If you want to grow fresh tomatoes for the New Year, plant a Minibel tomato. Dwarf varieties of the new selection are intended for growing on the window and in open ground. The Minibel tomato variety has already found its admirers among those who like to grow vegetables on the windowsill.
Description of the variety and main characteristics
The variety is dwarf, so you should not expect strong growth. The maximum height of the bush is 40 cm. In terms of ripening, the Minibel variety is early. The fruits begin to ripen after 3 months (90 days).The bushes are compact, very decorative, especially during mass fruiting. There is no need to pinch the tops of the heads or remove the stepsons. If you have a large number of tomatoes, you can put a small decorative support and tie a bush to it.
The fruits are small, from 10 to 15 g, collected in clusters. The percentage of fruit set is high, but shaking the bushes during flowering will not hurt. The fruits are classified as universal-purpose tomatoes. Despite their small size, they have a typical tomato taste, dense red flesh when ripe. The fruits are good in salads; if desired, they can be preserved.
Planting and caring for indoor tomatoes
Tomatoes are propagated by sowing seeds. You can choose different sowing dates. If the goal is fresh tomatoes for the new year, then sow the seeds towards the end of summer. Tomatoes planted in January will begin to bear fruit in March. For summer consumption, seeds are sown for seedlings in February-March.
It must be remembered that when growing dwarf tomatoes on a windowsill in the autumn-winter period, artificial lighting may be required. Although the Minibel variety is not demanding on light, it will develop much worse in low light.
The soil
Not just any soil is suitable for indoor tomatoes. Here is an approximate composition ideal for dwarf tomatoes:
- 5 parts humus;
- 4 parts black soil;
- 1 part sand.
The fertilizer rate is given per bucket of soil mixture:
- 1 glass of ash;
- 40 grams of potassium fertilizer;
- 40 grams of superphosphate;
- 10 grams of urea.
Sowing seedlings
Before planting, soak the seeds for 15 minutes in a solution of potassium permanganate. If you want to speed up germination, you can put the seeds in damp toilet paper. Pack the saucer with seeds in a transparent food bag and place in a warm place.
At air temperatures above 25 °C, they will hatch quickly and can be transplanted into plastic boxes filled with fertile soil. Dive into separate glasses when 2 leaves appear. At the age of 40-50 days, transplant into a large pot and grow as an adult tomato.
Care
Basic care comes down to watering and fertilizing. It is necessary to water not often, but abundantly. Combine fertilizing with watering. You can burn the roots if you pour a fertilizer solution over dry soil. You can use mineral fertilizers or complex fertilizers for tomatoes.
During the growing season, feed at least 3 times. The first time 14 days after transplanting into a large pot. The second time the plant will form flower clusters. The third time, when the fruit is set.
Reviews from amateur vegetable growers
Vladimir.
I am practicing growing dwarf tomatoes. I grew Minibel tomatoes on the window and Balcony miracle. The description gives a recommendation for the size of the pot - 2 liters, I tried to follow the instructions, but I didn’t like it. The soil in the pots quickly dried out, I felt sorry for the plants, so I transferred them to larger pots (5 l). They fruited well. The declared kilogram of harvest was given away. I planted the variety at the dacha, and the bushes fruited quite successfully in open ground.
Tatiana.
I don’t have a dacha, but I like to tinker with plants. I bought Minibel tomato seeds from Prestige Seeds and sowed them for seedlings in March. It dived like all other tomato varieties in the 2-leaf phase. The first pot was small, no more than 300 ml in volume. When the bush grew bigger, I transplanted it into a beautiful flowerpot. The capacity of the pot is 5 liters. Tomato bushes at the time of flowering and fruiting are a living decoration of the apartment. Small tomatoes stick around the entire bush. They taste no worse than tomatoes grown in open ground.
Katerina.
I read reviews about growing dwarf tomatoes on the balcony and bought seeds of the Minibel variety. I sowed it in February, and previously kept it in a solution of the drug “Epin” according to the instructions. Every single seed sprouted. The bushes are in appearance and size as in the description. The tomatoes are small but tasty. We've been eating them since June.
