Tomatoes warmed by the sun, freshly harvested, are a small taste explosion. You don't have to have your own garden to cultivate tomatoes. You can also grow specially bred varieties on the balcony and your efforts will be rewarded with rich yields.
Tomatoes also thrive in small spaces
The right planter
Tomatoes have a high nutrient requirement, which must be met on the balcony, despite the limited substrate available. The bucket or balcony box should therefore hold at least 10 to 15 liters of soil.
Only use vessels with a water drainage hole that you cover with a potsherd. A drainage layer made of expanded clay (€19.73) ensures good water drainage. Use special tomato soil, as this is tailored to the needs of the plants.
Which varieties are suitable?
You can grow balcony tomatoes yourself from February or buy young plants from specialist retailers.
The following varieties are very suitable:
- Balcony starling forms many small fruits that ripen quickly.
- Primabell is only 25 centimeters tall and can also be cultivated in balcony boxes.
- Gold Nugget scores with extremely aromatic, golden-yellow tomatoes.
- Snowberry grows about a meter tall and needs a trellis. With the countless, bright red fruits, this balcony tomato is a feast for the palate and eyes.
- Tumbling Tom Red is ideal if you don't have room for buckets. It thrives hanging and fits beautifully in a traffic light.
Many cocktail tomato varieties, which grow to a height of around two meters, can also be cultivated on the balcony in a sufficiently large pot. Spiral tomato sticks provide the necessary support.
Care and watering tips
Tomatoes must be watered regularly with lukewarm, lime-free water. Since waterlogging quickly leads to root rot, be sure to dump away excess liquid that collects in the saucer.
The nutrient supply is ideally carried out with special tomato fertilizer. Until the first fruit appears, it is sufficient to add the product to the irrigation water every 14 days. After flowering, fertilize weekly.
Balcony tomatoes do not have to be pinched. If you save yourself the hassle of pinching off superfluous shoots, the tomatoes will only stay a little smaller. However, there is nothing to be said against this care measure, in which the side shoots that have just formed between the trunk and the leaves are pinched off with your fingers.
tips
When watering, be careful not to wet the leaves and fruit, because moisture on these parts of the plant promotes tomato diseases.