Growing tomatoes in open ground: planting, care and harvesting

Vegetable growing » Tomatoes

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Kira Stoletova

Almost every gardener grows tomatoes. Growing the crop can be difficult due to the plant’s capriciousness to temperature and humidity. To obtain a large quantity of high-quality harvest, you can use tomato cover.

Shelter for tomatoes

Why cover tomatoes in open ground?

Reasons why you can cover plants in open ground are:

• rapid soil freezing;
• unsuitable climatic conditions;
• insufficient heat for a particular variety;
• the need to protect the plant from the sun.

When covering tomatoes in open ground, the plant receives the necessary amount of heat and is protected from the sun. Plants need to be covered during periods when the air temperature drops and the weather worsens. You can also cover the plantings during periods of frequent rain.

Tatyana Orlova (candidate of agricultural sciences):

A greenhouse or greenhouse allows you to plant seedlings and obtain tomato fruits before a certain time, and in the fall to extend the period for collecting ripened fruits.

Growing seedlings

For open ground and greenhouses, growing seedlings is no different. Seeds are sown in special low boxes, cassettes or individual containers.

It is better to buy soil - it contains all the useful substances that tomatoes need at the initial stage of development. Maintenance is simplified:

• no need to prepare the substrate;
• it is already disinfected;
• purchased soil is enriched with fertilizers needed by the crop in the initial stages of growth.

To be on the safe side, the bag with the substrate is steamed - placed in a bucket, poured with boiling water, and covered with a lid. Let it cool.

Seed preparation

Dried, encrusted and otherwise processed seeds are sown immediately. Any soaking or damage to the integrity of the shell spoils the factory coating.

There are two mandatory stages of seed preparation:

1. Warming up. The grains are placed in a thermos with hot water for 20 minutes (ideally 53° C). Then they are quickly cooled to stop the thermal processes. The operation destroys some of the pathogenic organisms and is a stress factor that gives impetus to the awakening of the seed.
2. Etching. It is recommended to briefly soak tomato seeds in special preparations, aloe or garlic juice, and inlay them with brilliant green. Many people use peroxide and potassium permanganate, although experts say that their effectiveness is questionable.

But most gardeners don’t stop there. Everyone has their own seed preparation plan, which may or may not include the following operations:

• culling in saline solution;
• calibration;
• embryo stimulation;
• saturation of seeds with useful elements;
• bubbling;
• soak;
• germination;
• seed hardening.

Of the last two procedures, only one is carried out, otherwise the tomato seeds will die or produce weak, less viable sprouts.

Sowing

Planting containers for growing seedlings are filled with moist substrate and compacted so that the seeds do not fall through.

Then start planting tomatoes for seedlings:

1. At a distance of about 4 cm, make grooves 1 cm deep.
2. Place the seeds every 1-2 cm.
3. Level the soil.
4. Spray from a spray bottle.
5. Cover containers with seeds planted in the ground with glass or film.
6. They are set for germination at a temperature of 22-25° C.

Care after sowing consists of daily ventilation; if necessary, the substrate is moistened with a spray bottle. As soon as the sprouts hatch, the containers are transferred to a cool room. They are kept at 14-16° C for a week to prevent stretching.

Then they are brought into the heat again (20-22°), but at night they try to ensure that the temperature drops to 14° C. This will make the tomato seedlings stronger and healthier during the period of growing in open ground.

Before picking, all care comes down to providing bright lighting for 12-14 hours a day, moderate watering, and monitoring the seedlings. No feeding is needed when growing in a ready-made substrate.

The worst violation of care at this stage is overflow. Seedlings will become infected with blackleg and are almost guaranteed to die.

Picking

The operation is carried out in the phase of 2-3 true leaves. It is better to transplant into individual containers, but some gardeners, in order to save space, use the same boxes and simply plant tomatoes more freely.

Tomatoes grown in common containers will certainly stretch out and not receive enough light. Care becomes more difficult.

