For many gardeners, the question of when to plant tomato seedlings is very important in order to get an excellent harvest. It is very important to take into account the climatic characteristics of the area, as well as the variety of tomatoes.
One more important factor When sowing seedlings, it is important to choose the right time; it is from this that the timely ripening of the fruit follows. Additionally, you need to select appropriate place for planting crops - a greenhouse or open ground.
People often ask, what is the time frame for planting tomato seedlings? Planting in a greenhouse occurs approximately two months after germination. The height of the seedlings during this period should be thirty-five centimeters.
For the Moscow region, planting tomato seeds for seedlings begins in early March and throughout the month. For seedlings under film covering - in mid-March.
For Siberia and the Urals, the time for planting seeds is from March to April.
But for accurate calculations it is better to use the above advice, depending on:
- from tomato variety;
- places for further cultivation;
- opportunities for lighting seedlings during early planting;
- planting on time in a greenhouse or under film;
- weather conditions expected this spring;
- moon calendar. There is a belief that landing will take place on lunar calendar.
Folk signs say: If the snowdrop blooms, then you can plant tomatoes as seedlings. Seedlings on permanent place can be planted when rowan and lilac bloom.
Do you think that folk signs help to grow good harvest tomatoes?
Yes, this is the experience of the previous generationNo, it's all superstition
Preparing soil for seedlings
It is better to prepare the soil in the fall, as the soil shrinks in winter. The work can be done outside if the weather is warm or in a shed:
- Before you start mixing, the soil and sand must be sifted. This procedure is necessary to remove various types garbage, pest larvae and the like.
- Then spread out the polyethylene, pour out and mix everything that is required to prepare the soil. Add fertilizer as needed, mix everything and place it in containers or bags.
- The prepared soil mixture is stored in a barn. Two weeks before preparing tomato seeds for planting, the soil falls into warm room. This will allow you to reach the optimal temperature, i.e. warm up.
Soil disinfection. An accompanying procedure when preparing the soil for planting tomatoes for seedlings is disinfection. Experienced gardeners are advised not to neglect this procedure. Disinfection allows you to get rid of larvae and eggs of pests and pathogens. Land can be cultivated in several ways:
- To freeze. The soil is left outside for the winter, covering the container from precipitation. Before the soil is used to prepare the soil mixture, it should be brought indoors for a month, heated, mixed with the necessary components and taken outside again.
- Treatment with potassium permanganate- the prepared soil is watered with a solution of manganese 3 g per 10 liters of water, antifungal drugs such as phytosporin are added.
- Steaming. For this procedure you need two reservoirs - a smaller one and a larger one. The soil is placed in a smaller container and placed in a larger container on a stand. A large container is filled with water and placed on the fire. The container with earth is not covered, the second one is covered accordingly. After the water boils, steam it for an hour. You can preheat in the oven for 30 minutes at +40 C.
Every gardener can choose for himself the best option, based on your own considerations. For some, steaming and calcination methods are considered unacceptable, since along with the destruction of harmful microorganisms, beneficial ones are also destroyed. In this case, you can recommend adding to the moist soil:
- antifungal biofungicides (phytosporin);
- bioindecticides (fitoverm).
After disinfecting the soil, you can begin to sow the seeds.
How to plant in the ground?
It is necessary to plant the plant in the afternoon or, even better, in cloudy weather:
- In this case, the seedlings will not dry out and will “feel” better. If, however, you decide to plant your tomatoes before noon, then it is best not to water them that evening.
- Next, holes are made in the dug up soil every 30 cm. In them you need to add compost and a little ash or superphosphate. Add water.
- Take the seedlings out of the cups (if you bought them at the market) or take them out of your own container (if you grew them yourself) and lower them into the hole. Plant seedlings must be planted carefully so as not to damage them.
Gardeners usually plant plants at a depth that matches the height of the glass in which the seedlings were purchased, or so that the first leaf is above the soil. This makes it easier for you to plant and for the plant to take root.
Seedling care
Proper care of tomatoes after planting is the key to a good harvest. Therefore, it is very important to know all the intricacies of this action. All care can be divided into four types of work:
- watering;
- loosening;
- feeding;
- collection.
Before the seedlings are fully acclimatized, you need to monitor the condition of the soil surface. Thus, the soil must be loosened. Otherwise, the cracks that appear will affect the formed roots. As a result, they will be torn apart. Then there are two options for the development of events: either the seedlings slow down their development, or even die.
Watering the tomato should also be correct. This should be done accordingly:
- when transplanting seedlings into soil in one hole, 1.5-2 liters;
- flowering time - 20-35 liters per 1 m²;
- ovary formation time - from 40 to 50 liters per 1 m²;
- with repeated formation of fruits - from 70 to 80 liters per 1 m².
At the beginning of the fruit harvest, watering the grown bushes of the plant should gradually decrease. It has a positive effect on tomatoes and protects:
- from late blight;
- fruit cracks and other diseases.
