How to grow good tomato seedlings at home? Growing tomato seedlings. Secrets of a good harvest Planting tomato seedlings and care

Gardeners who want strong seedlings can grow them themselves. After all, the tomato yield directly depends on the quality of the plants. But growing healthy seedlings is not as easy as it might seem at first glance. It is necessary to understand the nuances of planting seeds, their germination and caring for plants.

Seed preparation

Before planting tomatoes for seedlings, the seeds should be discarded. First, remove all broken, small and empty-looking seeds. Remaining planting material pour for 10 minutes saline solution prepared from one liter of water and 30-40 g of salt. All floating specimens are removed, drowned ones are selected and washed with clean water.

Important! If you use seeds of several varieties, it is better to soak them separately so as not to mix them up.

After rejection, disinfection is carried out. To do this, they are dipped in a 1% pale pink solution of potassium permanganate for 15 minutes. After completing the disinfection procedure, it is necessary to rinse the planting material under running water.

For disinfection, also use a 0.5% solution of soda or aloe juice mixed with water in a 1:1 ratio. The seeds are soaked in such solutions for a day.

Planting tomato seeds for seedlings is most often done after soaking, but you can plant them dry. When using the first method, it is easier to grow seeds, and their germination rate increases noticeably. But if seeds of a certain variety cannot germinate on their own without prior soaking, then their stability and yield will be low.

To increase germination, some recommend heating them in hot water for two hours. Hardening allows you to increase the resistance of future tomato seedlings to temperature changes. Tomato seeds that have swollen as a result of soaking are placed in the refrigerator for a day.

Before planting, agronomists advise placing tomato seeds in a fertilizer solution for 12-24 hours. After this they are dried. The solution is made by adding 1 teaspoon of one of the selected fertilizers to 1 liter of water:

• nitrophoska;
• wood ash;
• "A drop";
• Agricola-Vegeta solution;
• drug "Effekton".

The solution is also made from 2 g of the “Bud” product or 1 ml of the “Epin” drug.

Soil for tomatoes

Agronomists advise preparing the soil in which tomato seedlings will grow yourself. The best option is a soil mixture prepared from mixed equal parts such components:

• garden soil;
• humus;
• black (or pressed) peat.

Wood ash and superphosphate are added to the mixture. Each bucket of soil requires 0.5 liters of ash and 2 matchbox superphosphate.

When preparing the soil mixture, humus can be replaced river sand. To grow strong plants, it is advisable to add other fertilizers: you will need potassium sulfate, urea and superphosphate.

Attention! Many people use special soil designed for growing tomato seedlings. You can buy it in specialized stores.

Before planting, the soil must be steamed or calcined. This minimizes the likelihood of developing fungal infections and weed germination. You can disinfect the soil by calcining it in the oven for 15 minutes at 20 0 C or in the microwave - 2 minutes at a power of 850 is enough. Disinfection is also carried out by pouring boiling water or a solution of potassium permanganate over it.

Planting seeds

It is important to figure out when to sow tomatoes for seedlings. The planting time will depend on the planned growing conditions. The standard landing date is mid-March. If tomato seedlings were planted in greenhouses in April, the planned planting dates will not change in the future, then the seeds will need to be sown in February. Depending on the variety, growing tomato seedlings until transplanting into the ground lasts 45-65 days.

Tomato seedlings are not too demanding on the soil. It can be grown in acidic soils; it tolerates the lack of fertilizers well. Temporary drying out of the soil for tomato seedlings is undesirable, but after the next watering its condition will return to normal.

Having decided when to plant tomatoes for seedlings and choosing the right day, you can begin the planting process. The container prepared in advance is filled with soil and watered. If tomato seedlings are planted not in separate cells, but in common containers, then grooves no more than 1 cm deep are made for sowing seeds. Optimal distance there is 5 cm between them. The seeds are laid out in such a way that the gap between them is 1-2 cm. The greater the distance left, the longer it will be possible to keep young plants in seedling boxes.

Tomato seeds are covered with soil, the soil on top is moistened. When planting tomato seeds for seedlings, it is recommended to cover the boxes with soil with film or glass and place them in a warm place. The temperature must be at least 22 0 C, optimal temperature, in which it is easiest to grow tomatoes, is considered to be 25 0 C.

Important! The first shoots appear approximately 3-7 days after planting, depending on whether the seeds were sent dry or pre-soaked into the ground.

Conditions for tomatoes

Every novice gardener needs to figure out not only how to plant tomato seedlings, but also how to grow them correctly. In an ordinary city apartment, it is quite possible to create optimal conditions, in which you can grow tomato seedlings. Experienced gardeners make the necessary climatic conditions on the windowsill. They select an area closer to the window and fence it off from heat sources using insulating materials. A special microclimate is created there; in the fenced off area the temperature will be much lower than in the apartment.

Lighting

As soon as the first shoots appear, the film or glass that was used to cover the boxes is removed. Some people advise doing this gradually, opening the drawers slightly for a few hours at first. Sources of artificial light are placed on top of the boxes. The optimal duration of daylight hours is 12-16 hours. During the first 2-4 days, agronomists advise organizing round-the-clock illumination.

Temperature

To prevent tomato seedlings from starting to stretch, it is important to choose the right temperature regime. As soon as the first shoots appear, the ambient temperature is reduced to 14-16 0 C.

If the temperature on the balcony on the day of sprouting rises to 15 0 C, then the seedlings should be placed in the sun. On the first day they have an innate defense against ultraviolet rays, which disappears over time. Such exposure of plants to the sun will make the seedlings heat-resistant and hardened, making it easier to grow them. Shoots that are already 2-3 days old cannot be exposed to the sun. Innate hardening disappears.

After a week, the seedlings will get a little stronger, so you can gradually increase the temperature to 18-20 0 C.

Advice! At night, you can open the windows a little so that the temperature drops to 13-15 0 C. But this can only be done if there is no draft blowing on the young plants.

Humidity

If you do not completely remove the film from young tomato seedlings, then watering will not be necessary. Otherwise, make sure that the top layer of soil does not dry out. If it becomes dry, the roots will dry out. In order not to wash young plants, syringes without needles are used for watering.

Grown tomato seedlings need timely watering. The longer the daylight hours and the warmer the room, the faster the water is absorbed. But raising a swamp is also unacceptable. Most often, tomatoes die on cold windowsills if they are overly flooded with water.

Fertilizers

The first fertilizing is carried out a month after planting the seeds for seedlings. Many agronomists believe that you can grow strong plants if you fertilize them every week. But many people feed tomato seedlings a week after picking. They make the next application of fertilizing when the plants are already growing in the main soil.

Features of cultivation

Growing tomato seedlings must be carried out according to established rules. Otherwise it will be impossible to get strong plants. Beginning gardeners are recommended to use peat tablets. It is much easier to grow tomato seedlings in them. The optimal diameter of peat tablets is 33-36 mm. You can plant 2-4 tomatoes in each of them. There is no need to pick such plants. This allows you to shorten the growing period. Planting tomatoes for seedlings can be postponed even to the end of March.

After the formation of a strong root system, the plants, together with a peat tablet, are transplanted into larger containers with a volume of 0.5-1 liters.

Comment! To grow strong tomato seedlings, large pots of soil are not required. Containers that are too large will not fit on window sills in city apartments.

Often, gardeners take ordinary plastic trays or wooden boxes. In this case, they will have to be dived. This is best done when the plants have 2 true leaves. Usually they are formed on the 10th day from the moment of emergence. If mistakes were made when planting tomato seedlings, the time it takes for the leaves to appear may be extended.