Picking process:

1. Fill cups with wet substrate.
2. Use a peg or other tool to remove seedlings from a common box.
3. Take one sprout. If the spine does not break, shorten it by 1/3.
4. Make a hole in the soil and plant the tomato up to the cotyledon leaves.
5. Water a little for better adhesion of the root to the substrate. It is useful to dissolve Kornevin, heteroauxin, or another similar drug in water.
6. Place it in a place protected from bright sun for 1-2 days.
7. They are transferred to the light. For 1 sq. m it is recommended to place 12-15 containers with tomatoes.

Care

After planting in individual containers, caring for tomatoes should be as follows:

1. Moderate watering. Soaking of the soil leads to fungal diseases, often to the death of young tomatoes. Overdrying causes early formation of fruit clusters.
2. Feeding. The first is done 7-10 days after the picking - phosphorus-potassium. After a few days, the tomatoes are fertilized with nitrogen. Before transplanting into the ground, 2 more feedings with an NPK complex in an easily accessible form are needed. Calcium is given separately.
3. When caring for tomatoes, the bushes are regularly inspected to identify signs of lack of nutrients, the development of diseases, and pest damage.
4. After watering, it is useful to loosen the substrate, especially if it is made independently. You can use a toothpick or other convenient tool for care.

Hardening

Growing tomatoes for greenhouses may not include hardening as part of the care package. Just shortly before transplanting, the temperature in the room is reduced by a few degrees.

Caring for tomatoes intended for growing in open ground requires hardening. They must get used to external conditions.

To prevent the seedlings from experiencing shock, they need to be accustomed to fresh air in stages:

1. 2 weeks before moving to a permanent place in the room where the seedlings are located, they begin to open the window. The time is gradually increased.
2. On a sunny day, city residents take tomatoes out onto their balconies, while villagers and private sector residents put them outside. First for 15-20 minutes, then increase the hardening time to several hours.
3. The last night before moving into the ground, tomatoes should spend the night outside.

What kind of shelter should there be?

The main criterion is temperature. The shelter should provide warmth for the vegetables. The soil should warm up well in the spring.

The structure should not interfere with cultivating the soil around the plants. It is best to cultivate seedlings in a greenhouse. To avoid too high a temperature, the structure must have ventilation.

The easiest way to cover tomatoes is to use a frame made in the form of metal arcs stuck into the ground. Such a greenhouse can be either permanent or temporary.

Trellis in a greenhouse

Trellis are often installed in greenhouses and other film coverings. This option is considered more relevant than using the structure on open ground. The problem with greenhouses is limited space and relatively insufficient lighting. This makes it impossible to grow a normal crop. This issue can be resolved using air cultivation. Building a trellis in a greenhouse is quite simple, since its base will serve as a frame for the structure.

An inexpensive option is to build a trellis from wood twigs. The lower end of the rod is stuck into the soil, and the upper end is attached to the partitions of the greenhouse. Also, twine mesh is made from steel wire or twine. Tomato stems are twisted onto them to guide their growth.

A trellis made of wooden and plastic slats along which you can easily guide the tomatoes is also considered a good option.

Soil requirement

Before you start planting and covering tomatoes, you need to carry out preparatory steps. The first step is to select the soil. It should be quite loose and moist.

To prepare the soil for planting tomatoes, you can use peat or humus. They can be used as organic fertilizers. The land can also be treated with wood ash.

Tatyana Orlova (candidate of agricultural sciences):

Peat is not a fertilizer. It is poor in nutrients, but has good physical properties: looseness, lightness, high moisture capacity and water-holding capacity. It is used mainly to make heavy clay soils lighter, and sandy and sandy loam soils more moisture-intensive.

Wood ash is a good fertilizer containing potassium, calcium, and phosphorus. But in excess it is harmful. It alkalizes the soil and can cause a burn to the tomato root system when applied directly into the hole when planting seedlings. You can water the tomatoes with the infusion of ash. You can apply it when digging the soil at the rate of 200-250 g per 1 square meter. meter.

