To get excellent flavoring tomatoes at the end of the season, the first thing you need to take care of is the right choice of variety and the purchase of seeds for planting. Because in order to get the desired result on the tomato harvest, the gardeners themselves prefer to plant seedlings, and do not buy ready-made ones on the market.
Planting a tomato
Growing a tomato is not particularly difficult for gardeners. the main thing provide the necessary conditions and then in the end there will be a good harvest of this vegetable.
General rules:
- Seed selection;
- Sowing seeds;
- Growing seedlings;
- Landing in open ground;
How to plant from seed
You can grow seedlings in various ways:
- Planting seeds into prepared containers - this is a method in which they are first planted in one box, and after a dive they are seated in separate containers;
- Wrapping the seeds in diapers - it is also called the Moscow method and they do it like this - put a tape of cellophane, a piece of toilet paper on it, moisten it with warm water, lay out the seeds in increments of 1 cm and 1.5 cm from the top edge, another layer of paper on top, moisten and put another cellophane tape. After all the manipulations, we turn everything into a roll and put it in a container where water is poured so that the diapers touch it;
- Planting seeds in open ground under the film - seeds are planted in the warmed-up ground and covered with a greenhouse film from recurrent frosts;
It is important to choose the right option so that growing does not become a laborious task.
How to plant seedlings
To understand how best to plant a tomato, you can give an example based on the Tretyakovsky F1 hybrid. The plant is determinate and suitable for growing in greenhouses. From the first shoots to the ripe fruit passes 3.5 months, which means you can plant seeds until April 1.
It is best to plant each individual seed in a peat tabletto reduce trauma to the roots. Further care for seedlings does not differ from generally accepted rules.
Hybrids do not transmit their genetic data using seeds.
When and how to sow a tomato
Sowing tomatoes for seedlings is carried out starting from the third decade of February to April 1... You can learn the seed sowing technology by reading this article.
At home, tomatoes can be grown on a windowsill, a glassed-in balcony, on a table, if it is equipped with lighting so that the seedlings do not stretch out.
The gardener himself decides how to choose the method of planting tomato seeds for seedlings. But first of all, you need to purchase good seeds and they are usually purchased in specialized garden centers from trusted manufacturers. This gives you the confidence to get the right crop.
Seed selection
If tomatoes are planted for the first time on the site, then you should choose the variety that will correspond to the gardener's taste preferences and be cultivated in a certain region.
Therefore, there are certain rules that should be followed when choosing tomato seeds:
- First of all it is period of full ripening of fruits... Since in the northern region, where the summer is long and warm, the gardener can afford later varieties.
- Also worth considering bushes height, since, if the planting of tomatoes will be carried out in a greenhouse, in connection with saving space, it is worth paying attention to tall, high-yielding varieties. If the tomato planting area is large, then it is best to plant varieties with a height of 50-100 cm, since in large areas it is not profitable to put supports for tall tomatoes.
- Tomato growing region - here you can see that some varieties zoned for a specific region, which means that it is in this region that there is an opportunity to get a consistently large harvest of this variety.
- If the package says that this type of tomato is only able to grow in a greenhouse, then it should not be planted in open ground, since most likely the tomato will not survive there.
- The size of fully ripe fruits is important, since large tomatoes can only be used for slicing salads, and with a diameter of 5-6 cm and the correct shape, they are good for conservation.
When choosing a variety for yourself, read the data written on the package, this will help decide how the tomatoes correspond to the region and the gardener's taste preferences.
Seedling dishes
Nowadays there are many different specialized utensils for growing. But it is worth considering that first the seeds are planted in a seedling box with a height of about 12 cm, and then, during the dive, the seedlings are planted in separate volumes not less than 200 gr.
Therefore, the following can be adapted for seating boxes:
- Milk and juice boxes;
- Cut off 5 liters. plastic bottles;
- Wooden boxes.
For the container into which the dived sprouts are transplanted, disposable ones are well suited cups with a volume of 200 and 500 gr.
It is necessary that the dishes have holes for draining excess water.