Tomato seedlings tolerate picking well. From the general container, the plants are transplanted into separate 200 ml cups. Experts advise moving them along with the clod of earth in which they grew. This will prevent damage to the root system. It is possible to grow tomatoes whose roots have been damaged during transplantation, but their formation period is extended. Pinching 1/3 of the root causes the duration of seedling growth to increase by a week.

After 2-3 weeks, repeat picking is carried out in a container with a volume of up to 1 liter. In them, tomato seedlings can be grown until transplanted into the main soil.

If you don’t immediately figure out when is the best time to plant tomatoes, you may end up with overripe plants. Many varieties are recommended to be planted in the ground no later than 10 days after the formation of the first flower clusters.

If you leave tomatoes in seedling pots for 10 days longer than expected, their growth may stop. In cases where ovaries begin to form on the windowsill, there is a high probability that plant growth will be stopped. Even when transplanting seedlings in open ground or a greenhouse to grow large bushes will not work. The harvest will be below average. That’s why it’s so important to figure out when to sow tomato seeds for seedlings.

Advice! You can delay the planting date if you remove the first formed flower cluster. But this will lead to a delay in fruiting by 1-2 weeks.

You can tell that you have grown good tomato seedlings by their appearance. The tomatoes will have thick and strong stems, the leaves will form large, and they will be a rich green color. It is necessary to pay attention to the following nuances:

• stem length up to 30 cm;
• the number of leaves is at least 6-7;
• internodes are short, not elongated;
• the presence of a flower brush.

When transplanting, you can make sure that root system well developed.

Common mistakes

Many people make similar mistakes when trying to grow tomatoes. Because of this, their germination rate is poor, the plants become very elongated, and many of them die. Also, beginners often complain that after the formation of the first cotyledon leaves, further growth is slowed down.

The most common mistakes:

• non-compliance temperature regime cultivation;
• abundant watering of young plants;
• early planting of seeds;
• choosing varieties that are not resistant to stretching (in apartment conditions they develop a thin, weak stem);
• poor quality soil;
• ignoring the need to harden seedlings.

The worst results are obtained in cases where amateur summer residents try to grow tomatoes in seedlings in conditions of poor lighting, abundant watering and high temperatures.

The last 3 weeks are considered the most dangerous. It will be impossible to grow strong seedlings with increased humidity and incorrect temperature conditions. Problems are indicated by deterioration appearance seedlings: tomato stems become thinner, leaves become brittle and turn yellow, and the buds that appear begin to fall off. Weakened tomatoes begin to droop to the ground.

Warning! In some tomatoes, growth stops at the stage of two cotyledon leaves. This is possibly due to the fact that the growth point burns out or atrophies. Such plants will have to be replaced; nothing can be grown from them.

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Once you have decided on tomato seeds and were able to buy seedlings according to your climate zone, you can think about planting the seeds. If you have prepared seeds for tomato seedlings, obtained from tomato fruits with your own hands, then an example of planting and growing will help you.

How nice it is to pick up a tomato and even more pleasant to realize that you yourself planted its seeds in the ground, raised seedlings and then planted them in a real garden bed. With certain skills and experience, this is not so difficult.

Sowing tomato seeds for seedlings according to the Lunar calendar 2018

All gardeners sow tomato seeds differently. It all depends where you purchased them: bought them in a store or collected them from your own tomatoes.

If you bought them in a store in factory packaging, you can plant them dry or wet and apply only hardening.

And when you make seeds with your own hands at home, you need to calibrate, warm up, disinfect, treat with growth stimulants, and harden.

The timing of sowing seeds for tomato seedlings depends on the growing zone. In the Urals, Siberia and central Russia, there is no need to sow before February 20. If sowed earlier, the seedlings will be overgrown and weak. This will lead to the loss of a significant part of the crop.

Now we live in 2018 and according to the Lunar calendar, the landing (favorable) days are:

• in February - 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 25, 26 and 28
• in March - 1, 20, 21, 24, 25, 26, 28
• in April - 17, 18, 21, 22, 27, 28
• in May - 18, 19, 24, 25, 26

Non-landing (not favorable) days in 2018 are:

• in February - 2, 3, 9, 10, 15
• in March - 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16
• in April - 4, 5, 6, 14, 15, 16
• in May - 2, 3, 7, 8, 15

Rules for sowing tomatoes

All pre-sowing seed preparation activities require 10 days. This means that they need to start ten days before better day sowing according to the lunar calendar.

If you prefer to sow dry seeds, do so two days before the best sowing day according to the Lunar calendar to give the seeds time to swell and for the biochemical process of cell division to begin in them.

Container for planting (be it a wooden box, peat pots or plastic cups) should not be very deep - no more than 6-7 cm in height. It must be filled with well-moistened soil mixture, not reaching the top edge of 2 cm.

Compact the soil with a tablespoon, add soil if necessary, compact again and spread the seeds on the surface of the soil at a distance of 1 x 1 cm. Pour 2 cm of dry soil on top and compact again with a spoon.

Cover the container with glass or film and place in a dark place.

At a temperature of 28-32 degrees, the seeds will sprout in 4-5 days, at 24-26 - in 6-8 days, at 20-23 - in 7-9 days. They will sprout even at lower temperatures, but only after two weeks, or even later.

The best seedlings are those that appear after a week at 25 degrees. The very first shoots do not mean the best. The best ones are those that sprout together, as a whole group. Plants that are significantly (4-5 days) behind the main group should be immediately discarded.

Weak plants germinate later, without shedding the seed coat, they have fused cotyledons, the first true leaves - irregular shape, they lag behind the rest in growth and development. But if some of the seeds were sown a little deeper than the rest, they will sprout later.

And at the same time, a good, strong plant will not shed the shell from a seed that was sown too small, or the soil was not compacted after sowing. Hence the conclusion:

Seeds must be sown on the same and desired depth(from 1 to 2 cm), compact the soil after sowing.

After following these simple rules weak plants can be easily discarded.

Timing for sowing seeds for tomato seedlings

Not all gardeners focus on Moon calendar, so let’s frankly discuss the timing of sowing seedlings. It is known that the timing is different for different varieties and hybrids. For large-fruited tall tomatoes, the age of seedlings should be 60-75 days after emergence. Taking into account another 5-10 days for these shoots to appear, the seeds should be sown approximately 70-80 days before planting the seedlings in the ground.

There is no need to sow too early. The seedlings will grow and may even bloom; these first flowers will still have to be cut off, because the plant does not yet have a good enough root system.

For the Non-Black Earth and North-Western regions, you want to harvest tomatoes already in mid-July, and this will take about 150 days, then tall, large-fruited tomatoes should be sown at the very end of February - beginning of March. Then plant them in greenhouses in early to mid-May.

For small-fruited, early-ripening, low-growing varieties, seedlings can be planted in greenhouses in mid-late May, and in the ground after the end of frost in order to harvest in mid-July. For this, seedlings at the age of 60 days are best suited, and therefore the seeds can be sown on tomato seedlings at the end of March.

There are super-fast-growing tomatoes that are sown in open ground without seedlings. However, in cold regions (Kaliningrad, Leningrad, Volgograd regions and others) you still have to grow them through seedlings. Sowing can be done at the beginning of April at home or directly in the greenhouse if you add biofuel or heat the greenhouses. And when they leave spring frosts, you can plant them in open ground.

And no matter what deadlines are discussed now, all the same, every knowledgeable gardener with years of experience has his own deadlines for planting both seeds and seedlings. And the best thing is to keep your gardener’s diary.

