Planting seedlings in open ground

Stages of preparation

It is necessary to prepare seedlings for transplanting into open ground in 3 stages.

Reduce watering. A couple of weeks before planting, they begin to water it less often.

feed. The nutrient solution is prepared as follows: 1/3 cup of superphosphate is diluted in 10 liters of water and insisted for a day. Then add 1,5 tbsp. tablespoons of potassium sulfate, mix everything well and water the seedlings. And then watered with clean water. This top dressing is given to young plants 10 to 12 days before planting in the garden – it allows them to more easily adapt to coolness.

So that the flowers do not crumble when planting seedlings, it is pre-sprayed with a solution of boric acid (1 g per 1 liter of water).

Harden. The hardening of plants begins to be done gradually (1). As soon as the temperature outside rises above 10 ° C, the seedlings are taken out to the balcony or garden: 3 days – at noon, for a couple of hours, then 3 days – from 9 to 15 hours. And then every day they add an hour. 3 – 4 days before planting, seedlings generally cease to be brought into the room.

Rules of landing

In order for seedlings to take root well, several important points must be observed.

Water. If the plants are planted out of pots, they are moderately watered 6 hours before planting so that the clod of earth is easily removed and does not crumble.

Wait for cloudy weather or evening. Seedlings should not be planted in the heat: it will die or get burned. It should be planted in cloudy weather or in the evening. In the morning it is impossible: chilled stems break easily.

If too cool cloudy days are established for a long time before planting seedlings in open ground, warm the soil by covering it for a week with a black film that will retain heat and prevent excess moisture from passing through.

Bring in organic. Before planting in the holes or furrows, it is useful to add 1 cup of humus or compost (2).

Speed ​​up. If seedlings are transplanted from a common box, its roots are partially exposed. Therefore, from the moment when it was taken out of the ground, and before landing, no more than 1 hour should pass.

Compact the soil well. Hollows should not be left near the roots, the ground after planting the seedlings must be well tamped.

Liberally pour. Water well so that the seedlings have enough water for a week. For tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cabbage, pumpkins and zucchini – about 1,5 liters per plant, for other vegetables – 1 liter.

Mulch. After planting, the holes and beds must be mulched with humus, compost, hay or grass (it is important that it is young, without seeds). Such a mulch will not allow moisture to evaporate quickly and protect the soil from overheating in the heat.

When to land

In open ground, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, squash are planted from May 25 to June 5, under cover – in the first decade of May. But this is if frosts below -2 ° C are not promised, then the dates are shifted a week later. Until the average daily temperature is above 15 ° C, the plants should be covered with a film at night. But it cannot be left closed for the day. If you come to the country only for the weekend, cover the plants with a non-woven fabric.

At what distance to plant seedlings

In order for the seedlings to develop normally without shading each other, they have enough water and nutrition, it is important to follow the planting patterns (the first 2 digits are the distance between plants, the last one is between rows).

Tomatoes:

• tall – 50 – 60 x 70 cm;
• medium height – 45 – 55 x 60 cm;
• undersized – 35 – 40 x 40 cm.

Peppers:

• tall – 50 – 60 x 70 cm;
• medium height – 40 – 45 x 60 cm;
• undersized – 30 – 35 x 50 cm.

Eggplant:

• tall – 45 – 50 x 70 cm;
• medium height – 40 – 45 x 65 cm;
• undersized – 35 – 40 x 60 cm.

Cabbage:

• early and mid-season varieties – 50 – 55 x 60 cm;
• late – 60 – 70 x 60 cm.

Cucumbers:

• vigorous varieties and hybrids – 30 – 35 x 90 cm;
• weakly branched – 30 – 35 x 50 cm in a checkerboard pattern.

The hole should be 2 – 3 cm wider than the clod of earth (pot) in which the plant is planted.

How deep to plant seedlings

It is equally important to properly deepen the seedlings into the soil:

• tomatoes and cabbage – up to the first true leaf (cotyledon leaves are cut off);
• eggplant – 1 cm deeper than in a pot;
• peppers – to the level at which the plant was in a pot;
• cucumbers – like peppers, but then they are slightly spudded: the ground around the stem should be about 1 cm above the surface of the bed.

Do not damage the roots of the seedlings, otherwise there will be a delay in the development of plants (3).

Popular questions and answers

We talked about planting seedlings in open ground with agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mikhailova.

Sources of

1. Pantielev Ya.Kh. ABC vegetable grower // M .: Kolos, 1992 – 383 p.
2. Yakubovskaya L.D., Yakubovsky V.N., Rozhkova L.N. ABC of a summer resident // Minsk, OOO “Orakul”, OOO Lazurak, IPKA “Publicity”, 1994 – 415 p.
3. Shuin K.A., Zakraevskaya N.K., Ippolitova N.Ya. Garden from spring to autumn // Minsk, Uradzhay, 1990 – 256 p.