Tomato is one of the main vegetables on the table of any resident of Russia; therefore, it is necessarily grown on each dacha or in home gardens.
But in the open field it takes a long time to wait for the harvest. Quickly get a rich crop of popular culture, you can use the greenhouse.
In our article we will tell you how a greenhouse differs from a greenhouse, and whether it is possible to grow tomatoes using a structure of this type. Also read below about when to plant seedlings of tomatoes in a greenhouse and how to do it correctly.
What is different from the greenhouse?
To understand the differences between the greenhouse and the greenhouse, it is necessary to consider the features of each structure separately.
Inside the greenhouses do not apply artificial heating and lighting, since natural heating and lighting occur with the help of sunlight and heat, which is released during the decomposition of humus and manure. To gain access to the vegetables growing inside the greenhouse, it is necessary to raise its upper and side parts; in buildings of this type there are never doors.
Greenhouse in its parameters is significantly different from the greenhouse. It almost always has a great height - up to 2.5 meters and higher, so that a person can be in her full height and even specialized equipment. In cottages and gardens, they usually put ready-made greenhouse structures of small size.
Artificial lighting and heating can be installed inside the greenhouse, as well as other devices that control various aspects of crop cultivation, for example, devices that maintain the temperature and humidity of the soil and air. Due to the possibility of organizing the artificial conditions required by plants, vegetables can be grown in the greenhouse all year round.
Is it possible to grow tomatoes using this type of construction?
Tomatoes are not only possible, but also need to be grown in greenhouses, because the thermophilic culture does not tolerate frosts. It will be possible to plant the plant in the open ground only in June, but in two summer months the fruits will not have time to ripen to the end. For this reason, the cultivation of tomatoes in a greenhouse is widely practiced in the middle lane.
The method requires careful preparation and possession of certain knowledge. The difficulty lies in creating the required conditions, a certain temperature of air and soil.
If you correctly prepare the greenhouse and seedlings, create the necessary microclimate and carry out care activities in time, in the end, the culture will please with a ripe and juicy harvest.
What kind of seeds to choose?
When choosing a variety of tomatoes for planting in a greenhouse, pay attention to the purpose of the future harvest (conservation or fresh use), the climatic conditions of the region, the yield, ripening time and susceptibility to disease. For cultivation in the greenhouse fit the following varieties of tomatoes.
Yarylo
The variety was bred specifically for greenhouse cultivation. A round-shaped fruit with a dense consistency has an average weight of one hundred grams. About 4 kilograms of a crop usually gather from square meter of landings.
Funtik
On compact bushes, reaching a height of 2.3 meters, large fruits appear bright red. They perfectly retain their presentation during transportation and practically do not crack.
Rene
Variety refers to superearly varieties, however, it has universal properties. Fruits with thick walls have a rich taste. Because of the sharp change in temperature, the tomatoes do not crack, keeping the same appearance. Fully ripened fruit produces high-quality tomato juice.
Dina
A low bush with an average number of branches is great for a greenhouse. Glossy yellow fruits reach from 120 to 160 grams in weight.
Undersized varieties
Most often in the greenhouse grow stunted tomatoes, since it is easier to care for them in conditions of small construction size. They are characterized by shrubs that do not reach more than 80 centimeters in height, and a powerful stem. Determinant varieties are very unpretentious, they do not need to be formed and stepson, which facilitates the care of the crop in a close greenhouse. These varieties include the following.
Gina
The new variety was bred by breeders from Holland, and at the moment it is considered one of the best among high-yielding and large-fruited varieties. In height of a plant reach only 50 - 60 centimeters. If you grow a variety in a greenhouse, you can get large fruits, reaching 400 grams in weight.
Denis
The oldest variety, bred in the United States, is characterized by round tomatoes of rich red color, featuring a balanced, pleasant taste. The variety is well resistant to drought, frost and pest attack.
Lion Heart
The variety is grown for fresh consumption. It is early ripe and high-yielding. Dark red fruits of a flat form possess pleasant taste.
How to prepare for landing?
Before planting tomatoes greenhouse must be prepared. Since an artificial heating system is not installed in the greenhouses, it is difficult to maintain the optimum temperature inside the building, but it is quite possible.
First of all, it is necessary to ensure the impermeability of the coating so that at night the air heated on a sunny day does not escape through the cracks.
For this you need to do:
- Tape all the places where different parts of the material are joined together.
- Cover the film lying on the ground with primer around the perimeter.
- Top another layer of coating so that there is an air cushion between the layers.
You can warm up the space inside the greenhouse using biofuels, consisting of dry leaves, bird droppings, fresh manure and food waste. This method helps to improve the composition and fertility of the soil.
- In the fall, a 50-centimeter-deep trench is being dug at the site of the future greenhouse.
- A carcass is put over the resulting pit, because in the spring the frozen ground will not allow it.
- With the arrival of spring, the snow is removed from the pit, the biofuel is placed inside, filling the pit three-quarters, and on top is laid fertile land, which was dug out of the pit in the fall (it must be preserved).
