can plant tomatoes from April, and therefore about a month earlier than outside. Thanks to this, fruits will ripen earlier and you can enjoy fresh tomatoes significantly longer. While the cultivation of tomatoes in the open air ends around September, in a greenhouse they can mature until October.
Tomatoes in a heated greenhouse can be grow twice a year, in spring and autumn. In the spring, the earliest date for planting tomatoes on a permanent site is the beginning of February (if you have the opportunity to light the seedlings during its production in December and January) or March (if you produce seedlings earlier without additional lighting).
The most suitable date for autumn greenhouse tomato planting is mid to end of July. Tomatoes from later plantings usually develop too few clusters and bear fruit poorly.
How to plant tomatoes in a greenhouse?
Tomatoes in the greenhouse should be grow in 2 rows at a distance of 40-60 cm, with 70-90 cm stripes between them. The distance of the plants in the rows should be 35-50 cm. Such planting greatly facilitates the cultivation work, plant protection and fruit harvesting, and also allows greater air movement in the greenhouse, preventing excessive humidity.
In east-west freestanding greenhouses, rows of tomatoes should run north to south to provide even illumination and shorten the distance between the row ends and the communication corridor.
The ground for tomatoes in the greenhouse must be level. Plant tomatoes as deep as they grew in pots, and then sprinkle with water in an amount not exceeding 1 liter per plant.
How to tie tomatoes?
After planting the tomato seedlings, you should tie the plants with a wire string stretched along the row of plants. For this purpose, it is best to use galvanized steel wire with a diameter of 4 mm. The wire stretched over the row of tomatoes should be attached to the greenhouse structure. Make sure that intervals are no more than 4-5 m.
As the plant grows, you will twist the stem clockwise around the string.
When growing tomatoes, it is worth to use ecological sprays with preparations of nettles, comfrey or horsetail. It will support the growth and development of tomatoes, as well as reduce the susceptibility to fungal diseases. Nettle manure is also the most valued natural fertilizer for tomatoes.
