Tomato seedlings in 2022

Care for gardeners begins in February. The last month of winter is important for those who grow seedlings. It is still cold and snowing outside, and the sowing work is in full swing in the house. In order for tomato seedlings to succeed, the vegetable grower needs to prepare seeds, soil, containers for planting, and do many more important things.

Growing seedlings of tomatoes according to the lunar calendar

The question of when to sow tomatoes for seedlings begins to worry every housewife at the end of the New Year holidays. The fact is that sowing dates for different regions are different due to the peculiarities of the local climate. However, we can say with confidence that it is necessary to start preparing tomatoes for seedlings in 2022 from February. This winter month is very cold, but the daylight hours are getting longer, and the last weeks are optimal for tomato seedlings.

If earlier our ancestors were engaged in agriculture, adhering to folk signs, then many modern gardeners trust the lunar calendar more. According to an important forecast made by astrologers, housewives determine the date of sowing seeds for tomato seedlings in 2022.

Video about the secrets of growing seedlings:

Choosing tomato seeds for seedlings

Experienced vegetable growers select seed material based on their experience last year growing certain varieties of tomatoes. If growing tomato seedlings is a new business, then, first of all, they give preference to varieties and hybrids adapted to local climatic conditions. Usually such information is displayed on the back of the seed package.

You can grow a good crop of tomatoes at home for a beginner with planting crops that are less demanding to care for. Here it is important to pay attention to the purpose and size of the fruit, the color of the pulp, the height of the plant. Indeterminate tomatoes are best suited for greenhouse cultivation. In the garden, it is better to plant determinate or semi-determinate tomatoes.

The percentage and time of germination of tomato seeds depends on the period, as well as the conditions of their storage. The date of production of seeds can be found on the packaging, but no one knows how they were stored. Because of this, many vegetable growers like to harvest their homemade seeds. They are larger, sprout better, besides they are free.

Preparing tomato seeds for sowing

In order for the seeds to have a high percentage of germination, and the tomato seedlings to be healthy, the grains for sowing must be carefully prepared:

• Helps to ensure a high percentage of germination sorting seeds. You can manually select empty and broken grains, but it is easier to dip them in a jar of warm water. All floating pacifiers are thrown away, and the seeds that have settled to the bottom of the jar are filtered through cheesecloth. So they will go to the sowing.
• Etching tomato seeds is an important process for the destruction of infection on the surface of the grain. A variety of solutions are used, but the easiest way is to place the grains inside a gauze bag and dip in a cool solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour.
• The following preparation process involves soak seeds. For these purposes, it is better to stock up on melt or rain water in advance. First, the grains are immersed for 30 minutes in a jar of water at a temperature of 60^оC to awaken the fetus. Then take water with a temperature of 25^оC, and ordinary cotton wool or a natural cloth with grains inside is immersed in it for a day.
• After soaking, the grains are dried a little, laid out in one layer on a saucer and put in the refrigerator for 48 hours for hardening.

The last stage of preparation involves germination. Tomato seeds are laid out on a plate between two layers of gauze, lightly moistened with water and put in a warm place. Before pecking the embryo, it is necessary to ensure that the tissue is moist, but does not float in water.

Some vegetable growers are negatively put to the preparation process, and sow tomato seeds in the ground dry immediately from the pack. This is a personal matter, everyone has their own secrets of growing tomatoes.

Preparation of soil and containers for planting

It is optimal to plant tomatoes in purchased soil. It is already saturated with all the necessary trace elements. Home soil can be prepared from a mixture of garden soil with peat and humus. For looseness, you can add sawdust. In this case, homemade soil will have to be fed with wood ash, potassium sulfate, urea and superphosphate.

You can plant tomatoes for seedlings in common containers or individual cups. In any case, the container is disinfected with a cool solution of potassium permanganate. Especially well it is necessary to process the inner walls, which will be in contact with the roots of the tomato. If planting tomato seeds for seedlings takes place in separate cups, you still need to prepare boxes for them. So, it will be more convenient to transfer the seedlings and take care of them.