Weakening is an important step in caring for tomatoes:
- Therefore, after planting, loosen the soil every 3-4 days. It is necessary to hill up the planted seedlings immediately after establishment and after ten days. You should loosen the soil under tomatoes every time after watering by 10-12 cm, and not deeper. Otherwise, damage to the roots of the plant may occur.
- Only after a month you can add 2-4 cm and loosen at a distance of up to 16 cm. Before closing the tops, the soil is cracked so that air and moisture penetrate into it better. The process is not complicated: cracks are made in the soil at a distance of one and a half meters from each other and a depth of 60 cm.
- It is correct that the first fertilizing is carried out 14 days after planting the seedlings in the soil. On one square meter you will need from 8 to 10 kg of saltpeter, 5-6 kg of urea or from 10 to 12 kg of nitrophos, from 20 to 35 g of superphosphate and potassium salt.
Potassium salt
Second feeding
The second feeding is 20-25 days after the first. The same fertilizers are also used in the same proportions. Also take a "recipe" for tomatoes in case they start to wilt. This is due to the negative impact of weather conditions on plants. Have to take:
- Mullein with water (1:10) or bird droppings (1:14).
- Both mullein and droppings are soaked for 24 hours.
- Then half a liter of one solution is mixed with 10 liters of water and the plants are watered.
- You need to repeat it in a week.
Remove the lower leaves of planted tomatoes after 1.5-2 months. Three bottom sheets subject to liquidation. After this, the seedlings need to be watered after 24 hours. This procedure is carried out once a week. If this is not done, air stagnation occurs and various diseases develop.
You can also watch a video where an experienced gardener will tell you how to properly plant early tomato seedlings in open ground.
Thus, planting tomato seedlings in open ground is not such a difficult matter. The main thing is to know the process and all its subtleties. Thanks to this article, you were able to learn the basic nuances of how to properly plant tomatoes in open ground. Planting tomato seedlings just got a lot easier!
Tomatoes are an example of a crop that is very difficult to harvest without seedlings. But, on the other hand, the process of growing tomato seedlings is not the most difficult task. At least she doesn’t need to create cold in the apartment, like cabbage, or, like eggplants, look for the warmest corner. Tomato seedlings and their owner coexist perfectly in the same climate, so you already know a little about how to plant tomatoes for seedlings.
Dates for planting tomatoes for seedlings
Tomato seeds should not be sown for seedlings too early: it often happens that the seedlings outgrow rather than do not have time to reach a state ready for planting in the garden. And with overgrown seedlings it is difficult both at home and when planting. The specific timing of seed sowing depends on the variety and climate of the region. Of course, the current weather also makes serious adjustments to the timing of transplanting seedlings into the garden bed, but you can’t predict it in advance...
You need to navigate the timing from the fact that tomatoes will have to spend about two months at home. You need to give about another week for seedlings to appear after sowing. And then it all depends on where we are going to grow tomatoes: in a greenhouse or unprotected soil. Therefore, the range, depending on the variety, region and further life conditions of tomatoes, is quite large: seeds are sown at home from early March to mid-April.
If you rely on varieties, then the late-ripening ones are sown first, the earliest ones are sown last. Unless, of course, we are talking about greenhouses. If you want to grow tomatoes in a greenhouse as early as possible, early varieties, on the contrary, are sown first. Now there are hybrids that, two months after sowing, already acquire the first miniature fruits. You shouldn’t let it get to this point in a city apartment; you can plant seedlings with buds or, in extreme cases, the first blossoming flowers.
Sowing tomatoes for seedlings in 2020 according to the lunar calendar
Often gardeners to choose optimal days To sow seeds, they turn to the lunar calendar. Unfortunately, different publications print slightly different versions of such calendars, as a result of which there is some confusion on this issue. Having considered many options, we can come to the conclusion that in most cases for 2020 the most favorable days consider:
- March 3–5 and 10–11,
- April 1–2, 5–7, 9–10 and 18–19.
Better to know general rule, which somehow logically links the timing of seed sowing with the phases of movement heavenly body. The phase of the waning moon is considered the most favorable for sowing tomato seeds for seedlings. During the new moon, it is recommended to completely refrain from any operations with plants.
Sowing dates depending on the region
The timing of sowing in the regions differs slightly; they are tied to the possibility of planting seedlings in the garden with the onset of real warmth. And if, for example, in the Moscow region the main work on growing seedlings begins in mid-March, then in the Lower Volga region this can be done a couple of weeks earlier, and in the conditions of Siberia or the Urals - no earlier than the first days of April. In the south, for example, in the Astrakhan region, no one will start seedlings at all, unless, of course, they want to get a harvest in record time.
What soil is suitable for seedlings
Tomato seedlings are not very picky about the soil, but in any case it should be light, moisture-absorbing, and necessarily breathable. The ideal composition is a mixture of equal quantities of turf soil, peat and humus. If you add a handful of ash to this mixture, then perhaps the seedlings will not require additional feeding. However, the soil prepared independently would need to be disinfected. This is easy to do: a week before sowing the seeds, the soil is generously watered with a warm pink solution of potassium permanganate.