Warm bed - less problems

Good lighting, a place protected from the wind, pH from 6.0 to 7.0, compliance with crop rotation with the exception of Solanaceae, the direction of the beds from north to south - standard standards. But with open ground tomatoes, the secret is also what to plant in.

Late springs and the unpredictability of weather in summer increasingly emphasize the advantages of warm beds, which have become almost a necessity for tomatoes. In addition to accelerated soil warming and stabilization of conditions, in such beds your tomatoes will enjoy the benefits of fertile soil with active microbiota, which means they will receive high-quality nutrition and protection. And it will be much easier to care for the bushes, tie them up, and maintain the mulch.

A high bed with a frame made of boards, slate, tin, or a regular one, laid in a trench 50 cm deep - what suits you best is what you need to choose. The main thing is to lay coarse residues, small plant waste, compost or humus in layers in the fall, interspersing them with 15-20 cm layers of soil and watering everything with a solution of microbiological preparations. By spring, the warm bed will be ready. And if you don’t mind mineral fertilizers, add a standard portion under the top layer. Green manure will never be superfluous: sow them before winter or in spring, as soon as the soil allows.

Note: If a warm bed is not for you, still prepare a place for tomatoes in advance by adding good organic matter when digging deeply (at least 5 kg per square meter).

A week or a little earlier before planting, the soil in the garden bed needs to be loosened and covered with film so that it warms up faster to temperatures that are comfortable for tomatoes.

Warm beds for tomatoes have become almost a necessity

When to start planting tomatoes under cover

You can plant seedlings immediately under the covering material. In this case, it is better to start planting at the end of May, when the soil has warmed up sufficiently. The plants should already have several leaves, and the roots should be sufficiently developed. If the covering material is polycarbonate, then it is better to plant in mid-May.

It is better to plant seedlings in the afternoon or early evening. A warm, cloudy day will be ideal for landing. This will allow the plant to quickly settle into a new location.

Popular methods of planting and growing tomatoes

Tomatoes are grown in different ways, it’s simply impossible to count them all. Every gardener can share his own secrets of planting and growing tomatoes, known only to him. We will consider the most popular and well-known methods, the use of which is known to many.

Most growing methods are based on saving space; not everyone has a wide windowsill for growing seedlings, or on the reluctance to bother with seeds and picking seedlings. It was from these motives that experiments with seeds and ready-made seedlings began:

Galina Kizima method

Perhaps the most famous non-standard method of growing tomato seedlings in a city apartment is Galina Kizima’s method. The basis is the minimum possible use of soil and complete saving of space when germinating tomato seeds. The so-called “swaddling” is quite effective; other vegetables can be grown using this method.

To do this, spread several layers of ordinary toilet paper on polyethylene and moisten it with a spray bottle. Pre-soaked tomato seeds are laid out on it, the distance between each seed should be at least 1 cm, and an indent of 2 cm is made from the edge. Afterwards, the grains are covered with several layers of paper and also moistened.

Next, the resulting ribbons with seeds are rolled into tight rolls and mixed into some container and sent to a bright and warm place. After the shoots appear and the plants get a little stronger, they will need to be “transplanted” into separate diapers.

To do this, use square-sized pieces of polyethylene with a side of 20 cm. Soil is poured into the center of the square, and a seedling is placed in it so that all the leaves are above the polyethylene. Then fold the bottom edge, and then the sides, so that you get a tight roll. Before this, I water the soil abundantly, and then do not wet it for 10-14 days.

Seedlings grown using this method do not require picking; the stems are strong with a large number of leaves, but the rhizome develops poorly. After the third pair of true leaves appears, the tomato seedlings are planted in a greenhouse.

Before planting, it is worth tearing off a few lower leaves and placing the seedlings with their tops facing strictly north. Before this, a glass of wood ash and a pinch of potassium permanganate are placed in each prepared hole, everything is filled with a bucket (!) of water, and only when the water is absorbed do they begin to plant the plants.

