When to plant tomatoes for seedlings in 2022 for a greenhouse and open ground at home

A large number of different factors influence the receipt of a high-quality and large harvest of any vegetable crop: climatic conditions and weather in the growing areas, acid-base balance and soil composition, timely and high-quality implementation of agrotechnical care procedures. As well as the timing of sowing seeds and transplanting plants into vegetable beds. When to plant tomatoes for seedlings - you will learn about this from the review of our article.

Tomatoes are among the leaders among garden crops. It is customary for gardeners to grow these vegetables using seedlings. Healthy and strong seedlings are the key to obtaining high yields of tomatoes. It is important to approach the process of sowing tomato seeds responsibly and take into account all the nuances.

How to calculate the time for sowing tomatoes?

The start of sowing depends on the growing region, agronomic timing, and favorable days for the Moon to pass its phases. Thanks to the lunar calendar, you can find out the best dates. Agronomist specialists give their recommendations on sowing seeds in each region of our country. You can also calculate your own planting dates yourself.

When planting tomato seeds on seedlings, important factors are taken into account:

climate features of the growing region;
place for transplanting bushes: greenhouse structure or open bed. Transplantation into a greenhouse is carried out 10-20 days earlier;
time of growing seedlings, their biological age at the time of transplanting to the garden bed.

It is important to know the optimal sowing time! When to plant seeds for tomato seedlings? If sowing takes place too early, the seedlings may outgrow and their adaptation will be more difficult, which will affect the ripening time and quality of the harvest.

If you are late with planting, then in a short summer you may not wait for most of the harvest, because the fruits will not have time to ripen.

In the middle regions, tomatoes are transplanted into open ground in the 1st decade of June, when there is no risk that frost will return. Tomatoes are planted in greenhouses and hotbeds under film in the first ten days of May. In the southern regions, plants are transplanted 15-20 days earlier than the specified dates.

Taking into account the duration of ripening (from seedling emergence to technical maturity), tomato varieties are divided into:

ultra-early - 75-90 days;
early - 85-95 days;
mid-early - 95-105 days;
mid-season - 100-110 days;
late - 110-140 days.

Taking into account the time from the moment of technical maturity of the variety to the time of planting tomato seedlings in the ground, their age should be:

for early and ultra-early varieties 40-50 days;
for mid-season bushes 50-65 days;
for seedlings of late varieties 60-75 days.

When calculating the days when you need to plant tomatoes for seedlings, do not forget to add 5-10 days that are needed for the seeds to germinate. According to calculations, it turns out that for middle regions the optimal dates for planting tomato seeds are March 1-15.

You can calculate when to plant seeds using simple mathematics, taking into account:

processing of seed material, its germination (0-3 days);
time of appearance of seedlings (4-10 days);
restoration of plants after the 1st picking (5-8 days);
plant age (average 50-60 days).

We get: 59-81 days, i.e., on average, the time to grow seedlings is from 2 months.

The influence of the moon on planting tomatoes

Early varieties can be planted in a hole in the soil. Preparing more demanding varieties includes soaking, moisturizing, fertilizing and using solutions to stimulate growth - all this is best done during the periods of the moon in the signs of Water - Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces.

Sowing seeds or planting sprouted seeds in both cases are relevant in the growth phase of the moon, especially in the Earth signs - Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn. The power of the growing moon helps them take root in the soil, strengthen the roots and form the above-ground part of the plant - stems and leaves.

Transplanting tomatoes from a common container is also favorable on a waxing moon - this way the plants take root better in a new place.

The waning lunar phase provides an influx of water to the already formed root system, therefore it is not suitable for germinating seeds, but it is acceptable when planting ready-made tomato seedlings in the ground when the moon is in the hardy water sign of Scorpio and persistent Earth signs.

Feeding and fertilizing the soil for young seedlings is more favorable on the waning moon in the signs of Earth and Water.

Hilling, thinning and pruning young plants is favorable in any lunar phase in the Air signs: Gemini and Libra.

New Moons and Full Moons, which last one day each, are not suitable for planting seeds in the ground and other manipulations. This is the time for plants to rest.

