Planting tomato seeds for seedlings - as we gardeners are waiting for this moment! In January, I began to sort out bags with seeds of not only tomatoes. I think that I will plant in the upcoming season. Which seeds are enough, and which still need to be bought. I take out my notebook - the names of the varieties of vegetable or flower crops are written there, about which I read something good and decided that I also need to have them at my site. But now I would like to share my experience of sowing seeds for seedlings.
There is not much difference - about the planting of seeds of tomatoes, peppers or eggplant in question. All seeds are planted almost the same. The difference is only in the timing of landing. This science did not immediately come to me. She didn’t know much ... When, after how many days do shoots appear? The size of peat tablets for seedlings of peppers, eggplant, tomatoes? How to transplant plants from peat tablets? How many roots of seedlings need to be planted per 1 square. meter? When do they plant it in open ground?
What to grow seedlings for - planting tomato seeds in peat tablets
Peat tablets are very convenient for planting seeds on seedlings. They are available in various sizes - with a diameter of 2.5 cm to 7 cm. The most convenient tablets for growing vegetable seedlings are tablets with a diameter of at least 4 cm.
It is best to buy special plastic cassettes with cells for them at the same time as tablets.
Each cassette must have a pallet, and some can be sold with transparent covers, thanks to which you can maintain a certain humidity, a kind of microclimate, which is very necessary for seed germination. The side walls of the cassette cells will not allow peat tablets to dry out.
Tablets before sowing seeds are placed inside the cell and watered so that they are saturated with water. Humidified, they increase very much in height, but the diameter remains almost the same. Each peat tablet in the middle has a small indentation for the seed.
In the middle of a well-moistened tablet, I increase the depression - 1-1.5 cm, put a seed there. I gently pinch the soil from the top with my fingers so that the seed is covered. Then I cover the cassette with a film. I use cling film for these purposes. It is thin, plus everything is well fixed at the edges with a simple pressure. I do not open it until shoots appear. After this, I remove the film and put the cassette with seedlings on the windowsill. In the evening, after sunset, for example, a glazed loggia is well suited for these purposes.
If you sow seeds in peat pellets of a small diameter, then after some time (when you notice that the roots have come out) you will have to transfer the plant to a large container, for example, a plastic cup. It is not necessary to remove the shell of the tablet. Seedlings grown in large-diameter tablets can immediately be planted in a permanent place without an intermediate pick.
Plastic cassettes with soil in the cells for planting seeds
Cassettes can be used not only for peat tablets. I successfully grow seedlings of tomatoes, peppers or eggplant, filling its cells with nutritious soil. The soil is usually slightly loose, so I "trample it". I’m filling the cassette hole not to the top.
I moisten the soil, make a hole 1-1.5 cm deep and put a seed there. If I sow my seeds, of which I am sure of germination, then - one cell - one seed, and if it is purchased, then - two.
I also cover the cassette with soil on top of the film and do not remove it until the first shoots appear.
What air temperature do seedlings need
In order for seedlings to develop correctly, it is very important to observe the temperature regime. When growing early varieties of white and cauliflower, celery, onions, and lettuce (before emergence), the temperature should be about 20 ° C, with the appearance of shoots 5-7 days - about 6-10 ° C. When it is cloudy - 14-16 ° С, when it is sunny - plus 16-18 ° С, and at night 8-12 ° С. Seedlings of tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, eggplant are grown at a temperature of 6-8 ° C higher.
It is necessary to ensure that the earth does not dry out, there is good lighting, otherwise the plants will stretch.
How many plants to plant per 1 m²
For each square meter of open ground required:
- 5-6 roots of early cabbage;
- mid-season cabbage - 3-4 plants;
- late cabbage - 2-3 plants;
- tomatoes - 4-5 pieces;
- pepper, eggplant - 7-8 pieces;
- cucumbers - 1-2 plants;
- zucchini - 1-2 plants;
- head of lettuce - 16-20 pieces;
- rhubarb - 1-2 roots.
Processing and preparation of tomato seeds for sowing
We'll talk about tomatoes especially. Selected seeds must be pickled with 1% manganese solution for 30 minutes, rinsed with clean warm water, soaked for 24 hours so that they swell. Then they need to be hardened. To do this, hold the plate with wet seeds for 12 hours at a temperature of 0 ° to + 4 °. Then also hold for 12 hours at a temperature of + 18-20 ° C.
So it takes a week to temper. After that, the seeds are sown. When the first leaflet appears, seedlings should be peaked. Shorten the tip of the main root so that additional roots begin to grow. Under each plant put 1 granule of superphosphate.
Seedling Care
At night, the seedlings are taken to where the temperature is lower - 8-10 ° C (balcony, loggia, porch). After 2-3 days, the plants are watered with water at room temperature, and if they are weak, then fertilize with a fertilizer mixture with trace elements - 20 g per 10 liters of water.
When steady heat occurs (above 10 ° C), the seedlings are taken out to fresh air (3-4 hours), and then left overnight. Then they again transplanted into a large box and put on the south window until landing in the ground.
What seedlings to buy
If you buy seedlings in the market, take the one with dark green leaves, squat, with short internodes (6-8 leaves). Cabbage, cucumber, zucchini - 4-5 each. Overgrown tomato plants are laid lying down, sprinkled with lower leaves. Planting seedlings is best when it is cloudy or rainy, or in the evening.