Notice: Undefined variable: css_padding in /home/g/grigorig/prodachnika.com/public_html/wp-content/plugins/vote2x/vote.php on line 100 Notice: Undefined variable: css_opacity in /home/g/grigorig/prodachnika. com/public_html/wp-content/plugins/vote2x/vote.php on line 101 Notice: Undefined index: prodachnika_comvote2x3348 in /home/g/grigorig/prodachnika.com/public_html/wp-content/plugins/vote2x/vote.php on line 118 Some varieties of tomatoes can be grown without the use of seedlings. There are many ways to grow these tomatoes. Growing full-fledged seedlings is not easy, so amateur gardeners often buy them at the market, which usually poses some risk of not getting enough quality or the right variety.
The way out of this situation is a seedless method of growing tomatoes. Tomato seeds are sown directly into the ground where they grow continuously. It should be borne in mind that this method can allow tomatoes to be grown both in southern regions and in cooler climates. So, how to grow tomatoes without seedlings?
Do you think that the seedless method of growing is better than other methods?
Not really
Features of seedless tomatoes
Tomatoes can have two types of bushes:
- High (undefined). Unspecified varieties may have significant stem height. A flower raceme is formed at the end of the main stem. Stepchildren located in close proximity to the main trunk do not stop their growth. This process continues throughout the growing season, but stops only with the onset of cold autumn days.
The height of such tomato bushes can reach more than 2 meters. However, as a rule, the intensity of the appearance of fruiting clusters and ovaries is much less than in the case of small-growing tomatoes.
- Low (determinants). In low varieties, there is a peculiarity of growing no more than 1 meter. Its bushes have from 3 to 6 main and lateral stems, and stepsons, as a rule, are formed on the lower part.
The description of tomatoes includes the fact that they prefer heat:
- If the temperature drops to 10 degrees, pollen does not have the opportunity to ripen, and the ovaries remain without fertilization and fall off.
- Optimal for growing tomatoes, temperature is from +21 to +25 degrees. Although plants love moisture, its excess can negatively affect the growth of bushes and the ripening of fruits.
- The need for luminous flux is of great importance. If this is not enough, the plants become elongated and the roots develop poorly.
Non-seedling tomatoes prefer light soil with high nutrient content, but can also grow in other soils. The only exceptions are those that are very sour or too salty.
Seedless low-growing early tomatoes
For them, I set aside two beds 90 cm wide. On one of them, in early April, the first row was planted with seedlings of the early Richie variety (to get a harvest in June), and on the second row I sowed prepared seeds of the old Rio variety directly into the holes in the bed. Grande (this is “cream”, 100 g each, productive, good in both rolls and salads). And through a passage 60 cm wide I had a second bed of low-growing tomatoes, also two rows every 60 cm.
I sowed varieties Shaman, Harpun, Denis, DJ, Khlebosolny, Nastenka, etc., which were new to me, directly into the holes. I allocated two holes for one variety, because I wanted to test more varieties, and there were 10-15 seeds in the packets sent. I marked the holes every 50 cm in the row, the hole itself was about 20 cm in diameter. I loosened the hole, added 0.5 liters of humus, and spilled it with a solution of a ready-made microbiological preparation. I installed the arches on both beds and covered them with one film 6 m wide, 1 mm thick.
The earth warmed up for a week, and in the meantime I prepared the seeds: I first soaked them in a growth stimulator, then kept them in melt water at room temperature for a couple of days, and then placed them in the refrigerator for a day to harden.
Each variety is in a separate glass. Then I sowed them under the film in the holes - 5-6 seeds in each, placing them at some distance from each other, so that later I could dig up the extra ones and use them for seedlings. I watered and covered the beds with film. I waited for germination for about a week. At first everything grew slowly, but then it began to grow wildly. The soil in the beds was covered with green manure - half-rotted oats, sown last fall. In the first row (which I planted with seedlings grown at home) there were two plants in each hole (holes 50 cm apart). I assumed that these densely planted tomatoes would shade each other, since in previous years we had hot weather already in April, but that was not the case.
