Experienced gardeners have long noticed that when growing a tomato from seedlings, the yield and immunity of plants is much higher than when sowing seeds immediately on open beds. Growing seedlings at home will not be difficult if you adhere to certain requirements and take care of them properly.
The correct timing of sowing tomato seeds
Correctly defined sowing dates will guarantee good growth of the bush and its abundant fruiting. Sowing seeds for seedlings is necessary 55-60 days before planting seedlings in open ground.
In different regions, the landing time depends on the climatic conditions. For instance:
- in Ukraine and southern Russia, sowing must be performed from 15 to 20 February;
- in the center of Russia - from 15 to 20 March;
- on the North of Russia - from 1 to 15 April.
Seed preparation
First of all, it is necessary to select suitable tomato seeds for planting.
This requires soak them in sodium chloride solution for 10 minutes... Remove floating seeds as they are not suitable for sowing. Rinse and disinfect those that have settled to the bottom in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate, dipping the seeds into it in a cloth napkin for 10 minutes.
Watch the time carefully so as not to overexpose the seed in the solution, as this will reduce germination.
Disinfected seeds must be soaked in a growth promoter for better germination. After that, carry out the hardening procedure by placing them in a cloth bag in the refrigerator for a day. Heat the hardened seeds for 8 hours at a temperature +21 degrees.
Soil preparation
Mix the soil from the garden in equal parts with sifted river sand, peat or humus and add ash to normalize the acidity level. Ready soil needs to be disinfected in order to prevent diseases.
This can be done in two ways:
- It is good to water the soil with a hot solution of strong manganese;
- Warm up the soil in the 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 deep 0.5-0.7 cm on distance 2.5 cm apart. Sprinkle with a thin layer of earth, moisten with a spray bottle and cover with plastic.
Move the container to a dark room with a temperature + 27 + 28 degrees... Polyethylene must be opened during this time to give the seeds oxygen access. Moisten the soil as needed. When the first sprouts appear, remove the polyethylene and transfer the container to a well-lit room.
Room humidity should be at least 80%. To do this, they put water in the room next to the battery.
Indoor temperature for the first week should be in the afternoon + 13 + 15 degrees, at night + 8 + 10 degrees... In the second week, the temperature is increased by 4 degrees during the day and at night.
Lighting
After sprouting, special attention should be paid to lighting and care. The sprout container should be placed on the most lighted windowsill.
In case of insufficient lighting, it is recommended for seedlings to create additional round-the-clock lighting for the first three days. This can be done using fluorescent lamps. In the future, the duration of daylight hours should be at least 16 hours.
Watering
Watering must be done Once a day using a spray bottle... It is impossible to water from a watering can, so as not to damage the still weak root system with a stream of water.
The water should be at room temperature. Watering should be done in moderation, as excess moisture will lead to fungal infections.
Top dressing
The first feeding must be done 14 days after the appearance of the first shoots... In the future, apply every week.
Fermented mullein or chicken droppings work best for tomatoes. You can also use ashes, crushed eggshells, infusion of onion peels. Fertilizing is necessary after watering in the morning or evening. Fertilizers are applied to the root zone.
Dive seedlings
If the seeds were sown thickly, then the first pick must be done 10 days after the first germination... The seedlings are planted very carefully, since the transplantation of not yet matured plants is very destructive for them.
Seedlings are transplanted into peat tablets or plastic glasses with a capacity of 200 gr.
The next transplant must be performed if there are on the seedlings two sheets... It must be transplanted into pots with a capacity of 1 liter. This must be done carefully, removing the seedlings from the glass along with the soil, so as not to damage the still weak root system. After transplanting, the seedlings must be watered with a spray bottle.
Pinching
A pinching procedure is performed so that the stepsons do not slow down the growth of the main stem. It is necessary to delete them until the moment until they grew up to 5 cm... This procedure will be painless for the plant.
After transplant, it is recommended pinch the stem itself... Then all the power will be directed towards the fruits. For tall varieties, it is recommended to pinch in two stems.
At the same time, in addition to the main trunk, one more stepson is left, which will later be the second stem. With this type of pinching, the fruits will ripen more slowly, but the yield will increase significantly.
Hardening
After emergence on seedlings three sheets it must be hardened. This will help the seedlings to better adapt to weather changes and improve immunity to diseases.
In the first days of hardening in the room, a window is opened for 20 minutes. Make sure that there are no drafts and that the cold air stream is not directed towards the seedlings.
Subsequent days, the seedlings are taken out into the open air for 2 hours at first, then the time is increased to full daylight hours. Two days before planting, the seedlings are left on the street for a day.
Signs of the difference between healthy seedlings
- height 30-35 cm;
- thick sturdy stem;
- Availability 10-12 sheets;
- the color of the leaves is dark green;
- formed inflorescences.
Common mistakes when growing seedlings
- unsuitability of seeds for growing seedlings (selection has not been performed);
- improperly prepared soil (heavy soil or not disinfected);
- non-compliance with the temperature regime;
- lack of lighting (excessive stretching of seedlings);
- early sowing of seeds;
- lack or excess of moisture;
- lack of hardening;
- untimely transplantation of seedlings.
Seedlings should be planted in the ground when the frosts pass, then it will be possible to successfully save it.
By the time of disembarkation, the age of the seedlings should be 55-60 days... Overexposing the seedlings is not recommended, as this will significantly reduce the yield. Disembarkation takes place from early May to mid June, depending on the region.
Compliance with these recommendations is the key to growing healthy, strong seedlings and obtaining high yields.