Tomatoes are undoubtedly the most popular vegetables. They have a great taste, so they can be eaten raw or used for preservation and preparation of a large number of dishes, ranging from ordinary salads to amazing gastronomic masterpieces. Tomatoes are sold in almost any grocery store, but they will be much healthier and tastier if you grow them yourself in your garden. That is why many vegetable growers are engaged in growing tomatoes. Despite the fact that this process is not particularly difficult, nevertheless, in order to harvest a high quality crop, it is necessary to adhere to a certain technological process. Every beginner gardener should know when to plant tomatoes for seedlings. Let's try to understand all the features of growing tomatoes at home.
Preparing seeds for planting
So what do you need to know about this? When growing tomatoes, it is very important not only to know what season to plant tomatoes for seedlings, but also to have an idea about the preparation of planting material. Both the yield of vegetable crops and the percentage of seed germination depend on this. Immediately it is worth noting that for this you will have to spend a certain amount of time and effort, but the result will certainly please you.
Most beginner growers collect seeds from ripe tomatoes, dry them in the sun, and this completes the preparation of planting material. Some of them will sprout, but the yield will be low, and the quality of vegetables will be better.
To seedlings were strong and healthy, had high resistance to pests and various diseases, experienced gardeners recommend to adhere to the following recommendations:
- Seeds should be selected only from ripe fruits that are not affected by any ailments. Their drying should not be carried out under the sun, but in a separate room with good air circulation and lighting. It is not recommended to leave the planting material in direct sunlight.
- In order to select only high-quality seeds, they must be briefly placed in a special solution, for the preparation of which one teaspoon of ordinary table salt is dissolved in warm water and infused for 10 minutes. Seeds that float to the surface can be thrown away, since they are unlikely to germinate, and tomato seedlings will not be of high quality.
- Pay attention to the size of the planting material. The larger the seeds, the more vitamins and nutrients they contain. Such planting material is considered the best.
- After you select and dry the seeds, they must be packaged in plastic bags. Storage should take place at room temperature in a dark place. If planting material has been in the cold for a long time, then a few days before sowing it needs to be warmed up. To do this, wrap the seeds in a cloth and put on the battery.
Only following these tips can you grow high-quality seedlings and harvest a rich, tasty and healthy crop.
Technological process
What does it include?
Planting tomatoes for seedlings is carried out in the following sequence:
- drying seeds;
- selection of planting material;
- disinfection;
- soaking;
- germination;
- hardening.
The most important steps are disinfection and hardening of planting material. The thing is that the largest number of diseases to which tomatoes are susceptible takes root on seeds. At the same time, illnesses can survive even in severe climatic conditions for a long period of time. Therefore, in order for tomato seedlings at home to be of high quality, the seeds must be decontaminated. For this, a one percent solution of potassium permanganate, preheated to 40 degrees, is used. Planting material is simply immersed in it for several minutes, on average from 3 to 7 will be enough.
Experienced agronomists also recommend the day before sowing to soak the seeds in a special solution with high nutritional properties. Similar products are sold in any specialized store. If you don’t want to spend money, you can use freshly squeezed potato juice.
Preparing seeds for sowing
This is one of the main stages. So that tomato seeds for seedlings sprout faster, it is recommended to soak them for 10 hours before sowing in ordinary standing warm water. Planting material is evenly distributed over the gauze, rolled up in several layers, and immersed in the liquid. After half the time, the water changes, and the procedure is repeated one more time.
It is not recommended to sow the seeds immediately in the greenhouse or in the garden, since the probability of germination in this case is minimal. They should first be germinated in room conditions. To do this, take a small container, on the bottom of which wet gauze is placed. Planting material is evenly distributed on it, and the dishes are placed near the battery or in a warm place. It is very important that the temperature at which the seeds will germinate is around 20 degrees. As a rule, the first shoots break through after 5 days. Throughout this time, care must be taken to keep the gauze moist.
In order for tomato seedlings in the Urals or in any other region of Russia with a harsh climate to grow and develop normally, and not be afraid of temperature extremes and night frosts, it is recommended to harden it. To do this, planting material for several days at night is placed in the refrigerator, if any, in the vegetable compartment. It should be noted that hardening will not only increase the resistance of tomatoes to negative environmental factors, but will also significantly increase productivity.
Soil preparation
Planting tomatoes for seedlings is carried out regardless of the type of soil, since this vegetable crop is unpretentious and feels good in any area. However, to improve the taste and nutritional properties of tomatoes, it is better to grow them on special substrates, which you can buy in a store or make yourself. Peat soil types are ideal.
To prepare the substrate with your own hands, you will need to mix loamy soil with humus and add any organic fertilizers to them. Tomato seedlings have a very delicate root system, so it will grow much better if the soil is more fluffy. To do this, you can add a little ordinary wood sawdust to the substrate.
As for purchased soils, it is better to give preference to coke mixtures. They are rich in nutrients and also prevent decay of the root system. In addition, the modern know-how, which shows high efficiency when growing seedlings of various vegetable crops at home, is special peat tablets. If you will germinate seeds with their help, then dive tomatoes when transplanting to the garden will not be necessary.
A few words about containers for seedlings
Sowing tomatoes for seedlings should be carried out in the right containers, since a lot depends on this. Best for sowing seeds are:
- wooden boxes;
- plastic trays;
- flower pots;
- peat tablets;
- plastic glasses.