Preparing the soil (land) for tomato seedlings

In order for a good tomato bush to grow from seeds specially selected according to all the rules, you need to take care of the soil for seedlings in advance. It is best to prepare the soil for it in the fall.

If you have black soil in your garden, then mix it with sand, ash and humus and you will get nutritious and light soil in which it will be easy for seeds to germinate. Mix black soil, humus and sand in the following ratios 2:2:1. Then sift through a large sieve with 6-9 mm cells.

If you do not have black soil or you are afraid of introducing pests with your garden soil, then you can use ready-made peat mixtures. But they may lack nitrogen and phosphorus. You can make your own soil mixture using the same peat.

For each bucket of peat, take half a bucket of sand and a liter jar of wood ash. Stir - done!

Instead of peat, you can use sphagnum moss, pine needles or sawdust. They must be taken in the same proportions with sand and ash as peat. Only sawdust and pine needles must first be poured with boiling water, cooled, the water drained, poured with boiling water again, cooled, the water drained and only then sand and ash added. Using fresh sawdust It’s a good idea to add 5 tbsp to the mixture. spoons of any nitrogen fertilizer.

Such soil is good because the organic component in it rots slowly, and therefore, while the seedlings are growing, chemical composition the soil does not change, the temperature is approximately constant, and there are no pathogens or pest larvae in it.

In general, there are a lot of recipes for preparing land for tomato seedlings. Gardeners try, experiment, observe, record and draw conclusions in their own way. best recipe soil mixtures.

It is better to store the prepared soil in the cold - this will help further disinfect it. Store it on a cold balcony or garage. The cold will not only kill microorganisms, but will also help get rid of earthworms. There is no place for them in a box or seedling pots; they will simply eat the young roots of the plants.

Video on how to prepare the soil for sowing seeds for tomato seedlings

Containers for tomato seedlings

As you already understand, it is more convenient to sow tomato seeds first in a common container (box), and then transplant them into small cups and larger containers.

Their advantage is that one variety can be sown in one container.

Tomatoes easily tolerate transplantation and in general - the more transplants, the stronger the plant. In tomatoes, the damaged root system quickly recovers and, when broken, the sucking hairs begin to grow even thicker.

To grow seedlings, you can use various containers that have drainage holes in the bottom. It is better not to use wooden containers, since it is difficult to remove pathogens from wood.

Plastic trays or bowls are best. Some people use kefir or milk bags - cut out the side wall and the sowing box is ready. Again, lactic acid bacteria can remain in such bags, which will then pass into the soil and mold will appear on its surface.

Therefore, it is better to use other available containers, for example, plastic rectangular boxes with lids for cookies, sweets, and juice. You can use plastic or paper cups. They need to be prepared in large quantities and do not forget to make 2-3 holes in the bottom of each drainage holes diameter 0.5 cm.

You can buy a set of special pots with a removable bottom on a pallet. When replanting, it will be easy, by pressing your finger on the bottom, to push the entire lump of earth with roots out of the pot. The result is neat cubes of earth entwined with roots.

If we consider a budget option, then you can plant the seedlings in plastic bags, where the volume and shape are given with the help of a stapler, make holes and place them tightly in any cardboard box covered with plastic film.

It all depends on your capabilities and imagination.

Why didn't the tomato seeds sprout?

Popular wisdom says: Forewarned is forearmed! And one more thing: Knowledge is power!

The reasons for the failure of seeds to germinate on tomato seedlings can be different and here are some of them:

1. Infection brought with seeds. If the seeds were not disinfected before sowing, pre-emergence damping off of the sprouts may occur.
2. Infection introduced with seedling soil.
3. Soil toxicity.
4. Soil overloaded with salts.
5. The soil is too dense.
6. Deep sowing. If, moreover, germination occurs at low temperatures, when the pre-emergence period is extended, there is a danger of intrasoil rotting of the seedlings.
7. Excessive moisture. Overmoistening of the soil in combination with low temperatures can lead to rotting of seeds even at normal sowing depth.
8. Soil acidity.
9. Sowing seeds that have been stored at low temperatures for a long time. When stored in cold conditions, seeds may enter a state of deep dormancy from which they are difficult to recover. Such seeds may sprout in 2-3 weeks or may not sprout at all.

In what containers to plant tomato seedlings - video

So, we have prepared the soil for the seeds for tomato seedlings, determined favorable days for sowing, we recommended containers for growing seedlings, and in the next article we will talk about caring for seedlings and how to properly grow them at home.

Growing tomatoes in most regions of our country begins with sowing seeds for seedlings. Preparing seedlings at home requires knowledge and a little experience, since you can waste time and the result will be disastrous, and before good harvest it won't work out that way. But this work is not so complicated that it is necessary to buy seedlings on the market every year, and every gardener is simply obliged to master it and grow tomatoes.

Is it necessary to grow tomatoes from seedlings?

The growing season for tomatoes is very long; many months pass from sowing seeds to harvesting, and all work on growing tomatoes begins in March, when spring has not yet really begun in most of our country. Therefore, unfortunately, almost nowhere you can’t do without growing seedlings.

When in the 1980s we, MSU graduates assigned to Saratov, acquired summer cottages, one friend could not understand the meaning of the word “seedlings”. And I certainly didn’t want to believe that tomato seeds must first be planted in a pot or box, and then nurtured and cherished in the apartment. In their village, on the Azov coast, where the shaft also sprouts, there were only two stages of growing tomatoes: plant the seeds in a garden bed and harvest.

In the conditions of central Russia, and even more so in the northern regions, growing seedlings is mandatory. Fortunately, unlike cabbage, which requires low temperatures (from 6 to 16 o C) to grow seedlings, tomatoes are fine in this regard: the conditions of a city apartment are generally suitable for seedlings, only sometimes there is not enough sun. Therefore, for about two months a year, gardeners occupy all the free space in the apartment with boxes and cups with tomato seedlings.

Lunar calendar 2019 for planting tomato seeds

Many gardeners compare their sowing, planting and caring for plants with the phases of the Moon and other celestial bodies. It is difficult to judge how correct this approach is, but there is probably something in it, because everything in nature is interconnected. True, a working person does not always manage to do everything exactly on those days when the Moon commands, but many pensioners try to adjust their gardening schedule to the lunar rhythms. The trouble is that in different sources you can simultaneously find slightly different lunar calendars.

In 2019, the following days will be favorable for sowing tomatoes for seedlings:

• February: 1, 2 (until 18:51), 3, 4, 7 (until 9:04), 8, 27, 28;
• March: 1, 2 (after 9:44), 3 (before 17:21), 6 (after 14:55), 7, 8 (before 17:00), 11, 29, 30;
• April: 1–4, 6–9, 11–13, 15–17, 20, 21, 24–26.

It is important not to plant seedlings on new and full moon days:

• February: 5, 19;
• March: 6, 21;
• April:5, 19.

Preliminary preparation

An experienced summer resident carries out all operations to prepare for sowing seeds automatically, knowing when he needs to take the prepared seeds out of the box, what needs to be done with them first, where and what kind of soil to get, where he keeps reusable cups or wooden boxes, or where and when he needs to stock up. peat pots. He already has some fertilizers in stock for spring and potassium permanganate, which has suddenly become scarce, which is very necessary for disinfecting both seeds and soil.

Seed preparation

In different manuals you can find different descriptions of preparing seeds for planting, so I will try to briefly describe my more than thirty years of experience, without pretending that this is exclusively correct. But there are no seasons good tomatoes hasn't happened yet. I must make a reservation that I have never bought seeds in a store, I only use my own and “from neighbors.” A useful remark. Firstly, in Lately A lot of seeds are sold, pre-treated in one way or another; they just need to be sown immediately in pots. Secondly, many tomatoes are not varieties, but hybrids (F1). Their preparation is very different from the preparation of varietal seeds and is also minimal.

