It's hard to imagine a modern garden without tomatoes growing on it. This culture has already taken root in Russia so much that only a very busy or lazy summer resident does not grow it. And the debate about how to properly plant tomatoes for seedlings has not subsided for several decades.
Today we will try to answer this question. Let's talk about how to select and prepare seeds, what soil to use for growing plants, how to properly plant seedlings in the ground and care for them. Judging by the reviews, there are no special secrets here.
The timing of sowing seeds for seedlings
Many summer residents are concerned not only with the question of how to plant tomatoes correctly, but also when it is better to do it. And it is right! After all, if you just make a little mistake with the timing, the seedlings can either stretch out a lot (if it was planted ahead of time), or be unprepared for planting. In both cases, a good harvest can not be expected. But still, when to sow tomatoes for seedlings?
Experienced gardeners say that the best time to do this is 75 days before the planned date for transferring plants to a greenhouse or open field. At the same time, timein the southern regions of the country it can be reduced to 60 days, and in the northern regions - up to 70, if spring is expected early.
Selection of tomato seeds
Before telling you how to plant tomatoes for seedlings, I would like to remind you of the need to choose the right seeds. When buying them, you should look at the following factors:
- Tomato growing region. Today, there are a number of varieties that are designed specifically for growing in Siberia, the Urals or other Russian regions. Those that were created to grow in the south are unlikely to survive in cold climates, and vice versa.
- Growing place - greenhouse, window sill or vegetable garden. Greenhouse crops and those intended for growing at home are very capricious. They need regular care, a humid and warm microclimate, and constant care. Labor is paid with abundant harvests. Garden tomatoes, although they produce fewer berries, are able to tolerate drought and low temperatures. And their fruits are much tastier.
- Appearance of tomatoes. Here the choice depends on how you plan to use them in the future. So, tomatoes of small sizes with a dense skin are suitable for pickling; for salads - large, with sugar pulp; to decorate various dishes - exotic varieties or cherry tomatoes, which in their appearance so much resemble cherries.
In addition, when choosing seeds, it is important to look at the ripening time of tomatoes and the height of the bushes. Best for outdoor cultivationpurchase medium and early ripe tomato varieties of compact sizes, and tall late tomatoes are perfect for greenhouses. And one more piece of advice: when buying online, look at the number of seeds poured into the bag. For a normal planting, tomatoes with 10-12 seeds in a bag are suitable, and for a professional one - with 500 or more.
Choice of dishes for growing plants
It is impossible to talk about how to plant tomatoes properly without mentioning the choice of pots and boxes. You simply cannot do without this container! In the store today you can find various peat glasses, plastic and wooden boxes, ceramic pots, dishes with a removable bottom and much more. Here everyone is free to choose independently. But if you want to save money, try to put together a box from unnecessary boards. If you know how to hold a hammer in your hands, this will be easy.
If there is no box, but you don’t want to buy containers, you can use juice or milk boxes or tall yogurt cups. The main thing is to disinfect any container, purchased or home-made, before planting tomatoes. This is best done with ordinary potassium permanganate. It is necessary to create a strong solution and immerse the dishes in it for 5-10 minutes. Then it should be taken out and dried in the open air.
Soil preparation
When considering the question of how to properly plant tomato seeds for seedlings, one should not forget about preparing the soil for this. It is best to use soil created fromhumus and chernozem (at the rate of 2:1, respectively), or a special purchased mixture. Another possible composition of the soil: humus + soddy land from under the trees + sand (at the rate of 1:1:1). You can disinfect any soil mixture:
- freezing in the freezer or outside (in winter);
- calcining in the microwave or oven;
- pouring well boiling water;
- soaking with manganese solution (2-3 days before sowing tomato seeds).
You can pour soil only into the container, in the bottom of which special holes are made to drain water. Before this procedure, it is advisable to pour a small layer of turf, broken shells or small pebbles on the bottom of the container.
Planting seeds for seedlings
Purchased seeds can be planted in pots with soil without prior preparation. But those that were donated by neighbors or collected in the fall with their own hands should be processed. In particular, you need to remove all deformed and darkened seeds. Dip the remaining specimens in lightly s alted water, immediately collect the floating ones with a spoon and discard. According to gardeners, there will still be no use for them.