How to grow tomatoes under covering material in a greenhouse or soil

Tomato seedlings can also be grown without seedlings under covering material or film. As soon as the ground warms up a little, prepare the bed. They loosen the soil, add fertilizer and moisten it. Prepared and processed seeds are sown in shallow furrows, maximum 1 cm. The grains are sprinkled with a layer of soil, watered with warm water and covered . Agrofibre or polyethylene can be used as a covering material. In this way, a greenhouse effect is created, in which soaked grains sprout much earlier.

The method of growing under covering material is designed to save time; it is used more in the southern regions and the middle zone.

Bucket growing method

Growing tomatoes in buckets, according to reviews from gardeners, gives significantly larger yields. Experiments in this regard have been carried out repeatedly, which have confirmed this fact. The method is suitable for greenhouse cultivation; in open space, tomatoes do not bear fruit so abundantly.

It is no longer possible to determine exactly who started this method of cultivation. They began to use it due to a lack of growing space for grown seedlings . A mixture of soil from the site and compost is taken into a bucket, a tomato sprout is planted, and watered abundantly. Throughout the entire period of growth until fruiting, as it dries, the soil is periodically watered; during the period of ovary formation, watering is increased. The method allows you to significantly extend the fruiting period of any variety, while vegetables can be grown not only in a greenhouse, but also on balconies and loggias.

Tomatoes in buckets

There is an officially registered method; it uses initially prepared buckets with soil mixture. It is worth noting that according to the recommendations, it is better to dig the container 25-30 cm into the ground.

The described methods are recognized as the most common and effective for growing tomatoes in various weather conditions . Their effectiveness has been confirmed by both novice gardeners and specialists in this field.

You can plant and grow tomatoes and other vegetables under any conditions. This can be done even when there is a catastrophic lack of space on the plot or there is no space at all. To do this, you just need to follow all the instructions and advice exactly.

Choosing a greenhouse

The main differences are the material from which the shelter is made. Covering material comes in the form of polyethylene film, glass or polycarbonate. The frame is made of wood or metal.

Frame

Choose suitable materials for the frame

The choice of materials depends on the purpose and time of use of the cover. Advantages of a wooden frame:

• availability of material;
• practicality;
• ease of manufacture.

The wooden shelter must be treated with varnish or paint. This is done to ensure that the material does not deteriorate due to moisture. It is better to use such a greenhouse only during warm periods. With this operation it will last 4-5 years.

Advantages of a metal frame over a wooden one:

• ability to withstand heavy loads;
• does not absorb water;
• does not change its shape due to weather conditions;
• longer service lines.

Such a frame also needs to be coated with paint or varnish to protect the material from rust. A shelter made from such material can be used for more than 10 years.

Coating

The most popular material is film. This is due to its low cost and ease of use. The film is easy to put on the frame, it is moisture resistant and protects plants well. There is a reinforced film that can be used in any climatic conditions

Another popular material is glass. You need to choose a thick and strong coating, at least 4 mm thick. You should not take glass that is too fragile because it is unreliable.

• The disadvantages of this material are:
• poor protection from direct sunlight;
• impossibility of installation on a metal frame;
• risk of destruction in the cold season.

A modern material that can be used to cover plants is polycarbonate. It is strong and durable. It is most effective to use a cellular type of coverage.

The honeycomb structure of the material allows direct sunlight to be evenly distributed over the surface, which has a beneficial effect on the development of plants. Polycarbonate retains heat very well inside and protects plantings well from the penetration of cold air.

The popularity of the material is due to its ease of installation and its reliability. The material does not absorb moisture and does not change its shape from exposure to temperature. It can be used in any climatic conditions at any time of the year.

How to make a trellis for cucumbers with your own hands

Let's look at how to make a comfortable support for cucumbers with your own hands. Typically, summer residents rely on available materials and their own construction skills.

