Interesting statistics: every resident eats at least 5 kg of tomatoes per year. It is proved that tomato is the main natural source of lycopene-an antioxidant necessary for the prevention of heart and vascular diseases, cancer. How to grow this useful vegetable in your garden?
Knowledgeable people believe that half of the crop is the contribution of a variety or hybrid, and the other half depends on the growing technology.
Good seedlings are the basis of the future crop
Of course, an important point is the timing of sowing seeds and planting seedlings, because it depends on whether such a heat-loving and long-growing culture will have time to please us with ripe fruits. The date of planting seedlings is determined by when the threat of return frosts passes, since the tomato dies at temperatures below +2°C.. The age of seedlings at planting should be 45-50 days. When properly grown (with pickings in separate pots, top dressing, and so on) at the time of planting, the seedlings have 8-10 leaves and a well-marked first brush with buds.
So, we calculate the sowing date, subtracting 50 days from the planting date, and sow. Soaking in potassium permanganate, dousing the seeds with hot water and other pre-sowing procedures, if they are tested by you on experience, are not prohibited.
It is necessary to sow in loose soil (peat, a mixture of peat with garden soil and sawdust, etc.), well spilled (better with a solution of copper sulfate-1 tablespoon per bucket of water – to protect against black legs). Make grooves 1 cm deep, the distance between the grooves 2-3 cm, carefully pour again. Spread the seeds at a distance of 1 cm from each other, sprinkle with moistened peat, cover with a film and put in a warm place (+25…+30°C).
On day 4-7, seedlings will appear. After that, the film should be removed, slightly moisten the soil as necessary and move the box to a lighted place, ideally-under the device for additional lighting. After mass shoots appear, it is recommended to put the box with plants in a cool place (+15…+16°C) for 2-3 days. This contributes to the hardening of plants and improves the formation of the root system.
Then we return the plants to the heat and after the appearance of 1-2 real leaves, we dive the seedlings, that is, we plant them in individual pots, in which the seedlings will grow until they are planted. You can also use cassettes for growing seedlings with sufficiently large cells. During the period of growing seedlings, it is recommended to feed them once with a solution of complex fertilizers. When picking, the stem is buried in the soil under the very cotyledons and carefully compressed.
We plant tomatoes and properly care for them
For planting, we prepare the soil – we dig, we make loosening, we form beds. It makes sense to add fertilizer for digging. Fresh manure for tomatoes is better not to make, because the plant will have a large number of leaves, a thick stem, a huge number of stepchildren, a delay in flowering. It is better to apply manure in the autumn.
For planting, we make holes half a stick deep with a shovel. The distance between the holes is 35-50 cm, between the two rows on the bed-50 cm, between the beds the distance is 90 cm. The tomato plant is quite sprawling, so that the plants do not shade each other, are well ventilated (prevention of diseases), have a sufficient area of nutrition, it is important to observe the specified distances.
Fill the hole with a spoonful of double superphosphate, which will contribute to the survival and proper development of the plant, pour it abundantly and, taking it out of the pot, plant our seedlings. On day 2-3, when the plant will rise and spread the leaves, it must be tied up. For garters, we use wire trellises stretched at a height of 1.5–2 m, to which tomato plants are tied with polypropylene twine.
So, the plants are planted, tied up and bloom together, the first brushes are tied. Two weeks after planting, you can feed the plants with a solution of complex fertilizers with trace elements, this will help them compensate for the lack of necessary mineral elements for development. Further feeding is recommended every 10-14 days.
During the period of filling and ripening of fruits, it is recommended to feed with potash fertilizers. They contribute to the formation of the correct shape and color of the fruit. As they Mature, you need to start removing the lower, spent foliage. In any case, you can not remove all the leaves – without them, the fruit will not pour. There must be 1-2 leaves above the maturing brush (you can remove it under it).
Of course, it is necessary to protect plants from diseases, but this is a separate conversation. We will limit ourselves to the remark that it is possible to reliably protect a tomato from late blight only with the help of chemical treatments.
Have a great harvest!