Any soil must be sifted well, removing large and foreign objects.
The one who grows a small amount of seedlings, buys ready-made soil mixture in the store. Most often, it contains everything you need and does not even require disinfection. Just don't buy the most cheap options. It is also desirable that the soil is intended specifically for growing tomato seedlings (universal soil is also suitable for vegetable seedlings, but for flowers it’s better not to take it).
What container to plant in?
Traditionally, tomato seeds are first sown in a small common box or box, and 10–12 days after germination, the seedlings are planted in separate cups or in a larger box. This is due to the fact that tomato seedlings benefit from classic picking, during which young plants are not only transplanted to a new place, but also the central root is pinched, as a result of which the roots branch better and the entire bush becomes stronger and more resilient.
For primary sowing, there is no point in keeping special boxes in the house that take up space all year round. It could even be a plastic cake box, or better yet, a rectangular cardboard box for juice or milk. You just need to make a few small holes in one of the large sides to drain excess irrigation water. The height of the soil layer for sowing seeds should be at least 5 cm. Only one variety can be sown in each small box, and this is also convenient.
For subsequent picking, other dwellings must be prepared in advance. Anyone who grows a small number of seedlings plants the seedlings directly into individual pots or cups. For low-growing varieties, their volume should be from 250 ml, and for the most gigantic ones - up to a liter. The best solution, of course, is disposable peat pots. But if you plan to grow a hundred or more bushes, there will not be enough space for so many pots in the apartment, and the seedlings dive into a larger common box, with a height of at least 8 cm.
Video: sowing tomatoes in a common container
//youtube.com/watch?v=9za6UPul9ns
Seed preparation
If the seeds are fresh and purchased in a store, their preparation for sowing includes a minimum of activities, and often the bag even says that the seeds are fully prepared. Preliminary preparation seed production by the producer may include various operations, and through inept actions the gardener can reduce their result to zero. The maximum that can be done with such seeds is to soak them in plain water before sowing, if such a prohibition is not indicated on the packaging. You need to tinker a little with your own seeds from previous harvests.
The full cycle of seed preparation includes the following operations:
- Calibration. Performed by shaking the seeds in a 3% solution table salt. It is better not to plant those seeds that do not sink after 5–7 minutes. After this swim good seeds must be washed with water.
Since the seeds are not very small, initial manual calibration is also possible
- Disinfection. Carried out for 20–25 minutes in strong solution potassium permanganate, after which the seeds are washed with water.
To disinfect the seeds of any vegetables, the potassium permanganate solution is made strong and dark purple in color.
- Soaking until biting. The seeds are kept in a damp cloth until some of them show miniature roots.
1–3 days after soaking, long roots may already appear: the seeds shown in the photo are already a little scary to put in the refrigerator, but most likely they will survive and harden there
- Hardening. When several seeds have sprouted, the cloth with all the seeds is placed in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. It is advisable to periodically remove them from there for 2–3 hours and put them back.
In addition to these traditional operations, some fans also soak seeds in solutions of various adaptogens, for example, in diluted agave juice. This operation is very useful for capricious eggplants, but you can also treat tomato seeds in this way, and it won’t get any worse.
How to plant tomatoes for seedlings in 2020
In the classic method, prepared seeds are sown in a common box and then picked, but there are many options, including without using soil at the first stage. In any case, the task is to grow strong bushes of tomato seedlings by the end of spring that can easily take root in a new place after transplantation.
At what depth to sow seeds?
Tomato seeds are not the smallest, they germinate quite easily, so they are not sown very finely. Whatever container they are sown in, the planting depth is 1.0–1.5 cm. Deeper sowing can delay germination, and shallow sowing can expose the seeds even with the most careful watering.
It is customary to sow seeds of tall varieties a little deeper, but for dwarf varieties the depth can be as little as 8 mm. In addition, of course, these figures also depend on the density of the soil: after all, it is easier for a sprout to break through sand than through clay.
Sowing tomatoes for seedlings in a common box
Since tomatoes respond gratefully to picking, they are rarely sown immediately for permanent residence. Prepared soil is poured into any small box in a layer of 4–6 cm and prepared seeds are sown in it, and when the required age of seedlings is reached, it is planted in other containers. The progress of work is approximately as follows.
- Mark seeding furrows in the soil about 1.5 cm deep, 4–5 cm from one another.
Grooves can be made in any convenient direction
- Place the prepared seeds in the grooves, keeping a distance of 2.5–3 cm.
Seeds are placed by hand, one at a time
- Sprinkle the seeds with soil mixture, and place a 3-4 cm layer of snow on top. If there is no snow in March, carefully water the crops so as not to expose the seeds. (In the absence of snow, it is more convenient to water the furrows with water before sowing).
Snow, having melted, will ideally saturate the soil, and snow water can activate growth processes
- Cover the box with glass or film and place it in a warm place with a temperature of 23–25 o C.