Simple rectangular

The basis of this design is timber up to 3 meters long. The usual height of the structure is 2 meters, which is exactly how tall the stems of cucumbers grow. Preparing the frame:

Corner supports are made from bars with a diameter of 50 millimeters, deepening them into the soil by 70-80 centimeters

The length of the bed and the distance between the corner supports is 5 meters. To prevent the structure from collapsing under the weight of the lashes, the corner posts are reinforced with guy wires. Intermediate columns are deepened by 50-60 centimeters, their thickness is less - 40 millimeters

After installing the frame, it is important to correctly tension the wire - 2 millimeters thick, the first row at a height of 20 centimeters, the next after 30-40 centimeters.. The top wire is thicker - at least 3 millimeters, since it is this that will hold most of the weight when the cucumbers trudge and sing

The top wire is thicker - at least 3 millimeters, since it is this wire that will hold most of the weight when the cucumbers begin to weave and sing.

From lumber

With a sufficient amount of high-quality lumber, you can make a beautiful lattice that will securely hold the vines and make it easier to grow cucumbers in open ground.

The work flow is as follows:

1. Corner supports are dug in (the thickness of the timber is 50 millimeters, the depth is 70-80 centimeters). Strengthened with wire anchors.
2. After 1-2 meters, additional racks are made, with a smaller diameter.
3. A cross member is laid on top between the corner supports and secured rigidly, so the grill slats will be attached to it. If desired, you can make a drawing to immediately cut out the slats of the required size.

The size of the grid cells is 15 centimeters, the sufficient width of the slats is 3 millimeters. Such a pergola for cucumbers, with good woodworking skills, can become a decoration for your dacha.

From a metal profile

Metal structures are more durable; if fastened well, they will last a long time for gartering cucumber stems. The basis is made up of reinforcing bars more than 2 meters long. They are driven into the ground along the edges of the bed.

The easiest way to attach the top cross member from a pipe is to weld it with a welding machine. If this is not possible, twist the edges with wire or a thick cable. In this case, the frame will not be too reliable.

Between the supports, metal stakes are driven into the ground, to which the wire mesh will be attached. The pegs should be installed at a distance of 15 centimeters from each other. Wire is attached to the top pipe, side supports and stakes so that the cells are 15-20 centimeters in size.

Tip: all metal parts are painted and treated with anti-corrosion agents.

From the tire

A cucumber trellis, made with your own hands from scrap materials (tires and wheels), turns out to be small and convenient. A large diameter tire is cut lengthwise, laid on the ground, the middle for a bed of cucumbers and the tire is covered with prepared soil. A metal reinforcement is inserted into the center, onto which the wheel rim will be attached.

The ground is covered with burlap, in the slots of which cucumber seedlings are planted. When cold weather is possible, agrofibre is used for shelter. The wire is pulled through the holes for the spokes and the tire.

When the cucumbers entwine the device, it becomes like a canopy or hut with a round top. Such growing stands are mobile; next year they can be moved to another place, beautifully decorating the area.

From a special mesh

To create supports for cucumbers, several types of meshes are used:

• trellis;
• plastic made of polycarbonate;
• metal.

Each type has its own characteristics in fastening and caring for the material, which can be read in the instructions.

Installation rules:

• install reliable supports along the edges - pipes (metal or plastic), wooden poles;
• make intermediate posts for additional rigidity;
• on top, strengthen the rail into a spacer with a mesh pre-strung on it for attaching cucumber lashes;
• The sides of the mesh are attached to the supports with wire or twine, stretching without sagging.

The side supports require stretching and significant deepening.

When to Harvest

If the plants grew under cover, then in most cases they ripen much faster. Most often, the fruits are already ripe in August and early September.

The exact period may depend on the type of vegetable. There are fast-ripening types of tomatoes that can be harvested at the very beginning of August. The development of the plant is greatly influenced by climate.

