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Growing castor beans from seeds allows you to get a beautiful and hardy plant in your summer cottage. Planting a crop is quite simple, but first you should study its features and requirements.
What do castor bean seeds look like?
Castor bean (Ricinus communis) is a plant of the Euphorbia family, reaching 3 m above the ground. It has a powerful and branched root system of the rod type, the stems are straight, hollow from the inside, pink, red, bluish or dark in color. Castor bean leaves are large, multi-lobed on long petioles, green with a burgundy or bronze tint. Small flowers are collected in large brushes at the ends of the shoots or in the axils.
The fruits of the plant look like three-celled red needle cones. They contain oval-shaped seeds, gray or copper-red, variegated. The shell of the grains is smooth and shiny. The seeds are a bit like mites, which is the reason for the name of the plant.
When to sow castor bean seeds for seedlings at home
The timing of planting castor beans for seedlings depends on several factors. It is necessary to take into account, first of all, the region of cultivation of the crop, as well as the lunar phases.
Lunar calendar
It is recommended to sow castor beans with seeds in accordance with the phases of the night star. The most favorable time to perform the procedure is the period of the growing moon. In 2022, it is recommended to plant castor beans:
- in March – from the 3rd to the 17th;
- in April – from the 2nd to the 15th;
- in May – from the 1st to the 15th, as well as the 31st.
Sowing seeds for cultivation during the waning moon should be avoided. It is believed that when planted at this time, any crops develop slowly and reluctantly.
Castor oil contains the alkaloid ricinin and the protein ricin, therefore it belongs to the category of highly poisonous plants.
When to plant castor beans for seedlings in the Moscow region
In the Moscow region and the entire middle lane, castor beans are sown for seedlings in early April. Seedlings can be transferred to the garden in late spring or early June.
When to plant castor beans for seedlings in the Urals
It is recommended to plant castor beans for seedlings with seeds in the Urals at the end of March or early April. But at the same time, you need to keep the culture at home longer than usual – until the beginning of summer. It is allowed to transfer seedlings for growing into the ground only after the air warms up to at least 20 ° C.
When to plant castor beans for seedlings in Siberia
It is necessary to plant castor beans for seedlings in Siberia at a later date. Usually the procedure is carried out only at the end of April. Seedlings are transferred to open ground for further cultivation no earlier than mid-June, so that they do not suffer from recurrent frosts.
How to plant castor bean seeds for seedlings
In order to quickly germinate castor seeds and not lose seedlings even before being transferred to open ground, you must follow the basic rules. It is required not only to observe the optimal terms, but also to pay attention to the selection of containers and substrate.
Do I need to soak castor bean seeds before planting?
Castor seeds have a dense shell. Therefore, before sowing for cultivation, they must be subjected to special treatment:
- Prepare a weak pink solution of potassium permanganate.
- Soak the seeds in the liquid for about 20 minutes.
- Rinse grains in clean water.
- For a few more hours, soak the material in a growth stimulator solution.
Preliminary preparation of castor seeds for planting on seedlings will make the shell softer, and the first shoots will appear faster. If desired, you can also scarify the grains before growing them – lightly rub them with fine sandpaper.
Soil Preparation
To sow castor seeds for seedlings, it is necessary to prepare a nutrient substrate for the culture. It can be made from turf land, peat, humus and sand, taken in equal amounts. It is also allowed to purchase ready-made soil in the store and add a little perlite to it to increase friability.
Before use, a home-made or purchased substrate must be decontaminated from possible microorganisms. The soil intended for growing crops is spilled with boiling water, calcined in the oven, or treated with a solution of any fungicide.
Capacity selection
To plant castor seeds for seedlings, you can take an ordinary plastic or wooden box with a side height of about 10 cm. It is also allowed to use individual peat pots. In the latter case, you do not have to pick. It will be possible to plant seedlings in open ground directly along with the container.
If cultivation is to be carried out in a common box, drainage holes must be made at its bottom without fail. In addition, the container must be disinfected from possible bacteria and viruses with boiling water or a fungicidal solution.
Planting castor beans for seedlings at home
Properly planting castor bean seeds for seedlings is necessary according to a proven scheme. It looks like this:
- The selected container is filled with soil by about 2/3 of the total volume.
- The substrate is poured abundantly with tepid clean water and crushed with a spatula.
- Seeds for cultivation are laid out on the surface at intervals of 2-3 cm.
- Sprinkle the grains on top with a thin layer of dry substrate.
- Spray the soil properly with a spray bottle.
- Cover the container with plastic wrap.
A box of castor seeds is placed in a warm place with moderate lighting.
The cultivation of castor beans from seeds in the first stages is carried out at a temperature of about 23 ° C
Planting seeds in peat tablets
It is allowed to sow castor beans for seedlings in Siberia and other regions, including in peat tablets. In this case, you do not need to prepare soil for the plant – the washers themselves are a nutrient substrate.
The algorithm for planting a crop for subsequent cultivation looks like this:
- Tablets are placed in a plastic container with low sides.
- Pour warm liquid on the bottom of the container so that the washers get wet, but do not disappear completely under water.