According to the law of meanness, last spring was cold, rainy, and protracted. They hoped that at least after Easter the long-awaited warmth would come, but, alas, both May and even June were cool and rainy. In May, I removed the films, the tomatoes were growing wildly, I fed them a couple of times with bird droppings and humic fertilizers, and sprayed them with the preparation a couple of times. But the weather and dense planting made themselves felt - late blight appeared on Ritchie.
The bushes were simply covered with fruits, I tied them to the wire, but Richie climbed over it and lay down on the Rio Grande, which because of this gave me less harvest. Richie had removed the leaves almost to the top, the tomatoes were all in sight. I treated the bushes twice with fungicide.
In July there was intense heat. The second bed of low-growing tomatoes developed normally
I carefully removed the excess plants in the hole for seedlings (neighbors and acquaintances come to me every year for seedlings). I left one plant in each hole.
They grew wildly, with the height of the bushes indicated in the prospectus being 30-50 cm, it turned out to be 1.5 m! I really liked Harpoon, DJ, Yuliana, Hospitable, and others - tasty, sweet and very fruitful. I took the seeds and will plant them this year. I harvested the early tomatoes at the end of August, and sowed the beds with dill, lettuce and radishes.
So sowing tomatoes directly into the garden justified itself, just don’t be greedy and thicken the plantings so as not to depend on the weather.
Non-seedling varieties of tomatoes
Varieties of seedless tomatoes:
- Frost-resistant varieties of P. Ya. Saraeva, for example, Stoiky - standard, 40 cm, fruits weighing 50-100 g.
- Canned, bush and determinate large-sized (150-300 g) varieties:
- Ground;
- May;
- June;
- Siberian;
- Spring frosts;
- Orenburg resident;
- Pink.
Sub-Arctic 2 - seedless, frost-resistant, can withstand down to -5 degrees, the fruit is dense, weighing 100-200 g, the fruit is stretched, productivity is 1-2 buckets per bush, depending on the duration of the growing season.
Sub-Arctic 2
- Variety of tomatoes Vittas (hybrid of Subarctic 2 with Raspberry King) - shrub 1.5 m, fruits are dense, sweet, weighing up to 300 g, do not shoot. And the largest (fruits up to 1 kg) from frost-resistant varieties are Wild Rose.
Preparatory activities for planting tomatoes
Before you start growing tomatoes with seeds or without seedlings, you need to carry out some preparatory measures.
Choosing a tomato variety
All tomato varieties are divided into low-growing and tall-growing. Low-growing plants reach a maximum height of no more than a meter, and, as a rule, do not require pinching. They are great for planting seeds in open ground.
Tall varieties are practically unlimited in growth. During the growing season, the main stem ends in a cluster with flowers, and the stepsons continue to form and grow.
Selecting a site for planting
At the dacha, it is better to choose a well-lit area, protected from the wind, but special attention should be paid to the soil. It must have a good granulometric composition, be fertile and light
Tomatoes prefer slightly acidic soil. On loams and heavy soils, the harvest will be late, since they warm up less well and have a small amount of nutrients. When growing by seeds (using the method without seedlings), it is advisable to plant tomatoes near the fence, where they will be protected from the wind.
Good predecessors for tomatoes are zucchini, legumes, cabbage and cucumbers. Potatoes are an undesirable precursor, since both crops are affected by late blight and other similar diseases and pests.
Preparing beds for planting in open ground
You need to grow tomatoes using the seedless method under film cover. Therefore, when a place for the beds is chosen, it is necessary to dig up the soil and fertilize it, adding humus and ash. The width of the bed should be 60-80 cm. The soil should be leveled, and metal rods should be inserted over the bed, over which the covering material should be pulled.
In addition, jars or cut bottles are prepared separately for each plant; they will serve as greenhouses.
Growing tomatoes in open ground
Let's consider a seedless method of growing tomatoes in open ground, where determinate varieties of this vegetable are used (early varieties of tomatoes), which are not afraid of compact planting in close proximity to each other:
- Then the holes can be placed in a checkerboard pattern at a distance of 30 centimeters.
