In winter, growing seedlings is not easy, this is a troublesome task. It requires space and certain characteristics that are not easy to create at home, so experienced gardeners are constantly looking for new ways to make work easier and improve the quality of seedlings.
Growing seedlings without land saves space, seeds, and leaves time for soil preparation. And the house is clean. To understand the benefits of this method, you need to try out various methods and adopt the best ones.
Pros and cons of landless growing tomato seedlings
This method has certain advantages:
- Saving usable space for the production of seedlings.
- The possibility of infection with diseases, the pathogens of which live exclusively in the soil, is excluded.
- Care is facilitated, there is no dirt and dampness from the soil.
- It is easier to ensure the phased cultivation of seedlings of various varieties and sowing dates.
- Strong seedlings, not susceptible to diseases, easily tolerate picking and adaptation to new conditions.
Of the minor drawbacks, the danger of seedling death with insufficient moisture can be noted. With early sowing and lack of lighting, seedlings can stretch.
Description of the method
Suitable for landing:
- Plastic boxes, containers, other containers with well-fitting lids. They must be transparent, at least 7 cm high. Used containers from confectionery and vegetables are often used.
- Paper napkins or toilet paper.
- Irrigation sprayer.
- Tweezers for spreading seeds.
Seeds are germinated at a temperature of 25-27Β°C. A container with hatched seeds is placed in a well-lit place. Provide night temperature – 15-17 Β° C, daytime – 18-20 Β° C. In conditions of short daylight hours, seedlings are illuminated with a lamp.
Sequencing:
- Paper or napkins cover the bottom of the container in 5-7 layers.
- Water so that the water is completely absorbed and moistened all the paper. Excess water is drained.
- With the help of tweezers, the seeds are laid out on napkins not too thick, so that in the future the roots of the seedlings do not intertwine.
- The tightly closed container is transferred to a warm place.
Daily care consists of airing (2-3 minutes) and spraying with warm water (not lower than 20Β°C). When watering, you can add special liquid complex fertilizers.
Seedlings dive into the ground in the phase of the first true leaves, choosing the strongest, with a good root system.
When picking seedlings grown without soil, the length of the root is shortened so that it is no more than the height of the plant.
Roll method
For sowing you will need: plastic wrap, toilet paper, plastic cups.
Growing conditions are the same as in the previous method.
Sequencing:
- The polyethylene film is cut into strips of arbitrary length with a width of 10 cm.
- Roll out toilet paper on top of the film and moisten it with water.
- Seeds are laid out on paper one centimeter from the top edge. The distance between seeds is 2-3 cm.
- Cover with a new strip of paper and a strip of film.
- The created “pie” is rolled into a not very tight roll. If the strips are short, you can roll several into one roll.
- The roll is placed in a plastic cup or other container, water is poured to a level of 4 cm and covered with a film with holes.
- Germinate seeds in a warm place.
Seed care consists in maintaining the water level in the glass. After germination, you can add a drop of liquid fertilizer.
At the stage of the first true leaves, the roll is rolled out, the covering layer of the film is removed. In order not to damage the root, the seedling is taken with a piece of paper and dived into the prepared container in the usual way.
In peat tablets
The method of growing seedlings is not soilless, but quite promising, so ready-made peat tablets are quite easy to use.
You will need peat tablets themselves, a pallet with high walls.
In the period before germination, the pallet with tablets is kept at a temperature of from 22 to 28Β°C. After germination, the temperature is lowered to 15-18Β°C. The lower temperature threshold is provided at night, the upper one during the day. In this case, daylight hours should last about 15 hours.
Sequencing:
- The tablets are laid out in a pallet. The recess should be directed upwards.
- Slowly add warm water until the tablets are completely swollen.
- Squeeze the tablets lightly and pour out the excess water.
- In wet recesses, the tablets are laid out one or two seeds at a time, covering them with peat.
- The pallet is covered with a transparent film and placed in a warm place, when condensation forms, the film is lifted and aired.
As soon as shoots appear, the film is removed and the temperature and soil moisture are monitored, as the peat dries quickly. Water for irrigation should be at least 20ΒΊΠ‘. Before germination, water with a spray bottle, after germination – in a pan or under the root. When the seedlings take root well and give real leaves, the net is removed from the tablet and planted in the soil.
sawdust instead of soil
The root system in such a substrate develops well and is not injured during transplantation, since sawdust does not stick to the roots.
For sowing, you will need: a container, tray or box, sawdust, a watering can or a spray bottle.
The conditions for growing seedlings are the same as when growing in the ground.
Air temperature:
- before germination – 22-28 Β° C;
- after germination – 18 Β° Π‘:
- after picking – 18-22 Β° Π‘.
At the initial stage, during the germination period, the growing place should be well lit for 15-16 hours.
The sequence of actions when sowing seeds:
- Sawdust is disinfected with a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate, then poured with boiling water to swell.
- A container or other container is filled with processed sawdust, the layer thickness is 12-15 cm.
- Seeds are planted at a depth of 1-2 cm.
- The container is transferred to a warm place.
Seedling care consists in maintaining humidity and temperature. The temperature of the irrigation water is 20Β°C. Drying of sawdust and stagnation of water should not be allowed. With side lighting, the container with seedlings must be rotated periodically.
In tea bags
An original way to use waste from tea drinking to grow tomato seedlings with a good root system that is not damaged during transplantation.
For sowing, you need a pallet with low walls, tea bags, and scissors.
Growing conditions are traditional, the difference is only in the capacity and type of substrate.
The sequence of actions when sowing seeds:
- Rectangular bags are used, in which the upper part is cut off with scissors so that a small glass is obtained.
- Sleeping tea is left at the bottom of the bag, add a little soil for seedlings.
- The bags are placed in a pallet or tray. To preserve moisture and stability, sprinkle free gaps with soil.
- Moisturize the contents of the sachets.
- One seed is planted in each bag and lightly pressed into the ground.
- The pallet is placed for germination in a warm place, covered with a film.
Seed care is no different from traditional growing methods. Seedlings in the phase of 1-2 leaves, together with bags, are planted in seedlings. At the same time, the roots will not suffer, and when they gain strength, they will easily penetrate the walls of the package and break it.
The video shows a method of sowing tomato seeds in a paper roll.
Cassette method of growing tomato seedlings
The cassette method is very effective when there is a small area with suitable conditions for growing seedlings at the first stage, as well as when there is a large need for seedlings.
Required:
- cassette;
- tray for cassettes;
- putty knife.
It is better to use disposable cassettes. You can purchase cassettes that are convenient in size for the available area. They are produced in blocks, are easily cut and can consist of several rows.
Cassettes for growing seedlings are used both in greenhouses and at home. The temperature for seedlings should be at least 22Β°C.
The sequence of actions when sowing seeds:
- If several cassette blocks are used, they are placed close to each other on the working surface.
- Ready, well-moistened soil is poured into the middle of the block.
- Rake the soil with a spatula until all cells are evenly filled.
- With a stick, a recess is made in each cassette and one seed is laid out.
- Add soil and level with a spatula so that all the recesses with seeds are closed.
- Seed care.
The cassettes are very small in size, so it is important to monitor the soil moisture, preventing drying out. Humidity is controlled by the amount of moisture in the pan, where after watering no more than 2-3 drops should drain. Excess water must be drained.
Various methods of growing seedlings allow vegetable growers to produce high-quality seedlings with a minimum available usable area and even in the absence of land.