Under glass creates the perfect greenhouse effect
- After 4–7 days, the seedlings should hatch. The box is immediately transferred to a well-lit, cool windowsill. For several days you need a temperature of 16–18 °C during the day, and 2–3 degrees lower at night. Then they gradually increase it to normal room temperature.
The appearance of single shoots is already a signal for a decrease in temperature
- After 10–12 days (and possibly earlier), the seedlings will begin to develop true leaves. At this moment or after a few more days, the seedlings are planted in separate pots or a larger box. If it is a box, plant the tomatoes according to a pattern no thicker than 10 x 7 cm.
When picking, each plant is provided with free placement
Picking is a very desirable stage in growing tomato seedlings. A couple of hours before the operation, the seedlings are well watered. In new containers, holes are made with a pencil into which miniature seedlings dug with any toy tool are placed. If they are dug up with a clod of earth - good, if not - no problem, the tomatoes take root in the new place just fine. Before placing the seedling in the hole, you need to pinch its central root a little (if it is very long, you can do it by half). In this case, the seedlings are planted so that the cotyledon leaves are above the very surface of the soil.
The seedlings in the new place are carefully pressed with your fingers so that there are no voids left in the soil, watered well and placed in partial shade for a couple of days, after which they are returned to normal conditions of light and heat.
Sowing in peat pots
Peat pots are extremely convenient for growing seedlings of crops that do not tolerate transplantation, but they are sometimes used in the case of tomato seedlings. Some gardeners do not plant seedlings in them, but immediately sow seeds in such pots. The most important advantage This type of container is that the entire pot, along with all its contents, is buried in a garden bed, and the roots easily grow through its walls.
True, peat quickly gets wet from watering, so it’s better not to touch the pots again: put them in a suitable box and keep them in it until planting them in the garden bed.
For tomatoes, use medium-sized pots. Seeds are sown in the same way as in a box, but compliance temperature regime even more important. If seedlings that are slightly stretched out in a box can be corrected by picking by deepening them down to the cotyledons, then replanting them from a peat pot will be very disappointing. Seedlings in peat pots requires slightly more frequent watering: water evaporates faster through semi-permeable walls.
The good thing about a peat pot is that you don’t have to remove seedlings from it when planting in a garden bed
Application of peat tablets
Peat tablets- a wonderful invention for seedlings that do not like picking. They are made from pressed peat, with the addition of other components beneficial to plants. The composition of the tablet material allows you to grow seedlings without fertilizing. Using tablets for tomatoes is not profitable (they are not very cheap), but it is convenient. Optimal size tablets for tomato seedlings - 7 cm in diameter.
The tablets are placed in any basin (a large food container is convenient) and water is gradually poured into it. Because of this, as a result of the absorption of water, their height quickly increases several times. A small recess is made in one of the ends of the tablets for a seed. The tablets are placed upward with this recess. Having placed the seed, it is lightly covered with peat and watered. The container is covered and kept warm until germination. Water the seedlings by simply adding water to the container.
Unfortunately, peat tablets are often too small for tomato seedlings, but their composition is very nutritious
Sowing seeds on toilet paper
Some gardeners initially do without soil at all, using a different substrate - toilet paper. Some crops can be grown in this way right up to the garden bed, but in the case of tomatoes, after some time, the seedlings need to be planted in ordinary containers with soil. You can use paper, for example, as follows.
Toilet paper is also used in the form of a “snail”, well known to gardeners, for which it is rolled into a roll, previously reinforced with a layer of dense film or linoleum.
Video: sowing tomatoes in a snail
Growing seedlings in a diaper
An option for making a snail is to use medical or household disposable diapers. On such a diaper they pour thin layer soil, lay the seeds close to the edge and roll the resulting garden into a snail. Place it vertically, cover it with a bag and wait for germination. When true leaves appear, seedlings are picked as usual.
Any type of snail is suitable for making snails. synthetic materials, but porous ones are optimal
Another direction for recycling used diapers (we are thrifty people!) is to make ordinary disposable cups from them for growing seedlings in the ground: polypropylene is durable, bends easily, and the diaper made from it is breathable. This material is much better for making “cups” than ordinary plastic film.
Seedling care
The most difficult time in growing tomato seedlings are the first 5–6 days after germination. If at this time the temperature is not reduced and maximum light is not given, the seedlings quickly stretch out and become unusable. Next, if everything went well, big problems does not arise. The seedlings are kept at room temperature, periodically water moderately warm water(25–30 o C) and, if the window sill does not face south, add a little additional illumination with fluorescent lamps or diode lamps.
At good quality soil can be done without fertilizing, but if the seedlings grow poorly, fertilizing is given. This is done a week after picking and perhaps 12–15 days before planting the seedlings in the ground. Use any complex mineral fertilizer according to the instructions on the package. Even an infusion of wood ash may be sufficient.