Tatyana Orlova (candidate of agricultural sciences):

The optimal temperature during the period of flowering and formation of tomato fruits is 24-25 degrees. At this temperature, 35-40 days pass from flowering to full ripening of the fruit (depending on the variety). At a lower temperature—below the optimal temperature—the ripening process is delayed to 50-55 days.

Planting tomatoes

Specialist agronomists have developed schemes on how to grow tomatoes that are worth using:

1. Tape-cluster method. It involves planting in two rows, located at a distance of 45 cm from each other, after which a 75 cm wide path is left for passage. Tomatoes are planted in rows at intervals of 45 cm.
2. In rows. Thanks to this planning, the bushes are illuminated from different sides and are well ventilated. This type of planting requires a large area. This method is good for planting low-growing, medium-sized tomatoes or tall plants in one stem.
3. Square nest method. This planting method turned out to be the most effective in terms of crop yield, but caring for plants is not the most convenient task.

To protect tomatoes from frost, polyethylene coverings are used, which are stretched over plastic or metal arcs. Bricks, earth, and boards are thrown along the edges of the structure, pressing down the covering to prevent it from being blown away by the wind.

Choose a suitable covering material

Gardeners argue about which covering material is better, let’s look at the features of the two most popular options:

1. Polyethylene film . A simple and inexpensive solution that is used very widely, comes in different densities, and lasts from 1 to 5 years. It allows sunlight to pass through well, but does not allow air to pass through, so without ventilation, condensation constantly accumulates inside. Protects from adverse influences, it is always warm inside.
2. Agricultural canvas . The most famous option is Spunbond, but there are also products from other manufacturers. Shades the plantings, but still allows light to pass through. The material is also moisture-permeable and breathable, while retaining heat well inside the space. Very light, even if it lies on tomatoes without arches, it almost does not injure them.

Agricultural canvas is great for small structures

How to prepare soil and planting material

Buy seeds from a trusted manufacturer . To begin with, they should be placed in a disinfecting environment. This can be either a solution of potassium permanganate or a solution of hydrogen peroxide.

It is also advisable to soak the seeds in a growth stimulator . Purchase any composition of this type, prepare according to the instructions and soak the seeds for the prescribed time

Prepare containers of suitable size . Fill them with ready-made soil or a mixture of humus, peat and garden soil. Place the seeds in increments of 2-3 cm, the distance between rows is 5 cm.

Cover with a layer of nutrient mixture about 1 cm thick . Place in a warm, dark place, cover or wrap with film on top to create a favorable microclimate inside. After germination, place on the windowsill

When 2 or more true leaves appear on the plants, it needs to be planted in separate containers . Plastic half-liter cups work great.

Prepare the ground

Lime the soil in autumn If the soil has a high level of acidity, then use lime. Apply when digging in the autumn. Consumption rate - from 500 to 800 g per square meter, depending on the degree of acidity. If the soil is normal or slightly acidic, use chalk. Apply it in the same way as lime

It is important to do this every season to maintain optimal soil acid-base balance

Conduct soil disinfection

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To kill spores of all diseases and larvae of pests, use a solution of copper sulfate. Moreover, its temperature should be approximately 70 degrees to ensure maximum efficiency. Prepare the composition according to the instructions on the package, follow the proportions

Use a garden watering can for the job. The consumption rate is approximately a liter per square meter. After drying, the soil will turn white as in the photo, this is normal.

Apply fertilizer when digging up the soil in spring. Before planting tomatoes, you must feed the soil. You can use organic matter for these purposes - rotted manure or compost at the rate of a bucket per square meter. Spread evenly over the surface and then dig up. You can add a mixture of mineral fertilizers: 60 g of superphosphate, 20 g of ammonium nitrate and 20 g of potassium sulfate. This is the norm per square meter, the granules are mixed and poured when digging to a depth of 20 cm

Mulch the surface with film or special agrotextile. Use this option to prepare the soil in greenhouses. Under the film, the soil heats up much better and cools more slowly at night. Also, weeds do not grow on the surface, which is also important. Thanks to the film, you can plant tomatoes a week or two earlier. You don’t even have to remove it - just make cross-shaped cuts in the right places and plant the tomatoes there

Change the soil in film greenhouses every 3 years. It is best to pour the soil into wooden boxes 20-25 cm high, as in the example in the photo. This greatly simplifies the work. They are simply filled with soil and plants are planted there. Every 3 years, completely remove the soil and add fresh nutrient mixture. This provides the best conditions for the growth and development of tomatoes, because the depleted soil changes. During the work process, do not forget to treat the boxes with a disinfectant composition.