- Wait for the tablets to swell and increase in size as they should.
- Place one castor bean seed into the recess in each washer.
At the end of the procedure, the container with the tablets is covered with a film and sent to a warm place. At the first stages of cultivation, the seeds also need to be kept in greenhouse conditions.
Care of seedlings
To grow castor bean seedlings from seeds at home, it is necessary to provide the culture with basic care. In the first weeks after planting, it is only necessary to air the container daily for 20-30 minutes and wash the condensate from the film. When the first shoots appear, the film will need to be removed. At the same time, the container is moved to the lightest window sill for the successful cultivation of seedlings. The temperature in the room is reduced to 15-17 ° C.
Caring for castor beans during cultivation comes down mainly to watering. The soil should not dry out, but it should also not be swamped. Water is applied as needed with a syringe or spray gun, without washing away the soil.
When the seedlings are properly strengthened, they can be fed with a complex preparation containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The concentration of the product should be minimal, an excess of fertilizer does not benefit the crop.
A few weeks after germination, castor beans can be thinned out at home. The weakest shoots in the container are removed, leaving only strong and strong seedlings to grow. Pulling seedlings out of the ground is undesirable; it is better to carefully cut off the extra stems with scissors at the level of the substrate.
Planting seedlings in open ground
Cultivation of castor beans at home is carried out until the weather is warm outside with a temperature of about 20 degrees. Night frosts should finally pass, and the soil should thaw properly.
On the site for growing castor beans, a well-lit, open place is chosen on the south or south-west side. The soil is pre-dug and fertilized with humus and peat to increase nutritional value. Sand can be added to clay soil to increase friability.
Pits for growing seedlings are dug approximately 40-50 cm each. An average of 30 cm of free space is left between individual holes. The scheme for transplanting seedlings into open ground looks like this:
- A small drainage layer is covered at the bottom of the pits and complex minerals are added.
- Seedlings from seeds are pre-moistened properly, and then the seedlings are carefully removed from the common box.
- The sprouts are transferred to the soil, trying to keep the earthen ball at the roots, and set in the center of the holes.
- The remaining voids are covered with a substrate and the plants are abundantly watered with tepid water.
Immediately after planting, castor beans are recommended to be mulched with peat – this will slow down the evaporation of moisture.
If the seeds were sown from the very beginning for cultivation in peat tablets or cups, it is not necessary to remove seedlings from old containers. They are transferred to the recesses in the soil right along with the container.
Castor oil repels flies and mosquitoes, so you can plant it next to the garden or in the immediate vicinity of the windows.
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
Sowing castor beans from seeds at home and then growing the crop rarely causes problems. But sometimes beginners still have difficulties.
Is it possible to deepen castor bean seedlings
Seeds of the crop germinate rather slowly during cultivation, so it is not recommended to bury them strongly when planting. Usually, the grains are laid out on the surface of the substrate or immersed in the soil no more than 1,5 cm. Otherwise, the culture will germinate very slowly due to lack of light and air.
When transferring sprouts to open ground, the stems need to be deepened by 2-3 cm. Seedlings that have stretched and weakened when grown at home can be sunk a little stronger into the soil.
Why seeds don’t germinate
In some cases, castor bean seeds never germinate after sowing. Usually the problem is caused by several reasons:
- low-quality grains – damaged, diseased or too old;
- excessive or insufficient watering;
- too low room temperature;
- too deep planting of seeds.
When grown, castor oil may not sprout if it has not been pre-prepared for it – soaking and scarification.
What to do if the seedlings do not grow
If planting a garden castor palm for seedlings has not been successful and the seeds have not sprouted, you can try to remove the grains from the soil and subject them to soaking and scarification. After that, the material is again placed in the ground. In some cases, the seeds still manage to germinate.
If the castor beans sprouted safely, but then stopped developing or began to wither, you need to pay attention to the conditions. When growing seedlings, it is required to ensure regular but moderate watering, a sufficient amount of light and regular ventilation. If the basic rules of care are violated, the seedlings will not be able to get stronger and will eventually die.
How to harvest castor bean seeds
You can grow castor beans from seeds for seedlings using your own planting material. It is recommended to choose plants for subsequent reproduction in the middle of summer. It is necessary to determine the strongest, healthiest and most spreading bushes with tall peduncles. It is from them that it makes sense to collect planting material.
The fruits of the culture ripen in late August or early September. After the nuts begin to dry out, they will need to be carefully removed from the flowering shoots and laid out to dry in a warm but ventilated room for 2-3 months.
Drying castor seeds is undesirable under the sun – planting material is placed in the shade
At the end of November or December, the seed pods are carefully broken by hand and oval grains are removed from them. The material is placed in a paper bag or in a cardboard box, and then cleaned in a dark, dry place before planting. Seeds remain viable for 3-4 years.
When harvesting planting material, it is necessary to take into account the strong toxicity of castor beans. All work with seeds is carried out only in tight gloves. Keep material intended for cultivation away from medicines, food, spices and seasonings.
Conclusion
Growing castor beans from seeds is a fairly simple task. However, in the process, you need to follow basic rules and provide quality care to the culture.
