Sowing tomatoes for seedlings: rules and timing

Growing tomato seedlings is a fascinating activity. You can endlessly experiment with varieties and agricultural techniques. But in order to grow strong and healthy seedlings, you need to properly prepare the soil, process the seeds and do all the work in a timely manner.

Sowing tomatoes for seedlings is carried out 50 days before the expected date of planting in a permanent place. The exact sowing dates depend on the climatic features of the region and the growing conditions of the crop.

First, you should sow the seeds of late-ripening and mid-ripening tomatoes that will grow in a greenhouse. And early-ripening tomatoes intended for growing in open ground can be sown for seedlings in late March or early April.



It is also worth considering the development features of plants. Seedlings of some varieties grow very quickly and stretch out at home. Therefore, there is no need to rush to sow the seeds of such tomatoes. It is better to plant small, strong bushes in the garden than overgrown seedlings, which will take a long time to adapt to new conditions.
 

For each climate zone, certain varieties have been created, adapted to certain conditions. For example, tomatoes for southern regions in the middle zone show lower yields, set fruit later and can disappoint gardeners. Therefore, when choosing a variety, you need to consider where it was created and for which zones it is recommended.

To get an early tomato harvest and collect the fruits throughout the summer, it is worth growing tomatoes of different ripening periods:

When calculating sowing dates, do not forget to add 5-7 days for seed germination. It should be taken into account that seed germination largely depends on their storage conditions and shelf life. On average, the shelf life of tomato seeds is 4-5 years at a humidity of no more than 50% and a constant temperature, which is within 12-17 ° C. Each year, the germination energy of seeds decreases.

Therefore, review your stocks of seed material and start preparing older seeds for sowing first, since their germination may take twice as long. Fresh seeds will sprout faster in any case, so their sowing can be postponed until a later date.
 

To grow healthy and strong seedlings, you need to take care of preparing high-quality soil. It should be nutritious, moisture-absorbing and loose, with neutral acidity and microflora favorable for plant development.

You can buy ready-made soil for growing seedlings or prepare it yourself: mix deoxidized peat with biohumus or mature compost in a ratio of 2:1 and add 10-15% of a leavening agent (perlite or vermiculite). This will help make the soil mixture breathable and moisture-absorbing, which is very important both for the development of the root system and for the vital activity of beneficial soil microorganisms.

Self-prepared soil must be disinfected to get rid of pathogenic microorganisms, pest larvae and weed seeds.
 

Tomato seedlings can be grown in different containers: in boxes, cassettes, individual pots, in "snails", etc. Before you start preparing containers, you need to estimate the number of seedlings and the area they will take up.

Tomatoes tolerate picking well - so the seeds can be safely sown in common seedling boxes 8-10 cm high or food trays. It is convenient to sow the seeds of each variety in a separate tray so as not to make partitions inside the planting container.

The advantage of this method of growing is that before picking, the seedlings take up little space, they are easy to move and illuminate with phytolamps. In addition, seedlings that grow in trays and boxes are easy to care for: watering and fertilizing are carried out very quickly.



Cassettes are also very convenient for growing tomato seedlings. These containers come in different types and sizes. In cassettes with small cells (up to 80-100 ml), seedlings are grown at the initial stage of vegetation. From such cassettes, plants are easily removed together with a lump of earth and transplanted into individual large pots using the transshipment method.

In cassettes with large cells (180-200 ml), tomatoes can develop much longer. And if you sow the seeds 35-40 days before transplanting to a permanent place, then immediately from the cassette, the seedlings can be planted in a greenhouse or under temporary shelter.



Pots and cups can be used both for sowing seeds and for transplanting grown seedlings. The volume of the pots should be at least 400-500 ml. If you decide to grow tomatoes without picking, then it is advisable to choose tall glasses for this purpose: they can initially be filled with soil only two-thirds, and then, as the seedlings grow, gradually add soil mixture - this will promote the development of lateral roots.

When we remove seedlings from individual containers, the root system is not damaged, and the plants quickly take root in a permanent place. Plastic pots are convenient in that they can be used for many years in a row, unlike peat pots, and the soil in them does not dry out so quickly.
 

To increase seed germination and provide seedlings with additional protection from diseases, it is recommended to soak the seeds in a solution of a biopreparation based on hay bacillus (Fitosporin-M, etc.).
 

Sow tomato seeds in well-moistened soil. When sowing tomatoes in common boxes or trays, the distance between the seeds should be at least 3-4 cm. The denser the seeds are sown, the more the seedlings suffer from a lack of nutrition and light. In addition, the roots of the plants become intertwined and are subsequently damaged during picking. With dense sowing, the seedlings stretch out, grow weak, and are often affected by root rot (black leg).

The depth of planting tomato seeds, as a rule, should be three times greater than the diameter of the seed itself, i.e. 8-10 mm. Cover the seeds with loose sifted peat soil, cover with a lid or film with small holes and keep in a warm place at a temperature of 22-25 ° C until the shoots appear.

As soon as the first sprouts appear, open the containers and place them in a well-lit place. When all the seedlings have opened their cotyledon leaves, transfer the containers with the crops to a cooler room with a temperature of 14-16 ° C for 7-10 days. Such hardening of the seedlings will prevent the hypocotyl from stretching. After a week, the temperature can be increased by a few degrees.

To ensure that tomato seedlings grow strong and do not stretch, try to provide them with good lighting for 14 hours. Good nutrition, moderate watering, warmth and light are all that plants need for harmonious development.