Did you know that you can enjoy growing and harvesting cherry tomatoes indoors all winter long?
Cherry tomatoes are one of the most popular vegetable choices to grow for home gardeners. Not only can you get a huge harvest from just a few plants, they also produce much faster than their larger slicing counterparts. And are they ever good!
Cherry tomatoes are perfect for eating fresh in salads or for adding to salsas, juice, and sauces. And with so many different cherry tomato varieties available on the market today, there are near endless options when it comes to color and flavor.
While it is quite difficult to grow larger slicing tomato inside, cherry tomatoes are actually the perfect size and shape for growing inside year-round. And since they also happen to be self-fertilizing, there is no worry about the need for pollinators like bees and butterflies to find your plants.
In fact, all you really need for indoor tomato growing success is a warm room, a little bit of light and a few tomato seeds – and you’re ready to grow!
How To Grow Cherry Tomatoes Indoors
Selecting The Best Variety To Grow
When growing cherry tomato indoors, success all starts with selecting a variety that is well suited to small spaces.
It’s best when growing indoors to look for varieties that are labeled as being “patio” or “container” friendly. There are also newer dwarf type cherry tomatoes that are even smaller and perfect for indoor growing. (For specific varieties to grow, we included a few great selection at end of the article to try)
All of these “smaller” types are usually much more compact and don’t need large containers to grow extensive roots. Their smaller plant size makes them perfect to sit on shelves or in any space where the lighting is just right.
What You Need To Start Cherry Tomato Seeds Indoors
In order to grow tomatoes indoors, you will need a few basic supplies beyond your seeds, including potting soil, a good container or pot – and depending on the lighting in your house, an inexpensive fluorescent or LED shop light.
Selecting Your Potting Soil
Just as if you were growing tomatoes outdoors, you need to have good soil to produce great plants. The soil needs to be light, airy, and retain moisture well.
A good all purpose potting soil is great for this, especially if you add in some additional worm castings and coffee grounds to the mix. These help to add even more energy to the soil to help plants reach their full potential and yields.
Since you are growing indoors in smaller containers, you can start your seeds right in the final growing container. This eliminates the need for transplanting and keeps the seedlings growing fast. See: How To Create The Best Potting Soil For Potted Plants – The Perfect Potting Soil Recipe!
Choosing The Right Container – How To Grow Cherry Tomatoes Indoors
When selecting your pot or container, it’s first important to make sure it has plenty of holes for drainage. Poor drainage can lead to the roots becoming waterlogged. For indoor plants, and especially tomato plants, that can spell big trouble.
As for size, if the cherry tomato plant is less than a foot tall at its mature height, a container of around 6 to 8 inches in diameter and at least 4 to 6 inches in depth is ideal.
For larger cherry tomato varieties, aim for a final container that is at least 12 inches in diameter and 8 to 10 inches in depth. The larger you can go, the better as it will allow for a more extensive root system to develop.
Lighting Requirements – How To Grow Cherry Tomatoes Indoors
When growing tomatoes indoors, lighting is usually the biggest key of all. Tomato plants require at least 6 to 8 hours of direct daily light in order to grow healthy and strong. They will still grow with less light, but not as well – and certainly not as productively.
You can grow tomatoes in a sunny, southern facing window. But in most cases, it’s far better to give your indoor tomatoes a dose of daily artificial light to really get them to produce.
The good news – it doesn’t have to be fancy, expensive or hard to do. There is no need to purchase expensive grow lights. Tomatoes do not require a special spectrum of light to grow, which means ordinary fluorescent or LED lights will work perfectly fine.
To use, keep the lights a few inches above the tomato plants at all times. Leave the lights on for around 12 to 14 hours each day. If you are supplementing window light, adding 4 to 6 hours of artificial light will help.
Unfortunately, using only window light will usually leave plants leggy and thin. It’s better to use a combination of both if possible – as it will lead to better overall plant growth.
When your plants are growing in window light, always make sure to rotate the plants so all sides of the plant get sufficient light. When using overhead artificial light, all that is necessary is to keep the lights overhead.
