Well-grown tomato seedlings are the key to a rich and timely harvest. Having passed the first-home-stage and seeing strong healthy plants ready for planting in a permanent place, we are already experiencing satisfaction and recovery. The next step is the correct planting of stocky, beautiful seedlings on the bed.
In advance – days 5-7 — to move her from the city shelter and to attach to the glazed veranda. And now, it’s time to be on her native land-in a polycarbonate greenhouse.
Than to fill the soil
Soil greenhouse beds in a good refueled in the fall, but if then you can not do it, fertilize in the spring. As soon as the ground will allow, in the palest hue loamy soil for each m² beds make 2 buckets good river sand, 2 buckets deoxidized coarsely fibrous peat and 2.5-3 buckets of vermicompost. By the way, if you buy vermicompost directly from the manufacturer in large bags, it will cost 2.5-3 times cheaper than buying in colorful bags in the store.
First, carefully dig the beds with sand, then with peat and after a half bayonet with vermicompost. This filling provides not only excellent air and moisture permeability, but also eliminates the need for additional fertilizing even indeterminate (more voracious) plants throughout the season.
Prepare the seedlings
2-3 days before planting, it is necessary to shed the substrate in pots. If this is not possible, then pour so that the water in the pan maintains a noticeable moisture content of the root ball before planting, and the leaves do not lose elasticity. Seedlings are good when the roots correspond to the tops, and the whole lump in the pot is richly entangled with roots. By the time the seedlings are planted, the substrate should be sufficiently moist, but not heavy from a large amount of water. Due to this, the land near the roots will be somewhat more mobile, which will protect the roots from damage when planting.
No matter how good the seedlings are, for some decrease in its height and increase in the root mass, it is necessary to deprive the bushes of cotyledons, if they have survived, and the lower 1-2 “defective” sheets, in which the appearance leaves much to be desired. The procedure of removing extra bodies to spend a few days before disembarkation to the place of injury had dried up and was not a potential of the gate of penetration of the disease. From the removed parts enough to leave 3-5 mm. Cuts to do better cutting tool.
The intricacies of planting tomatoes
Having planned the landing site, dig the first hole depth equal to the height of the coma plus the length of the exposed stem (the distance from the ground to the bottom of the remaining leaf on the stem, more precisely, to the lower node with the sheet). The soil in the garden should be moderately moist and loose.
To plants were permanently provided with moisture, and most of the roots rushed into the depth, fill the hole, which use rain, river or water from the pond (3-5 liters per plant). It is desirable that the water was not cold. Do not worry that the hole will deepen: in the future, when watering the beds, all the soil will settle for as much as now the bottom of the hole will fall.
After all the water is absorbed, you can start planting prepared seedlings. Make and how to shed the holes can be in any weather, but I recommend planting seedlings on cloudy days. In Sunny weather, it is better to transfer the landing to the evening hours, when the heat in the greenhouse or greenhouse subsides.
Seedling try on to the hole, if necessary, pour or remove part of the earth. Setting the plant and holding it with one hand, the other hand or scoop gently pour the soil to the whom and the stem, gently squeezing, compacting.
To soil even better embraced and well pressed to the buried parts of the plant, once again watered-1-2 liters per plant. We do not use any fertilizers and development stimulants.
If the soil is strongly settled, pour a little ground to the level of the beds or slightly above (margin for shrinkage). If the Bush is stable, strong, the leaves do not droop, then you can start planting the next plant.
Landing scheme
With two-line planting plants a more comfortable growing in a checkerboard pattern. In this position, each of them gets more light, they are better ventilated, and it is more convenient for us to work with them.
Two-line planting is used on beds with a width of 60-80 cm. If the beds are already 60 cm, such a landing will be irrational, and on beds more than 80 cm in width, access to plants is complicated. The recommended number of tomatoes per 1 m² implies a total area, that is, the area of the bed and passage.
Continuing to plant seedlings, do not forget about the abundant saturation of the soil with water, good contact of the earth with the root system and the buried part of the stem. After planting, the space around the plants (within a radius of 10-15 cm) is desirable to mulch, so that moisture is better preserved, the soil is not compacted beyond measure and the root system does not overheat.
Why you need support
If the bare portion of the stem is much higher than the height of the root coma, then when planting slightly tilt the plant (60-45°), and the above-ground part straighten vertically and fix on the support.
As a support for the period of independent stability of tomatoes (just for safety), you can use hazel twigs, bamboo sticks. To secure seedlings is better linen or cotton rope.
Do not attract much of the plant to the support, not stifle them. Note that the diameter of the stem could double for literally two and a half weeks. Such supports will not last long, so it is better immediately when planting securely attach the plants to the descending from under the roof of the greenhouse ropes, wires, etc.
Here is a more illustrative example. Suppose that you have purchased indeterminate hybrids to participate in our competition. These plants-heavyweights, they bear at the same time a heavy harvest of fruits of different degrees of maturity plus a tremendous mass of leaves. Supports for them and most other indeterminate hybrids should be strong and reliable.
Determinant varieties and hybrids height of 0.6-1.6 m easier to attach to the hammered when planting stakes 30×30 mm thick. Slats with a smaller cross section are not suitable, they will not stand, as the load of plants alone fruits is not less than 4.5-5 kg.
Time-tested tips
It is important to note where some hybrid grows. I advise to use standard garden plates and a water-resistant marker, but much cheaper and no less aesthetically pleasing look large spoons of single use.
These tags are placed near the plants, so as not to create confusion. After all, it often happens that we can not determine or remember the name of your favorite variety or hybrid and autumn is very sorry about it.
And in conclusion, a few short tips:
- For the first time, carefully follow the temperature, it is desirable that it did not rise above +20…+25°C.
- Do not allow high humidity, as signaled by dew on the walls of the greenhouse, and sometimes on the leaves of tomatoes.
- Do not be afraid to spend more often ventilation.
- If there is an urgent need to moisten the soil or air, then you can water in the morning, day and evening, and spraying plants is desirable to finish up to 16-18 hours, and not afraid to do it even in Sunny weather.
- That when watering from the watering can is not washed away the ground, do not bare the roots and not much compacted surface layer of soil, the grid for water dispersion direct up.
- If necessary, raise the humidity (for example, at the top rot fruit) abundantly shed passages between the beds.
- To lower the temperature in the greenhouse or greenhouse will help spraying the walls, moistening the soil, ventilation, shelter with white nonwoven fabric or camouflage net. The use of chalk or whitewash is ineffective-they are quickly washed off.
We hope that after our detailed story, even novice gardeners will successfully cope with planting their wonderful seedlings in the ground.