On a summer cottage, you want to plant not only fruit trees and shrubs, but also leave space for planting various garden crops. However, there are not enough beds for all, so vegetable growers are coming up with new options for growing vegetables while saving space for planting: growing tomatoes in a barrel is one such method.
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The essence of growing tomatoes in a barrel
Growing tomatoes in a barrel is a very interesting method that allows you to save space and grow strong bushes that produce large yields.
In garden plots, beds with strawberries appear, located vertically, flowerpots and other containers hanging from the walls of buildings in which dill, parsley and other greens are grown.The most popular vegetable in garden beds is tomatoes, because the harvested tomatoes are used for fresh consumption, salads are prepared, the fruits are actively used in canning, tomato juice and tomato puree are made from them, and various salads with the addition of tomatoes are prepared on a turnkey basis.
Among the different methods of growing tomatoes, if there is not enough space for planting, special attention should be paid to planting and growing tomato seedlings in barrels. Let's look at how to grow tomatoes in a barrel, what is required for this and what kind of harvest you can get.
The nuances of growing and caring for tomatoes in a barrel
The main innovation of this method of cultivation is the following: the barrels are suspended above the site, and the seedlings are planted so that they grow with their “tops” down. This way you can grow all varieties of tomatoes, following certain rules for planting and further caring for tomatoes.
You can use any containers for planting:
- metal barrels;
- buckets made of different materials;
- wooden tubs.
The main requirement is a sufficient container volume for root growth. A hole with a radius of 3.5 - 4 cm should be made in the bottom.
The container is placed on a pair of supports for stability. Thread the tomatoes into the hole, leaving about 6 cm of the stem outside. The nutrient soil mixture is placed in the barrel in layers. First, lay out the soil along the walls, fixing the plant. The thickness of the soil in the area of the root system is no more than 6 cm. The next layer should consist of rotted manure or compost, the last layer should be garden soil. So, layer by layer, fill the entire container, not reaching the edge by 4 cm. After this, you can hang the finished “bed” in a permanent place.
Growing tomatoes in this unusual way allows you to save as much space in the garden as possible for other vegetable crops. Tomatoes grown in hanging form give good yields - the same amount of fruit is collected from one plant as from bushes grown in beds.
When planting seedlings in barrels, you should carefully insert them into the holes, being careful not to damage the root system and stems. Having got the hang of it, gardeners can plant tomatoes in barrels as easily and naturally as they do in the garden.
Caring for tomatoes in hanging containers is no different from caring for crops in beds. The main thing is to ensure regular watering. At first, in order to protect the seedlings from possible spring frosts, you should cover the containers with polyethylene at night. If a variety requires the formation of bushes and the removal of stepsons, this must be done regularly. It is better to remove stepsons after a sufficient number of ovaries have formed on the bushes - in this case there will be more fruits.