Required soil composition
After choosing the pots, it is worth choosing the right soil where you can plant the seeds. First of all, it must be nutritious and loose... Therefore, you can purchase primer at the appropriate store.
Or you can compose it yourself, taking everything in equal proportions:
- Peat.
- Garden land.
- Sand.
Any land bought or compiled with your own hands must be disinfected. Suitable for this freezing or roasting - the main thing is that various microorganisms die.
Preparing seeds at home
To find out if the seeds are suitable for sowing in the ground, you need to determine the viability. This is recognized in two ways:
- A saline solution is made and seeds are poured into it, those that have surfaced can be safely thrown out, the rest are suitable for growing.
- Seeds germinate on a damp cloth, and as soon as the sprout's nose springs, it is planted in a glass with soil.
Seeds purchased from reputable companies have already been tested for germination and treated with growth stimulants, so they should not be soaked.
How to properly sow seeds in the ground
The prepared soil is poured into containers and moistened using bottom irrigation. After the excess water leaves on the surface of the soil, small trenches are made with a depth less than 5 mm, it is convenient to do this with a ruler, so the rows turn out exactly. Seeds are placed in the trenches with a step of 2.5 cm and sprinkled with earth. 4 cm is left between the trenches.
After sowing the seeds, cover the containers with glass or put them in a plastic bag. This will protect the soil from drying out and create greenhouse conditions with the help of which friendly tomato shoots will appear.
Dive
Dive tomatoes are done when the seedling will two true leaf plates... For this, the soil is well soaked and carefully removed one seedling at a time and transplanted into a separate container according to the root system. The most convenient way to do this is at home or in an apartment.
When diving, seedlings must be planted quickly and carefully, without breaking away from the process, so as not to destroy the seedlings.
Care
Further care will consist of watering, which should be regularbut to prevent waterlogging of the ground. Also, the seedlings should stand on a warm and sunny windowsill so that there is no excessive stretching of the shoots. It is turned once a week in different directions to the light source so that it does not grow lopsided.
There is no need for fertilization, since the soil does not age in 1.5 months. Before planting in open ground or a greenhouse, the seedlings are gradually accustomed to open air - hardening is carried out.
Good seedlings have a vigorous appearance, green foliage, 6 leaf plates and a height does not exceed 15-20 cm.
Growing errors
The main mistakes of novice gardeners when growing seedlings:
- Incorrectly selected seeds.
- Bad land in boxes for growing.
- Incorrect temperature and bad light.
- Overfeeding seedlings with fertilizers in poor lighting.
Storage period
Without soil, seedlings are not stored for a long time, no more than two hours, provided that they are wrapped in a wet cloth and not under the sun's rays.
Dates for planting tomatoes
Since tomato seedlings after 2 months are ready for planting at the main growing site, the seedlings are sown 60 days plus five days for seed germination.
Sowing in the ground
If this is the Krasnodar Territory of Russia, then the seedlings begin to be planted in open ground in early May, and in the greenhouse you can 2 weeks earlier.
Based on these terms, we count back 65 days and get the date:
- For open ground - planting seeds for seedlings begins on February 25 and not earlier because it is difficult for overgrown seedlings to take root in a new place;
- For greenhouses, they begin to sow seeds for seedlings on February 20.
You need to sow on time to get healthy seedlings.
Seeds for seedlings are sown before April 1, since if you plant later tomato bushes only for decorative purposes, the tomatoes will tie on them, and will not have time to ripen. This period especially applies to the northern regions of Russia.
When can you plant seed for large-fruited varieties
First of all, tomatoes and tomatoes are the same plant name. Large-fruited tomatoes are grown quite often by planting them in a greenhouse. To grow seedlings of such tomatoes, they are already starting to sow seeds in the third decade of February.
Harm from early landing
Early planted seeds are, as a result, too elongated tomato seedlings, not only with flowers, but also with fruit ovaries. After planting in the main place, such seedlings get sick for a long time and throw off both flowers and fruits.
It is necessary to plant the seeds within a specific time frame in order to obtain healthy seedlings. Adhering to all the rules for growing seedlings, you will get a good harvest of the tomato of the desired variety.