In the video, the author points out that when using a metal watering can, you should not prepare a solution of vitriol in it, as a reaction will begin. It is better to dilute the required amount of vitriol in a jar with a small volume of water and pour the liquid into a watering can immediately before use

What seedlings and how should they be transplanted into a greenhouse?

An important issue is preparing tomato seedlings for relocation to a greenhouse. The conditions maintained in a residential building and a greenhouse are very different in terms of lighting, temperature, and even the spectrum of sunlight that falls on the plants:

• Tomato seedlings, previously planted in a separate container, will receive less damage to the root system. And the plants will take less time to recover. Without this, it will take about two weeks to eliminate the damage; the seedlings will begin to grow only after restoration;
• 2-3 weeks before planting, seedlings begin to get accustomed to cool air by opening the windows slightly for 1-2 hours, gradually increasing the time. At the end of hardening, it is good to take the plants out to the balcony or just into the open air during the day, and after it becomes warm outside at night, do not bring them in at all. If possible, transfer the container with tomato seedlings to a greenhouse and leave it there, covered with film, but without planting it in the ground;
• A week before planting, fertilize the seedlings with a solution of potassium sulfate and wood ash to increase the strength and vitality of the plants;
• Before transplanting tomato seedlings into a greenhouse, gradually reduce the amount of watering, and 7 days before planting in the ground, stop it completely. Treat the plants on which inflorescences have formed with boric acid (dissolve 1 teaspoon of boric acid in 1 liter of water). This will keep the buds and inflorescences from falling off.

Healthy and strong seedlings have short internodes, a strong and healthy stem, and a well-developed root system. The bush should have at least 6-10 leaves.

When transplanting seedlings, you need to take into account that if you plant tomatoes in a greenhouse densely, the plants will not receive enough sunlight, and the risk of developing diseases that quickly develop in wet, too dense plantings will increase. In such conditions it will be inconvenient to care for plants. Plants should be planted no more than every 40 cm (taking into account the variety of tomatoes). Holes are made for the plants 20-30 cm deep, before planting the seedlings they are well filled with water, the soil is mixed so that mud is formed in which the tomatoes will be planted. There is no need to deepen the tomatoes into the soil; you can deepen the root collar by 3 cm, but only if the seedlings are not too tall.

For tomato seedlings that are too long, you need to prepare deep holes and the seedlings need to be planted lying down. Overgrown tomatoes are lowered together with a lump of earth into a deep hole, but it is not completely filled up; at first they will simply grow in a hole, which is covered with soil after 3 days. This type of planting of tomato seedlings in a greenhouse allows you to quickly form new roots. They will not completely switch to creating additional roots, but will continue to develop and, over time, will form flower stalks. After transplanting, seedlings do not need to be watered for one week; the moisture received during transplantation is enough for them.

The soil around the seedlings needs to be compacted and covered with a layer of mulch, loosened regularly so that excess moisture evaporates. Subsequent care consists of loosening and abundant watering. After 3 weeks, the tomato seedlings are fed for the first time - 15 g of ammonium nitrate, 50 g of superphosphate and 30 g of potassium sulfate are added to a bucket of water. Pour 1 liter of solution onto each tomato bush. The seedlings are fed the second time 3 weeks after the first feeding, the last time feeding is carried out a month before the tomato fruits ripen.

These simple care operations will protect tomato seedlings from diseases and reduce the time for rooting.