The lunar calendar takes into account the phases of the moon and the signs in which it falls.

The most favorable dates are highlighted in bold.

Optimal agronomic timing of sowing tomato seeds

The key rule is that you need to sow tomatoes for seedlings 2 months before the time of transplanting into the ground. First, you need to sow those tomatoes that you plan to further grow in greenhouse structures (greenhouse, greenhouse, structure under film).

Table 1.1 – Dates for planting tomato seeds for greenhouses

Region	Sowing date for seedlings	Time to plant bushes in the greenhouse	Time to plant seedlings under film cover
Siberia and Far East	March 20 – 30	May 20 - 31	1 – 15 June
Ural	March 20 – 30	10 – 22 May	May 20 – June 10
Moscow region, Center and North-West	10 – 20 March	10 – 20 May	May 20 – June 10
Volga region. Belarus	1 – 10 March	1 – 15 May	10 – 31 May
North Caucasus, Kuban	January 20 - 31	March 20 – April 10	1 – 10 April

When to plant tomato seedlings for open ground? Seedlings are transplanted into open beds 2 weeks later than into greenhouses. Therefore, sowing is carried out with a time interval of 15 days after sowing tomatoes for greenhouse structures.

Table 1.2 – Dates for planting tomato seeds for open ground

Region	Seed sowing dates	Dates for transplanting seedlings into beds
Siberia and Far East	1 – 10 April	10 – 20 June
Ural	1 – 10 April	1 – 10 June
Center and North-West	March 20 - 31	1 – 10 June
Volga region, Belarus	10 – 20 March	May 20 – June 10
Kuban, North Caucasus	1 - 10 February	April 15 – 30

On a package of tomato seeds, the description indicates the varieties: indeterminate and determinate. The main difference is in the size of an adult bush.

Determinate varieties that produce early harvests stop growing after the formation of 3-5 flower clusters. All the fruits that started on the shoot have time to ripen.

Indeterminate tomatoes grow up to 1.5-2 m in height, requiring fixation to a support and weekly pinching. They are more productive, but the ripening of the fruits is uneven and later. Seeds of such varieties are sown 15 days earlier than determinate varieties. Suitable for those gardeners who need ripened fruits during August-October.

Indeterminate and determinate varieties: when should you plant tomatoes?

Table 1.3 – Time for sowing tomatoes Western Siberia, middle regions

Culture	Sowing dates	Transfer dates	Plant age	Harvest dates
Determinate tomatoes	March 20 – April 10	Greenhouses: May 1 - May 15 Open ground: May 25 - June 10	35 – 40 days	Greenhouses: from July 20 Open ground: from August 15
Indeterminate tomatoes	March 20 – April 10	Greenhouses: May 1 - May 15 Open ground: May 25 - June 10	60 days	Greenhouses: from July 20 Open ground: from August 15

When to plant pumpkin crops: cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, squash, melons, watermelons

Sowing time for seedlings of cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, squash, melons, watermelons. Table 6.

Culture	sowing time	disembarkation date	seedling age	harvest
Cucumbers (in three layers, after 10 days)	May 1-10	June 1-10	25-30 days	July 10-20
Pumpkins	April 20-30	May 20-30	25-30 days	end of September
Watermelons	May 1-10	June 1-10	25-30 days	September
Melon	May 1-10	June 1-10	25-30 days	September
Zucchini	May 1-10	June 1-10	25-30 days	July 10-20
Patissons	May 1-10	June 1-10	25-30 days	end of July
Lagenaria	May 10-20	June 1-10	30 days	end of September
Momordica	April 10-20	May 20-30	40 days	Aug. Sept

The harvest of cucumbers and zucchini with squash is harvested at the stage of milky ripeness, when the peel is soft and easily scratched with a fingernail. For squash caviar, take fruits 20-30 cm long, after which the squash loses its taste.

A seedless method of growing cucumbers, pumpkins, and zucchini

Based on the results of many years of observations in my garden, I came to the conclusion that pumpkin crops planted without seedlings produce greater yields and suffer less disease than plants grown through seedlings from the same package of seeds.