The first sowing usually begins immediately after March 8th. At this time I take out the seeds of early varieties. The disinfection procedure is combined with seed rejection. To do this, I use a strong, very dark solution of potassium permanganate. Advice often misses a small nuance that people who are far from chemistry do not pay attention to. Potassium permanganate dissolves very slowly in cold water, and when hot it decomposes to a large extent. Therefore, to obtain a solution it is necessary not a large number of dissolve the drug (on the tip of a knife) in warm water(40 degrees), stirring occasionally and checking that there are no crystals left at the bottom. It is convenient to pour about half a can of water into a half-liter jar. If you rush and place the seeds there ahead of time, the undissolved crystals will immediately burn them.

You can often see advice on preparing a 1% solution of potassium permanganate for this purpose, but some strange numbers are written next to it. Firstly, it is not easy to dissolve such an amount, although the maximum solubility at room temperature is 6 times greater. Secondly, this is already a bomb that burns all living things. And few apartments have scales that allow you to take the necessary weights to prepare a glass of disinfectant solution. Therefore, we do it by eye and are not afraid. Treating seeds with a slightly pink solution can hardly be considered disinfection; the solution should be dark. Will the seeds be colored? Yes, they will stain, no problem. They will be covered thin layer the reduction product of permanganate - manganese dioxide, which at the right stage will play the role of a microelement.

Potassium permanganate solutions of various concentrations are used as a disinfectant; I think it is possible to use a dark purple solution

I pour seeds of one variety into a jar with the prepared solution and keep them there for 10 minutes, shaking them well from time to time. Those that did not drown during this time, I mercilessly throw away, pouring the upper layers of the solution into another jar through a strainer. Then I filter through the same strainer. good seeds and rinse them very well under the tap with water. I put it in a wet cloth and keep it in a Petri dish for several days, observing in the morning and evening. (For those who don’t have a Petri dish, you can place it in any small container, covering it with a lid that is not completely airtight).

As soon as I find at least a few sprouted seeds, I put them in the refrigerator for 12 hours. Then I take them out and keep them at room temperature for 8 hours. I alternate between cold and heat three times. All. You can sow.

It’s already too late to plant these seeds: it will be difficult not to break off the roots

There are tips on heating seeds near a battery, using hydrogen peroxide, boric acid, growth stimulants (Epin, honey, agave juice, etc.), etc. They even use air bubbling! Most techniques have the right to be used, each has its own technique. But… Gardening should not turn into fanaticism, so we do only what is necessary. And disinfection and hardening (except in the southern regions) are necessary! But, for example, bubbling helps seeds covered with a strong oily layer (for example, carrots, parsley) to hatch; tomatoes have absolutely no use for it.

As for hybrids, you won’t collect seeds from them in the garden anyway, it’s no use: you won’t understand what will grow. And conscientious producers nowadays pack them already prepared for sowing, and recommend sowing them dry. But... I think we should harden them in the middle zone and northern regions, if the plants have to live outside of the greenhouse, it still won’t be superfluous.

Soil preparation

Seedlings will grow in almost any soil, unless it is contaminated, that is, not taken from a bed where vegetables grew last year and diseases raged. But, of course, we are not talking about her growing up in principle, but growing up strong and healthy. Now stores sell ready-made soil for any garden crops. You can buy a package of such soil to grow a dozen roots, but our person does not mess with that many.

Using such a package is convenient, but very expensive

In Saratov, tomatoes are almost “an object of national pride,” and few summer residents plant less than 150–200 bushes. Therefore on purchased soil you can go broke. At the same time, and optimal soil, which is recommended in most manuals, is problematic to compose, since it is equal parts of peat, humus and turf land. And if in central Russia peat is not very a big problem, then in the Volga region it is from the realm of exotic. So we take what we have.

And at the dacha there is heavy, clayey, but at the same time black soil, on which almost everything grows, except, perhaps, carrots, but which requires mandatory loosening a certain number of hours after watering, otherwise it will be an impenetrable crust. We bring several buckets of this earth every autumn and leave them on the balcony. The infection is partially frozen out, but before planting the seedlings, be sure to dilute the soil with sand (2:1) and sprinkle it well with a strong solution of potassium permanganate. If we don’t forget to grab compost from the dacha, we add it as much as we have. And a little ash.

I don’t think steaming soil in the oven is a very good idea. Firstly, being in the apartment during this procedure is a dubious pleasure. Secondly, the soil must be living, and not a simple inorganic substance. And at recommended temperatures (above 100 o C) not only pathogenic microbes will die, but also all beneficial microorganisms.

So, let's summarize. You shouldn’t bother with the composition of the soil for tomato seedlings, but it should be as nutritious as possible and at the same time breathable, not too heavy. To prevent seedling diseases, it must be disinfected by watering it well with a dark solution of potassium permanganate.

How to grow strong tomato seedlings at home

Traditional methods of growing tomato seedlings are in common boxes and separate cups, but, as M. Zadornov said, “our people are strong at improvisation,” and as a result, what options have not been born on Russian soil! Leaving aside such techniques as, for example, growing in coconuts, we will consider several different methods.

Growing on a windowsill in a house or apartment

In an apartment, the most successful place is usually a sunny window sill, but there are few such apartments (and such summer residents) where all the seedlings would be able to fit on the windowsill, and tomatoes are only a small part of the future garden... Many owners equip additional shelves across the window, and boxes with seedlings are installed in several tiers, but this approach is usually not enough, additional tables are used... But in this case, without additional lighting not enough. The best options are cold light fluorescent lamps or diode lamps; Not everyone can afford special phytolamps yet.

There is no point in immediately sowing tomatoes in separate cups, since picking is very desirable for them. Therefore, first, the prepared seeds are sown in common boxes, pouring a 5-6 cm layer of soil into them and dividing the box with partitions by variety.

First, you can sow the seeds in any convenient container: they won’t live here very long

Liter (and larger) rectangular cardboard bags for juice or milk are extremely convenient for sowing tomatoes. By cutting off one of the large sides and making holes for drainage in the opposite side, we get an excellent disposable container for sowing one or two varieties of seeds, which after picking the plants you can throw away without regret.

O. A. Ganichkina recommends replanting seedlings twice: first, planting them in small cups, then, as the seedlings grow, in larger ones. The advice, of course, is not bad, the seedlings will only become stronger from this and will not stretch much, but where can you get so much space in the apartment? And on the windowsill? The best seedlings grow in a liter pot. We count: 150–200 of these pots, plus peppers, eggplants, cabbage, celery, numerous flowers...

So, in a large box, cups or peat pots, we keep the seedlings on the windowsill or a table moved towards it until they are planted in a greenhouse or open ground, that is, until the time comes for this, and the seedlings grow to 15–30 cm. What is good about an apartment? You can always control the seedlings and quickly take measures to correct the situation. Why is it bad? Usually it’s still too hot, and it’s not always possible to maintain temperature conditions. Well, there simply isn’t enough space!

Growing in a greenhouse

The presence of a greenhouse greatly simplifies the cultivation of tomato seedlings, if, of course, the greenhouse is easily accessible and it is not located in the country, which is tens of kilometers away. The advantages of the greenhouse are obvious:

• easier to regulate temperature;
• sufficient illumination can be provided;
• a large amount of space allows you to grow an unlimited number of seedlings of different varieties and fruiting periods;
• Due to these advantages, the seedlings grow stronger, do not stretch, and the root system is more powerful.

