Caring for tomato seedlings after germination

Tomatoes by their nature come from the subtropics, so they love warmth. Since the average growing season is about 100-120 days, in most regions of the country, tomatoes are grown in seedlings. To obtain high-quality seedlings, they create optimal conditions for development.

Features of growing tomato seedlings at home

Features of growing tomato seedlings at home

In the northern regions, not only seedlings are grown indoors, but also adult plants. In the southern regions, they practice sowing seeds in open ground, but for safety, the beds are covered for the first time – even frosts of -1 ° can destroy the seed material.

To avoid the effects of the “whims” of spring weather, it is better to cultivate tomatoes with seedlings. This will extend the growing season and get early production. But you need to take into account the specificity of conditions that differ from natural ones.

When growing seedlings at home, it is necessary to create a suitable microclimate. It includes a combination of factors such as:

  • illumination;
  • humidity;
  • temperature regime.

Not only air parameters, but also soil are taken into account. Therefore, a soil thermometer should also be at hand.

When caring for seedlings, they take into account that humidity and temperature are interconnected – the warmer the room, the more abundant the watering should be. But in containers, the ability to seep near the water is limited, which leads to waterlogging and subsequent rotting of the roots.

In order for the seedlings to have time to absorb the entire portion of moisture, watering is carried out in small doses, but often, not allowing the soil to dry out. At the same time, the water temperature should not be lower than the soil indicator, so as not to bring the plant to microstress.

If seedlings are grown on the windowsills of residential premises, it is difficult to create an optimal level of humidity. During this period, heating devices are still used, and they dry the air. Therefore, spraying is indispensable. But it is better to direct the spray jet not at the bushes themselves, but spray into the air.

How to plant tomato seeds for seedlings

How to plant tomato seeds for seedlings

Having prepared containers for seedlings (boxes, cassettes, pots, cups), be sure to lay a drainage layer of sand, gravel or any other coarse-grained inert material. In the future, this will save from acidification of the soil.

Do not rush to sow seeds – for starters, they are calibrated and subjected to pre-sowing preparation (disinfection, drageeing, stratification, hardening).

An important point for obtaining high-quality seedlings is the germination of seeds. To do this, they are kept wet until they peck. You can sow in a container when at least 5% of the seeds germinate.

The containers are filled with a special seedling soil mixture or they take garden loam with humus in equal proportions. Before sowing seeds, the soil is enriched with fertilizers by mixing 3 g of magnesium sulfate, 10 g of potassium sulfate and urea, 30 g of superphosphate.

The soil is poured into the seedling box with a layer of 8 cm and small grooves are made, placing them at a distance of 6 cm from each other. The gap between the seeds is maintained on the order of 1-2 cm. From above, the grooves are covered with humus soil or sand with a layer of 0,5 cm.

Gently water with warm water using a watering can with a fine-hole nozzle. Having covered with a transparent polyethylene film or glass, the box is kept at a temperature of 20-25 °. As soon as the first shoots of tomatoes hatch, the container is opened and rearranged to a lighted place.

Caring for tomato seedlings after germination

Caring for tomato seedlings after germination

Then everything depends on the right microclimate. It is selected according to the needs of tomatoes.

Correct watering

Soil moisture is the main need of vegetable crops, but everything should be measured. The amount of water for irrigation directly depends on the phase in the development of tomato seedlings.

At the moment when the seeds germinate, the humidity should be maximum. As soon as the seedlings appear, watering is reduced to moderate. Their frequency is determined based on the temperature in the room. The soil in the seedling container should be constantly moist (but not excessively wet).

Proper watering is carried out in 2 stages:

  • First, a small portion of moisture is poured under the seedlings to carry out surface wetting of the soil.
  • After a few minutes, the procedure is repeated, increasing the portion of water.

If there is dry air in the room, you should not be zealous with watering – their frequency and quantity remain the same. In this case, the lack of moisture is compensated by spraying.

Lighting

Lighting

The need for light in tomato seedlings is the same as for moisture. The above-ground parts of plants need lighting for the production of green pigment (chlorophyll). As soon as the first leaves hatch to the surface, they immediately take care that as much natural light as possible falls on the seedlings (but it should be diffused).

Tomatoes are photophilous and need a long day. Since sowing is carried out from the end of January to March, it will be necessary to apply additional illumination of seedlings:

  • in the “loop” phase (when the stalk just popped out of the ground), it is better to keep lighting all the dark time of the day;
  • when the first leaves appear, the daylight hours are maintained for 12-14 hours;
  • in subsequent seedlings, 8 hours of light will be enough.

In order for additional lighting to be as close to natural as possible, it is better to connect phytolamps or fluorescent lamps (at the rate of 400 W per 1 sq.m.). The total duration of additional lighting is 1,5 months.

Temperature

At each stage of seedling development, their thermal indicators are maintained. As soon as shoots appear, and the shelter is removed from the box, by any possible means, you need to lower the air temperature to + 8-10 °. For example, in a private house, take containers with tomatoes to the veranda, and in an apartment – to a closed loggia.

Seedlings are kept in this state for 3-5 days. Then return to the optimal mode:

  • on cloudy days they maintain a temperature of the order of + 15-17 °;
  • in sunny +18-22°;
  • at night + 10-12 °.