Another advantage of the seedless method is that the crops immediately grow in a permanent place, they do not need to be transported to the garden and there is no need to allocate space for them on the windowsill in your apartment.

From May 1 to May 15, when warm days begin, I dig holes 70 cm deep and 50 cm in diameter. I fill the holes with chopped dry grass, compost and fresh grass mixed with soil. Cucumbers love it when fresh nettles are added to the hole.

When the hole is completely filled, I plant 3 seeds, so that later I can choose the most powerful plant, and water it with water.

And now the main secret: I cover the holes with 5-liter plastic bottles with the bottom cut off, the bottle is positioned with the neck towards the top. It turns out to be a mini greenhouse.

During the day, depending on the weather, I unscrew the caps on the bottles or completely remove the bottles from the hole, and at night I cover everything back. When warm weather sets in and the cold snaps at night pass, usually the first ten days of June, I finally remove the bottles from the holes.

Different pumpkin crops cannot be planted in the same bed to prevent cross-pollination. My zucchini and pumpkin grew a meter apart from each other... By autumn the pumpkins grew. The fruit has the diameter of a pumpkin and the length of a zucchini. The taste is very questionable.

Astronomical timing for sowing tomato seeds for seedlings

Planting tomatoes at the right time for the plant is important for a good harvest of fruit. Tomato seeds are most often planted between February and the end of March. But sowing dates are influenced by many factors. Starting from the weather conditions of the growing region and ending with the variety of seeds.

When grown in the south, gardeners begin sowing crops starting at the end of January. While vegetable growers in Siberia begin sowing work only in mid-March.

Conscientious manufacturers of planting material indicate detailed and truthful information on the seed packaging. You can study it and, based on this, calculate your deadlines, taking into account the weather and the recommended time. When to plant tomatoes for seedlings in 2022?

Table 1.4 – Favorable days for sowing tomatoes in 2022 (lunar calendar)

Month	Favorable days	Prohibited days
January	6, 7, 11, 12, 16, 17, 25, 26	1, 2, 3, 18
February	3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 22, 23	1, 2, 16
March	6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 21, 22, 29, 30, 31	1, 2, 3, 18
April	3, 4, 8, 9, 17, 18, 26, 27	1, 2, 16, 29, 30
May	1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 15, 23, 24, 27, 28	16, 29 — 31

The timing of sowing tomato seeds depends on the area in which you live and the weather conditions in the spring. Therefore, you need to monitor the forecasts of weather forecasters in your region.

Seedlings should be planted in open ground only in established warm weather, when the night temperature does not fall below +15 °C, and during the day - at least +18 °C. If the temperature is lower, the plants stop growing.

Early ripening varieties are sown later, because their ripening period is shorter. If you do not plan to use additional lighting when growing seedlings, then you should not rush into sowing. Pre-sowing seed treatment also affects the timing. If they were previously soaked and germinated, then shoots will appear 3-8 days earlier.

Having waited for the optimal time when it is better to plant tomatoes as seedlings, they proceed to sowing work. Let's consider the main stages.

Deadline for planting strawberries and strawberries for seedlings

Table 10

Culture	Sowing time	disembarkation date	seedling age	Harvest
Strawberries, garden strawberries, large-fruited, remontant	February - April	end of May - beginning of June	60 – 80 days	end of July - until October (for remontant varieties)
Strawberries, garden strawberries, large-fruited, remontant	end of May - mid June	end of August - beginning of September	60 – 80 days	next year

Preparing the soil mixture

To obtain healthy tomato bushes, you need soil with an optimal composition and structure. You can buy ready-made soil mixture at any gardening store. But more often, gardeners prepare the seedling soil themselves. They prepare it 5-8 days before sowing.

Advice from gardeners with experience! When preparing the soil mixture, add soil from the bed where you plan to plant the tomato seedlings. This allows plants to adapt to new conditions at an early stage and reduce their stress to a minimum.

Soil mixture recipes:

turf soil, garden soil, peat, mullein. Component ratio 1:1:4:0.25;
peat, garden soil, steamed sawdust, mullein. Component ratio 3:1:1:0.5.