Well, if the greenhouse is heated, all problems are eliminated. There is one downside: the cost of greenhouse equipment.

In a greenhouse, each plant can be provided with space

Growing seedlings in greenhouse conditions consists of absolutely the same steps as growing at home; there is no point in repeating what needs to be done to get strong plants. However, there are some peculiarities, and first of all, this concerns timing.

If the greenhouse is unheated, sowing dates depend on the region and current weather. So, in the northern regions (colder than, for example, at the latitude of Moscow), sowing seeds is possible in mid-March, unless, of course, winter is already raging at this time. In the middle zone this happens two weeks earlier. In a heated greenhouse, sowing is possible even in winter, if necessary.

The temperature in the greenhouse during sowing should be about 20 o C, then the temperature regime is the same as at home. Fortunately, reducing the temperature in a greenhouse in March-April is much easier than at home. And in general, the greenhouse must be ventilated often: diseases develop more easily in stagnant air. Most often, in greenhouses, as in apartments, boxes or pots are placed, but no one bothers you to sow seeds directly into prepared beds. The most rational method seems to be a mixed method: sowing seeds in common boxes and then planting the plants in a greenhouse bed. At the same time, if the greenhouse is used not only as a “transshipment point” between seedlings and open ground, but also the subsequent cultivation of tomatoes up to harvest is supposed to take place there, the seedlings can be planted immediately to a permanent place.

Growing in a greenhouse

A greenhouse usually means a small film (or with glass frames) shelter, that is, it is a kind of compact analogue of an unheated greenhouse. Heating in greenhouses is often provided by adding so-called biofuel: fresh manure (preferably horse manure), straw, grass, etc., which becomes very hot when decomposed (for example, horse manure has a temperature of about 60 ° C). Biofuels can heat a greenhouse for several months. Growing seedlings in such a greenhouse is the most reliable and effective way to grow seedlings.

The advantages of greenhouse cultivation over the indoor method are the same as in the case of a greenhouse; seedlings grow much stronger than at home; The advantage over an apartment is its lower cost: it is greenhouses that most villagers use for this purpose, but this method should not be recommended for summer residents. The disadvantage, compared to a greenhouse, is that you need to monitor temperature conditions much more carefully: you can’t just open a window here, and changing the temperature by 1-2 degrees is not easy.

All procedures for growing seedlings in a greenhouse are similar to those discussed above, but it does not seem reasonable to place boxes or pots in a greenhouse. Usually, in a greenhouse, beds are immediately prepared for sowing seeds, where they are sown in the same way as in a box or box at home. Further care is similar; it also includes picking the seedlings, which is carried out right here in the greenhouse bed. When warm weather arrives and the seedlings are ready, they are hardened off, removing the cover, and then planted in a permanent place.

Using different landing containers

The use of boxes or reusable cups are traditional techniques in growing seedlings. The use of paper ice cream cups or homemade containers from plastic bags has also been used for a long time. But in last years Other approaches to creating a “home” for seedlings have also become widespread.

Using peat pots

Disposable peat pots have been known for a long time; they are made from peat, pressed into the shape of pots: geometric options and there are different sizes. Peat for pots can be treated with fertilizers and growth stimulants. The advantages of using peat pots over paper or plastic are as follows:

• no need to remove seedlings when planting in a garden bed;
• the roots are not injured during transplantation;
• ecologically pure material pots also serves as fertilizer.

The only inconvenience in the work is that the pots get wet and very soft from watering, so you need to be careful when moving them from place to place. It’s better not to pick it up at all: put the required number of pots in a tray and keep it that way. True, with a dense arrangement, it is possible for roots to grow from one pot to another (the roots of most vegetables easily penetrate this barrier), and this must be monitored.

The peat pot will go into the garden bed along with its tenant - seedlings

Some crops are immediately sown in peat pots and not touched again, but it is still better to first plant tomato seeds in a separate box, and when the seedlings reach the required age, pick them out in separate peat pots. Due to the need for picking, such a well-known analog as peat tablets is not suitable for tomatoes: the seeds of those vegetables that do not like picking are sown in them.

Application of plastic bottles

We are so used to plastic bottles that we don’t even remember that just recently they didn’t exist at all. And how did we manage without them? After all, now in many cases a PET bottle is a lifesaver. Lightweight, durable, often transparent... Wherever the inquisitive mind of the Russian man has adapted them! It is also suitable for growing seedlings, even for obtaining grape seedlings from cuttings.

In the case of tomato seedlings, plastic bottles are most often used only at the first stage: seeds are sown in them, grown for the time required for the appearance of 2-3 true leaves, and then planted in peat or plastic cups in the usual way. But there are fans who, in large, five-liter plastic bottles They grow tomatoes even before harvest, placing them on the balcony.

So, when growing seedlings:

1. Cut a regular bottle lengthwise to make two small plastic boxes for sowing seeds.
2. Spread a centimeter layer of crushed eggshells on the bottom: it acts as drainage and allows you to avoid making holes to drain excess water.
3. Pour a layer of soil, sow the seeds in the usual way and grow them until picking.

Another option involves using the lower half of a large (5- or 10-liter) bottle as a planting box, in which several seedlings are grown until planted in the garden. The advantage over bulky boxes is their compactness and the ability to easily rearrange bottles on the windowsill. But use them for individual cultivation(one tomato per bottle) is less economical. The pros and cons of using bottles are quite relative: for some it is simply more convenient.

Some people use plastic bottles instead of large boxes.

Use of toilet paper

Toilet paper is often used by gardeners at the first stage of growing seedlings of various vegetable crops. This is an example of so-called hydroponics: growing plants without the use of soil, where various inert materials can serve as a substrate. In the case of tomato seedlings, in addition to paper, you still need the same plastic bottle or plastic bag. The simplest option for forcing sprouts looks like this:

As an option, they use paper in the form of a “snail”, winding it into a roll, having previously laid it out plastic film, but this design is more suitable for miniature plants than for tomatoes.

The benefits of using toilet paper are that less dirt settles in your apartment for at least two weeks. The disadvantage is that choosing sprouts from paper is not very easy: there is a risk of severely breaking off the delicate roots.

Features of growing on the north side

To grow tomato seedlings, it is advisable that the apartment windows face south; the seedlings need warmth and sun. If the windows are located on the western, and even more so, northern side, you will definitely have to highlight the boxes with seedlings. To begin with, they need to be positioned so that the seedlings are as close to the glass as possible, but do not touch the glass.

You can use various reflective devices to increase illumination: a mirror or, at least, aluminum foil. Screens must be positioned so that they receive the maximum amount of possible quantity light, and the light was reflected on the seedlings.

In any case, if there are only northern windows, seeds for seedlings will have to be sown a little earlier. And even artificial lighting is not natural sunlight at all! By the way, it is not advisable to illuminate with incandescent lamps: they heat up the air very much, and even for tomato seedlings there is no need for excess heat. Modern lamps with diode elements are the best option.

Is picking tomatoes necessary?

Some vegetable crops They do not tolerate picking at all; for others it is undesirable, but for tomatoes picking is mandatory. Of course, the seedlings will grow without it, because in the south the seeds are sown immediately in a garden bed in a permanent place. But it’s one thing to immediately move to a permanent place, and quite another to survive apartment conditions, where the temperature is not all right, there’s not enough light, and the breeze isn’t blowing... Seedlings in an apartment are often simply pampered, so you need to at least make the roots grow better , and this is achieved by picking, during which the central root is necessarily pinched.

Seedlings are ready for picking when their first two or three leaves appear, and this happens approximately 12 days after sowing the seeds. There is no need to carry out picking before: after all, in essence, this operation is breaking off the lower segment of the central root to ensure the growth of the lateral roots.