- The main thing in the future is to create good ventilation, remove unnecessary leaves and, if necessary, intervene in the actions of the stepsons.
- Before sowing seeds, it is necessary to fill the soil with well-heated water and preferably with a hot solution of potassium permanganate.
- In each hole, no more than 5 seeds are placed in a circle, covered with a 1.5 cm layer of soil and watered with warm water.
- After this, a glass jar or a cut plastic bottle is placed in front of each hole with planting material.
- Everything is covered from above with the prepared material, and the plastic film is stretched over equipped arches, which are pressed against the soil from all sides.
Sowing seeds in heated soil guarantees a high yield
Tomatoes are fairly heat-loving plants. Their seeds germinate when the soil warms up to at least +14-15°C. Warmer soil layers promote more active plant development. In cold soil, the sown seeds will lie until favorable conditions appear. Various methods are used to warm the soil:
- treating the soil with hot water and then covering the bed with dark plastic film;
- installation of infrared heaters;
- equipment of a special thermal system, which helps to increase the temperature of the earth layers.
How to grow tomatoes in a greenhouse
How to grow tomatoes without seedlings? Arcs are used to tension the coating. Before installing them, the beds are dug up and compost or humus is added. To insulate the ridges, it would be good to make wooden boards along the edges. The beds are made in the same way in the greenhouse. Here you can warm the beds from the inside with a layer of manure.
The manure should not be completely fresh and covered with a sufficient layer of soil so as not to burn the roots of the plants.
Before you start preparing the ground for tomato planting, be sure to pour hot water over the selected area. It is good to add manganese for disinfection.
Then, do not forget to maintain the time and planting scheme for tomatoes:
- Sowing is carried out at the end of April (if the weather is favorable) and until mid-May.
- The nesting method has proven itself well, in which up to 5 seeds are sown in one hole. This allows you to leave the strongest seedling in the future.
- It looks strong, the leaves are dark green, the internodes are short, the root is deep in the ground.
So, in order to grow a good crop of tomatoes in a greenhouse, you will need to do the following:
- thin out seedlings;
- mulch the holes with compost;
- pinch out the stepsons after two weeks to maintain their single-stem shape;
- remove growing points after creating 3-4 brushes for pouring fruit;
- remove the fruits from the lower cluster unripe for further ripening;
- remove lower leaves and shoots using pruning shears;
- get a good harvest from the top clusters.
Growing tomatoes without seedlings is practiced both in open ground and in a greenhouse. The second option is very successful:
- During a long spring. A tomato grown in a greenhouse is reliably protected, especially when the owner is away from the site.
- In addition, before warming, it is convenient to grow tomatoes in a greenhouse and then transplant them into open ground. Tomatoes should not be tall and spreading, so it is important to pay attention to the choice of variety.
- Bushes grown in greenhouses are planted in open ground and first covered with non-woven material. This will speed up the period of fruit ripening and protect the tomatoes from the vagaries of the weather.
Growing tomatoes
In order to grow and harvest a good harvest, you need to know the basic rules for preparing seed, planting it and caring for plants.
How to prepare seeds?
Before planting, selected seeds must be disinfected. To do this, the selected planting material is soaked in a 1% solution prepared from water and potassium permanganate. After 15-20 minutes, the seeds are removed and thoroughly dried.
As natural growth stimulants, experts recommend using aloe juice diluted with water or an aqueous solution of honey. In this case, seed stimulation should take about two days.
Sowing seed material
Before sowing seeds, you need to prepare the soil. The soil for growing tomatoes of the “Besrassadny” variety must be fed with humus and ash. Seeds are planted in deep furrows 10-15 cm long or individual holes with a diameter of about 20 cm.
The soil needs to be compacted and watered with a weak solution of manganese.
Seed material is planted directly in open ground when warm weather conditions are established.
For growing tomatoes of the review variety, the soil on which the following crops were previously grown is ideal:
After sowing the seeds, the soil is mulched with peat or sand. No need to water the beds! Vegetable growers recommend covering the beds with film until the first shoots appear (7-10 days).