To increase fertility, 10 kg of soil mixtures are supplemented with 3 liters of sand, 1 g of potassium chloride, 3 g of superphosphate, and 10 g of ammonium nitrate.

The purchased soil should also be prepared:

carry out disinfection;
mix purchased soil with garden soil in a 1:1 ratio;
if the substrate has a slightly acidic pH, then add 1 tbsp per 10 liters of soil. l. dolomite flour.

Information! When you plant tomato seedlings at home, any substrate must be disinfected using one of the methods convenient for you.

Selecting a container for sowing

Before planting in open ground, seedlings need to choose a convenient and comfortable “home” in which they can grow and develop.

The most convenient and popular containers:

Pots (cups) made of peat. Their advantage is that the seedling is transplanted into the ground along with a container, which will also serve as fertilizer;
Peat tablets. Soaked and compressed peat, which is surrounded by special material. Very popular among gardeners, because seedlings are grown without picking plants;
Plastic cups. An equally popular option, you can use this container several times;
Boxes, containers made of wood or plastic.

Why is it important to sow seeds for seedlings on time?

It would seem, why do we need to bother with timing, if we can intuitively choose any time at the end of winter or early spring and plant tomatoes in seedlings. But it was not there!

Firstly, for different vegetables and for different varieties of tomatoes, the periods of emergence of seedlings, development of seedlings, adaptation after picking can vary greatly in duration, therefore, the time for growing seedlings is different. And secondly, planting any seedlings (both vegetable and flower crops) has its own acceptable time for planting in open ground.

Thus, if you put the 2 above facts together, it turns out that if you plant tomato seeds for seedlings too early, they will outgrow, stretch out, and after planting in the garden they will take root slowly and poorly, and if you sow the seeds too late, the plant will not make it in time develop and produce a normal harvest.

How to prepare seeds for sowing?

If you have purchased seeds, then it is up to you to decide whether to carry out pre-sowing treatment or not. Producers who value their reputation sell seed material already prepared for planting. And gardeners can only sow it. But many of those who have been growing tomato seedlings for many years still recommend preparing any seeds: disinfecting and germinating.

Therefore, when calculating the timing of when to plant tomato seedlings for greenhouses, they add time for germination.

Pre-sowing preparation:

Disinfection is carried out as follows:

the seed is wrapped in gauze or cloth;
The seeds are immersed in a dark manganese solution for 30 minutes;
then they are taken out of the solution, washed and dried;

Germination. Carried out before sowing:

Place tomato seeds in pre-moistened gauze and cover with the edges;
place them in a plastic bag that can be placed on a saucer;
Place the container in any warm (+25-28 °C) place. The gauze should not dry out, so its condition must be monitored;
After 3-4 days, seedlings will appear. This means it's time to start sowing in the ground.

Planting options

The sowing pattern depends on the choice of container. Let's look at how to plant in separate and common containers in more detail.

Planting in a container:

At the bottom of the box, lay out a 1.5 cm drainage layer of small pebbles or expanded clay;
The prepared soil mixture is poured on top and moistened abundantly;
When the moisture is absorbed, make grooves 1 cm deep. The distance between rows is 3 cm;
Place tomato seeds in the recesses, spaced 2 cm apart from each other. Sprinkle a 1 cm layer of soil mixture on top;
The crops are moistened with a spray bottle, covered with film and transferred to a bright place. The temperature before emergence is +20-24 °C.

When choosing the dates to plant tomato seedlings at home, take into account that the seedlings will need additional lighting, since they still do not have enough natural light in March and April.

Consider planting in cups:

Several holes are made at the bottom of the cups so that moisture does not remain in the soil mixture. When using peat containers, this is not necessary;
Drainage is made from small pebbles and eggshells. Cover the top with soil mixture and water with settled water;
Make a hole in the ground to a depth of 1-1.5 cm. Place 2 seeds in each hole. Water from a spray bottle.

Place all the cups in a box or container and cover the top with film. Place in a well-lit place where the temperature before emergence will be +20-24 °C.

How to choose the right time to sow tomato seedlings in Siberia

When planting tomatoes in Siberian conditions, you need to focus on weather conditions and varietal characteristics. It is important to understand that spring comes much later in Siberia. Accordingly, it is necessary to plant tomatoes later.

