How to Grow Cherry Tomatoes in Pots and a Detailed Guide to Their Seven Benefits
Cherry tomatoes are also known as cherry tomatoes, small tomatoes and cherry tomatoes, and belong to the same Solanum genus of the Solanaceae family as large tomatoes. So, what methods are there for growing cherry tomatoes in pots? Do you know all seven benefits of cherry tomatoes? Let's find out together.
1. What methods are there for growing cherry tomatoes in pots?
1. Preparation before planting
Soil preparation
Soil is the foundation of vegetable growth, and choosing soil is actually not very difficult. Dig soil directly from a flower bed and sift out the large clumps. If conditions allow, sterilize the soil, mix in organic fertilizer and it is ready to use.
Seed treatment
Seeds bought from the market are not sterilized. All you need to do is soak the seeds in 55°C water for 15-20 minutes, then soak them in 28°C water for 24 hours, changing the water twice during this period. This is sterilization.
Place the sterilized seeds in a wet towel, wrap them up, and keep them in a 28°C environment, rinsing them once a day with clean water. They will sprout in 1-2 days.
2. Planting
Dig a small hole 1 cm deep in the soil, put the already sprouted seeds in, cover with 0.5 cm of soil, and keep them in a 25°C environment. In 3-4 days, the leaves of the seeds will emerge from the soil. At this point, keep the temperature unchanged during the day, and lower it to 20°C at night and stop watering. Wait until the leaves grow to 4-5 leaves before watering again; water only when the soil is dry and let it dry out between waterings.
3. Transplanting
Once the seedlings have grown 4-5 leaves, they can be transplanted. Dig the seedlings out of the small pot with the soil attached, move them into a larger pot, and water thoroughly. In principle, do not fertilize or water for one week after transplanting, but depending on the actual situation, water appropriately if the soil is too dry.
4. Flowering and fruiting
About 14 days after transplanting, the cherry tomato begins to grow in the large pot. After the plant flowers and sets fruit, start watering and fertilizing once every 7-10 days, and loosen the soil a little. On the balcony, control the temperature at 25-30°C during the day and 15-20°C at night. When the plant grows to about 40 cm, it needs a support to hold up its main stem, so that it does not collapse under the weight of the fruit.
Cherry tomatoes has bisexual flowers and can self-pollinate. Gently tap the plant when it is flowering to promote pollination. Also prune the side branches regularly so that they do not grow wildly and affect flowering and fruiting.
From sowing to harvesting the fruit, cherry tomatoes takes about 3 months, so if you love cherry tomatoes, you need to wait patiently.
2. The seven benefits of cherry tomatoes
Benefit 1: Promotes growth and development
Cherry tomatoes contains special substances such as glutathione and lycopene. These substances can promote human growth and development, especially that of children. Parents can give their babies more cherry tomatoes in daily life to supplement nutrition.
Benefit 2: Protects the body and provides sun protection
The lycopene in cherry tomatoes can protect the human body from the carcinogenic toxins in cigarette smoke and automobile exhaust, and can improve the body's sun protection function. People who are afraid of tanning may as well eat more cherry tomatoes in summer; it is both nutritious and provides sun protection.
Benefit 3: Assists with liver disease and aids digestion
The vitamin PP content of cherry tomatoes ranks first among fruits and vegetables. The role of vitamin PP is to protect the skin, maintain normal secretion of gastric juice, promote the production of red blood cells, and it also has an auxiliary therapeutic effect on liver disease. The malic acid or citric acid contained in cherry tomatoes helps gastric juice digest fat and protein.
Benefit 4: Cancer prevention
The lycopene in tomato products can not only prevent cancer and fight cancer, especially prostate cancer, but can also treat prostate cancer.
Benefit 5: Beauty and skin care
Cherry tomatoes can improve the body's resistance, delay aging, and reduce the formation of wrinkles. Girls all love beauty, so it is especially suitable for girls to use for beauty care. They may as well eat more to prevent aging.
Benefit 6: Promotes salivation and quenches thirst, and stimulates appetite
Cherry tomatoes is sweet and sour in taste and slightly cold in nature. It has the benefits of promoting salivation and quenching thirst, strengthening the stomach and aiding digestion, clearing heat and detoxifying, cooling the blood and calming the liver, nourishing and enriching the blood, and increasing appetite. It can treat thirst and poor appetite. If you usually have a poor appetite, eating a moderate amount of cherry tomatoes as a vegetable salad can improve your appetite.
Benefit 7: Protects gastric juice secretion
Cherry tomatoes can maintain the normal secretion of gastric juice and helps protect the stomach and liver. People with poor stomachs may as well eat more cherry tomatoes.