Tomato seedlings at home

Growing tomato seedlings at home is sometimes more effective than buying ready-made seedlings. The owner, who grows tomatoes, from seed to harvest, is one hundred percent sure of their quality and compliance with the declared variety. While seedling sellers are often dishonest: they use cheaper seed, feed seedlings with growth stimulants and nitrogen fertilizers to speed up its development and improve its presentation.

How to sow tomato seedlings and not make mistakes, this article will tell.

When to plant tomatoes

The timing of sowing seeds of tomatoes, in many respects, depends on where the seedlings will be planted subsequently. In central Our Country, gardeners follow the following seeding scheme:

• mid-late February – when the tomatoes are planted in the greenhouse;
• March 1-20 – if seedlings are transferred to beds with temporary shelter;
• middle or end of March – for tomatoes in open garden plots without film and agrofiber shelter.

The timing of sowing seeds of tomatoes must be adjusted depending on the climatic characteristics of the region. On average, we can say that in the south of the country all dates are postponed a week earlier, and in the northern regions, tomatoes need to be sown 7-10 days later than the above dates.

Stages of growing seedlings at home

In order for do-it-yourself tomato seedlings to be strong and strong, you must follow some rules, as well as follow these steps in sequence:

1. Selection of seeds and varieties of tomatoes.
2. Preparation of seed material for sowing.
3. Preparation of soil and containers for seedlings of tomatoes.
4. Sowing seeds in prepared soil.
5. Landing care.
6. Seedling diving.
7. Growing and preparing tomatoes for transfer to a permanent place.

Tomato seedlings at home is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. With the right approach, even a novice gardener will cope with this task.

Selection of seeds and varieties of tomatoes

A tomato grown on its own plot can become a source of seed material only if:

• the fruit is healthy and plucked from the bush without any signs of disease;
• the tomato fully ripened on the bush, and did not ripen in an already plucked form;
• the tomato variety does not belong to the hybrid ones, only varietal tomatoes carry genetic information to the next generations.

That is, the seeds extracted from last year’s tomato crop are completely unsuitable for sowing seedlings – their germination will be minimal. The same fate awaits seeds that are four or more years old. Optimally suitable for seedlings are seeds two to three years old.

The tomato variety must meet the needs and needs of the gardener, as well as be suitable for the climatic features of the region in which the site is located. In addition, it is not recommended to plant tall indeterminate tomatoes in open beds – their stems can easily break under the influence of wind or rain. Such varieties are also planted in greenhouses with caution – the height of the bush should not exceed the size of the greenhouse.

Soil preparation for seedlings

First of all, the gardener should take care of preparing the soil for future seedlings. Of course, ready-made substrates, which are sold in specialized stores, are ideal for these purposes. However, finding such a soil mixture is quite difficult, and it is not cheap.

A more affordable way is to mix the soil for tomato seedlings by hand. To do this, they take soddy land from a site on which grass has grown for several years (the top layer of garden soil is suitable), humus and peat or coarse-grained river sand. All this is mixed in equal proportions and “filled” with a couple of tablespoons of wood ash.

The soil needs to be slightly moistened and filled with seedling containers with this mixture. The soil is slightly compacted and shallow (1-1,5 cm) grooves are made in it at a distance of about five centimeters from each other.

As containers for tomato seedlings, any container that is on the farm is suitable. The ideal depth of the container is 12-15 cm – the seedlings should have enough sunlight.

When the containers are filled with soil, you can begin to prepare the seeds themselves.

How to prepare tomato seeds for sowing seedlings

Purchased tomato seeds, as a rule, go through all stages of preparation and are sold completely ready for sowing.

If the seed material was collected with his own hands from his own beds, then it should be carefully prepared for planting. This is done in several steps:

• first of all, it is necessary to reject unsuitable seed material. To do this, the seeds are poured onto the table and carefully examined – they should be about the same size, have a uniform shade and even edges.
• Empty tomato seeds can be detected with a strong saline solution. To do this, they are placed in a container of salt water and left for a few minutes. Those seeds that float on the surface are removed with a spoon and thrown away – they are unsuitable for planting. You can sow only those seeds that have sunk to the bottom of the jar.
• Now the seeds need to be disinfected, this is done in order to protect seedlings and adult tomatoes from dangerous diseases such as late blight, verticillium and others. As a disinfectant, each gardener uses different compounds: someone uses a solution of manganese, or a weak solution of iodine. The easiest way is to immerse tomato seeds for a couple of hours in melted water.
• You can feed the seeds with useful substances by wrapping them in linen bags and placing them in a nutrient solution for a day. It can be any purchased mixture for indoor flowers (such as “Bud”) or a special composition for seedlings.