The timing of planting directly depends on the selected variety. Early ripening tomatoes can be sown a little later. Because they develop faster than mid-season ones. It is not recommended to grow late-ripening tomatoes in Siberian conditions.

Taking all factors into account, tomato seedlings are usually sown en masse in Siberia in March and early April. Occasionally, when planting in a greenhouse, it may be the end of February.

Plant care

Quality care determines what bushes you will plant in the beds. The care procedures are simple, but they must be followed in order to get a good fruit harvest in the summer.

Often gardeners plant pepper and tomato seeds at approximately the same time in order to care for 2 crops at once. But the timing of when to plant pepper and tomato seedlings in the ground is different. In addition, pepper is more heat-loving; even when caring for it, it needs a daytime temperature of +26-28 °C, and a night temperature of +20-24 °C.

Key points in caring for tomato seedlings:

Ventilation. Every day, open the film for 15-25 minutes and ventilate the crops. Droplets of condensation must be removed;
When the shoots appear, the film is not removed, but is removed for a longer period of time within 3 days, giving the sprouts the opportunity to adapt to the surrounding temperature;
Watering the seedlings is carried out strictly at the root using a syringe. The water needs to be settled, 2 °C warmer than the air in the room;
The temperature for the first shoots is reduced to 15-16 °C. After 7 days, it is raised again to 19-22 °C during the daytime and to +15-17 °C at night;
Lighting. Tomato seedlings need at least 14 hours of daylight. For additional lighting, LED devices and phytolamps are used;
Fertilizer application. Young plants are fed only after picking.

How and when to pick plants?

For beginners - how to plant tomato seedlings at home and carry out picking, let's take a closer look at transplanting. When 2-3 true leaves are formed on the seedling, make the 1st pick. If each tomato seed was planted in a peat tablet or in a glass, then picking is not carried out. Therefore, it is better for beginners in gardening to purchase such containers for sowing and plant seeds in them at first.

Experts advise when picking to be guided by the following scheme:

In a common container, the plants are irrigated abundantly. Prepare larger containers. At this stage, each seedling can be planted in a separate cup;
Using an ordinary teaspoon, remove the seedling from the soil along with a lump of earth;
The center spine will be visible. It must be pruned, at least by 1 cm. Thanks to this, after adaptation to the new place, the roots will begin to grow to the sides;
Immerse the seedling in the new soil mixture up to the cotyledon leaves. The soil around the stem is carefully compacted with your finger.

The seedlings are not watered for the first 4 days. Place the containers in a dimly lit place for adaptation for 3-4 days.

When should you plant tomato seedlings at home to get a good harvest? We described the sowing dates in detail above in the article. But it is also important to know the favorable time for picking plants.

Table 1.5 – Dates for picking tomato seedlings in 2022

Favorable days
March	3-8, 11-16, 21-22, 25-26, 29-30
April	3-4, 8-14, 18, 21-22, 26-27
May	1-2, 5-11, 19-20, 23-24, 27-28

Fertilizer application after picking:

After 7 days, add the 1st fertilizing: a solution of nitroammofoska (dilute according to the instructions for the drug);
After another 7 days, add a second fertilizer of the same composition;
4 days before planting in a greenhouse or garden bed, feed the plants for the 3rd time with a superphosphate solution (according to the instructions).

When can you plant tomato seedlings in the garden?

When growing seedlings at home, an important issue is the timing of their planting in the garden. After all, every gardener has had a situation: the seedlings have grown, “require” more space for further growth, and it is very cold outside. And planting plants in the garden at this moment means deliberately destroying them.

That is why you should not rush with very early sowings.

It is better to plant small bushes in the ground, which will “catch up” and outstrip the development of overgrown plants that require long-term adaptation to new conditions.

We discussed in the article when to plant tomato seedlings for a greenhouse. Now let’s look at the conditions for when to transplant it into a greenhouse. For planting in greenhouse beds, each tomato bush should have up to 9 true leaves, and its height should be 20-30 cm. If the greenhouse is heated, that’s great. After all, in case of return frosts, you can heat it. If the greenhouse is not heated, have a heater ready just in case. It may be needed if planting is carried out earlier than the agronomic dates indicated in the table.