If these conditions are strictly observed, the seedlings will not stretch out, but will develop into strong thick bushes. In the future, this will contribute to the quality of fruits and increase yields.

How to dive correctly

How to dive correctly

The purpose of this procedure is to provide young plants with a larger feeding area and strengthen their root system.

Picking is not always carried out, but only if the seeds in the seedling box were sown densely.

The procedure is carried out at the phase of 2-3 true leaves, choosing a separate cup with a diameter of 15 cm for each seedling.

Remove the sprouts from the box carefully, trying not to damage the roots. It is best to use a special fork for this purpose (or remove extra teeth from a regular cutlery). The device, as it were, pushes the plant out of the ground, lightly holding the seedling with the second hand by the cotyledon.

Seedlings, together with a clod of earth, are immediately transferred to new containers, where recesses have already been made in the soil. When placing a seedling in a hole, they try not to bend the roots. Sprouts are buried in the ground to the level of the lower leaves. After that, the roots are pressed with earth, using a peg for convenience.

Picked plants are watered immediately (but sparingly). The first days after transplantation reduce the hours of additional illumination. Or containers with seedlings are set aside for a while away from the window.

Proper feeding

Proper feeding

The nutrient composition in seedlings is limited, and seedlings need minerals for active growth. During cultivation, seedlings are fertilized twice – in the phase of formation of the first 4 leaves, then – when the next 2 appear.

If a pick is planned, then the first top dressing is carried out 2 weeks after transplantation, and the second one 10 days later. One more call is allowed – 5 days before transplanting the sprouts to a permanent place.

Choose a standard mixture for garden crops at the rate of 50 g per bucket of water.

  • At the same time, superphosphates are diluted with hot liquid in order to achieve maximum extraction of the element from the dry preparation.
  • Mineral solutions are filtered before use, getting rid of ballast particles.

Dressing rules

  • You can alternate mineral water with organic matter – mullein or chicken manure. Ready-made solutions are used immediately so that nitrogen does not have time to evaporate.
  • Before filtering, the wood ash solution must be allowed to settle so that the ballast particles settle to the bottom.
  • Feeding solutions before use are heated to a temperature 1-2 degrees higher than that of the soil.
  • Fertilization is tied to irrigation.
  • The most favorable time for fertilizing is the morning or afternoon hours, when the plant actively absorbs useful elements from the soil.

If a soil mixture enriched with nutrients was used during picking, then there is no need to feed the seedlings.

Hardening

Hardening

When grown at home, seedlings are in fairly comfortable conditions. Therefore, transfer to open ground can be stressful for plants.

To make the adaptation painless, the seedlings are prepared for the move gradually:

  • to begin with, in warm calm weather, a window is opened in the room for a while, providing access to fresh air;
  • start hardening from 1 hour, gradually increasing the time to a whole day;
  • on the 6th day, the window can be left open overnight.

As an option, the seedlings are taken out to the loggia (veranda), adhering to the described scheme. Then you can move to the bed under the film shelter.

The process of hardening also involves a gradual decrease in the volume of irrigation, a reduction in their frequency.

Diseases and pests of seedlings

Many varieties of tomatoes are susceptible to classic diseases, and they can appear even at the stage of growing seedlings. Some diseases are transmitted genetically through seeds. To secure seedlings, you need to know the problem “in person”.

Common diseases of tomatoes


To avoid such problems, the fight against diseases should begin even at the stage of preparing seeds for sowing. When growing seedlings, all regimes are strictly observed. Otherwise, the seedlings weaken and lose their immunity. If the seedlings get sick, they are treated with fungicides. Launched bushes will have to be destroyed.

vermin

Tomatoes in open beds are often attacked by insects. When growing seedlings at home, this problem can be avoided if you use the purchase of soil. With the land taken from the garden, it is easy to bring wireworms, whitefly larvae and spider mites into the house.

Gardeners’ mistakes

Gardeners' mistakes

Violation of the rules for growing seedlings leads to the fact that the seedlings begin to hurt.

To understand where the owner made a mistake, you need to pay attention to such signs:

Yellowing leaves – evidence of a lack of trace elements:

  • a light shade indicates a deficiency of manganese;
  • saturated yellowness is a lack of potassium, copper;
  • discoloration only at the tops – calcium deficiency;

The leaves on the seedlings turn yellow for other reasons – due to poor lighting, tightness and violation of the irrigation regime, as well as injury to the roots during picking.

Due to lack of moisture, the leaves begin to dry. If at the same time they also twist, then the seedlings do not have enough iron.

If the seedlings began to turn blue, then a failure was made in the temperature regime – either the sprouts fell under the draft when the room was ventilated, or the hardening did not take place according to the rules.

A purple hue may be evidence of a phosphorus deficiency. This is how the active assimilation of ultraviolet radiation by seedlings, which were taken out into the street, is also manifested.

Failure to comply with all regimes leads to the fact that the seedlings are excessively stretched, become thin, weak and may eventually fall.

Tomato seedlings: from shoots to picks – video

Paying maximum attention to the seedlings of tomatoes, you can grow high-quality planting material. Strong, healthy seedlings are the key to a great harvest.

Anna Evans

Author-editor

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