Every gardener, novice or with many years of experience, dreams of getting a rich and tasty crop of tomatoes. I would like to see large and ripe tomatoes on the branches of plants, and not small and for some reason completely tasteless tomatoes. If you have a greenhouse, then growing magnificent tomatoes in it just won’t work. As experienced gardeners say, there are many little things that are often not taken into account when planting and caring, but in fact they are important. So let's see what secrets of growing tomatoes experienced gardeners know, and how to use them correctly in order to know how many days the tomatoes will sprout.
Seed Selection
Everything starts with seeds. If you are just starting to grow tomatoes, do not buy unique varieties that require special growing conditions and care. Stop better at the usual, unpretentious species. The latter also require attention, but ordinary tomatoes are not so capricious, and caring for them will allow you to become better acquainted with the technical side of planting and growing.
What varieties of tomatoes are best to buy? Carefully read the information on the package, see the production and storage timeplanting material. Pay attention to the height of adult tomatoes, their resistance to diseases.
Germinating and planting seeds
In order for the seedlings to reach the desired size by the time the seedlings are planted in the greenhouse, it is advisable to know how many days the tomatoes you planted will sprout. There is no single answer. Dry seeds planted directly in the ground can germinate for up to ten days. If the seed material is treated with potassium permanganate before planting and placed in warm water for several hours, they will germinate faster.
Most often, novice gardeners ask how many tomato seeds germinate. An important fact is the age of the planting material. For example, three-year-old seeds will most likely sprout no earlier than a week later, but a similar variety that was harvested a year ago will germinate in 3-4 days.
So, you can calculate how many tomatoes germinate after, if you provide the best conditions for seed germination. After the seed has been in the water for several hours, be sure to place it in the prepared soil, cover with a film and put it in a fairly warm place (the air temperature when the tomatoes sprout should be about 25 degrees).
Seedlings
Of course, seedlings can be purchased ready-made. Before the planting season, many flower shops offer a variety of planting materials. The purchase of ready-made seedlings allows you to avoid many of the hassles and questions associated with when tomatoes sprout. But fora good harvest, this option is hardly suitable. These seedlings often do not have good quality and high resistance to tomato diseases. Therefore, it is better to take the time and try to grow your own strong seedlings.
He althy seedlings are possible only when plants receive all the necessary elements. Therefore, in order to obtain strong and hardy seedlings, you need to properly prepare the soil and germinate the seeds in time. It is advisable to know at least approximately how long the tomatoes sprout in order to get strong seedlings for planting.
How to grow seedlings?
By the time it is time to plant the seedlings in the greenhouse or in the ground, they should reach a height of about 25 centimeters. Plants that are transplanted just before the flowering period are easier to transplant and adapt to new conditions more easily.
An important factor is the soil in which young plants will grow. If you are seriously thinking about when to plant tomatoes for seedlings and how to do it correctly, then first of all take care of the soil. The ideal option is turf land, peat and humus. All components are taken in combination 2:1:1.
When young tomatoes acquire two or three real leaves, it is advisable to spray them with a solution of garlic (you can replace it with a solution of copper sulfate).
Soil preparation
Sowing tomatoes for seedlings should be carried out in a special soil. It can be purchased at the store or preparedon one's own. In general, the soil is best prepared in the fall. At this time, a large amount of wood ash and garden humus are introduced into the soil. If it was not possible to prepare the soil in the fall, then you can do it in the spring.
Before planting plants, peat mixed with humus (2:1) is poured into the holes prepared for them. Next, the holes are filled with water and allowed to soak. Now you can plant seedlings.
By the way, some gardeners recommend planting young plants in deep holes so that the lower leaves touch the ground. This allows the tomatoes to develop a fairly strong root system in a short time.
Tomato care
Even if you know how many days tomatoes sprout, how to grow good seedlings and how to prepare the soil, this is still not enough to get a rich harvest.
Different stages of plant growth require different care. So, during the period of adaptation of tomatoes, no procedures should be carried out with them, even pinching. Removing side shoots will only weaken the plants, as they have not yet managed to take root in a new place. Pasynkovanie is best done 2-3 weeks after planting seedlings in the greenhouse.
During the removal of side shoots, you need to form a maximum of two trunks. For the formation of fruits, the plant will only need one crown, which you leave.
One month after planting the tomatoes in the greenhouse, it is advisable to tie them up. Never let plants lie on the ground - this gives you a chanceall sorts of pests spoil your future harvest.
Irrigation
Without water, as you yourself understand, there can be no talk of any crop, but you also need to water it correctly. Tomatoes prefer dry air and slightly moist soil.
Excessive watering can only lead to the fact that plants that are in too humid an environment can become ill with late blight. Watering should be 1, maximum 2 times a week, only under the root.
Diseases and pests
Tomatoes, like all plants, are susceptible to certain diseases and pests. The most common diseases that can affect the future crop are top rot, late blight. In order to avoid diseases, preventive measures should be taken that will develop certain immunity in plants.
In addition to late blight and blossom end rot, young tomatoes are also prone to Fusarium. Therefore, a week after planting tomatoes in a permanent place, it is advisable to spray the plants using special preparations to prevent the disease.
In order to prevent blossom end rot, which occurs due to a lack of minerals, you should feed the plants with a solution of wood ash (about once a month). By the way, if you know how many days tomatoes sprout, you can make an approximate schedule of all the work on planting and caring for plants for the whole season.
