Tomatoes are an important food item on a person’s table. This is not only a storehouse of vitamins, but an excellent tool for creating unique delicious dishes. And tomatoes are very fond of growing summer residents, because if you properly care for them, you can harvest a good crop. But before the tomatoes get on the table, they need to be grown. The process of growing tomatoes begins with transplanting seedlings. This is done a few months before planting in the ground, and the specific time varies within late February to early March.
Planting tomatoes for seedlings begins with the preparation of seeds. It is necessary to check each seed for germination and remove the smallest. So that the plants during the growth process are not exposed to various diseases, the seeds must be disinfected in a solution of potassium permanganate, after placing them in a tissue bag. Soak seeds in a solution for 15 minutes. In order for the plant to sprout faster and develop better, it is most advisable to treat the seeds with solutions of mineral fertilizers.
Next, you need to prepare the soil. To do this, you need to mix garden soil, on which tomatoes and potatoes have not yet grown, mix with humus. In order for the earth to retain moisture and oxygen longer, sawdust should be added to it at the rate of 1 liter can per 1 bucket of soil. Ready soil is poured into the boxes with a layer of 10 cm. It is advisable to disinfect the boxes before planting with a solution of bleach. Planting tomatoes on seedlings is as follows: holes are made in the soil with a depth of 1.5 cm at a distance of 1-2 cm from each other. One seed is placed in each hole and is covered with earth. Seedlings sprout unevenly, but by 7-8 days all seeds should sprout. After planting, the boxes must be put in a warm place so that the air temperature is 20-36 degrees. After the seedlings sprout, it must be moved to a bright place (window sill). If it is not possible to create natural lighting, you will have to put lamps with artificial lighting near the boxes. Now, when the seedlings began to grow gradually, the optimum temperature will be 14-16C during the day and 12-14C at night. It is these temperature conditions that will not allow the seedling to stretch out, and the stem will gradually begin to thicken.
After 25-30 days after seed germination, it is necessary to pick seedlings. The plants have already grown enough, and now began to interfere with each other's growth. That is why planting tomatoes on seedlings is simply impossible without a dive. For these purposes, use glasses. For medium-sized varieties, cups measuring 10X10cm are suitable, for low-growing, not in a hurry to reach up, 8X8 cm, for tall -12X12 cm.
Before you start replanting, plants need to be abundantly poured with warm water, this will help to save the roots when sampling. You can’t just pull out the plants, this can disrupt the root system, you need to carefully pick them with a stick. Next, sort seedlings by selecting weak, rumpled and diseased plants.
Planting tomatoes for seedlings in cups are made in the same soil that was used in the boxes. It is not necessary to fill the glass to the very top, leaving a couple of centimeters from the edge. Having slightly condensed and well watering the soil, a depression is made in the middle of the glass, into which the seedling sits. When transplanting, it is necessary to ensure that the spine is not broken or bent. This completes the sowing of tomato seedlings. Now it remains to create all the necessary conditions for the growth of seedlings. During this period, the plants are already quite strong, so they can be gradually accustomed to street weather. To do this, they are first taken to the balcony, and in warm weather to the street.
Caring for tomato seedlings in cups is perhaps the most crucial and important moment. Throughout the growth, seedlings require optimal conditions for further development. This is watering, top dressing, compliance with the temperature regime. Watering is necessary 2 times a week, one glass per plant.