A few hours before the procedure, the seedlings should be well watered. Seedlings should be dug up with a small scoop or using any suitable kitchen utensils. There is no need to be afraid of damaging the spine, but with sudden movements it can simply be torn off. Why is the procedure named this way? To perform it, use any convenient peg that looks like a pike, often just a sharpened pencil. With this pike they make a hole in the soil and with its help they lower the seedling there, after pinching the root. Tomato seedlings must be buried almost to the cotyledon leaves. All that remains is to gently squeeze the roots with your fingers and water well warm water.

Tomatoes are the most common crop grown throughout the world. Seedling method reproduction allows you to speed up fruiting. In addition, this allows you to grow tomatoes in almost any climate.

Growing tomato seedlings does not require special skills, but sometimes novice gardeners make mistakes, after which they abandon this idea. To grow strong seedlings you need to know a few subtleties.

The main requirement for growing seedlings at home is good lighting in the room. The best place for tomatoes is a windowsill or loggia on the south side. In case of lack of natural light, special phytolamps are used.

Tomato seedlings need to be provided with the correct temperature conditions. The temperature during the day should be 18-25 degrees, at night - 13-16 degrees.

Young seedlings also need to be provided with the necessary amount of moisture. To do this, use a watering can without a nozzle, a spray bottle with warm water, or an air humidifier. Watering is carried out once a week, spraying - daily.

Variety selection by region

Tomatoes can grow in many climatic zones, but most varieties are adapted to the characteristics of a particular area and in other conditions may simply die or produce a poor harvest.

In accordance with varietal characteristics, tomato planting time is distributed by region.

• In the south of Russia, tomato seedlings are sown from February 20 to early April.
• In the Moscow region - from March 15 to April 10.
• In the Urals and Siberia - from April 1 to April 20.

Based on this, varieties are selected.

Varieties for the South

• Bull's heart– late-ripening determinate variety. The fruits ripen 120-130 days after sowing. The bush reaches 1.5-1.9 meters in height. The fruits are red or pink, heart-shaped. Weight – 300-900 grams. The variety is popular throughout Russia.
• Yablonka Russia– late-ripening determinate variety. The height of the plant reaches a meter. Ripening period is 118-135 days. Fruits weighing 100 grams.
• Adeline- early high-yielding low-growing variety. The ripening period of a tomato is 80 days. The fruits are oval. The color is red. Tomato weight - 60-100 grams. The variety is resistant to heat and disease.
• Maestro is a productive, heat-resistant variety. The fruits weigh 100 grams. The color is red. The variety has high disease resistance.
• Asterix- hybrid high productive variety. Cylindrical tomatoes. Weight - 85-100 grams. The taste is pleasant. The variety's resistance to disease and heat is high.

Also, in southern climatic conditions the following varieties and hybrids can be grown: Gazpacho, Babylon, Alcazar, Chelbas, Fantomas, Ramses, Portland, Verlioka plus and others.

Varieties for the Moscow region

• Abakan pink- large-fruited determinate variety of medium ripening period. The ripening period of a tomato is 109-120 days. Weight – 300-800 grams. The height of the plant in unprotected soil is 80 centimeters, in greenhouse conditions - 150 centimeters.
• Golden domes– determinate mid-season variety. The bush is tall, 0.9 -1.5 meters high. The ripening period for tomatoes is 100-115 days. Weight – 200-800 grams. The color is orange. The pulp is pleasant to the taste, fleshy, sweet.
• Eagle Heart– large-fruited determinate variety of medium ripening period. Tomato weight – 600-800 grams. The color is pinkish-raspberry. The pulp is tasty, sugary, sweet. In greenhouse conditions, the bush grows up to 1.7 meters, in unprotected soil - 1.5 meters.
• De Barao– late indeterminate variety. The ripening period for tomatoes is 109-130 days from planting. The height of the bush is 2 meters or more. Tomato weight – 100 grams. Cold-resistant, shade-tolerant and productive variety. It is grown in greenhouses, greenhouses and unprotected soil. Fruiting of the variety is extended.
• Eagle beak– semi-determinate mid-season variety. The ripening period for tomatoes is 110-116 days. The height of the bush is 120-150 centimeters. The fruits weigh 200-800 grams. The pulp is sweetish in taste, dense, juicy.
• Monomakh's hat– mid-early indeterminate variety. Fruiting occurs in 90-110 days. Tomato weight – 400-900 grams. The pulp is tasty.
• Iceberg– early cold-resistant high-yielding variety. The bush is not tall, up to 80 centimeters in height. The fruits are red. Tomato weight - 200 grams. The variety is resistant to cold and temperature changes.

You can also sow the following varieties here: The Snow Queen, Penguin, Upstart, Snowdrop, Moskvich, Toughie, Chibis, Crimson Giant, Big Brother, Spasskaya Tower and others.

The following are most often grown in greenhouse conditions: Snowfall, Perseus, Teremok, Viscount, Parrot, Dolphin, Ivanhoe, Druzhok, Farmer, Sprinter, Etude, Overture, Sweet Bunch.

Varieties for the Urals and Siberia

• Ultra early ripening - early variety. The bush is low, up to 50 centimeters high. Tomato weight – 100 grams. Fruiting occurs 1.5 months after sowing. The variety is grown in open ground and greenhouse conditions.
• Demidov- a low-growing variety, the height of which reaches 50 centimeters. Tomato weight – 200 grams. The taste is pleasant, sweet.
• Koenigsberg– indeterminate mid-season variety. The height of the bush is 2 meters. Fruiting begins 115 days after sowing. The average weight of a tomato is 280-350 grams. The variety is grown in open ground and in greenhouses.
• Heavyweight of Siberia - large-fruited variety, grown in open ground. The height of the bush is 60-100 centimeters. Fruit weight is 400-900 grams.
• Wonder of the earth- greenhouse high-yielding variety. The bush reaches 2 meters. The average weight of a tomato is 500 grams. The color is pink.
• Altaic- indeterminate greenhouse hybrid. The bush is tall, 1.5 meters high. The variety begins to bear fruit at 110-115 days. Tomatoes are rounded and flattened. The pulp is fleshy. Weigh - 250-300 grams. The fruiting period is extended.
• Grandma's secret- large-fruited variety. The weight of a tomato reaches 0.9-1 kg. The height of the bush is 1.5-1.7 meters.
  The variety is grown in greenhouse conditions, under film and unprotected soil. Fruiting occurs in 98-100 days.
• Scarlet candles- simultaneously ripening variety. Fruits in 105-116 days. The bush is tall, up to 2 meters. The plant needs a garter. The fruits are elongated and weigh 100-120 grams.
• Pink honey- greenhouse variety with pink fruits. The ripening period for tomatoes is 109-115 days. The height of the bush reaches 70-120 centimeters. Tomatoes taste sweet. Fruit weight is 550-800 grams.

You can also grow such varieties and hybrids as: Coin, Intuition, Button, Nevsky, Moya Lyubov and others.

How to plant tomato seeds for seedlings: step-by-step instructions

To sow seedlings, you can use a ready-made store-bought soil mixture or prepare it yourself.

To do this you need to take:

• part of the peat
• part of rotted humus or compost,
• part of turf or leaf soil
• 0.5 parts of river sand.

For 10 liters of soil mixture, add a glass of wood ash or crushed chalk and a tablespoon of complex mineral fertilizers. Everything is thoroughly mixed.