It is important to understand that each type of cookware has certain advantages and disadvantages. Boxes and trays are more practical. They are simply ideally created for growing seedlings in large quantities. In addition, they have compact dimensions and are well transported if necessary, and their cost is relatively low. However, there is one drawback. Such containers have a small depth, and for the normal formation of a healthy root system there is little space in them, so seedlings need to be dived. But at the same time, you should be very careful, since it is quite problematic to separate the roots of different sprouts without damaging them.
It will be much easier if tomato seedlings are grown at home in special cassettes with partitions, which greatly simplify the dive process. But be careful when buying these containers. Do not purchase those made of polyvinyl chloride, as it contains toxic substances that are harmful to health.
The best option, combining high performance, affordable cost and practicality will be flower pots and disposable cups. In them, tomato seedlings can grow until the very transplant to the garden. The main disadvantage of such containers is that they take up a lot of space, and it is also problematic to transfer them from place to place. If you decide to use such dishes, then at the bottom you need to make small holes to remove excess moisture.
Peat tablets are an ideal option that most agronomists advise. They develop a powerful and healthy root system, so the seedlings are of the highest quality, giving an excellent harvest. However, their cost is quite high, so this container is not the most economical.
Sowing seeds
Many beginner gardeners are wondering when to plant tomatoes for seedlings. It is best to do this in mid-March, around 15-20. The first sprouts will appear somewhere in a week, and the growing season will come in two months. After another 7 days it will be possible to dive, and already in early June, seedlings will be completely ready for planting in the garden.
Sowing seeds is carried out to a depth of one centimeter in pre-moistened soil. Between them, it is necessary to leave 5 centimeters so that the root system of each sprout develops normally and does not intertwine. The dishes in which the seeds were sown are covered with glass or plastic wrap, and then placed in a warm room. The air temperature in it should not fall below 20 degrees. Subject to these conditions, the seeds will sprout in a week.
It is worth noting that planting tomatoes for seedlings on the lunar calendar will also be very effective. Scientists have long proved that the yield of vegetable crops depends very much on what phase the celestial body is in. Many professional agronomists involved in the cultivation of tomatoes on an industrial scale hold the same opinion.
Proper vegetable care
After the seeds have sprouted, dishes with seedlings should be transferred to a cool room with a good level of lighting. The air temperature in it should be in the range of 14 to 16 degrees Celsius. If the room is located in the northern part of the house and a small amount of sunlight penetrates into it, then it is necessary to make artificial lighting using lamps. The temperature regime must be observed throughout the week. This time is enough seedlings to get stronger. Then the plants are returned to the living room, which maintains a constant temperature at 20 degrees.
Tomato seedlings need timely watering, but it should not be too plentiful. At first, once a week will be quite enough, but then the number of times gradually increases. To do this, use water at room temperature. Before the first shoots appear, the soil is sprayed from the spray gun.
Tomato Dive
This process is a mandatory procedure for growing tomatoes at home, necessary for the formation of the root system of the plant. After its implementation, the seedlings better take root on the open ground and quickly adapt to new living conditions.
It is worth diving approximately 10 days after seed germination. However, there are no universal tips, since growing tomatoes requires an individual approach and taking into account many factors. Experienced gardeners argue that seedlings need to be planted in separate containers after the first full leaf is formed on it.
During the dive, you need to carefully sort out the planting material. Only the best and healthiest seedlings of tomatoes are selected, and all sluggish sprouts are thrown away, because they not only do not give a good harvest, but can simply not survive.
A few days before the alleged transplant, the soil is slightly moistened. This will allow effortlessly getting seedlings out of the ground without damaging the root system. For diving, larger dishes are used. For example, plastic bottles that have their necks cut off are great.
Seedling hardening
So what is this process about? So that the culture does not die from the cold when transplanting to the garden, it must be tempered. If seedlings are grown in February, it is not recommended to take out the tomatoes into the hallway of the house, as there will be a strong temperature difference that they can not tolerate. In this case, you can put tomatoes in the refrigerator for several hours, as mentioned above. If you sowed seeds in mid-March, and in April the weather outside is already more or less favorable, then the seedlings are watered and put out for a short time on the street. But this is permissible only if the thermometer is at least 10 degrees above zero. At the same time, it is forbidden to leave containers with sprouts in direct sunlight, since they simply sinter. At night, seedlings are brought back into the room. It should be tempered for at least two weeks.
Disease prevention
So, we have already talked about when to plant tomatoes for seedlings. Now it remains only to consider the main preventive measures that will reduce the likelihood of tomato damage by various diseases. The most common among them are viral and fungal ailments. To reduce the likelihood of their development, tomatoes need to be treated with fungicides. In addition, it is necessary to periodically fluff up the earth, remove darkened leaves in a timely manner, and also add a little solution of copper sulfate to the open ground before transplanting and spray the seedlings with a 5% brown liquid. Having completed all these preventive measures, you will certainly grow a quality crop that everyone will envy.
So, as it turned out, planting tomatoes is not so difficult. In order to get a good harvest, first of all it is necessary to choose a variety suitable for the region. In addition, plants should definitely be given proper care, namely to protect from sunlight, water and feed in a timely manner.