Tomatoes for a polycarbonate greenhouse

Growing in a greenhouse is a painstaking task. Greenhouses typically have very high humidity, which is necessary for tomatoes to have constant access to water. However, this high humidity also makes the plants susceptible to various diseases. Also, the sun begins to warm up during the day, and it cools in the evenings, meaning the temperature in the greenhouse can fluctuate. It can freeze at night and overheat during the day, which also negatively impacts the plants. Therefore, it's important to carefully consider how to properly care for plants in these conditions and which tomato varieties are best for a polycarbonate greenhouse.

How to properly prepare a greenhouse for seedlings?

Growing tomatoes in a greenhouse is not an easy task. Before planting, you need to properly prepare the entire space to ensure the seedlings feel comfortable and thrive. All greenhouse work should be completed before the first days of spring. For example, not every greenhouse can be heated, so the sun acts as a natural heater. When the sun begins to warm, the soil absorbs the heat and retains it for a long time. Therefore, the greenhouse should be located as far away from trees and shady areas of the garden as possible; it should be constantly illuminated by the sun.

To grow tomatoes for the greenhouse If you're using polycarbonate (for low-growing varieties), you also need to prepare the soil so that the tomatoes can get everything they need for growth and development from the greenhouse soil. Fertile soil is crucial, and if the soil is clayey, it's best to add a small amount of sawdust and high-quality compost.

The soil may also contain too much excess peat. To make the soil favorable for growing plants, sawdust, a little turf, and more compost are added. Regular sand can be added to this list if desired. To create good beds, they are prepared in advance, at least seven days before planting. Each bed should be a meter wide, and if several beds are created in the greenhouse, there should be at least half a meter of space between them.

Creating tomato beds for a polycarbonate greenhouse (varieties for the Urals and others) isn't all the preparation required. Holes are also dug, and a bucket of a special potassium permanganate solution is poured into each. To make this solution, add one bucket of water (that's ten liters) and dissolve one gram of potassium permanganate in the holes.

The right choice of varieties

To get a more profitable tomato yield, it is worth learning about which tomatoes (varieties) are best for a polycarbonate greenhouse and how to grow them correctly, as well as which tomato diseases in the greenhouse If you have the opportunity to purchase hybrid tomato varieties, you should definitely do so. Hybrids produce the best yields when grown in polycarbonate greenhouses. They are highly resistant to various plant diseases, are relatively easy to care for, and are tolerant of temperature fluctuations. These tomato varieties will continue to bear fruit even if their environment becomes unfavorable for growth.

If you want to get a truly good harvest from a single tomato plant by growing tomatoes in a greenhouse, it's worth choosing tomatoes that don't restrict their growth. These varieties grow and develop well, resulting in high yields, but plants that produce only one stem should not be planted in a polycarbonate greenhouse. To ensure the plant can form eight additional stems, gardeners will need to plant the first tomato seedlings in greenhouse soil at least in early May. Although May isn't particularly warm, this time of year can be quite hot during the day, but the temperature drops significantly at night. These temperature fluctuations have a significant impact on seedlings. If you plant tomato varieties with limited growth in a polycarbonate greenhouse during this period, they will produce only three shoots.

Tomato varieties that don't restrict stem growth have their own distinct advantages. If you plant tomatoes for a polycarbonate greenhouse (pictured) in greenhouse conditions, the first fruits can be harvested very quickly. Furthermore, these tomatoes produce a very rich harvest, as a single cluster can produce 10 to 30 fruits, depending on the plant variety and the weight of each tomato. A single plant can yield ten to twenty kilograms of tomatoes. There are also tomato varieties that produce as many as fourteen clusters on a single stem, rather than eight, which means they produce quite a good crop. Each fruit will be ready for eating or pickling for the winter before the first frost, as frost can destroy even nearly ripe tomatoes.

Proper preparation of seeds for planting in greenhouse conditions

To get a truly good harvest, you'll need to prepare all your tomato seeds for planting in a special polycarbonate greenhouse. It's worth noting that this preparation will also take some time, as several steps will be required to improve the quality of the seeds and eliminate any poor ones.