Two weeks before planting in the garden, the seedlings are hardened off by briefly taking them out onto the balcony if the outside temperature is not lower than 12 o C. The tomatoes are gradually accustomed to the lack of moisture in the soil. Seedlings ready for planting should not be long and pale. Good seedlings are stocky, with dark green powerful leaves on a thick short stem.
Video: caring for tomato seedlings
Growing tomato seedlings does not represent special labor, so most gardeners do it themselves. For example, not everyone can grow petunias, but tomato seedlings are like a test of maturity for a summer resident. It is very pleasant to realize that you have independently gone from a small seed to an appetizing bright red or pink tomato, which you pick from the bush, taste with pleasure, or treat it to others.
Tomato, or tomato, is a plant from the Solanaceae family, native to South America. Europeans became acquainted with it only after the discovery of the New World and the tomato, like everything new, “took root” quite difficult and for a long time. Despite this, the tomato is now one of the most popular and sought after vegetables all over the world. It's hard to imagine any of the national cuisines, where no tomato would be used. Some dishes cannot be imagined without tomatoes - just remember Ukrainian borscht, Italian pizza, Mexican chili, American ketchup and much more.
An important condition for obtaining a plentiful and high-quality harvest is correct landing tomato for seedlings. Only strong and healthy ones will quickly and easily take root in the soil or in a greenhouse, begin to actively bloom and set large and tasty fruits.
In order for tomato seedlings at home to be healthy and of high quality, you need to follow simple but very important rules:
- Correct timing for sowing tomato seeds for seedlings.
- Temperature maintenance.
- Stable water balance.
- Competent selection of soil.
- Selection of varieties for open ground and greenhouses.
- Proper planting of tomatoes in the ground.
When to sow tomatoes for seedlings according to the growing season?
Tomatoes come in early, mid-ripening and late varieties. Between these three varieties there are intermediate ones with a difference in ripening of 5-15 days, but basically this division is competent and correct.
- Early tomato varieties have the shortest growing season from sowing to flowering, therefore, they bring the earliest and most valuable harvest. Early seedlings The tomato produces delicious fresh vegetables, but requires more care and effort to grow.
- Medium-bearing varieties produce fruits at the height of the season; they are the most delicious and healthy. The growing season is longer than that of early tomatoes.
- Late tomatoes bear fruit from the second half of summer until late autumn, when warm weather tomatoes remain fresh on the bushes until frost. These tomatoes have the longest growing season.
Usually early tomatoes- a pleasant delicacy for the table after a long winter; mid-ripening ones accompany food throughout the entire season, and late ones are used for preservation and processing.
When is the best time to plant tomato seedlings?
For growing tomato seedlings on a windowsill, it is the early varieties that are most suitable, since they need to be sown as seedlings early in the spring, in order to be planted in the ground after the end of the return frosts.
If you plant tomatoes as seedlings too early, they will quickly grow and form, and weather conditions will not allow planting in the ground or under film. Such seedlings will stretch out, become fragile, pale and sickly, will have difficulty taking root in the soil and will bear fruit poorly.
Sowing too late means getting small, unformed seedlings. The timing of planting seeds depends on the weather conditions of the area where it is planned to grow seedlings; usually it takes 1.5-2.5 months to grow tomato seedlings.
According to the type of growth, all tomatoes are divided into two large groups:
- Indeterminate (vigorous).
For cultivation in greenhouses, tall and vigorous varieties of tomatoes are usually selected, since they are most productive in closed ground conditions and produce a large harvest.
If you plan to grow tomatoes in open ground, grow good seedlings tomatoes can be grown from low-growing varieties; they are less in danger of being pulled out and overgrown. Such plants form squat, strong bushes that often do not require further tying to a trellis or stakes.
How to properly plant tomato seedlings indoors?
To get good seedlings you need to choose healthy planting material, select suitable soil and containers for planting, maintain the correct temperature and watering.
Healthy calibrated seeds are selected for planting; puny and damaged ones are thrown away. There are two ways to sow seeds - in a common container, followed by picking, and directly into individual cups.
Since tomatoes tolerate picking and transplanting well, in order to save money and space, you can sow tomatoes in boxes or other suitable containers. Subsequently, the seedlings are planted for the first time, planted at a greater distance, and then transplanted into separate containers, where the seedlings remain until planted in the ground.
In the second option, seeds are sown 2-3 in pots or cups; weaker plants are subsequently simply pulled out. This method is more expensive, planting will take up a significant area, and it will not be possible to grow a large number of seedlings in an apartment.
Almost any non-soaking container can be used as a container for planting seedlings. Amateur gardeners successfully use wooden and even cardboard boxes lined with plastic film, disposable plastic or paper cups, sour cream and yogurt containers, juice boxes or milk cartons. For used containers, it is important to thoroughly clean the remaining contents, otherwise it can rot, contaminate the ground and destroy the seedlings.
When deciding how to properly grow tomato seedlings, you need to remember that this plant is very demanding on room temperature, lighting and watering. Wet air is harmful to tomatoes, therefore, when we plant tomato seedlings, it is important to regularly ventilate the room where they grow, avoiding strong temperature changes and drafts, which are detrimental to this plant. There is no need to spray crops with water; they can easily get sick and die.
