Fresh Summer Flavors Aren't Over — Grow This Type Of Tomato Indoors During Winter

Even if you love the shifting colors of autumn and frosty winter mornings, you have to admit that the abundance of fresh, ripe produce in summer is one of the best parts of the season. When the cold weather comes and you can no longer grow your own garden produce (or find local fruits and vegetables at the market), it can really throw a curveball in your recipe plans until the seasons change again. Sure, you can still find delicious ingredients, but they're never quite the same as something grown fresh at home. Luckily, if you have some space indoors, you can easily grow smaller tomato varieties right on your windowsill, even in the winter.

There are plenty of tips for growing great tomatoes, but some only apply to indoor growing. Many varieties of tomatoes don't need a lot of room and readily adapt to an indoor garden. From rare heirloom varieties like Chocolate Cherry, Amy's Apricot, and Beam's Yellow Pear to more well-known varieties like Tiny Tim, Micro Tom, and Lizzano, there are dozens (if not hundreds) of kinds to choose from. Micro Tom plants grow to just six to eight inches tall, making them ideal for even limited space in apartments. If you have more room, something like Terenzo tomatoes or larger heirloom tomatoes will take up 20 inches and produce sweet, red fruit with little maintenance.

When you're growing tomatoes outdoors in the summer, you can often buy seedlings at your local garden center. For winter tomatoes, you're going to have to buy the seeds. Fortunately, there are plenty of online outlets like Tomato Fest that sell them — and they're pretty cheap. You don't need to sprout tomato seeds first; you can just plant them.

Even though these are small plants, you should use the largest containers that you can accommodate. The more space a tomato plant has, the healthier it will be as it grows — and the better-tasting fruit it will bear. Tomatoes can have very complex root systems, so provide as much room as you can. A one-gallon flowerpot, which may only be 7 inches in diameter and 7 inches tall, can host Micro Toms and other smaller tomato varieties well. But bigger will always be better. Pots up to three gallons should work for most indoor varieties; just make sure they can drain well.

For the best results, you want to use a soilless potting mixture. It's less likely to hold any dangerous bacteria, and it will retain moisture and nutrients better than soil. While tomatoes typically need at least 6 hours of sunlight daily, that may not be possible indoors during the winter. Instead, you might consider utilizing a grow light to help them along.

Tomatoes also require frequent watering, at least until the water begins to drain out of the pot. They should never dry out completely. This may require more than one watering a day, so long as you don't oversaturate. As the seedlings grow, they may need some sort of support so they don't fall over. Bamboo stakes and wooden dowels can do the trick, or even mini tomato cages if your pots are big enough. With enough time and effort, you'll enjoy fresh tomatoes all winter long.