Larisa Nikolaevna Shirko

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Tomato seedlings should be planted in the beds at a time when, according to forecasts, no return frosts are expected. The air should warm up to +16 °C during the day. And the soil should warm up to at least +10 °C before planting. Otherwise, the plants will “sit” in place for a long time. Before transplanting, water the plants so that the soil lump does not crumble. The bushes are placed vertically in the hole and sprinkled with soil until the first true leaves appear. If the plants are very tall, then they are buried deeper; you can plant them “lying down.”

When to plant cherry tomatoes and other varieties? You can look at the dates in the lunar calendar or calculate them yourself.

Seed manufacturers also indicate on the packaging the sowing time for a given variety. 50-60 days after the seedlings appear, the grown plants are transplanted into the garden bed.

Planting tomato seedlings in April 2022

Before planting seeds for seedlings, you need to prepare the ground itself. They do this in two ways. Firstly, fully prepared and fertile soil can be purchased at a specialized store. Secondly, it is not difficult to prepare the land yourself.

It is believed that the best choice would be soil from the garden, in which you will then grow tomatoes. In the same soil environment, the plant will be easier to tolerate subsequent replanting. To make the soil more suitable for seedlings, gardeners make special mixtures: soil + peat + sawdust or soil + peat + river sand. There are many ways to make soil fertile. To do this, various ingredients are combined in different proportions, and fertilizers are also added, for example, a little potassium chloride, superphosphate or ammonium nitrate.

Pay special attention to soil disinfection. Weak sprouts, especially at home, may suffer from pests and plant diseases that are difficult to detect inside. The larvae of harmful insects can be so invisible that they are easily confused with pieces of earth. When the larvae come to life at home, they will find nothing else in the limited space of the container but to eat all the roots of the young tomatoes. To avoid this, pour boiling water over the soil or bake it in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Such procedures should help get rid of pests and the possible presence of plant diseases.

Which container to choose? In fact, you can plant in whatever is at hand. These can be flower pots, boxes, plastic cups, peat pots. Due to their availability, plastic containers for food products, such as yogurt, cakes, ice cream, etc., have become very popular.

Germination of seeds. Before sowing, especially in April, it is recommended to carry out germination. Seeds in damp gauze will sprout much faster than those planted in the ground. This is done simply:

Wrap the seeds in damp gauze, cotton wool, a cloth or napkin. Place on a saucer and place in a warm place. It is not recommended to place it on a radiator or in close proximity to a heating device, since the gauze will dry out very quickly, you simply will not have time to wet it and some of the seeds may dry out without having time to germinate.

Seed germination will occur in 3-5 days. Immediately after this you need to start planting in the ground. Planting depth - 1 centimeter. The distance between two seeds is 2-3 cm. Do not plant too close, as the roots of the plants will intertwine, the upper part of the seedlings will stretch due to lack of air and light.

After planting, water the soil with a spray bottle and cover the container with a transparent lid (film, glass). We transfer the container to a warm place, preferably on the windowsill of the window where the sun shines most of the day. The cover must be removed regularly to allow air access and to wipe off condensation. When the first shoots appear, remove the lid completely. You should be careful here, since sprouts usually appear in the morning. If the soil reaches almost to the edge of the container, the sprout may rest against the lid and be damaged.

There are no problems with lighting in April, unlike February and March, when the days are short. It is enough to place the seedlings in a place that is illuminated by the sun for the longest time.

Picking is done approximately 2-3 weeks after germination, when two full-fledged leaves have appeared.

Transplantation into open ground occurs when there is no risk of return frosts, but with April seedlings this information is irrelevant, since they will need to be planted only from the second half of May, when it is warm enough. By the time of transplantation, the bushes should have 6-7 true leaves, and their height should be 25-35 cm.

Pay attention to weather conditions. If it is sunny on the planting day in May or June, the seedlings should be transplanted in the evening so that the sun does not burn them and during the night they have time to take root and get used to the new conditions. If it is cloudy outside, then plant in the morning.