  

• When the seeds are disinfected and nourished, they can be placed on a damp cloth and put away in a warm place for a day or two. During this time, the seeds will swell and be completely ready for planting in the soil. You can wait a couple more days, and then the seeds will hatch, which will further speed up the process of the appearance of the first seedlings of tomatoes. However, you need to be extremely careful with hatched seeds – their tender sprouts break off very easily, it is best to transfer them to seedling containers with tweezers.
• The process of hardening tomato seeds improves the survival rate of seedlings in a new place several times, because plants developed from hardened seeds tolerate acclimatization, temperature changes, jumps in night and day temperatures much better. Harden off swollen or hatched seeds. To do this, they are carefully wrapped in a damp cloth, and wrapped with plastic wrap on top. Then they put such “bundles” in the refrigerator or other cool place (basement, veranda, balcony).

Now the tomato seeds are completely ready for planting in the soil.

It is not at all necessary to perform all these actions on tomato seeds; dry seeds will also germinate, and they will make good seedlings.

Planting seeds and caring for tomato seedlings

Germinated or dry seeds are placed in grooves that are made in advance in moist tomato soil. The distance between the seeds should be about two centimeters. After that, the seeds are sprinkled with a thin layer of dry soil, it is not necessary to water the ground.

Boxes or pots with tomato seeds are placed in a warm place and covered with foil. In this state, the seedlings are about a week or ten days. When the first shoots appear – loops, the film must be removed, and the boxes placed on a well-lit windowsill.

In the following weeks, tomato seedlings need 13-15 hours of daylight. Therefore, if there is not enough sunlight, additional artificial lighting must be used.

Watering young seedlings, on which the first true leaf did not appear, is carried out carefully. If the soil in boxes and pots with tomatoes is not very dry, it is better not to water the seedlings at this stage at all. When watering cannot be avoided, it is better to use a spray gun or lightly spray the soil in the boxes with your hands.

The water temperature for watering tomatoes should be about 20 degrees, it is better to use boiled or melted water.

Tomato dive

Two or three leaves for tomato seedlings is a reason for her dive. Many gardeners try to avoid this stage, as tomatoes do not tolerate transplanting well, their roots are too tender. Probably, for beginners, such measures are justified – it is better to immediately plant the seeds in disposable individual containers (such as peat half-liter glasses) so as not to risk the plants.

It is more correct, from the point of view of agricultural technology, to still dive tomatoes. After all, this process is a kind of “training” before landing in the ground or greenhouse. In addition, the height of the seedlings is regulated in this way – too elongated plants are dug deeper, thereby making the seedlings stronger.

Before diving, the seedlings are abundantly watered with warm water, and a few days before that, the tomatoes are fertilized for the first time. Seedlings are transferred very carefully, trying not to break the roots and stems. Pots for tomatoes should be at least 10 cm in diameter – good roots can form in such containers.

Hardening off tomato seedlings

Before transferring tomatoes to a permanent place (in a greenhouse or in a garden), the plants must be hardened off. Room temperature for seedlings is 22-26 degrees during the day and about 16 degrees at night. While on the beds of tomatoes a lower temperature awaits – in May, when seedlings are planted, the weather is still quite unstable.

A tomato grown indoors needs to be gradually acclimatized to outdoor or greenhouse conditions. To do this, the air is gradually cooled, each day lowering the temperature in the room by half to one degree. To do this, you can slightly open the window, but do not allow drafts and wind. After a few days, you can take the boxes outside, starting from 15 minutes and gradually increasing the time.

You need to start hardening two weeks before transplanting tomatoes. The day before, the seedlings are taken out into the street for the whole day and night.

How to determine the readiness of tomato seedlings for transplantation

Tomatoes are ready to be transferred to a permanent place when:

• the seedling stem grows by 15-30 cm (depending on the variety);
• the barrel is powerful, its diameter is approximately equal to the diameter of a pencil;
• 6-7 leaves are formed on each bush;
• plants have buds and one or two inflorescences;
• weather conditions allow you to move the plants to a permanent place.

Growing tomato seedlings at home gives good results: the gardener can be sure of the quality of the seed material, the conformity of the tomato variety, the seeds go through all the necessary stages of processing and preparation, the seedlings are hardened and completely ready for planting.