Growing Cherry Tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes are one among the foremost popular of salad garnishments and also are handy for tossing into wrapped sandwiches or as just a snack. they’re small, tasty, and straightforward to grow indoors or out. Here are the fundamentals of what you would like to understand about growing cherry tomatoes.

GROWING CONDITIONS FOR CHERRY TOMATOES

Cherry tomatoes, like most other tomato varieties, require direct sunlight (outdoors or during a window) and warm temperatures (70F or higher is best). They also require nutrient-rich soil, many waters, and a few cares. If you’ll meet the warmth and lightweight requirements, have access to good potting soil, and remember to water them often, you’ll easily grow cherry tomatoes.

HOW TO PLANT CHERRY TOMATOES

When planting outdoors, cherry tomatoes should be planted in small groups (3-4 seeds per hole) at about three feet apart. When the sprouts come through the soil, thin the plants to at least one per position and when the plants get a couple of inches high, add a stake or training trellis to stay them upright.

If growing indoors, you’ll want to use an equivalent planting method in pots about the dimensions of an outsized can (roughly a gallon). Tomatoes have fairly deep roots and wish tons of nutrition, so you’ll need enough soil to support that. Your tomatoes will get to be grown in direct sunlight once the sprouts appear and can require watering every other day once the plant is established. Again, supports or tomato cages are going to be needed.

CARE OF CHERRY TOMATOES

Once the plants establish, care will mostly involve watering and adjusting the plants occasionally on their supports. Felt or other gardener’s ties to connect the plants to poles are commonest and can get to be undone and re-attached because the plant grows through them. Most tomato varieties are fairly Viney is often trained onto wire trellises also.

Most cherry tomato plants are bushes and are meant to trail along the bottom in nature (hence the supports). this suggests they’ll be top-heavy, so decide to not only provide support but also to spend a touch time trimming because the plant grows. Lower stems on the plant should be pinched or crop to stay them from spreading and wasting plant energy. Upper branches will likely produce fruit on every other stem, but don’t pinch or crop the non-bearing limbs as they’re going to contain the leaves needed to catch sunlight to grow the tomatoes.

CHERRY TOMATOES PESTS AND DISEASES

The most common tomato pests also will attack cherry tomato plants. they’re also more vulnerable to birds, who sometimes find the red cherries irresistible. Many growers spray their tomato plants liberally with soap-based insecticides (which are biodegradable and non-toxic) to stay mites, caterpillars, and other pests cornered.

Indoor growers will have few enemies to deal with, though over-watering or too-humid air could lead on to mold on the undersides of leaves. this will be easily avoided by being careful about watering.

HARVESTING CHERRY TOMATOES

Tomatoes will begin to ripen after about two to 3 months, counting on growing conditions. they will be picked once they are almost entirely red and can unlikely all ripen at an equivalent time on all plants. Often, you’ll harvest two or maybe 3 times from one plant over a four-month period.

Harvest the cherries by grasping them just above the stem where it enters the tomato and pushing upwards, at an angle from the stem. A natural breakpoint is present, even as on full-sized tomatoes, and can break keeping the stem intact to the fruit. Cherry tomatoes should be handled gently.

CHOOSING CHERRY TOMATO VARIETIES

Best Cherry Tomato Varieties for the Garden

Nearly any sort of cherry tomato variety is sweet for the garden. Be leery of these made for indoor growth, however, as they’ll not be as hardy within the rigors of outside life. Sun gold is perhaps the foremost common outdoor variety grown.

Best Varieties for Container Gardens

Any cherry tomato is often grown indoors. the foremost popular is that the Sweet hundred variety, especially amongst hydroponics growers et al. who don’t mind the wide bush this plant can become.

Growing Cherry Tomatoes

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