Tomatoes are sown in trays or boxes, lightly sprinkled with sifted nutrient mixture and sprayed generously, covering with film. Air humidity is needed only until the seeds germinate, and then the film is removed.
The soil for tomato seedlings should not be too acidic, that is, pure peat is absolutely not suitable for this plant. At home, the easiest way to remove diseases and pests is by freezing. To do this, leave a bag or box of soil on outdoors, where frosts will quickly kill everything harmful to seedlings. The container with soil must be covered from precipitation, which can wash nutrients from the soil.
Healthy seeds hatch and germinate very quickly, and within 2-5 days, first “loops” appear from the soil, and then full-fledged cotyledon leaves. At this time, the room temperature should not fall below 25 degrees, and then it is gradually lowered slightly. Low temperatures are dangerous for this plant, serious damage begins already at 10 degrees - it turns yellow, buds and ovaries fall off, and growth stops.
In order for tomato seedlings on the windowsill to be strong and green, they need a lot of light. In case of shortage natural light landings will have to be done, sometimes this needs to be done around the clock. Tomatoes need to be provided with stable and uniform watering without waterlogging and drying out, which are equally detrimental to the plant.
Grown tomato seedlings are picked for the first time, and after a pair of true leaves appear, a second picking is carried out into seedling cups. When performing this operation, young plants are carefully buried along the cotyledon leaves. There is no point in damaging or even cutting off the cotyledons - they are a source of nutrients for the plant that has begun to develop. Subsequently, they will fall off on their own when they are no longer needed.
With the help of picking, you can slightly reduce the effect of stretching the plant by early stages- by deepening the seedling and adding light, you can make the seedlings stronger and healthier. The part of the stem that, after picking, will be in the ground, will give roots and will additionally nourish the plant. In order for the picked seedlings to take root quickly and without loss, the soil must be warm enough and the watering must be uniform without flooding. If we plant tomato seedlings correctly, we end up with plants with strong, stable stems, lush green leaves and an overall healthy appearance.
The question often arises: how to feed tomato seedlings?
During the growth period, plants need complex fertilizers with a predominance of nitrogen and a mandatory content of microelements. Grown-up seedlings need potassium more; if there is a lack of this element, the plant becomes covered in spots, stretches out, turns pale and gets sick.
Properly grown tomato seedlings quickly take root in the soil, form a strong green plant, and begin to bloom and bear fruit within the time limits established for this variety.
Growing tomato seedlings at home (video)
Dacha farming – good way provide yourself with tasty and fresh vegetables. Among them, tomatoes are one of the most popular crops. Growing them is a real art, and to obtain a high-quality and abundant harvest of tomatoes, you need to put in a lot of time, effort and labor. The process itself is divided into several stages, the first of which is working with seedlings. This determines how healthy and tasty tomatoes will be in the future. Therefore, if you are a beginner gardener, then you definitely need to learn how to plant tomatoes for seedlings correctly.
Before working with seeds, it is necessary to determine the timing of their planting for seedlings. Here you should pay attention to two things - how quickly the variety or hybrid of tomatoes you have chosen ripens, and in what area it will grow:
- for the Chernozem region and southern regions the right time for sowing tomato seeds for seedlings there will be a period from the last third of February to the second third of March inclusive;
- for the Middle Zone and central regions - from mid-March to early April;
- in the northern regions, in the Urals and Siberia - the first and second ten days of April.
Early ripening varieties should be sown approximately 50-60 days before transferring seedlings to open ground, the rest - 65-80 days. More exact dates can be obtained by carefully studying the characteristics of the tomatoes planned for planting.
Preparing tomato seeds for seedlings
Important! When making your own soil mixtures do not add clay there - it will worsen the properties of the soil and make it less permeable to water and air.
Above, in one of the sections of the article, we talked about how seeds for tomato seedlings were disinfected. The same measure must be carried out for the soil - without disinfection, the risk of young tomato sprouts being damaged by a fungus or some disease increases significantly. If you made the soil for seedlings yourself, disinfection is required. As for purchased land, the summer resident must act at his own discretion. There are four ways to clean the soil for seedlings from microorganisms.
- Calcination. The oven is heated to a relatively low temperature (+70-90°C). Then soil for seedlings or a mixture prepared in advance is poured onto a metal baking sheet and distributed in an even layer, no more than 5 cm in thickness. The earth is calcined in the oven for no more than half an hour. After calcination and cooling, the soil is ready for planting seeds for seedlings.
- Cold disinfection. The soil, pre-packaged in a bag, is placed in the freezer or taken outside (if it is winter) and left for several days under the influence of subzero temperature. Then they bring it back into the heat for the same amount of time, and then repeat the operation a couple more times.
- Steaming– the soil for seedlings is placed in a colander and placed over a pan of boiling water for 7-8 minutes. In this case, two tasks are performed - the earth is saturated with moisture and freed from microorganisms, fungi and weed seeds.
