Experienced gardeners have long noted that when growing a tomato from a seedling, the yield and immunity of the plants is much higher than when sowing seeds directly on open beds. Growing seedlings at home will not be difficult if you adhere to certain requirements and take care of them properly.
Contents
- Correct timing of sowing tomato
- seeds Preparation
- seeds Soil Preparation
- Sowing seeds at home
- Lighting
- Watering
- Feeding
- Dive seedlings
- pinched
- Hardening
- Signs differences
- healthy seedlings Common Errors When growing seedlings
Correct timing of sowing tomato seeds
Properly defined planting dates will ensure good growth of the bush and its abundant fruiting. To sow seeds for seedlings need 55-60 days before planting seedlings in open ground .
In different regions, the landing dates depend on climatic conditions. For example:
- in Ukraine and southern Russia, sowing is necessary to perform from February 15 to 20 ;
- in the center of Russia - from March 15 to March 20 ;
- in the north of Russia - from April 1 to April 15 .
Preparation of Seeds
Before planting, it is necessary to select the seeds of tomatoes To do this, you need soak them in a solution of salt for 10 minutes .Remove seeds that float to the surface, as they are not suitable for sowing. Watered down and sanitized in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate, dropping the seeds in a cloth for 10 minutes.
Carefully watch the time so that you do not overdo the seed in solution, as this will reduce germination.
Disinfected seeds should be soaked in a growth stimulator for better germination. After that, carry out the hardening procedure by placing them in a tissue bag in the refrigerator for a day. Hardened seeds are heated for 8 hours at +21 degrees .
Preparing the soil
Mix the soil from the garden in equal parts with sifted river sand, peat or humus and add ash to normalize the level of acidity. Ready-made primer must be disinfected with in order to prevent disease.
Soil disinfection can be carried out with a solution of manganese. There are two ways to do this:
- It is good to water the soil with a hot solution of strong manganese;
- Heat the substrate in an oven for 15–20 minutes at a temperature of 190–210 degrees.
Sowing seeds at home
Pour the prepared soil into containers, level well. Sow seeds in grooves with a depth of 0.5–0.7 cm at a distance of 2.5 cm from each other. Sprinkle with a thin layer of earth, moisten with a spray bottle and cover with polyethylene.
Remove the container in a dark room with a temperature of + 27 + 28 degrees .Polyethylene must be opened during this time to give the seeds access to oxygen. Moisten the soil as needed. When the first germs appear, remove the polyethylene and transfer the container to a well-lit room.
The temperature in the room for the first week should be + 13 + 15 degrees during the day, at night + 8 + 10 degrees .On the second week, the temperature is increased by 4 degrees during the day and at night.
Lighting
After the emergence of shoots, the container is placed on the most sunny sill of the . After the emergence of shoots, special attention should be paid to lighting and care. A container with sprouts should be placed on the most illuminated sill .
In case of insufficient lighting, seedlings are recommended to create an additional round-the-clock backlight for the first three days. This can be done with the help of fluorescent lights. In the future, the duration of daylight should be at least 16 hours .
Watering
Watering must be done once a day with an spray gun. Watering of watering can not be that the stream of water does not damage the still weak root system.
Water should be at room temperature. Watering should be moderate, since excess moisture will lead to fungal diseases.
Top dressing
The first top dressing is necessary to produce 14 days after the first shoots of .In the future, make additional feeding every week .
Best of all fermented mullein or chicken droppings are best for tomatoes. You can also use ashes, crushed eggshells, infusion of onion peels. Fertilizers need to be after watering in the morning or in the evening. Fertilizers are applied to the root zone.
Diving of seedlings of
A dive of tomato seedlings is made after the appearance of 2 leaves of . If the seeds were sown densely, then the first pick should be performed 10 days after the first shoots of .Seedlings are planted very carefully, as the transfer of plants that have not yet become stronger is very destructive for them.
The following transplant must be performed if there are two sheets in the seedlings. Replace it is necessary in pots with a capacity of 1 liter. This should be done carefully, removing the saplings from the glass along with the ground so as not to damage the still weak root system. After transplanting, seedlings must be watered with a spray bottle.
Pinching
Perform a pinching procedure so that the stepsons do not slow down the growth of the main stem. It is necessary to remove them until until they have grown to 5 cm .This procedure will be painless for the plant.
After transplantation, it is recommended that pinch the stem itself. Then all power will be directed to the fruits. For tall varieties, pinching in two stalks is recommended.
At the same time, in addition to the main trunk, one more stepchild is left, who will subsequently be the second stem. With this kind of pinching to ripen the fruit will be slower, but the yield will increase significantly.
Pinching seedlings Hardening
After the appearance of three sheets of on seedlings, it should be hardened. This will help the seedlings to better adapt to weather changes and improve immunity to disease.
In the first days of hardening in the room for 20 minutes open the window. It is necessary to ensure that there are no drafts, and the cold air flow was not directed at the seedlings.
The following days the seedlings are taken out to the open air at first for 2 hours, then the time is increased to a full day. Two days before planting, seedlings are left outside for a day.
Signs of Difference in Healthy Seedlings
- Height 30–35 cm ;
- thick sturdy stem;
- availability of 10–12 leaflets ;
- leaf color is dark green;
- formed inflorescences.
Thick stem and the presence of 10-12 leaves - signs of healthy tomato seedlings Common mistakes when growing seedlings
- unsuitable seeds for growing seedlings( not selected);
- improperly prepared soil( heavy soil or not disinfected);
- non-compliance with the temperature;
- lack of lighting( excessive stretching of the seedlings);
- early seeding time;
- lack or excess moisture;
- lack of hardening;
- untimely transplant of seedlings.
By the time of planting, the seedling age should be 55–60 days .Perederzhivat seedlings is not recommended, as this will significantly reduce the harvest. Depending on the region, the landing is carried out from the beginning of May to the middle of June.
Compliance with these recommendations is the key to growing healthy, robust seedlings and obtaining high yields.
