The house tomato is a compact bush variety of tomato from Russia that’s perfect for growing on your windowsill. This short and sturdy plant grows to about 1 foot tall that produces a large crop of round red tomatoes.
Tomatoes can come in a variety of different shapes, sizes and even colours!
In Valencia, Spain there is an annual tomato festival where attendees take part in a giant tomato fight.
Getting started
Make one hole in the centre of the soil as deep as your fingernail. Add two seeds and cover with soil. Place somewhere warm and bright like a windowsill and keep the soil damp, not drenched.
Cut a plastic bottle in half and place over where you planted the seeds. This will keep them warm and moist. Once germinated, uncover to give them as much light as possible. Remove any extra seedlings after about three weeks when 5cm tall to prevent them competing for nutrients (you can eat the seedling!).
Growing on
Once established, add some straw to the top of the soil to trap in moisture. Water plants regularly to keep the soil evenly moist. Fluctuating moisture levels can cause problems with the fruit, such as splitting or blossom end rot. They may need watering daily in hot weather. Curling leaves can be a sign that a tomato plant is short of water.
Sprinkle some natural soil enhancer on every 14 days once the first fruits start to swell.
Munch time
Tomatoes start to ripen from mid-summer onwards. Check plants every few days and pick tomatoes individually, with the stalk still attached, as soon as they start to turn red. They’ll continue to ripen once picked!
These are a fantastic snack on their own, in a salad, or you could even try making your own tomato sauce.
Recipes
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How-to-videos
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