To disinfect the soil mixture, it is heated in the oven at a temperature of 100 degrees for 1 hour. The heated mixture is poured into containers for planting and poured with a purple hot solution of potassium permanganate

The first thing to do when preparing seeds is to cull them. For this purpose it is used brine. Take 30 grams of salt per liter of water, add it and stir. The seeds are placed in the resulting solution for 15 minutes, all that float are removed.

The selected seed material then undergoes disinfection.

There are several options for this procedure:

• Take 1 gram of potassium permanganate for half a glass of water. The seeds, dried on a napkin, are poured into a bag made of cloth or gauze and placed in the solution for 15 minutes.
• The seeds are soaked in the Fitosporin solution for 1-2 hours.
• Instead of potassium permanganate and Fitosporin, you can take a soda solution.
• For half a glass of water, take 0.5 grams of soda. The seeds are kept in the solution for 1 day. This solution disinfects and accelerates fruiting of tomatoes.
• Disinfection can be done using aloe juice. It is diluted 1:1 with water and the seeds are placed in it for 12-24 hours. The solution also helps to increase productivity, improves the quality of fruits, and strengthens plant immunity.

After disinfection, the seeds are soaked in a solution of boric acid (1 gram per liter of water) for 24 hours.

Then they are placed in a solution of any growth stimulator (for example, Epin, sodium humate, potassium humate, Virtana-micro).

To soak the seeds, use filtered or melt water. Tap water not suitable for this. The seeds are soaked for 1 day. After swelling, they go into the refrigerator for a day. After hardening, the bag of seeds is moistened and placed on a saucer for germination.
After 4-5 days, the seeds begin to disappear, after which you can begin sowing.

Landing

For planting, special boxes, containers or cassettes, pots, peat tablets, and cups are taken.

Planting containers are filled with soil mixture. Peat tablets are placed in a transparent container.

Furrows are made in boxes (containers) 3-5 centimeters wide from each other and 1 centimeter deep. Recesses are made in cups, cassettes or pots. Seeds are placed in the furrows at a distance of 1 centimeter from each other. 3-6 seeds are planted in pots, and 2-4 seeds go into each peat tablet. They are sprinkled with a thin layer of soil.

The top of the container with the sown seeds is covered with film or glass. For germination, seeds need a temperature of 30 degrees, so the container is installed next to the heat source, but not on the radiator. After the first shoots appear, the protective cover is removed.

When the seedlings appear, the seedlings are transferred to a cooler place for a week, with an air temperature of 16 degrees. After a week, the seedlings return to the room, with a temperature of 20-25 degrees during the day and 16 degrees at night. Drafts must not be allowed!

Watering

Tomato seedlings have very delicate roots and therefore once a week the plants are watered along the edge of the container from a watering can without a nozzle and sprayed with a spray bottle or air humidifier. Spraying is carried out once a day, and at high air temperatures - 2 times.

Backlight

Young seedlings require a lot of light. After they hatch, they are placed on a well-lit windowsill or loggia. If there is a lack of light, a phytolamp is installed nearby. Daylight hours should be 16 hours. From time to time, containers with plants need to be turned around so that the plants do not pull in one direction.

If the seedlings grow in a cluster, the first picking is carried out after the formation of the first true leaves, approximately 10 days after sowing. Diving is carried out to a depth of 3-4 centimeters in pots, cups or boxes. The width between plants should be 5 by 5 or 7 by 7 centimeters (depending on the volume of the container).

After a few weeks, re-dipping is carried out into separate 1-liter pots. Plants need to be replanted with a ball of earth, as the plants have delicate roots. Sprouts in peat tablets are transplanted with them.

What to do if tomato seedlings stretch out

2-2.5 weeks after germination of the first shoots. Then fertilizing is applied once every 10 days. As fertilizers, you can use a diluted infusion of mullein (chicken droppings), wood ash, crushed eggshells or complex mineral fertilizers with a mandatory nitrogen content, for example, nitrophoska (1 tablespoon per liter of water).

Fertilizing is applied after watering in the evening or early morning.

Hardening of sprouts begins after 3-4 true leaves appear on the plants. A suitable temperature for hardening is 15-20 degrees.

You need to start hardening with five minutes of ventilation. The hardening time increases daily.
Hardened seedlings take root better.

The most common mistakes when growing tomato seedlings include the following:

• Incorrectly selected variety;
• unprepared or infected with pests and diseases soil for planting;
• sowing seeds for seedlings too early;
• insufficient or, conversely, excessive watering;
• non-compliance with the temperature regime of plants;
• excess or lack of lighting;
• untimely picking;
• absence or insufficient hardening;
• incorrect choice of site for planting seedlings;
• planting tomatoes and cucumbers in one greenhouse;
• incorrect choice of film for the greenhouse;
• improper planting of plants in a permanent place of growth;
• planting plants in conditions unsuitable for the variety;
• excessive watering of plants;
• no pinching or pinching.

When growing a large volume of tomatoes, it is better to choose hybrid varieties, which have high resistance to diseases and negative impacts environment.

When sowing and planting, the soil must be treated with disinfectants.

When sowing seeds early, the plants overgrow before transplanting into the ground, which leads to poor rooting.

Tomatoes should be watered as the soil dries. Irrigation of seedlings is carried out daily.

The temperature of seedlings during the day should be 18-25 degrees, at night +13-16 degrees.

Lack of light or 24-hour lighting of plants weakens them.

Plant picking should be done when the first true leaves form.

Absence or insufficient hardening leads to weakening of plants after transplantation.

The area for planting tomatoes should be well lit and protected from gusty winds.

The proximity of tomatoes and cucumbers in the same greenhouse has a depressing effect on the crops.

When choosing a film for a greenhouse or greenhouse, it is better to choose a hydrophilic one. It repels water and remains transparent longer.

Plants should be planted in well-watered holes. You should not water the seedlings after planting, as this affects the passage of air to the roots and makes it difficult for the plants to root in a new place.

Planting plants intended for a greenhouse and, conversely, for open ground in inappropriate conditions leads to a decrease in yield, since the plants cannot form correctly and gain growth vigor.

The reasons for this: sudden changes in temperature, short growing season, poor pollination due to high humidity in the greenhouse.

Tomatoes should be watered no more than once a week. Excessive watering leads to the development of late blight.

Pinching and pinching should not be neglected. The yield of any varieties depends on these procedures.

Growing tomatoes must be done responsibly. The entire future harvest depends on compliance with all factors that can harm plants.

Tomato seedlings at home. Growing and picking tomatoes: video

How I grow tomato seedlings: video

Growing tomato seedlings following all the recommendations is quite simple. Growing tomatoes in this way improves plant survival and increases yield. The quantity and quality of the harvested fruits depends on strong and healthy seedlings.

Good and strong seedlings guarantee a rich tomato harvest. Small mistakes that inexperienced farmers make at the stage of planting seeds and growing seedlings can affect the quality and quantity of the fruits of an adult crop.

Experts advise sowing tomato seeds two months before planting seedlings in beds or in a greenhouse. The seeds germinate a week after they are sown.

That is why optimal time keeping plants in warm conditions is up to two months. It is necessary to maintain all the timing correctly, otherwise you can overstay the seedlings, which threatens to inhibit the growth of the plant and reduce its productivity.

In order to know exactly what time it is necessary to plant tomato seedlings, you need to determine the end date frost in a certain area. By subtracting several months from this period, you can find out exactly the required time of planting. When the seedlings are planted not in the beds, but in the greenhouse, then sowing the seeds should begin a few weeks earlier.

