Рассада помидоров стояла на подоконнике рядом с лейкой и ждала тёплой погоды.

Рассада is a singular collective noun in Russian. It refers to a mass or group of young plants as a single whole, much like English foliage or vegetation.

So:

• рассада стояла = the seedlings were standing / the tomato seedlings stood
• not стояли, because the grammatical subject is singular

This is why the verbs стояла and ждала are both in the feminine singular past form.

Because помидоров is in the genitive plural.

In рассада помидоров, the noun помидоров tells you what kind of seedlings they are:

• рассада чего? → помидоров

This is a very common Russian pattern:

• чашка чая = a cup of tea
• бутылка воды = a bottle of water
• рассада помидоров = tomato seedlings / seedlings of tomatoes

So помидоров is not the subject. It depends on рассада and specifies the type.

In the past tense, Russian verbs agree with the subject in gender and number.

The subject is рассада, which is:

• singular
• feminine

So the past tense forms are:

• стояла
• ждала

Compare:

• стол стоял — the table stood
• книга стояла — the book stood
• окно стояло — the window stood
• люди стояли — the people stood

Since рассада is feminine singular, стояла / ждала are exactly what you expect.

Because на with location usually takes the prepositional case.

Here the idea is where?

• где? → на подоконнике = on the windowsill

So:

• подоконник → dictionary form
• на подоконнике → prepositional singular

Compare:

• на столе = on the table
• на полке = on the shelf
• на подоконнике = on the windowsill

If there were motion onto the windowsill, Russian would normally use the accusative:

• поставить на подоконник = to put onto the windowsill

But here the seedlings are already there, so it is на подоконнике.

Because the expression рядом с requires the instrumental case.

So:

• лейка = watering can
• с лейкой = with / next to the watering can
• рядом с лейкой = next to the watering can

This is a fixed pattern:

• рядом с домом = next to the house
• рядом с окном = next to the window
• рядом с лейкой = next to the watering can

So the important thing to remember is:

• рядом с + instrumental

This is a very common learner question, because ждать can be followed by either the accusative or the genitive.

In this sentence, тёплой погоды is genitive singular.

Why genitive here?

1. With ждать, the genitive is traditional and very common, especially with:

   • abstract nouns
   • indefinite things
   • set expressions

2. Ждать тёплой погоды is a very natural Russian phrase meaning something like:

   • to wait for warm weather
   • to await a period of warm weather

It sounds idiomatic and slightly general/indefinite.

You may also hear:

• ждать тёплую погоду

But ждать тёплой погоды is especially natural in this kind of sentence.

So for a learner, the safest takeaway is:

• ждать кого/что is possible
• ждать чего is also possible
• with things like погода, дождь, перемены, the genitive is very common in natural Russian

It is genitive singular feminine.

Breakdown:

• погода → nominative singular
• погоды → genitive singular
• тёплая → nominative singular feminine adjective
• тёплой → genitive singular feminine adjective

So the adjective agrees with the noun:

• тёплой погоды

This is a good example of adjective-noun agreement inside a case form.

Because Russian, like English, often omits the repeated subject when the same subject does both actions.

The subject is рассада помидоров, and it applies to both verbs:

• стояла
• ждала

So the structure is:

• [subject] стояла ... и ждала ...

This is completely normal and very natural.

Russian word order is fairly flexible, and this sentence could be rearranged for emphasis. But the given order is neutral and natural:

• Рассада помидоров стояла на подоконнике рядом с лейкой и ждала тёплой погоды.

This order presents the information smoothly:

1. subject
2. location
3. additional location detail
4. second action

You could change the order, for example:

• На подоконнике рядом с лейкой стояла рассада помидоров и ждала тёплой погоды.

That puts more focus on the setting first.

So the original order is not the only possible one, but it is a very normal default-style sentence.

Yes, стоять literally means to stand, but in Russian it is also commonly used for objects that are upright or situated somewhere.

So with things like plants, bottles, furniture, containers, and other objects, Russian often says stood where English might prefer:

• was
• was sitting
• was placed
• was on the windowsill

So рассада ... стояла на подоконнике is natural Russian.

Compare:

• Бутылка стояла на столе. = The bottle was standing on the table.
• Цветы стояли у окна. = The flowers were by the window.

Russian often uses a more physical verb where English uses a more general one.

Лейка means watering can in this context.

It can also mean other things in some contexts, but for a sentence about seedlings on a windowsill, watering can is clearly the intended meaning.

So:

• рядом с лейкой = next to the watering can

On its own, с often means with, but in the expression рядом с it is part of a fixed phrase meaning:

• next to
• beside

So you should learn it as a unit:

• рядом с кем?
• рядом с чем?

Examples:

• рядом с домом = next to the house
• рядом с сестрой = next to my sister
• рядом с лейкой = next to the watering can

So here it does not really mean with in the English sense of accompaniment.

Yes, the pronunciation here is тЁплой, not тЕплой.

The letter ё is often omitted in ordinary writing and replaced by е, so you may also see:

• теплой погоды

But the correct pronunciation is still with yo:

• тёплой

For learners, it is useful to notice ё whenever it is written, because it tells you the stressed sound clearly.

Yes. The verb ждала gives the seedlings a slightly human-like quality. Literally, seedlings do not consciously wait, but Russian often uses this kind of gentle personification in descriptive writing.

So the sentence is natural, but it also has a mildly expressive or literary feel:

• the seedlings stood on the windowsill
• and waited for warm weather

That makes the image feel more vivid.