Contents
soil
Recently, many summer residents have ceased to prepare the ground for young plants themselves. It is understandable: why bother with the earth, mix different types, when you can go to the store and buy ready-made soil. At the same time, few people pay attention to its composition. And for seedlings, the composition of the soil is very important!
Good soil should be loose, moderately fertile (seedlings should not fatten), healthy and pH neutral. If you read the composition of the soil mixtures that are sold in stores, it becomes obvious that most of them are not suitable for seedlings. Even if the package says “For seedlings.” Therefore, experienced vegetable growers recommend using … soil for cacti. The advice sounds strange, but this mixture is the best suited for young plants. It is loose, well passes water and air, there is little organic matter in it, and there are exactly as many nutrients as the seedlings need. However, when buying, pay attention: it must be pH-neutral! Since acidic soils for cacti are also on sale.
And for the future, try to store the soil yourself. A fertile layer of garden or garden soil will do (1). But it is better to prepare a mixture of garden soil with humus, peat and coarse sand in a ratio of 2: 1: 1: 1. Seedlings grown in the ground from their own garden take root better in the beds – the earth there will be the same as in pots!
After you sow the seeds, you will need to sign where it grows. Now all kinds of plastic tags are sold in stores and garden centers, but practice has shown that they do not justify themselves – the marker is erased from them, they often break, or even just fall out of the container. And if several tags fall out at once, for example, when you take the seedlings to the dacha, then you will not understand where which variety is. And yes, they are not cheap.
The most reliable and budget option is the usual adhesive plaster. Cut off a piece, write the name of the variety on it and glue it on the pot. Such a “label” will not be demolished! You will be able to grow seedlings of the same variety in this pot for a couple of years at home.
Growth stimulants
There are special preparations in which the seeds are soaked before sowing. They allow you to increase seed germination, achieve healthy, strong seedlings and increase plant resistance in the future. These drugs include Humat +7 iodine, Ribav-Extra, Fitozont, Epin-Extra, Zircon. They are quite affordable, but they are not always available for sale.
But they have an affordable replacement!
Aloe juice. This plant is, perhaps, in every home, and getting juice from it is easy. But it is important to take into account two points: the juice must be squeezed from the lower leaves, and then kept in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days. Soak the seeds in aloe juice for 24 hours.
Capacities
| A type | Pros | Cons |
| Boxes | They take up little space on the windowsill, unlike individual containers. The water in it evaporates slowly. Plants fit more per unit area of the window | The roots of the seedlings are intertwined, so when transplanting they cannot be separated without damage. It slows growth and delays harvest. |
| Cassette | Sturdy, won’t fall off windowsill. The moisture in them does not evaporate for a long time | From the cells it is inconvenient to choose seedlings for picking. The walls of the cassettes are easily broken and crumpled. Not suitable for peppers and eggplants as they cannot tolerate root damage. |
| Peat cups and tablets | Seedlings are planted in a permanent place along with a container – the survival rate of plants is 100% | Water in such containers evaporates very quickly – just have time to water. And yes, they are expensive |
| square pots | They take up much less space on the windowsill than round ones. | More difficult to fill with earth than round ones – it takes more time |
| Clear plastic cups | Considered disposable, but will last for several years. Plants are of good quality. It is easy to choose the right volume. And most importantly, they are cheap. | Rework will be required: at the bottom, you need to make 3 drainage holes with a hot nail or soldering iron, and also protect the roots from exposure to light |
| Trays with collapsible partitions | They consist of a tray and plates that are inserted into each other, forming square cells. Easy to remove seedlings | High price |
Phytolamps
Seedlings are often advised to light up, because at the end of winter the days are still short and there is not enough sun for the plants. This is true when it comes to eggplant and pepper seedlings – they are sown for seedlings in late February – early March. And in the case when they grow on the north or west window. On the southern and eastern windowsills, they have enough daylight.
Tomatoes can generally do without additional lighting, because their seeds are sown at the end of March – at this time there is already enough sun. The main thing is to put them in the brightest place – on the balcony. Terrace or window sill (2).
If you feel sorry for the money for a phytolamp, just glue the top and side openings of the window with foil – it reflects sunlight well, increasing the brightness at times.
In the event that there is no space on the windowsill and you grow seedlings in the back of the room, you still have to provide lighting. Incandescent and modern energy-saving bulbs for seedlings are not very suitable – they do not have the right spectrum. It is better to buy special fitolamps – they are dominated by two colors: red and blue. In stores, they are expensive, from 1500 rubles and more. But you should not spend money on them – somewhere in the market or in household goods you will surely find phytolamps cheaper. In addition, they are universal – they can be screwed into any table lamp. And, believe me, they work no worse than expensive copies.
When installing a phytolamp, you need to know that:
- the average distance from the device to the plants should be from 25 to 40 cm;
- the light should be directed from top to bottom, like the sun;
- to illuminate one square meter of plants, a lamp with a power of at least 70 watts is required.
Popular questions and answers
Answered the questions of summer residents about growing seedlings agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mihailova.
Do seeds need to be soaked before sowing seedlings?
And it is not necessary to germinate seeds at home – you can always water your crops.
Is it possible to grow tomatoes, peppers and eggplants without seedlings – immediately sow on the beds?
Peppers and eggplants cannot be grown without seedlings – they are very thermophilic and ripen for a very long time.
When to plant seedlings in open ground?
Seedlings of cabbage and other cold-resistant vegetables can be planted at the end of April.
Sources of
- Yakubovskaya L.D., Yakubovsky V.N., Rozhkova L.N. ABC of a summer resident // Minsk, OOO “Orakul”, OOO Lazurak, IPKA “Publicity”, 1994 – 415 p.
- Shuin K.A., Zakraevskaya N.K., Ippolitova N.Ya. Garden from spring to autumn // Minsk, Uradzhay, 1990 – 256 p.