Rules for planting seedlings
After the first seedlings appear, the film covering the beds must be secured to a low frame or arches. To protect young plants from possible frosts, you need to place plastic bottles filled with water between the rows.
When the average ambient temperature is no lower than 20°C, the film can be removed.
After the seedlings have 3-4 permanent leaves, the seedlings need to be thinned out. It is recommended to leave no more than 10 bushes per 1 square meter.
Care
Before the first shoots appear, it is better not to touch the beds. After the tomato seeds germinate, the seedlings need to be opened, depending on the weather conditions - if it is warm and sunny outside, then the seedlings will fully open, if it is cloudy and cool, then it is better not to disturb the tomato seedlings.
After 90% of the seeds have germinated, one of the best two bushes remains in the hole, and the rest are either replanted or simply pulled out depending on the needs of the gardener, and also you need to know:
- That such tomatoes need to be watered less than usual. This is due to the fact that they are not picked and replanted, so the root system is not disturbed.
- The central part of the root is maximally strengthened, and the lateral shoots are more developed.
- Therefore, the plants themselves are able to provide the required amount of moisture, and watering is carried out only during prolonged drought.
You can also watch a video where an experienced gardener will tell you how to plant tomatoes using the seedless method.
Growing tomatoes without seedlings is a valuable experience and an exciting process. Choose your “own” varieties, experiment with beds and shelter. Your work will definitely be rewarded.
Growing
The most basic thing to do before starting growing is to choose the land and site so that the plants have enough solar energy, fertilizers and moisture
It is important to know when to plant seedlings according to the lunar calendar
It is best to plant in light soil with a high content of nutrients and moisture capacity. It is not necessary for groundwater to pass too close to the roots. The location of the unpaved area is also important. As already mentioned, plants love warmth, so it is necessary to choose beds in which enough light will pass through and there is a high probability of exposure to sunlight. Growing tomatoes in open ground is described at this link.
Different types of soils
It is advisable to use soil on which cabbage was previously grown. Another important point in choosing a bed is choosing a place where the wind does not penetrate.
It is forbidden to grow tomatoes next to the beds where potatoes are planted, as there is a high probability of transferring diseases and harmful insects from potatoes to tomatoes.
Preparing the soil before planting crops
Arcs and a polyethylene cover are attached along the entire length of the bed to protect from the wind. You also need to prepare glass jars or plastic bottles that are cut in half. They will subsequently shelter the young tomato sprouts.
After all the procedures have been completed, you can begin sowing and subsequent care of the shrubs.
Plant in open ground
The seedlings must be placed in the holes in a checkerboard pattern, at a distance of thirty centimeters from each other. When ripe, it is necessary to remove some of the bad leaves, properly water, ventilate and care for the bushes. Before sowing, the selected area must be filled with warm water or a hot solution of potassium permanganate.
Until the first fruits appear, it is not recommended to touch the beds
When opening seedlings, you need to pay attention to the weather conditions present. Since tomatoes do not like moisture and cold, it is better not to disturb them in such weather, otherwise there is a high probability of diseases and a poor harvest.
It is better to open seedlings in warm and calm weather. It’s better not to rush here, but to act correctly.
After 90% of the seeds have formed, a couple of good bushes are usually left in the hole, and the remaining ones are transplanted or pulled out.
Growing seedless tomatoes in open ground
Watering tomatoes must be done with caution, as they do not tolerate high humidity. Vegetable crops independently provide themselves with sufficient moisture
Also, caring for shrubs has several rules:
- it is better to use early varieties of tomatoes when sowing;
- The formation of the first fruits may be 2 weeks later than for other vegetables.
In greenhouses
Most often, seedlings are best grown on a windowsill or in greenhouses.
The greenhouses are warm all the time, this allows the plants to be comfortable. Moisture in such greenhouses is also not allowed to pass through. Therefore, tomatoes are planted better in greenhouses than in garden beds.
Growing seedless tomatoes in a greenhouse
How to get tomato seeds yourself?