Get good seeds and transfer to a solution of hydrogen peroxide (3 ml of the product per 100 ml of water). Immediately after that, they can be treated with growth stimulants or placed in a solution of wood ash (1-2 tablespoons per 1 liter of boiled water), let them lie down for 1 day.
In the next few days, the seeds need to germinate. You can do this by wrapping them in a warm, damp cloth. Next, you can already think about how to plant seeds correctly.tomatoes for seedlings in boxes or cups.
This is not as difficult as it might seem. Grooves should be made in the ground with a depth of 1 cm. At the same time, the distance between them should be about 4 cm. Lightly sprinkle the soil with water and carefully move the swollen or germinated planting material from the fabric into the soil. Place it so that the sprout is pointing up. In order not to damage, you can use tweezers.
Top seeds should be carefully covered with earth and covered with foil. Before the appearance of sprouts, seedlings can not be watered. But spraying is a must. Otherwise, you will not wait for shoots. When greens appear, the film must be removed immediately. Otherwise, the seedlings may turn yellow and "upret". The temperature at the entire stage of its cultivation should be at least 23 degrees.
Transferring seedlings to the greenhouse
When the seedling is large enough, it can be moved to a permanent place. If you do not know how to properly plant tomatoes in a greenhouse, it's okay. Here's how it's done: in 7 days, the ground in the structure should be dug up. You can immediately create holes, the distance from them to the walls of the greenhouse should be at least 40 cm. The depth of the hole is up to 30 cm, the temperature of the earth in each of them is at least 17 degrees (you can check with an ordinary thermometer). Pour 1 cup of ash and a 2-liter jar of a mixture of humus and peat into the bottom of a separate hole. Spill a solution of manganese on top.
In 7 daysyou can think about how to properly plant tomatoes in the ground in a greenhouse. To move the seedlings, you need to spill all the pits with warm water so that they have liquid mud in them. Immediately carefully remove the tomato seedlings from the container, trying not to damage the roots, and place in the hole. For the first time, you can deepen only 3-5 cm. Then after 3 days you need to add a mixture of peat and humus to each hole with a layer of no more than 3 cm. Do this until all the holes are completely filled. This will allow the plant to form a powerful additional root system and release the first brushes faster. It is not necessary to water the seedlings in the first days, just slightly loosen the ground around its stems.
Transferring plants to the garden
If you have your own garden, then you probably know how to plant tomatoes in open ground. And you can, like other gardeners in their reviews, safely say that it's simple. If not, then don't worry either.
First you need to create holes in the garden, pour humus into each of them, sprinkle with dry earth (at least 5 cm). Before planting, shed well so that there is liquid mud in each hole. Carefully remove the tomatoes from the pots or glasses, being careful not to damage the stem and roots. Put them in the ground and cover with earth. Top well with fresh warm water. It is worth watering further 1 time per day if it is hot outside. In cloudy weather, the amount of watering can be reduced. As soon as the plants are tall enough, they should be tied to pegs placed side by side.
Tomato Dive
Talking about how to properly plant tomato seedlings at home, we forgot to mention diving. It is produced only if the seeds were sown in one common container. For the procedure you need:
- pour seedlings with warm water;
- extract it with your own hands or with a knife;
- immediately discard weak or damaged tomatoes;
- seed in different containers, 1-2 plants in each;
- place seedlings on semi-dark windowsills.
Please note that when planting two sprouts in a container at the stage of the appearance of 4-5 leaves, their stems will need to be tied to each other with a nylon thread. At the same time, to get strong seedlings, it will be useful to pinch a weaker tomato. According to reviews, this procedure will allow you to get he althy and strong tomato seedlings.
Note for gardeners-gardeners
Before planting seedlings in a permanent place, it is also recommended to harden it a little. To do this, 10-14 days before the expected date of movement, you should begin to "ventilate" the plants under the open window. Later, the boxes can be taken out for 5-10 minutes to the balcony or even to the street. At the same time, it is important to ensure that the rays of the scorching sun do not fall on the seedlings. Happy vegetable growing!