With late blight, many chemicals are effectively fighting. However, if the first fruits have already appeared, then poisonPlant chemicals are not very desirable. There are several folk ways to help cope with this "sore". For example, you can spray the plants with garlic infused in water. To prepare the medicine, 500 g of garlic is poured into three liters of warm water. Garlic should be infused for three days.
The most dangerous pest for tomatoes are nematodes. They are so small that it is impossible to see them without a microscope. These pests live in the soil and contribute to plant root rot.
Growing problems
In addition to diseases and weakness of plants, the first difficulties may arise even at the germination stage, if you have purchased unsimilar tomato seeds. Seedling material can be left by you from the largest and most beautiful tomatoes grown last year. Here, knowledge of what day tomatoes sprout will definitely come in handy, so that if bad seeds are caught, others can be sown. In order for the seeds to germinate, they must be collected correctly.
Many inexperienced gardeners make the typical mistake of harvesting them themselves. Having collected planting material, they wash it under running water, and then simply lay it out on paper or cloth to dry. Such seeds will most likely lose their viability after a few months.
The fact is that there is a sticky film around each seed. During washing with water, it does not collapse, and when dried, it simply dries with it. Subsequently, the film becomes dry and completely deprives the air of the tomato seed. Seed material for seedlings, before itrinse, you need to ferment, in order to destroy this very film.
Fermentation is an effective method, but you should proceed with caution. If the seed is overexposed, then germination will also be lost. The ideal conditions for such a process are a temperature of 25 degrees, at which the seeds are kept in an acidic environment for about two days. For some varieties, a day will be enough, for example, cherry tomatoes. And others, for example, black tomatoes, need 4 days for the film to collapse. A kind of indicator for this procedure is the destruction of the amniotic film. By preparing the material for future plantings in this way, you will know exactly how many days the tomatoes sprout, and you will be able to properly prepare young plants.
Violation of the temperature regime
Let's say you know exactly what day the tomatoes sprout, but time goes by, but there are no sprouts. Do not rush to send seed to the trash. First check if the temperature regime necessary for their germination is observed.
Unsprouted seeds should not be placed on the windowsill as the temperature is not high enough. A container should be placed in such a place only when shoots have appeared.
View the ground. It should be loose enough so that the sown tomatoes can breathe and they have enough strength to break through the layer of earth.
Check the humidity. Even seeds that sprout, but are constantly waterlogged soil, can rot and die. ExceptIn addition, after how many days the tomatoes will sprout, it also depends on the depth of sowing. The ideal option is, without sticking them into the ground, lightly sprinkle with moist soil and cover with a film.
Also, after how many days the tomatoes will sprout, it also depends on the quality of the soil in which you planted the seeds. Not always purchased land mixture has good nutritional properties. Therefore, the ideal option is the soil mixture that you prepared yourself.
If there is no way to prepare the soil with your own hands, then in case of poor germination or poor growth of seedlings, be sure to feed the young tomatoes.
When to collect seeds?
When planting in spring, how long tomato seeds germinate is also affected by the fact when they were collected. Ripe seed can only be in a ripe red tomato. But you can’t wait until the tomato is overripe. Very often, overripe tomatoes may already have germinated seeds inside. Naturally, they are not suitable for planting.
How many own seeds germinate? It all depends on their correct extraction from the fetus. To do this, the ripened tomato is removed and allowed to lie in a cool place for three to four days. After that, the seeds are taken out.
If we talk about why the seeds bought in the store do not germinate, then the main reason is the expired expiration date or improper storage of the material for planting.
Helpful tips
For novice gardeners, especially those who have never planted tomatoes, it is almost impossible to calculatethe number of seedlings that will be required for a greenhouse or greenhouse.
In principle, this is not necessary. If the opportunity allows, then you can sow more seeds, and immediately before planting in the greenhouse, select the strongest and greenest specimens.
If it is a pity to throw away seedlings, then it can be planted in open ground. Some small tomato varieties do well outdoors as well.
If it turned out that the seeds sprouted late, and you did not have time to sow new ones, do not despair. Even if your tomatoes do not have time to ripen on the vine, they may well reach maturity at home. To do this, green tomatoes are placed in paper bags and stored in a dark, cool room.
Remember to keep a close eye on mature plants. If you notice a few diseased specimens, they should be dug up and destroyed before the rest of the bushes have time to become infected.
If you do not grow seedlings on your own, then when buying seedlings in a store, carefully inspect every bush, every leaf. Without being vigilant, you run the risk of bringing either pests or a disease to your summer cottage that can destroy other crops.
It is advisable to keep the newly acquired seedlings in quarantine for some time, away from other vegetable crops. When you are sure that the young tomatoes are he althy, you can place them with the rest of the plants.
Unwanted tomato neighbors
In addition to ideas about why tomatoes do not sprout, thisculture would do well to learn something else. Tomatoes do not like to coexist with some vegetable and ornamental crops. For example, the neighborhood with potatoes and daffodils adversely affects the fruiting of tomatoes.
But plants such as marigolds not only decorate the garden, but also protect tomatoes from the invasion of pests (for example, nematodes). Garlic and basil planted next to tomatoes will also repel unwanted insects. Experienced gardeners recommend watering tomatoes with garlic infusion every week.
