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The cherry tomato, also called cherry tomato or grape tomatoIt is currently a very popular plant for food consumption. The species is a mix between Solanum pimpinellifolium and garden tomatoes. This variety is native to Aztec Mexico and was not cultivated in Europe until the 16th century. Even so, its popularization has come much later, at the beginning of the 20th century. Today there are endless varieties of cherry tomatoes, such as red cherry tomatoes, pear cherry tomatoes or yellow cherry tomatoes.
In this Green Ecologist article we are going to teach you how to plant cherry tomatoes at home or in an urban garden. With this cherry tomato cultivation manual you will be able to enjoy all the flavor of these fruits in a totally organic way and, in addition, saving in the shopping basket.
When to plant cherry tomatoes
Planting cherry tomatoes is very easy and can be done both in the garden and in pot from simple seeds. Their growing season is very long, especially in tropical climates, where they can be sown for practically all year.
In more temperate climates, it is recommended to plant cherry tomato seeds when the worst of winter has already passed and before the hottest days of summer arrive, that is, between january and june generally.
We leave you this other article on When to plant tomatoes that may also interest you.
How to plant cherry tomatoes with seeds
Before we start planting cherry tomatoes, we have to decide if we are going to plant them indoors or outdoors, whether on a terrace, garden or orchard. Both options are equally valid, although if you live in a cold area, your tomatoes may grow better in an indoor pot.
To plant the tomatoes it is recommended acquire seeds, since the seeds in tomatoes that you can find in the supermarket have less chance of opening. This is because most of them are collected early so they take longer to go to waste and can be bought for longer. Therefore, they may not have formed their seeds at all.
Next, we are going to explain to you, step by step, how to plant cherry tomatoes with seeds:
- Prepare the place where you are going to plant your seeds: if you do not live in a warm place it is recommended to germinate the tomatoes in a seedbed. To do this, prepare a common horticultural substrate and moisten the soil by spraying the water.
- Bury the seeds about 5mm deep, leaving between 1 and 2 cm of separation between them. Then, moisten the soil again, taking care not to flood it or leave the seeds exposed.
- Cover the seedbed with cling film so that it keeps the humidity better. During the first few days, observe the seedbed often and keep it moist by spraying again when necessary, but always without flooding.
- When the first sheets come out, you can remove the film and put the seedling near the window or on the terrace, where it receives natural light. Water approximately every 3 days.
- Once the plant has a height of 10 cm or a little more, it is time to transplant to its final location. For the pots, it will not be necessary that they have more than 10 cm of depth, although they do require that they have drainage holes. Remember that this plant appreciates receiving a large amount of sunlight.
- Can add organic compost, although the transplant can be carried out normally. In this article that we recommend you can read about How to make homemade organic compost for plants.
- You can train (place a stick or rod as a guide) the cherry tomato so that it grows properly. To do this, you simply have to stick a stick in the ground next to the tomato plant, about the size of chopsticks, and tie the plant to it with a thread.
In the event that you decide to buy seedlings, instead of seeds, and plant the cherry tomatoes in pots, the only thing you should take into account is to choose a good size pot. Like any cherry tomato cultivation manual, we recommend that the best pot size for a cherry tomato it is at least 20 liters and with good drainage.
Finally, for both options we will have to prune the plant as it grows. Therefore, here we leave you an article on How to prune tomatoes.
How to grow cherry tomatoes
Next, we are going to list some of the basic cares for growing cherry tomatoes that can help you keep your tomato plant in the best condition:
Light and temperature
The main care of cherry tomato is that it receives at least 6 hours of direct light per day. Its optimum temperature is between 20ºC and 30ºC, although they can admit minimums of 13ºC and maximums of 40ºC.
Watering the cherry tomatoes
Regarding irrigation, it is one of the most delicate cherry tomato care and, perhaps, complicated, since the always wet soil through constant watering, but we should never leave it waterlogged. It must be done directly on the ground and in no case on the leaves or fungi and rot could attack the plant. In such case, use homemade fungicides For tomatoes, swap some of the soil on the plant for one that doesn't have as much moisture and remove the very diseased parts of the plant.
We recommend that you take a look at this other post by Green Ecologist about homemade fungicides for tomatoes so you can learn more about the subject.
Fertilizers and fertilizers
It is recommended to use fertilizer or organic compost each 15 days in the spring and summer weeks. In the same way, it is also good to remove both the dry and leftover leaves and the side suckers.
Pests on cherry tomatoes
Sometimes this tomato can be attacked by aphids and other pests, so observe it regularly in case it is necessary to take measures against them. In this other article we will tell you more about how to fight tomato pests ecologically and you can take good care of cherry tomatoes.
In this other Green Ecologist article you can find many more tips on How to grow organic tomatoes.
When are cherry tomatoes picked
To finish this cherry tomato cultivation manual, it should be mentioned that the harvest of cherry tomatoes will be possible approximately 3 months later planted, when they look red and healthy. In addition, we recommend that when you harvest them, you enjoy their flavor in a variety of dishes, such as salads and pizzas, and that you save all the seeds you can if you want to re-sow them and continue to have organic cherry tomatoes.
If you want to read more articles similar to How to plant cherry tomatoes, we recommend that you enter our category of Cultivation and care of plants.