It is important to think over the place where the containers with tomato seedlings will stand. Even for sprouts that have not sprouted from the soil, at least 16 hours of daylight is needed. You may have to take care of the organization of artificial lighting. The temperature in the room with seedlings should not be below 20^оC.

Sowing tomato seeds in the ground

The planting of tomatoes for seedlings begins with filling the prepared containers with soil. The soil is slightly compacted, moistened, and then loosened. If it is planned to sow in common containers, then grooves 1,5 cm deep are cut along the surface of the soil with a row spacing of 4 cm. Tomato grains are laid out at a distance of 2–3 cm from each other, after which they are sprinkled with soil. In cups, the procedure for sowing seeds is similar, only instead of grooves, 3 holes of the same depth are made. Of the sprouted three sprouts, the strongest is left in the future, and the remaining two are removed.

After sowing all the seeds, the soil from above is slightly moistened with water from the sprayer. The top of the container is covered with glass or film, put in a warm place, and wait until the sown tomatoes for seedlings germinate. Remove the shelter after the appearance of all shoots. It is important here for at least 4 days to maintain the same warm temperature in the room with seedlings, otherwise the sprouts will slow down growth.

Feeding tomato seedlings

Seedlings need nutrients to grow well. The first feeding is carried out after the appearance of two full leaves. In total, 3 top dressings must be done before picking, the last of which is performed 2 days before the plant is transplanted into another container. Mineral fertilizers sold in specialized stores are used as nutrients.

For experienced vegetable growers, growing tomato seedlings is a whole science. They are not in a hurry to apply fertilizer according to the schedule, but monitor the condition of the plants. When tomato seedlings show off powerful stems with brightly saturated dark green foliage, they do not feed them. When yellowness appears and the lower leaves fall from the stem, the plants are fed with nitrogen fertilizer.

The purple color of the seedlings indicates the need for phosphorus-containing fertilizers. The condition of the seedling depends on the place of its stay. You can not keep tomato seedlings in a room with artificial lighting constantly on. Plants love day/night balance. In case of excessive illumination, seedlings are fed with preparations containing iron.

Seedling of seedlings

Tomato plants with three full-fledged leaves are allowed for picking. This usually happens 10-15 days after germination. There are many opinions regarding the usefulness and harm of picking, but it must be performed in the following cases:

• when transplanting plants from a common container into cups;
• if desired, choose seedlings with a healthy root system;
• if necessary, stop the growth of tomato seedlings;
• when removing diseased plants.

Two days before picking, the seedlings are watered, plus the last top dressing is made at the same time. With a special spatula or an ordinary spoon, each tomato plant is dug up, and together with a clod of earth they are placed in another container. All voids around the roots are covered with soil so that its upper level is equal to the location of the cotyledon leaves on the stem. The soil inside the container is lightly rammed, after which it is plentifully watered.

Planting seedlings in a permanent place of growth

Tomato seedlings are planted in a permanent place of growth when they reach the age of 40-60 days. During this time, the plant should grow from 7 to 9 full leaves, and the height of the stem will reach 20 cm. Planting in open ground begins when the night temperature is not lower than +12^оC.

A week before the start of planting tomato seedlings, the ground in the garden is disinfected with copper sulphate. The solution is prepared from 1 liter of water with the addition of 1 tbsp. l. dry powder. This volume of liquid is enough to process 1 m² beds. At the same time, organic and mineral fertilizers are applied.

Under each plant in the garden, holes are dug about 30 cm deep and watered abundantly. A tomato seedling is carefully removed from a glass, after which, together with a clod of earth, they are placed in a hole and covered with loose soil. The soil around the plant needs to be compacted a little, then 1 liter of warm water is poured. The next watering of the planted seedlings is carried out after 8 days or as it dries.

Video on how to grow tomato seedlings:

Now you know how to plant tomato seedlings at home, and the lunar calendar will help you determine the timing.