It's no secret that you can achieve a good harvest of delicious ripe tomatoes with the help of healthy, strong seedlings grown with your own hands. Even the slightest mistakes made in the process of growing tomato seedlings at home have a strong negative impact on the fruiting of the plant. Therefore, it is important to sow seeds in a timely manner, but also regularly apply nutritional compounds and plant seedlings.
When to sow?
Experienced vegetable growers recommend sowing tomato seeds approximately 60 days before the planned transplantation of seedlings into a greenhouse or into beds.
It is very important to sow the seeds in a timely manner, since it is not recommended to overexpose tomato seedlings at home. This also entails a reduction in future yield.
How often to feed in a greenhouse?
The main stages of the scheme for growing tomatoes in a greenhouse are no different.
Considering that in bulk beds and boxes of greenhouse structures the amount of soil is limited, and the same circulation of substances as in open ground does not occur, the scheme can be expanded by adding a number of foliar fertilizers to the main (root) ones.
The latter are the treatment of the above-ground part of the bush by spraying with a nutrient mixture. Summing up root and foliar feeding, greenhouse tomatoes are fed up to 10 times per season . In this case, it is important to alternate these types of feedings with each other.
Despite the fact that when spraying fertilizer on the above-ground part of the bush, it is absorbed faster, it is not recommended to get too carried away with spraying tomatoes - tomatoes react negatively to increased humidity of leaves, stems and fruits .
Depending on the reaction of tomatoes to the application of a particular fertilizer at a certain stage of development, its effectiveness can be assessed. If this indicator does not satisfy the summer resident, then additional addition of fertilizers is recommended.
Thus, the number of feedings at some stages of the scheme can increase and in total reach up to 8–10 times during the post-planting season. With good and rapid development of tomato bushes, you should not apply excessive fertilizers - this crop is one of those that is better to underfeed than to overfeed.
In such cases, the number of stages of the feeding scheme is reduced to 1 - 2. Most gardeners, with proper preparation of the soil for planting, begin to carry out any manipulations on feeding tomatoes only during flowering and fruiting. When drawing up a specific schedule for applying fertilizers to tomatoes, you should be guided primarily by the stage of development and their condition.
Pre-sowing seed treatment
Before sowing, seeds should be treated with special disinfecting solutions. However, not all seeds require processing; seed material from leading manufacturers generally undergoes a similar procedure at the enterprise before packaging.
A weak solution of potassium permanganate (1 gram of potassium permanganate is dissolved in 100 milliliters of water) is ideal for disinfecting seed material; the seeds are kept in this composition for 20 minutes.
In addition to potassium permanganate, you can use a soda solution to disinfect seed material (0.5 grams of soda is thoroughly dissolved in 100 milliliters of water, the seeds are soaked in this composition for a day).
Preparation of planting soil
Every gardener knows very well that the soil also needs to be disinfected, especially if it is dug up from the garden. Of course, you can use soil purchased at a specialized retail outlet, however, to avoid surprises, it should also be processed.
There are several ways to disinfect the soil:
- Heat in the oven at high temperature (about 200 degrees) for 15 minutes.
- Pour boiling water over the soil. To do this, the soil must be placed in a special container with drainage holes.
- An excellent solution for soil treatment is a solution of strong potassium permanganate. The mixture must be poured onto the prepared soil.
To obtain a more reliable result, several methods should be used simultaneously.
How many times per season should you feed?
Since orderliness when applying fertilizers is very important, there is a special scheme for fertilizing tomatoes. In general, it represents five main stages that are inextricably linked with the stages of tomato development.
When planting in the ground
By the time the tomatoes are planted, the planting site must be prepared and filled with organic and mineral fertilizers. It is impossible to achieve high yields of this crop on poor and depleted lands.
For good survival and further development of tomatoes, the NKP complex - nitrogen-, potassium- and phosphorus-containing fertilizers - must be added to the soil . If you neglect to enrich the soil composition, seedlings will develop slowly, may begin to get sick, and produce low yields.
Two weeks after landing
During this period, young tomato bushes that have already adapted to new conditions need increased nutrition for growth and development. They need a balanced feed containing three main elements: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, as well as microelements . Some gardeners fertilize earlier - already 1 - 1.5 weeks after planting.
