When it is still winter outside, many gardeners have green tomato seedlings on the windowsill. In a couple of months, beautiful, strong bushes, on which flower buds are already beginning to appear, will be planted in open ground or in a film shelter. How to get such seedlings that will become the basis of a productive bed?
First you need to choose the right seeds. If you buy them in a store - pay attention to the expiration dates and storage conditions. It is advisable not to take expired ones, but if there is any stock at the point of sale, and the packaging is much cheaper, you can buy several pieces and sow for testing. Often the germination of such seeds is small. Also, packs should not have signs of damage or wetting. Storage at low temperatures sometimes has a positive effect on germination, of course, if it is short-lived. Tomatoes nevertheless, by their origin, are tropical plants, and they are not supposed to tolerate severe frosts.
Tomato seedlings on the windowsill emerge after 3-4 days, and after 10-14 days the first real leaf appears - it means it's time to dive. What is the meaning of this operation? Firstly, sorting. Those bushes that grew larger and more powerful are planted in one box, the rest in another. The first will reach the size necessary for landing earlier, and the second - a little later. If the plot is small, and a lot of seedlings have sprouted, it is better not to transplant the weak one, choose the one that is stronger, and spend the energy to grow it. Also, when diving, the roots of tomatoes are damaged, and immediately after planting, they begin to grow and branch intensively, the plant becomes stronger and healthier. If the stalks of tomatoes are extended - transplant them deeper, burying them right up to the foliage - new roots will grow on the entire trunk immersed in the soil.
Seedlings of tomatoes on the windowsill are very sensitive to watering. It is advisable not to allow the earth in the box to dry out. Although the slightly stubborn bushes come to their senses within half an hour - an hour after watering, frequent bringing them to this state slows down the growth of seedlings.
Since you have to start growing tomatoes on the windowsill in winter, the lack of sunlight affects seedlings. It stretches, the distance between the leaves increases, and they themselves turn pale. This effect can be prevented with the help of special chemical dressings like “Athlete” or in a more interesting way - by stroking the sprouts. If you hold your hand through the bushes several times a day, the seedlings will be more squat and strong. And there is a scientific explanation for this: disturbed tomato leaves emit ethylene gas into the air, the same gas with which green tomatoes removed from the bush are ripened. It helps to slow the growth of seedlings, and all the power of nutrients goes to strengthen the bush. The main thing is not to overdo it with affection. Plants are not cats, and it’s not worth stroking them more than 20 times a day.
Seedlings of tomatoes on the windowsill, especially at the beginning of their development, often are adjacent to molds, which feel excellent on the surface of warm and moist soil. It is not necessary to fight mold - it disappears itself as soon as the bushes of tomatoes grow a little. Until then, try not to over-moisten the substrate and ensure a decrease in air humidity, for example, by airing, if, of course, the weather allows.
But not only seedlings can be grown in this way. Some keep adults, fruiting tomatoes on the windowsill. Varieties with a low bush quite allow a similar method of maintenance. Of course, it is more laborious, but for those who do not have a land plot, this is the only way to get their own harvest. For this purpose, breeders bred the following varieties: Garden Pearl, Hummingbird, Little Prince, Florida Petit, Siberian Dwarf, etc. Room tomatoes need to create conditions that mimic natural. For example, periodically rain from the spray gun, and also tap on the stem during flowering - daily, in the middle of the day - to increase the number of ovaries in the bushes.