- After that, it is necessary to tighten the covering material on the installed frame.
- The resulting greenhouse is warmed according to the scheme proposed above, and leave it in the closed state for two weeks.
Preparation of beds
A week before planting tomatoes prepare the beds. Before the procedure, measure the temperature of the earth, and if it turns out to be less than 10 degrees, the landing is postponed. In the greenhouses installed in the cottages, it is convenient to organize high beds.
To prevent the fall of the earth, on both sides of the beds set the walls of the boards. The height of such beds ranges from 25 to 40 centimeters. The width of the path depends on the size of the greenhouse or variety of cultivated tomatoes. The prepared beds are filled with fertile soil.
Growing sprouts and picking
In the greenhouse planted grown and hardened seedlings. For its cultivation will require:
- peat cups or long containers;
- prepared seeds;
- nutrient soil;
- some tools.
- Ground is poured into peat cups or into containers.
- Then, small holes are made in the ground for planting seeds, which are covered with a thin layer of earth on top.
It is more convenient to grow seedlings in peat cups, because in this case no dive is required, which can damage the delicate root system. If the seedlings were planted in a container, with the advent of these leaves, they do a picking, planting young plants in separate containers.
Watering and feeding
After planting, the seeds are watered abundantly and left in this state until the soil dries - only then the next watering is necessary. Six days before planting in a greenhouse, seedlings are also watered abundantly.
Feed seedlings spend four times:
- after the appearance of the first leaflets, using mineral fertilizers with a high content of nitrogen and phosphorus;
- two weeks after picking using a similar fertilizer;
- 14 days after the second feeding, resorting to the use of foliar organic dressing, which will help the seedlings to recover from the picking procedure;
- four days before transplanting to a greenhouse, using mineral or organic fertilizer.
When can I plant and how?
As soon as the seedlings have grown and matured, it is transplanted into a greenhouse. The sequence of actions is as follows:
- The soil is slightly moistened and loosened.
- In the beds made holes.
- A bush is inserted into the pits, the root system is spreading out and covered with earth. Tamper the soil should not, so that the roots feel free.
- Three days after planting, the plants are watered.
Main steps
Each of the stages of cultivation requires proper care and compliance with the necessary conditions inside the greenhouse.
Before flowering.12 days after planting seedlings under the greenhouse, it is necessary to tie the plants to the trellis. Most often, the bushes of tomatoes are formed in one stem, removing all stepchildren growing from the axils of the leaves and roots, leaving only one lower stepson with a floral brush. Before the flowering stage begins, tomatoes are watered every six days, consuming five liters of water per square meter of planting.
- During flowering.
During the flowering period, artificial pollination and airing becomes an important procedure. In a closed greenhouse, insects cannot reach the plants, so the gardener needs to pollinate the tomatoes on his own. For this brush with flowers gently shake, and then sprayed with water. Two hours after the procedure, the greenhouse is opened to ventilate and reduce humidity.
Regular airing of tomatoes during the flowering period plays a big role, because the highly moist soil makes the fruits acidic and watery. Water at this stage of cultivation as follows: before the fruit begins, about fifteen liters of water are poured per square meter.
- After flowering.
At this stage, the intensity of irrigation is reduced. Airing is carried out with the same regularity as before, avoiding high humidity. A couple of weeks before the harvest begins, watering stops altogether. If you do not neglect this recommendation, the tomatoes will get more tasty and rich.
Before flowering.The necessary conditions
Caring for tomatoes is not difficult. An important aspect of care is the timely garter and shrub shaping, preventing damage to the stem. It is necessary in order to control the number of ovaries on the plant, which in any case will have time to grow and mature.
For tall tomatoes, stakes or trellis are prepared, which are driven in next to the crop. As the garter grows, it moves higher and higher. Periodically inspect the plants, removing yellowed, damaged and diseased leaves. Once every two or three weeks, the tomatoes are fed with potassium sulfate, urea and superphosphate.
Humidity.Once a week, tomatoes are watered, pouring about five liters of water under each bush. After each irrigation procedure, the greenhouse must be aired to avoid excessive moisture inside the structure.
- Temperature.
In a greenhouse it is necessary to observe a certain temperature regime: in the daytime at 25 - 26 degrees, and at night - at 18 degrees. Such indicators can be achieved by airing and heating with biofuels, as well as a natural source of sunlight.
- Masking
In varieties forming stepchildren, the latter are regularly cleaned in order to avoid overgrowth. Pasynkovaya procedure allows you to get a shrub, consisting of one strong stem. If you leave two stepsons located downstairs, you get a lush bush, but all sprouts appearing in the axils on the stepsons are removed mercilessly.
- Lighting.
Usually, only natural lighting is used in a greenhouse, but if the dimensions of the greenhouse allow it and opportunities, you can install additional artificial lighting in the form of fluorescent lamps.
Humidity.Growing tomatoes in a greenhouse allows you to get a timely harvest of ripe sweet fruit. To equip the structure and take care of the culture inside it is not such a difficult task.