During the period of growth
During the period of active growth, tomato bushes need fertilizing with nitrogen and phosphorus .
The interaction of these two elements ensures the proper development of tomatoes.
The supply of phosphorus in the required volume stimulates the accelerated development of the root system, and a sufficient amount of nitrogen in the soil helps the bushes gain green mass in a short time.
During flowering
Tomato bushes begin to bloom approximately 1.5 - 2 months after planting seedlings in open ground, and in greenhouse conditions these periods begin a little earlier.
Almost all feeding of tomatoes during flowering is aimed at fruit set . In case of deficiency of potassium and phosphorus nutrition, flowers may fall from the bushes without having time to pollinate. As a result, tomato yields will drop sharply.
During this period, it is recommended to avoid the application of fertilizers with a high nitrogen content.
During fruit set
At this time, plants especially need potassium and phosphorus, but fertilizers with a high nitrogen content should be abandoned. There are many complex preparations that can be used during this period, but organic supplements remain the safest.
During the fruiting period
The last main feeding of tomatoes is carried out to improve the taste of the fruit and their accelerated ripening. The main necessary elements for fertilizing already fruiting bushes are potassium, boron, manganese, iodine .
When receiving such nutrition, the pulp of ripened fruits will be fleshy and sweet due to the accumulation of sugars. If you neglect this stage of the scheme, then the taste of the collected fruits may not be clearly expressed. A couple of weeks before harvesting, all fertilizing should be stopped.
Sowing seeds
After treatment, the soil should be watered well and kept in a warm room for several days. This will allow beneficial bacteria to multiply in the soil.
Special containers must be filled with soil, shallow holes made and seeds placed in them at a short distance from each other, about 1.5 centimeters, and sprinkled with soil.
The container must be covered on top with a plastic bag or glass. This will help provide the seed material with an optimal microclimate for germination.
The soil moisture in the container should be checked daily. As necessary, the soil should be sprayed with a spray bottle.
In some cases, mold appears on the surface of the soil. This is due to high humidity. The fix is very simple: carefully remove the top layer affected by mold and treat the soil in the container with a strong solution of potassium permanganate.
Possible problems and illnesses
Possible problems:
- seedling leaves turn yellow - the reasons may be: insufficient lighting, low temperature, lack of nutrients in the soil;
- rotting of seedlings - causes: due to excessive soil moisture, lack of drainage.
Seedling diseases:
- white leaf spotting - possible cause: infection from contaminated soil;
- brown leaf spot – cause: high air temperature and humidity;
- late blight – cause: infection through soil or seed;
- black bacterial spotting - also from seeds or soil;
- streaking - cause: virus transmitted by seeds of infected plants;
- mosaic is also a viral disease.
To eliminate these problems, it is often enough to establish the proper lighting and watering regime. For each disease, it is better to use special preparations that are sold in gardening stores and follow the instructions on the packaging.
Tomatoes. Seedling care
Every gardener dreams of growing a rich harvest of delicious tomatoes. It's not difficult at all. It is only necessary to strictly follow the recommendations and advice of experienced vegetable growers.
Anyone, even a novice gardener, can sow seeds; caring for seedlings is just as simple and involves performing standard manipulations: watering, adding nutrients, and so on.
Watering
The container with seedlings should be freed from the shelter gradually, opening literally a centimeter every day. This will help the seedlings adapt faster and easier to new conditions.
Water the seedlings in containers under the film carefully, trying not to damage the sprouts. A regular syringe without a needle or a pipette is perfect for this.
Having completely freed the seedlings from shelter, it is necessary to water the plants much more often as the soil dries out. It is very important to avoid drying out the soil. However, excess moisture has no less negative effect on the growth of tomato seedlings.
Excessive watering
This problem is often the real destroyer of developing sprouts. How many plants have died because their owners, out of habit acquired during the cultivation of domestic plants, always kept the soil a little moist... Remember, the soil for growing tomatoes should not be permanently wet. This leads to saturation of the root system, as a result of which it begins to gradually rot. Visually, this usually affects the leaves of tomato seedlings. They turn yellow, curl and gradually weaken. At a certain point, this problem leads to complete damage to the sprout. But if you start acting in time at the sight of damaged leaves, saving him is still possible. By the way, often excessive watering is not the only reason for such a problem. Another factor can have a very negative impact on the life of young tomatoes.
