I love gardening! I think is one of the most relaxing activities anyone can perform. It combats depression and keeps stress and anxiety away. But, I live in an apartment building and it’s kind of difficult to achieve my goals. However, I took gardening to another level and I started to grow vegetables and flowers on my balcony, and so it’s how my indoor garden was born. I’m persuasive and not having a garden won’t keep me away from performing my passion.
I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only one in this world who enjoys gardening but doesn’t have a place where to develop this passion. Just so you know, a balcony it’s more than enough to grow your favorite vegetables and flowers. In addition, you’ll have fresh vegetables throughout the year while you’re performing your hobby.
One of the plants that I love growing on my balcony is tomatoes. Growing tomatoes on a balcony is rewarding. Besides their flavor and culinary uses, tomatoes can also serve as an ornamental plant in your balcony. The fruits come in various colors and sizes–red, orange, brown and yellow, pear-shaped or round and also the tangy aroma of their leaves is amazing.
What type of tomatoes can be grown on the balcony?
[image]
The good news is that all types of tomatoes are suitable for indoor container gardening. However, I choose Cherry Tomatoes, because they are extremely easy to grow, low care and produce lots of fruits in a growing season. But, you can grow other varieties. Go to the local seed shop and choose your favorite tomato species.
How To Grow Tomatoes On The Balcony
[image]
Indoor tomatoes should be planted in well-drained, stable pots. Although the container size depends on the tomato variety, you’re growing. But it should be a minimum of 12 inches deep and wide in diameter.
Keep In Mind: Tomato requires plenty of sun so place them in the sunniest position of your balcony.
Light: For best growth, provide your tomato plants with 6 to 8 hours a day of full sun.
Water: Self-watering planters are often recommended for growing tomatoes. Make sure the potting soil is constantly moist. Make sure to provide enough water to your tomato plants without overwatering.
Fertilizer: Tomato plants are heavy feeders because they grow quickly and produce large fruits. Provide your tomato plants with a constant supply fertilizer by including slow-release fertilizer with a 5:10:10 NPK ratio in the potting soil. You can also use a low dose of liquid fertilizer when watering. Don’t provide too much nitrogen, which promotes leafy growth and not flower and fruit production.
However, you can try one of these Homemade Fertilizers Made With Poultry Manure
Temperature: Because tomato plants are grown as annuals, you do not need to worry about overwintering these plants indoors. Just make sure outdoor temperatures do not dip below 32 degrees Fahrenheit at night and reach 60 degrees during the day. Prolonged cold weather will stunt the tomato plant’s growth.
Pests and Diseases: Many insect pests will snack on your tomato plant. Be vigilant and catch pests before they do too much damage to your tomato plants. Use organic pest control to control pests without compromising the edible fruit your plants should bear. Blight is a common disease with tomato.
Homemade Tomato Pest Control
1. Fungal diseases, like powdery mildew, can be prevented using a spray made of baking soda, horticultural oil and water. If you don’t have horticultural oil, citrus oil or molasses makes a good substitute.
2. In addition, milk deters powdery mildew. Mix 1 part of milk to 9 parts of water in a spray bottle for easy application.
3. Cornmeal also can be used to manage fungal infections. Mix 1 cup of cornmeal with 5 gallons of water, strain, and then spray on tomato plants.
4. For warding off early blight, mix 2 tablespoons each of cooking oil, organic baby shampoo and baking soda with 1 gallon of water, and then spray both sides of the leaves for best prevention.
[image]
