Often when growing seedlings, gardeners face various difficulties. Either the seeds do not germinate, or there is not enough space on the windowsill. And it happens that after sowing they do not sprout. Then they sow again, but already in handfuls, so that it will definitely rise. And soon a green thick brush appears on the surface. They break through quickly so that the plants do not stretch. What a hassle with these seedlings!
It turns out that they themselves are to blame for their failures. After all, there is a Moscow way of growing seedlings. It is very convenient to use it in an apartment.
Landless way to grow seedlings
As the name suggests, seedlings can be grown without soil.
This is convenient because not everyone has harvested land in February. Seeds can be used much less, because you do not need to break through them. But it will take some time.
Another name for this interesting method is self-rolling.
Seedlings in this way are obtained as follows:
- Plastic film is cut into long strips 10 cm wide.
- Two layers of toilet paper are placed on the film (if one is multi-layered, then one is enough).
- Wet the film with water at room temperature.
- Withdrawing a centimeter from the edge, lay out the seeds after 1, 2 or 3 cm (depending on the crop) along the entire length of the tape.
- Repeat the procedure in reverse order: cover with a layer of paper, moisten, if necessary, lay a layer of plastic film on top (it is possible without it).
- Carefully roll the tape into a roll, without pulling or displacing the seeds, fix with an elastic band, thread or wire.
- Take the roll in hand so that the seeds are at the top, and place in a glass of water. It is desirable to add a growth stimulator. It protects against diseases, strengthens the immune system, shortens the engraftment period.
- The water should be a couple of centimeters below the level of the seeds.
- Sign the name of the variety so as not to forget.
- Cover the top with a film, but loosely so that air can pass through.
- Water should be periodically changed to fresh water to prevent mold in the glass.
When the seeds germinate and green sprouts appear from the film, it is advisable to feed them with mineral fertilizers (humic for seedlings), reducing the dose by half against the usual method.
Repeat top dressing when the first true leaf is formed.
Planting
Act depending on the culture. If seedlings need to dive, then you canuse one of the ways:
- Each germinated seed is placed in a film 20 × 20 cm in size. A couple of spoons of prepared soil are added and wrapped so that the top is open. All bags are placed in one box. Water carefully so as not to overwet. Ten days before planting, add a spoonful of earth.
- Sprouts are planted in separate cups or cassettes, while plants can be taken out of paper or planted with it, after cutting the tape into pieces.
You can use tweezers in the work, which will help not to damage the plants.
If the seedlings do not need to dive, then they are planted immediately in the ground.
What they sow
The Moscow method of growing seedlings is not suitable for large seeds, such as legumes, corn.
But for every little thing that is usually difficult to germinate, just right.
These are peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, cabbage, carrots, parsnips, onions. Lots of flowers like asters, petunia, viola, delphiniums.
You can germinate the seeds of cucumbers, gourds, but only for planting germinated grains in the ground. If leaves begin to form, then the plants take root very poorly.
Growing strawberries in a landless way
Favorite strawberries are usually grown from seedlings.
But we often meet seeds of various remontant varieties that we would like to have at home. After all, they are notform a mustache and delight with the harvest until late autumn. But since there are no shoots, how can they be propagated? Collect seeds and germinate them.
Those who have tried to grow strawberry seedlings know that this is quite difficult to do. If the seeds are deepened into the ground, they will not sprout. And from above they dry out from the lack of moisture. Therefore, the Moscow method of growing seedlings of strawberries will be most welcome. And if we consider that when growing strawberries from seeds, diseases of this crop are practically not transmitted, then the benefit is double.
But first, the seeds need to be stratified for three months in wet calcined sand at a temperature of 2-4 degrees. Sow in greenhouses in December, at home - in February.
You can plant in cassettes in one and a half, or even two months! The plant should have one or two true leaves by this time.
Advantages of the landless method
Seeds:
- sprout well;
- not affected by the blackleg;
- take up less space.
When sowing tomatoes in boxes, we put the seeds in the expectation that they will sprout poorly. And almost always we get thickened shoots. The Moscow method of growing tomato seedlings makes it possible to get rid of this problem. After all, all seeds are at an equal distance from each other. And if any does not rise, then it will not be noticeable on the roll. When planting, you need to cut off the third part of the root in order to form a strong root system.
Flaws
Some sources claim that the Moscow method of growing seedlings does not allow growing plantswith a well-formed root system.
They say that the seedlings in the roll are not well lit. This causes them to stretch. Therefore, for plants that require picking (tomato, pepper, cabbage), the Moscow method of growing seedlings is not the best. Feedback from many gardeners, however, suggests that they have been successfully using this method for a long time and are very pleased with the result.
Growing onion seedlings
For many cold-resistant crops, this method is simply irreplaceable.
The Moscow method of growing onion seedlings allows you to get excellent seedlings without any problems. They are planted in a permanent place along with a piece of paper. It is only necessary to correctly determine the sowing time so that you do not have to plant it in frozen ground. It's about the second week of April.
It should be noted that some sources state that the landless method is not suitable for onions and other small seeds. Perhaps the technology was broken in some way.
Growing seedlings of petunias
Regular varieties of petunias reproduce themselves, giving a large amount of planting material in the spring. But with a charming variety of hybrids, there are often problems. No matter how hard you try, there are very few shoots. Yes, and they soon fall, as if knocked down, struck by a black leg. The Moscow method of growing petunia seedlings helps to get the right amount of plants. Despite the fact that the flower is quite capricious in growing.
Perhaps someone in Moscowthe method of growing seedlings is not suitable, and he gives preference to some other. But, undoubtedly, this method has reliably taken its place among others.