First, all the seeds need to be hardened. This procedure is performed with absolutely any tomato variety. To do this, place the tomato seeds in a small cloth or bandage bag and immerse them in a potassium permanganate solution. To prepare this solution, add one gram of potassium permanganate to one tablespoon of water. Let the solution sit for twenty minutes, after which the seeds can be removed. Once the seeds have withstood this treatment, carefully remove them and rinse thoroughly with plain, clean, cool water. After this, you can prepare a nutrient mixture for the seeds using water and nitrophoska. Stir just a teaspoon of this substance into one liter of water. Place the seeds back in the prepared solution and leave them in a warm place.

Once the seeds have been in this solution for the required amount of time, remove them and place them in a container with clean water for 24 hours. After this, remove the seeds from the water and immediately place them in a refrigerator for 48 hours. It's crucial to monitor the moisture content of the seeds; they must be adequate during hardening, otherwise they will dry out. After two days, remove the seeds from the refrigerator and immediately plant them in the ground. Only in this way will the tomatoes (varieties vary widely) grown in a polycarbonate greenhouse, which is not easy to grow, grow strong and healthy.

The best tomato varieties for growing in polycarbonate greenhouses

Honey Drop variety

This particular tomato variety, suitable for a polycarbonate greenhouse, contains a fair amount of sugar, resulting in a slightly sweet taste. The plant's fruits are not particularly large, weighing only thirty grams. It's best to start planting this tomato variety's seeds in March. To ensure the seedlings are hardy, the air temperature during cultivation should not drop below 20°C or above 25°C.

The seedlings are planted in greenhouses in late May, with a distance of half a meter between each plant. "Honey Drop" is a fairly easy-to-grow variety, as it easily tolerates climate changes. These are particularly worth considering. tomatoes for the greenhouse Polycarbonate varieties for Siberia can tolerate light frosts. It's worth noting that this plant doesn't like lack of moisture, so you'll need to water and weed regularly to get a truly high-quality and abundant harvest. If you have time, periodically add special fertilizer to the soil to nourish the plants. You can begin harvesting delicious and beautiful tomatoes as early as early September.

Tomato variety "Samara"

These are the tomatoes that aren't planted in open ground; they can only be grown in a polycarbonate greenhouse. These plants can produce several branches, each bearing several fruits, with a single plant bearing four to fourteen clusters. Ripe fruits gain considerable weight and are correspondingly large, and their flavor is very mild and pleasant, making them suitable for eating without canning. It's recommended to sow the seeds of this variety only in early March; this is ideal for growing tomatoes in a polycarbonate greenhouse in Siberia. The first seedlings can be planted in greenhouse soil after just six weeks, ideally at the very end of April.

Each fruit of this variety can weigh around ninety grams. The tomatoes require additional lighting, as natural light is scarce in April. This variety is ideal for canning whole tomatoes for the winter.

Variety "Moneymaker"

This variety is one of the most popular, especially among gardeners who grow vegetables in their gardens. It's considered an annual, a very colorful plant, and has a rather interesting name. The first seeds can be sown in early March, but transplanting the seedlings to a greenhouse is only possible after the weather warms up, meaning planting doesn't begin until late May.

It's worth noting that this variety produces its first ripe fruits quite quickly; you can harvest your first tomato crop just six weeks after planting. The bush grows to a height of one and a half meters, although some plants reach 180 centimeters. A single bush can produce four to seven clusters, each bearing up to fifteen ripe, large fruits. Each fruit can weigh up to one hundred grams, and the plant is resistant to pests and diseases. The fruits can be bright scarlet or light red.

We recommend:The best low-growing tomato varieties for open ground.

Long Keeper variety

This variety of tomato ripens quite quickly; the first juicy fruits can be harvested by the end of the second month of summer. The bush of this plant reaches at least half a meter in height during the entire growing season, and over the course of the season, a single bush can yield approximately four kilograms of fruit.

These tomatoes can only be planted in a greenhouse, and the greenhouse itself must be made of polycarbonate. "Long Keeper" does not tolerate lack of adequate moisture well, so it will need frequent watering; lack of moisture can lead to complete loss of the plant's yield. Because the bush has a tall trunk, it will need to be regularly tied up and supported. If gardeners want to learn more about tomato varieties for polycarbonate greenhouses, a forum for professional gardeners can help them choose the right tomato variety for a polycarbonate greenhouse.