Learn How to Grow Tomatoes Indoors

Since tomatoes can be grown indoors in pots and containers, you do not need a garden to grow them. They are not only very easy to grow, but growing them indoors can be a deeply satisfying experience. In terms of taste, they are always better than the types you get in grocery stores.

Tomatoes happen to be the base ingredient of many delicious dishes that you make at home. Few of the common items that you could make from freshly-grown tomatoes include salsa, spaghetti sauce that has the old country flavor, and of course juice and several other products.

To begin the exercise, you need to select a type of tomato that does not crack easily. These thrive under light at home and also make excellent pastes and sauces. Then you have to prepare the right soil mixture. The best is perhaps the one that is a standard mixture which has about 10% or so worm castings added to it. To regulate the pH level of the soil, you should add a teaspoon of hydrated lime per each gallon of potting soil. This dose of calcium can do wonders for the growth of tomatoes. Calcium also prevents rotting of the blossoms in later stages. Do not make the soil too moist. Add water gradually till it is about 2 or 3 drops of water when you squeeze the lime is enough. More than this, the soil is likely to get very wet.

The phase during when you plant the seeds is very critical for tomato plants. The initial phases are important when you have to handle the plant very carefully as it is very delicate. The best way to start seeding is to use the flat trays used in nurseries that are divided into several sections. The larger ones are better since it saves you from future transplantation when the plants grow bigger. Once they are firm on the tray, you would know that they can withstand the future handling.

For germination of tomato plants it is best to keep the temperature at about 80 degrees when you would find that the seeds would grow in about 12 to 15 days. Once they start growing you need to remove the covers you used in the trays. After this, use fluorescent lights placed about 6 inches above the top and keep the plants under such lights for about 18 hours in a day, or even 24 hours.

From here onwards, you are approaching the phase when you can start enjoying some of the tastiest tomatoes. If you remain constant in your efforts, you can enjoy such tomatoes all year round – no matter what time of the year it is.