- Etching– the soil is soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate, prepared in the same way as for disinfecting seeds. Fulfill this operation should only be done a few days before planting seedlings.
Soil prices
soil for plants
Containers for planting tomatoes for seedlings
After seeds and soil for planting tomatoes for seedlings, containers should be prepared. They can be common to all tomato sprouts or individual, in the form of small pots or cassettes, divided by walls into separate cells. The second option is preferable due to the fact that you insure yourself against one-time damage to most of the tomato seedlings by the disease. Additionally, by using individual pots, you can distribute the nutrients for the tomato sprouts in the best possible way. You can see the main options for such containers in the table below.
Table. The main types of individual containers used for planting tomatoes for seedlings.
| Capacity type | Description |
|---|---|
| Small round and square containers made of plastic. They have holes at the bottom for drainage purposes. Glasses and pots are equipped with saucers in which the excess moisture, who left them through the holes mentioned earlier. |
| Large containers square and rectangular shape. Inner space divided into many equal square cells by walls, which can be either cast together with the product or removable. In the latter case, you have the opportunity to independently increase the size of individual cells of the pallet. At the bottom, the container has many holes created for the purpose of drainage. |
|
| Separate glasses and trays made not of plastic, but of natural peat. Tomato seedlings are planted in open ground, placed in a container, without being removed from it. The peat walls decompose and supply the young plant with some nutrients. |
| Containers, varying in size and shape, made from cardboard, thick paper, juice or milk cartons, or plastic bottles. Unlike previous options, they do not require purchase and are made independently. |
Peat tablets are another possible option.
Both homemade and purchased containers for tomato seedlings require mandatory disinfection using steam or cold.
Prices for peat tablets
peat tablets
Video - Sowing tomato seeds for seedlings
Planting tomato seeds for seedlings - step-by-step instructions
When the seeds, soil and containers are ready, proceed to the most important thing - planting tomatoes for seedlings. You will learn how to do this from the step-by-step instructions below.
Step 1. Remove and prepare containers, soil and seeds for use. Check if everything is enough.
Step 2. Pour store-bought or your own soil into containers. There should be approximately 2.5-3 cm from the edge of the pots or tray to the ground level.
Tomatoes are a crop that, before planting in open ground, in a greenhouse or in a home flower pot needs to be germinated. There are many options for obtaining high-quality seedlings, and each of them has its supporters. So, for example, seeds can be planted:
- dry or pre-soaked (pecked);
- hardened or not;
- With various options glaze;
- feeding or without additives.
Let's consider one of these options, simple, affordable and giving 100% results.
Stages of planting tomatoes at home
Buying seeds
Currently this is not a problem. The main thing is to choose a variety that will take root well in your climatic conditions. It is also important to pay attention to the production date. It is optimal that the seeds were prepared in the previous harvest. Germination and other indicators are standardized by law.
Seed preparation
After you have selected quality seeds from the bag, you need to prepare them for planting. You can plant tomato seeds in dry form - this method has a lot of fans. Moreover, it is believed that hybrid varieties No need to soak. But most gardeners still prefer to pre-soak the seeds.
You need to do the following:
- disinfect - keep for 24 hours at 0.8% acetic acid, treat with a 1% solution of potassium permanganate for 20 minutes, rinse;
- start growth - rinse with hot (about 60°C) water for 30 minutes;
- soak - place in warm (25°C) water for a day;
- harden (this increases resistance to temperature changes) - leave in the refrigerator for 24 hours, or for two days.
Useful: there are special mixtures for disinfecting seeds, as well as compositions for watering seedlings, which include the necessary antiseptic impurities.
After that we select required quantity It is best to sprouted (sprouted) seeds and plant them in the ground.
Priming
There are enough mixture options in stores for vegetable crops, there are also specific soils for seedlings of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. You can also make your own soil mixture by mixing in equal proportions:
- ordinary garden soil;
- humus;
- peat.
It is advisable to feed the soil with superphosphate, wood ash, water mineral fertilizers. The latter should be added in the following proportions:
- potassium sulfate (contains sulfur, calcium, potassium, magnesium) 20 grams per 10 liters of water;
- urea - 10 g/10 l;
- superphosphate - 30 g/10 l.
Important: if you buy ready-made soil, it may already contain these fertilizers and fertilizers. Then you don't need to add anything.
Landing dates
The best seedlings of tomatoes are those that were planted 50–60 days before planting in open ground or in a greenhouse. Yes, for middle zone Russia:
- early varieties should be sown in mid-to-late February;
- greenhouse - in the first week of March;
- usual - in the last week of March.
But, of course, you need to be guided by climatic conditions and the thermophilicity of the variety.
Planting seeds in the ground
You can use a variety of containers for tomato seedlings. Most often, seeds are sown in common containers, for example, plastic or even carton boxes, purchased and homemade boxes. Later the plants are planted and planted. But you can plant each seed in its own container, although this complicates care and slows down the development of the root system. The procedure is as follows:
- Pour a layer of expanded clay into the box to prevent water from stagnating.
