Tomatoes are the most common crop in our country, and for many the most favorite vegetable. For its taste, it is used by all cuisines of the world. By adhering to all the rules when growing this irreplaceable and useful plant, you can achieve high yields. One of the main points in this process is the correct picking of tomatoes.
What is a dive
Picking tomato seedlings is transplanting seedlings into another container, which entails cutting off the very tip of the tap root. To extract the plant from the tray, a pointed stick-peak is used, from which the name of such a process as diving came from.
What a pick is for
If diving does not have a positive effect on cucumbers, zucchini and pumpkin, then this procedure is only welcome in relation to tomatoes. When picking, the sprouts, falling into a large container, no longer obscure and do not interfere with each other's growth. When the main root is shortened, an intensive growth of the lateral root system begins, and the plant forms good and strong bushes. But basically, it not only makes it possible to reject all underdeveloped and diseased shoots, but alsoultimately increases the chance of a decent harvest.
Optimal timing for picking
The timing of the dive depends on the variety and the place where the seedlings will be planted in the future. If these are tall tomatoes for greenhouses, then seeds are sown from the beginning to the end of February, and the picking is carried out 10-14 days after the first shoots appear. If for open ground, then later they sow, and accordingly, they are later pickled.
Opinions on the timing differ. Some gardeners believe that a transplant should be done as soon as the cotyledon leaves have formed, explaining that the seedlings get sick less and are better accepted. It has been proven by trial and error that the best time for picking tomatoes is the appearance of 2-3 true leaves, and that it is not necessary to delay, because the older the seedlings, the more difficult it is to tolerate this procedure.
Diving methods and necessary equipment
There are several ways to pick tomato seedlings: into a snail, into separate cups, into diapers. Depending on the method chosen, it is necessary to prepare in advance individual containers or a larger container, material for making diapers (cellophane, or ordinary bags) and cloth suitable for snails.
Pots should be the same size (plastic, peat), with holes in the bottom. If they are not there, then a layer of wet sawdust can serve as drainage. Dive tool: pencil, teaspoon, toothpicks.
The soil for transplantation should consist of equal parts of peat, humus,sod land and 1/3 of river sand. To this composition, you can also add 1 cup of ash and 1 tbsp. l. complex fertilizer per bucket of the mixture. Seedlings must be shed with warm water in advance so that the roots are less injured during excavation.
One way is diving into glasses
The cups are not completely filled with earth. Having made a recess with a peg, the sprout is buried to the very cotyledon leaves, squeezed, watered with a 1% solution of manganese. If necessary, then the soil is still sprinkled on top. You can not bend the main root, it is better to shorten. The same sprouts that were with a lump of earth are planted immediately without pinching the root.
Many gardeners are inclined to believe that it is better not to touch this spine. It helps the plant a lot in dry summers, as it is able to get valuable moisture, penetrating deep into the soil. And additional roots are formed close to the surface, therefore, the plant requires infrequent, but plentiful watering.
Having finished diving, tomato seedlings are placed in a shaded place for a day, then transferred to the light. What gives us a pick? The plant develops better, during rooting an additional root system appears, the stem becomes thicker.
Dive into polyethylene diapers
One of the ways is picking tomatoes in a diaper. This method is good because the consumable soil mixture is saved. If seedlings are cultivated in city apartments, then planted in this way, they are less injured during transportation to summer cottages, and even more compact. To do this, cutcellophane diapers or take ready-made packages. Their size will depend on the size of the seedling itself. Usually the optimal diaper size is 20x30 cm.
2 handfuls of moistened earth are poured onto the bag, a seedling is placed in the middle, sprinkled with soil again, and carefully wrapped in a diaper. The bottom is not turned up. You can put it in cut 5 liter bottles, placing it vertically and first pouring a layer of sawdust on the bottom. When watering directly into the bottle, moistened sawdust will serve as an additional source of moisture for seedlings.
Snail diving
If you need to prepare a lot of seedlings, then it is best to consider diving into a snail. Snails take up little space. It can be made from dense cellophane or, for example, cut strips of isolon substrate. It's better to use it. Take 2 mm thick, and the height is determined depending on the size of the sprouts. The strip should be 2 cm higher. The picking process consists in laying seedlings at a distance of 5 cm from each other with the addition of soil and twisting in the form of a snail. The ends are fastened with tape or elastic. So that the earth does not wake up, the snails are placed in a plastic bag. After picking, be sure to water. On the first day, the seedlings are shaded, then placed in the light, and if the lighting is not enough, they are illuminated with a phytolamp.
Dive using the cut sprout method
Picking a tomato with sprouts cut above the ground is as follows. Pruning of weak shoots is carried out above the soil, without pulling out the roots, so as not to injure the rootsystem of remaining specimens and avoid various nightshade diseases. Seedlings are shed with boiled water at room temperature and covered with a film on top so that the seedlings are in the shade and at rest. After 4-5 days, the film is removed and the container with seedlings is placed in the light. Plants grown in this way practically do not get sick, take root well, are unpretentious in care, and are resistant to climate change. Tomatoes grow large, juicy and tasty.
Picking tomatoes without roots
You can dive seedlings of tomatoes that have no roots. To do this, the sprouts are placed in water and taken out to a cool room for a week. When the first white roots appear, the plants are transplanted into containers with soil, watered, and again shaded for 2 days. Only after that they put it in a bright place. Care consists of watering and loosening. To quickly form the root system, you can pour the Kornevin growth stimulator.
"Lazy" pick
Considering the experience of picking tomatoes in large greenhouses, where it is not always possible to do it on time, the method, as it is popularly called "for the lazy", has become widespread. What is it?
Sowing seeds is carried out in special cassettes. The pallet for them is a layer of earth. The root through the holes penetrates into this soil. When the cassette is raised, these roots are undermined, that is, there is an incentive to grow lateral roots. When watering seedlings, water also enters the soil. If there are delays in watering, then the soil from the cassettes draws moisture from the soil. Plaintomato picking has been replaced by a periodic displacement of the cassettes, which contributes to the growth of the root system. Seedlings grow strong and he althy.
Caring for tomatoes after diving
The temperature favorable for the growth of nightshade is 20-24 ° C during the day and 16-18 ° C at night. After 10 days, when the plants have taken root and started to grow, they are fed with a water-soluble special fertilizer with microelements. The dose is 20 g per 10 liters of water, and 100 g per snail. Repeat after 10 days.
Water and fertilize before 10 am and after 5 pm in the evening. After fertilizing, be sure to spill clean water so as not to burn the roots. The grown seedlings are hardened off before planting in a permanent place. Take out to cold greenhouses or to the balcony. Tomatoes are also treated with a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture or Fitosporin. When the seedlings reach a height of 25-30 cm, they are planted in a permanent place.
To summarize all of the above, a few tips should be given. With any method of picking, the goal is to grow a good crop of tomatoes from seedlings as a result. For this you need:
- Seeds buy only from trusted producers.
- Check planting material for germination, disinfect, treat with a growth stimulator, stratify before planting.
- Use permeable loose earth.
- Water only with warm water.
- Feeding - special fertilizer for tomatoes.
And such an agricultural technique as picking will give the tomatoes a fortress.