Water, Fertilization & Pollination – How To Grow Cherry Tomatoes Indoors
So how do you keep indoor tomatoes growing strong? The first key is to water smart. It’s best to keep the soil of your growing cherry tomato plants moist but not overly saturated. Only water after the top two inches of soil is dry to touch.
Tomatoes are heavy feeders, so be sure to give your indoor plants half a dose of all-purpose liquid fertilizer every two weeks. As an alternative, you can apply compost tea or worm casting tea weekly for a more natural, slow-release fertilizer option.
As mentioned earlier in the article, cherry tomato plants are self pollinating so they do not require pollinators such as bees and butterflies. Outdoors, they rely on wind and even the flapping wings of wasps, bees and butterflies to spread pollen. But indoors, it’s easy to mimic this quite easily in order to help them out.
The first method to help pollination is to add an oscillating fan to the growing space. This helps to move pollen around, and just a few hours a day of a fan will work wonders. You can also gently shake the plant every day when there are blooms present.
Lastly, you can also hand pollinate to help transfer pollen from one flower to another. All methods will work, and it really comes to down to finding the one that is easiest and most effective for you.
Harvest Early And Often – How To Grow Cherry Tomatoes Indoors
The best way to encourage your plant to keep producing cherry tomatoes when growing indoors (or anywhere for that matter) is to harvest the fruit early and often.
Thankfully, with indoor growing, you don’t have to worry about pests, bugs, or most diseases ruining your plants or tomatoes. But harvesting the tomatoes regularly will still help in overall production. Not only will it let you enjoy fresh cherry tomatoes right away, it also helps to encourage plants to send resources to produce new blooms for future fruit more quickly.
When it comes to overall harvest, the type of plant you are growing matters. If you are growing an indeterminate variety of tomato, it will continue to produce as long as you keep watering and fertilizing. Determinate varieties will produce most of their crop all at once and then begin to die off.
So what are some of the best varieties of cherry tomatoes to grow indoors? Luckily – we just happen to list 6 of the best of the best below!
The Best Cherry Tomato Varieties To Grow – How To Grow Cherry Tomatoes Indoors
Determinate Varieties To Grow:
Tiny Tim Tomato – Despite being compact in size, this determinant variety features large clusters of 1-inch-sized fruit. It grows well in containers as well as in hanging baskets and requires no staking or support. Days to Maturity: 60 days. Affiliate Product Link: Tiny Tim
Yellow Balcony Tomato – This small cherry tomato variety is the ideal dwarf size for growing indoors and yes, on balconies in the summer too! It grows to a total height of around 20 inches, but produces tons of small yellow fruit with a delicious sweet tomato flavor.
It is a determinate variety, so you can plant a new plant every few months to keep fresh tomatoes coming on!. Days to Maturity: 85 days. Affiliate Seed Link: Yellow Balcony Tomato Seeds
Red Robin Tomato – This dwarf tomato variety is perfect for small space growing. It is a determinant cherry tomato cultivator that reaches only up to a foot tall. The fruits are around 1 inch in diameter and feature a mildly acidic flavor profile. Days to Maturity: 55 days. Affiliate Seed Link: Red Robin
Patio Choice Red Hybrid Tomato – This determinate cherry tomato variety produces a large yield of half-ounce-sized red fruit. The vines only reach between 24 to 30 inches, which makes it a great choice for hanging baskets or small trellises. Days to Maturity: 65 days. Affiliate Seed Link: Patio Choice Red Hybrid
Indeterminate Tomato Varieties To Grow
Small Red Cherry Tomato – This variety is an indeterminate plant that stays fairly compact. It is great for growing in hanging planters or in containers. The fruit is on the sweeter side with a slight tartness. It features a high water content which makes it great for juices. Days to Maturity: 60-90 days. Affiliate Seed Link: Small Red Cherry
Tidy Treats Tomatoes – Not only is this an indeterminate tomato variety that will produce heavily for you for a long growing season, but it also has the growth patterns of a more compact determinate variety. Basically, it’s the best of both worlds! You get tons of sweet cherry tomatoes while not taking up a lot of space in your home. Days to Maturity: 50-55 days. Affiliate Seed Link: Tidy Treat
Here is to growing your own tomatoes indoors this year in the winter – and to enjoying that fresh tomato taste even as the snow flies outdoors!
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