To get a good harvest of tomatoes when grown without seedlings next year, you can independently prepare seeds collected from the best bushes. For this, the earliest ripening and productive plant is selected , or better yet several at once, which are noted and monitored during the process of growth and fruiting. For seeds, fully ripened fruits from the first clusters of the mother plant are selected. The fruits are removed immediately after reddening, but they should not be allowed to overripe.
Selected fruits are washed, dried and cut into two halves. Tomato seeds are selected from the cut slices with a teaspoon, which are placed in a glass container and left for further fermentation in their own juice. The first signs of seed readiness are the formation of a film on the seeds and the clarification of the juice . After fermentation, the seeds are washed with ordinary water and dried on a sheet of paper. The finished seed is stored in paper bags at room temperature.
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantages of tomato varieties immediately sown in the ground are appreciated by summer residents:
- Time is freed up for important things. After all, there is no need to suffer with tomato seedlings, moving them from one place to another. Monitoring the condition of seedlings, watering them, fertilizing and picking them is a thing of the past.
- It is difficult for vegetable seedlings to take root in open or closed ground after transplantation. Seeds sown immediately in the garden will produce healthy, full-fledged plants.
- Hardening of seedlings occurs gradually as they develop from seeds.
- Tomatoes without seedlings are not afraid of infections, as they have strong immunity.
- From the tomatoes obtained in the fall, seeds are collected for planting next year. They do not lose their positive qualities and retain the properties of the variety.
Among the disadvantages of tomatoes is that they begin to bear fruit 2 weeks later. Success awaits when growing crops when hybrids of early ripening are chosen.
Growing methods
The most basic thing to do before starting growing is to choose the land and site so that the plants have enough solar energy, fertilizers and moisture
It is important to know when to plant seedlings according to the lunar calendar
It is best to plant in light soil with a high content of nutrients and moisture capacity. It is not necessary for groundwater to pass too close to the roots. The location of the unpaved area is also important. As already mentioned, plants love warmth, so it is necessary to choose beds in which enough light will pass through and there is a high probability of exposure to sunlight. Growing tomatoes in open ground is described at this link.
It is advisable to use soil on which cabbage was previously grown. Another important point in choosing a bed is choosing a place where the wind does not penetrate. It is forbidden to grow tomatoes next to the beds where potatoes are planted, as there is a high probability of transferring diseases and harmful insects from potatoes to tomatoes.
Preparing the soil before planting crops
Arcs and a polyethylene cover are attached along the entire length of the bed to protect from the wind. You also need to prepare glass jars or plastic bottles that are cut in half. They will subsequently shelter the young tomato sprouts. After all the procedures have been completed, you can begin sowing and subsequent care of the shrubs.
Plant in open ground
The seedlings must be placed in the holes in a checkerboard pattern, at a distance of thirty centimeters from each other. When ripe, it is necessary to remove some of the bad leaves, properly water, ventilate and care for the bushes. Before sowing, the selected area must be filled with warm water or a hot solution of potassium permanganate.
Until the first fruits appear, it is not recommended to touch the beds
When opening seedlings, you need to pay attention to the weather conditions present. Since tomatoes do not like moisture and cold, it is better not to disturb them in such weather, otherwise there is a high probability of diseases and a poor harvest.
It is better to open seedlings in warm and calm weather. It’s better not to rush here, but to act correctly.
After 90% of the seeds have formed, a couple of good bushes are usually left in the hole, and the remaining ones are transplanted or pulled out.
Growing a seedless variety in open ground.
Watering tomatoes must be done with caution, as they do not tolerate high humidity. Vegetable crops independently provide themselves with sufficient moisture
Also, caring for shrubs has several rules:
- it is better to use early varieties of tomatoes when sowing;
- The formation of the first fruits may be 2 weeks later than for other vegetables.
In greenhouses
Most often, seedlings are best grown on a windowsill or in greenhouses.
The greenhouses are warm all the time, this allows the plants to be comfortable. Moisture in such greenhouses is also not allowed to pass through. Therefore, tomatoes are planted better in greenhouses than in garden beds.