- Add 5–6 cm of soil, compact it a little, water it a little, and loosen it.
- We make grooves 1–1.5 cm wide and deep at a distance of about 5 cm from each other.
- We spill the soil, and especially the furrows, with water or a nutrient mixture at a temperature of about 50°C.
- We place the seeds at a distance of 3–4 cm from each other in the groove, lightly (!) pressing them into the ground.
- We fill the grooves on top with loose soil and press it down lightly, but not too much.
- Spray with water from a spray bottle. Everything should be slightly moistened; excessive watering is unacceptable.
- We cover the top of the box with greenhouse film, glass or simply transparent polyethylene.
- We place the container with future tomato seedlings in a place with sufficiently high illumination and a temperature of about 22–25°C.
What to do when shoots appear
After the seedlings appear (hatch), and this should happen in 3–10 days, the top covering of the box must be removed and the plants moved to a cooler room. Optimal temperature- 17–20°C during the day and 15°C at night. Insolation should be very high. Then the “loops” of the sprouts will very quickly unfold the first leaves - cotyledons, and later real leaves will appear.
Table of approximate dates for emergence of seedlings from sprouted seeds.
The strongest are the shoots that appear on days 6–7 at a temperature of 25°C. They must grow together. Those that lag far behind can be cut off immediately, if, of course, you have enough seedlings. Just don’t “uproot” them, as this will disrupt the root system of other plants.
How to water and feed
After sowing the seeds, the first watering will occur somewhere on the 10th day. By this time, mass shoots should appear and take shape. To start, 1 teaspoon of water per plant will be enough.
Further, until the first true leaves appear, watering is carried out approximately once every 5–6 days. The soil should be moist, but not wet. Otherwise, oxygen will not reach the roots, and this will slow down their development or even cause rotting. Before picking, about 2 days before, tomato seedlings can be fed with mineral fertilizers and watered.
Important: picking is carried out when the soil is slightly dry. So the last watering before it needs to be done about 1-2 days before.
Picking
When the first two true leaves appear on the tomato seedlings (the lowest ones are false and are called cotyledons), it is possible and necessary to pick - planting the plants in individual pots. For this:
- We take the group with the earth out of the box.
- We carefully disassemble the clod of earth, separating one plant.
- We pinch the main taproot (this may not be done if the tomatoes grow in dry soil that will be rarely watered).
- We transplant the plant into an individual container with a volume of about half a liter. There should be holes at the bottom of the pot for water drainage. We fill the container with soil about 2/3, make a hole in which we place the young tomato. At the same time, you need to take it away from the group with a clod of earth, since the roots already have lateral shoots - hairs that can be damaged by knocking down the earth.
- Sprinkle the stem of the plant with soil about 1/2 or 2/3 from the root to the cotyledon.
- Gently press down the soil around the seedling.
- Lightly water the plant.
Video - Tomato seedlings: from germination to picking
What to do with seedlings from picking to planting in the ground
- Plants need to be watered regularly, but the first watering after picking can be done no earlier than the 4th day. At first, tomatoes are irrigated approximately once a week, but as the seedling grows, the frequency of watering increases. You need to pour enough water to saturate the entire earthen ball. The next watering is only after the soil has dried. Before planting in the ground, the tomato will require daily watering. The water temperature is about 22°C, it is advisable to let the water stand.
- Plants need to be fed with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. It is better for beginning gardeners to purchase ready-made mixtures, dilute them in water and water young tomato seedlings. If you want to prepare the solution yourself, then its composition per 10 liters of settled water should be as follows:
- ammonium nitrate - 10 g;
- superphosphate - 35 g;
- potassium sulfate - 10 g.
The first feeding is carried out on the 12th day after picking. You can repeat feeding after 10–15 days.
Important: phosphorus and potassium are found in ordinary ash, so supporters of “clean” fertilizers can use a solution of 1 tablespoon of ash per liter of water.
- Daylight hours for young tomato seedlings should be about 12 hours. It is advisable that the plants be oriented “to the sun” in the same way as they will be oriented on the site.
- The ideal temperature for tomatoes is 22–24°C during the day and 14–16°C at night.
- Hardening of seedlings is an important process, because natural environment It is impossible to achieve ideal conditions. So 10–12 days before planting in the ground, you need to gradually lower the temperature to 14–15°C. In 4–5 days the temperature can be set within 12–13°C. Ventilation, cloudy weather, changes in humidity - all this will accustom the plant to future real living conditions.
As a result, the tomato seedling should have 7 or more leaves, the trunk thickness should be about 7 mm, the height should be no more than 25 cm, root system must be well developed.
Let's summarize
Before planting tomatoes in the ground, they need to be germinated at home. To do this, prepare the seeds and soil, sow them, plant them after two leaves appear, feed them, water them, and maintain the correct temperature and light conditions. And then all the plants will take root, and the gardeners will get a good harvest of tomatoes.