Necessary conditions for growing seedlings

To grow good tomato seedlings, you need to create the following conditions:

1. Good lighting. It is necessary that the boxes with seedlings be located on the south side of the room.
2. High humidity. It is worth spraying tomato seedlings several times a day and using reliable air humidifiers.
3. Lots of heat. During the daytime, the room temperature should be about 22 degrees Celsius, and at night it should be at least 13 degrees Celsius.

Preparing seeds for seedlings

The preparation process includes the following types of work:

• disinfection seed material;
• necessary preparation and disinfection of the land.

Purchased seeds from well-known companies do not need to be further processed before sowing, because they have already been disinfected by the manufacturer. When tomato seeds were collected with your own hands or purchased at the market, then similar material may be infected with pathogens of various diseases.

In order to eliminate pathogens, it is worth using the following disinfectants facilities:

The soil can also be contaminated, especially when it is taken from the beds. Most safe is soil that is sold in specialized stores. However, there are fakes here too. That is why optimal solution can be considered cultivating the land with your own hands.

Experts say that the most effective methods disinfection of soil for seedlings are as follows:

• calcining the soil in the oven;
• heating the earth in a microwave oven;
• disinfection of soil with ordinary boiling water;
• disinfection of soil with a solution of potassium permanganate.

Such methods should be used comprehensively in order to obtain the highest quality and safest soil for seedlings. Start planting tomatoes for seedlings after preliminary no land preparation required.

It is worth moistening the soil and keeping it at room temperature for about two weeks. During this period, they will begin to multiply in the cultivated land. useful for culture organisms. After this time, it is worth starting sowing the seed. These helpful tips will help you grow plants in the most optimal way. comfortable conditions.

How to grow tomato seedlings

Needs to be filled any suitable container with pre-prepared moist soil. Next, special grooves up to one centimeter deep are made in it. The distance between such grooves should be about 4 centimeters.

Seeds are placed in these depressions at a distance of at least 1.5 centimeters. It is worth noting that the greater the distance between the seeds, the longer necessary keep the seedlings in a special container before planting in the ground. Then all the grooves should be covered with earth.

You can also put seed material onto the prepared soil, and then simply cover it with a small layer of earth.

The top of the container is covered with glass or regular film. This will help provide plants with an optimal microclimate with an air humidity of 85 percent. In order for the seed material to germinate well, the temperature is indoors should be around 27 degrees Celsius. To do this, it is worth placing the container with seedlings near a radiator or electric heater.

Needed every day control soil moisture. If the soil is dry, then you need to spray it well with a small spray bottle. When the soil is too wet, you need to open the glass or film and wait a little for the soil to dry. Quite often, high humidity can lead to the appearance of mold on the surface of the soil. In this case, you need to remove the contaminated layer of soil and water it antifungal potassium permanganate solution or solution.

Selection of lighting for seedlings

Growing tomato seedlings requires the use good lighting. That is why, when small shoots appear, the container with plants must be placed in the most illuminated place. In early spring, there will be little ordinary light for seedlings. In this case, it is worth using backlight luminescent lamps.

Experts say that for good growing tomato seedlings needed highlight shoots 24/7 for the first few days. Then you can switch to backlighting for 15 hours a day.

Selecting the humidity level

Young plants need to be grown in high humidity, and drying out the soil is simply unacceptable. For this reason, you cannot immediately remove glass or film from seedlings. Needed every day little by little open it so that the seedlings can get used to environment, but remained in comfortable conditions. When the plants are about two weeks old, such shelter can be removed fully.

Tomato seedlings developing under glass or film are capable of for a long time do not require watering. Need to look at state soil. It is necessary to water the plants very carefully, right up to the stem. In order not to damage the plants, you should use a small syringe or pipette.

After the glass or film is completely removed, the frequency glaze Tomato seedlings must match the amount of lighting and heat. As temperatures rise and daylight hours increase, tomatoes begin to grow quickly and absorb a lot of moisture from the soil. In other words, the soil will dry out faster and will need to be watered more often.

Young plants must not be allowed to dry out. Quite often, novice farmers make one mistake: in the morning the seedlings look very cheerfully, and in the evening it practically fades. In this case, it is worth checking the plants early in the morning, when the sun is just rising. If there is a suspicion that the seedlings are beginning to wither, then it is necessary to water them. Sunny day light capable of drying out young and weak plants.

Big quantity watering is very dangerous for young seedlings. There are practically no differences between dried and flooded tomato seedlings, because in both cases the stems lose turgor and the leaves of the plants begin to wither.

Having noticed such signs, you should pay attention to the soil. When she wet, then you cannot add water, otherwise the plants will die. It is necessary to place the container with seedlings in a dark place and not water it until the soil dries. Next, you need to adjust the number of waterings.

Very bad effect on growing Tomato seedlings have cool places combined with plenty of moisture. That is why you cannot water plants in the evening. At night, the air temperature can drop significantly, and the plants will freeze and become sick.

How to provide seedlings with fresh air

When the day is windless and warm, it is worth taking the plants out into the fresh air. This could be a balcony, street or open window. Tomato sprouts in the first days after germination have protection from ultraviolet rays, which prevents them from burning. These plants will be hardened and dry-resistant in the future.

When gardeners do not have time to expose the sprouts to the sun on the first day, then after a few days it is no longer recommended to do this, because the plants lose protective properties. In this case, it is necessary to gradually accustom the seedlings to sun rays. For the first days, 6 minutes will be enough, and then it is worth increasing the duration of the procedure by several minutes every day.

Tomato seedlings, which daily exposed to fresh air, when planted in open ground, it very quickly surpasses in growth those plants that were planted much earlier, but were kept without lighting and under film.

How to fertilize seedlings

Growing tomato seedlings requires feeding a few weeks after emergence shoots. And then you will need to fertilize once a week.

The optimal solution is to use natural organic fertilizers, for example, straw or humus. Special fertilizers made from manure, vermicompost and others are also very popular.

It is worth using only half the dose indicated for each type of fertilizer to feed plants.

How to pick seedlings

The very first foliage of tomato seedlings appears in a week. At this age, if the seeds were planted very closely in one container, it is worth picking the plants into separate containers. Tomatoes enough They are well able to tolerate transplantation, but this work must be done very carefully. Plants need to be replanted with a small ball of soil on the roots.

A small number of experts recommend when picking pinch central root zone. But you shouldn’t do this, because the roots will still be damaged during transplantation, and there is no need to further injure the seedlings. In addition, such an operation can be very harmful. Pinching a third of the root can stunt the plant's growth for a week. The very first transplant should be done in small containers with a volume of up to 250 milligrams.

After several weeks, you can re-pick into larger containers. When the tomato seeds were planted in individual cups, this picking will be the very first. During the work process, you should not use containers with a volume of less than 0.5 liters. Specialists recommend use large containers - about 4 liters for each bush. The optimal value can be considered one liter of soil per plant.

How to prepare seedlings for planting in open ground

Upon reaching the age of 1.5 months, tomato seedlings begin to expel the most first flower ovaries. After they appear, you need to count 2 weeks and start planting the plants in a greenhouse or open ground. You should not delay replanting too much, because this can lead to a decrease in yield.

When gardeners want to keep tomato seedlings for more than 2 months, each plant must be provided with at least 1 liter of soil. If you overexpose tomatoes in a small container for only a few weeks and give them the opportunity to bloom, then the plants may stop growing and developing. When transplanted into open ground, they will not be able to develop into adult plants and bear fruit well.

This problem can be solved by cutting first flower brush. Another brush will appear only after a week. In other words, you can postpone planting seedlings in open ground for a week. Such little secret Many experienced gardeners use it to grow seedlings. Before planting, high-quality tomato seedlings must have fairly thick stems, powerful roots, large leaves and developed inflorescences.

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