Picking seedlings
As soon as the first true leaves appear on the seedlings, the seedlings should be planted into separate containers, the volume of which should be at least 200 milliliters.
Plant transplantation is tolerated very well, but this must be done carefully and carefully, avoiding damage to the rhizomes.
The seedlings are re-transplanted after three weeks. To do this, you should use larger containers, at least 500 milliliters.
Preparing a place for seedlings
In most cases, tomato seedlings are grown taking into account the upcoming picking. Without it, the root system will not be as powerful, which means you can forget about abundant harvests. In addition, sowing for picking allows you to save space at the initial stage - one window sill may be enough to place containers.
For growing tomatoes at the initial stage, any container with a height of at least 10 cm is suitable. For this purpose, use special or food containers, unnecessary pots and buckets, mayonnaise and sour cream buckets. The main thing is not to forget to make drainage holes at the bottom to prevent water from stagnating in the container.
Special soil is also needed for tomatoes. You can buy ready-made soil mixtures, but only if you don’t have time to prepare them yourself. You shouldn’t expect any good results from using purchased soil - according to recent studies, its effectiveness is greatly exaggerated.
To prepare the nutritional mixture, you can use one of the following recipes:
- humus, fertile soil and peat in equal parts;
- 1 part rotted cow droppings, 4 parts soil, 16 parts peat;
- chernozem, river sand and soil for tomatoes in equal parts;
- one part each of humus and sand, 2 parts low-lying peat and one part turf soil;
- humus, turf soil and sawdust in equal parts.
It is recommended to strengthen the mixture by adding mineral fertilizers: 60 g of superphosphate, 20 g of potassium sulfate and a small teaspoon of urea. You can add another one and a half cups of sifted wood ash. The dosage of fertilizers is indicated per ten-liter bucket of ready-made soil mixture. All components are thoroughly mixed.
You can improve the composition by adding vermiculite, which ensures good aeration and retains moisture in the soil.
Transplanting tomato seedlings into the ground
Seedlings need to be planted at a certain distance. It must be at least 30 centimeters. Before replanting, it is necessary to prepare the soil, add nutrients, and thoroughly loosen it.
Seedlings should be planted on a cool, cloudy day. When replanting a plant, the stem needs to be deepened a few centimeters. This is necessary for the formation of additional root processes. Next, you should water the seedlings thoroughly.
Caring for tomato seedlings is quite simple; you just need to follow all the recommendations and rules of agricultural technology. At the same time, it certainly doesn’t hurt to listen to the advice of experienced vegetable growers on growing and caring for tomato seedlings.
Variety selection
Today the seed market is ready to present, if not a thousand, then hundreds of varieties of vegetables. Tomato is no exception. Why does the red vegetable have such a long pedigree?
Because the target audience has different requirements for it: some want to achieve a large harvest in the middle zone, some welcome open ground, others are limited to indoor decorative supports.
Therefore, in anticipation of choosing a tomato variety, it is worth deciding where it will be grown.
Next you need to pay attention to the growth of the plant. In this regard, the hero of the topic is:
- Stambov - short with a thick stem;
- Determinate - medium-sized, developing until the formation of 5 or 6 hands;
- Indeterminate – tall, forming clusters throughout the season.
The last two varieties are relevant for greenhouses in which twine and trellises can be installed. Standard tomatoes are compact bushes that do not take up much space, and therefore their agricultural technology is kept to a minimum.
You need to understand that half of the tomato varieties are hybrids and are marked “F1”. Growing and caring for their tomato seedlings will require less attention because they are resistant to certain diseases, cold, drought and shade.
It all depends on the specific variety. Hybridity is also used to obtain an early harvest. Therefore, there are varieties of thematic vegetables:
- Ultra-early ripening - the crop ripens 50-60 days after germination;
- Early ripening - scarlet fruits can be collected as early as 60-70 days;
- Mid-season - the clusters turn red only 70-90 days after the seedlings peck;
- Late ripening - the fruits begin to ripen at 90-110 days.
Typically, mid- and late-ripening tomatoes are the most productive - up to 10 kg per bush. In any case, each variety welcomes seedling germination.
