When to plant tomatoes in a greenhouse in Siberia

Many people think that fresh tomatoes in Siberia are exotic. However, modern agricultural technology allows you to grow tomatoes even in such harsh climatic conditions and get good yields. Of course, planting a tomato in the northern regions has its own characteristics, the gardener must know a number of rules and clearly follow the instructions for growing tomatoes in Siberia. But in the end, the agrarian will receive a decent crop of tomatoes, which can be in no way inferior in quality and quantity to the harvest of a summer resident from central Our Country.

This article will be devoted to the rules for growing tomatoes in cold climates: choosing a variety, preparing seedlings, planting methods in a greenhouse, as well as the timing in which tomato seedlings should be planted in the ground.

How to choose tomatoes for Siberia

Today, it is not difficult to choose a variety of tomatoes suitable for each region – a lot of varieties and varieties of tomatoes have been selected, specially acclimatized for specific weather conditions.

Seeds of special Siberian varieties cost a lot, so you need to handle planting material carefully and skillfully. All in all, the requirements for tomatoes for Siberia are as follows:

1. Early maturity. It is better to choose ultra-early or super-early tomato varieties, but by no means late-ripening tomatoes with a long growing season. The fact is that summer in the northern regions comes very late – frosts do not recede for a long time, and autumn, in turn, begins too early – in September there may already be full-fledged frosts. Not all tomato varieties have such short growing seasons; only very early tomato varieties can ripen in a short summer.
2. Resistance to low temperatures should also be present in the list of qualities of the Siberian tomato, because the probability of frosts (both spring and autumn) is very high.
3. Ability to tolerate high temperatures. Siberia is a region with huge temperature fluctuations: in summer it can be up to 40 degrees Celsius, and in winter up to -40 – frost, moreover, night temperatures often differ greatly from daytime temperatures – 10 and 40 degrees, respectively. Not all tomato varieties are able to withstand such temperature fluctuations, so you need to choose a tomato variety that is not only resistant to cold, but also able to withstand heat.
4. High yield is also one of the main requirements for Siberian varieties of tomatoes. In this case, it is better to focus on quality rather than quantity: it will be easier for a gardener to build a small greenhouse and plant a couple of dozen tomato bushes there than to provide the necessary conditions for a whole tomato plantation.
5. The purpose of the fruits it’s also better to determine right away: does the summer resident need tomatoes for canning, or does he plan to make juice from tomatoes, or does the family just need fresh vegetables in the summer. Since most varieties of tomato have a universal purpose, it is better to choose one of them so that there are no surprises later.

It is also worth paying attention to the method of tomato pollination – self-pollinated tomatoes are most suitable for greenhouses, which do not need insects or human help.

Where are Siberian tomatoes grown?

Oddly enough, the climate in different parts of Siberia can differ significantly: if summer residents in Miusinsk grow vegetables right on their plots, then in cold Norilsk, not every greenhouse can provide a gardener with a good harvest of heat-loving tomatoes.

So, an analysis of the weather conditions of a particular region will help determine the method of growing tomatoes in Siberia. If stable heat on the site begins already in mid-May, and summer lasts until mid-September, then it is quite possible to plant tomato seedlings directly on the beds. Of course, in the first weeks after planting, you will have to monitor night temperatures and, probably, cover the seedlings with foil.

But in more northern regions, where heat comes only in June, and already in August heavy rains and morning fogs begin, tender tomatoes simply will not survive in the open field: the fruits will not have time to ripen, the plants will face late blight and rot. There is only one way out – to plant tomato seedlings in greenhouses or greenhouses.

As you know, greenhouses are also different:

• film;
• glass;
• polycarbonate;
• built on a foundation or simply on the ground;
• ground heating or air heating.

All these factors are important, but each gardener must independently choose the appropriate type of greenhouse, taking into account the climate in his area, the location of the site (if it is a lowland, for example, then the threat of frost and fog is more significant) and, of course, their financial capabilities.

Undoubtedly, cultivation of tomatoes in protected ground (in greenhouses) is more productive. This way you can avoid a lot of surprises and preserve the tomato crop as much as possible. That is why most Siberian gardeners prefer to plant tomato seedlings in greenhouses or small hotbeds: this is done by those who grow tomatoes only for themselves, and those who sell vegetables.

When to plant tomatoes in a greenhouse in Siberia

Unfortunately, there is no clear date for planting tomatoes in protected ground. You can determine the time for planting a tomato, taking into account a number of factors, such as:

• weather;
• climate observations in previous years;
• tomato variety;
• the recommended planting dates indicated on the bag of seeds;
• the state of seedlings at a certain moment;
• soil temperature in the greenhouse.

In general, only one thing can be said – if the temperature of the soil in which the tomatoes are planted is kept below 15 degrees, the plants will not develop. Simply put, a gardener can plant tomato seedlings earlier, but this will not give any results if the ground is still too cold – he will not get an early tomato harvest.

How to warm the ground for tomatoes

It turns out that the main task of summer residents of Siberia is to provide seedlings with warm soil as early as possible. This can be done in many ways, the most common methods today are:

1. Artificial heating of the soil with the help of energy carriers: electric shadows located underground, a pipeline with hot water and other methods. Such methods are very effective, but they require the use of energy resources, and today such pleasure is quite expensive.
2. A more economical way is to heat the soil with the help of organic substances. In practice, it looks like this: the soil is removed from the garden and organic matter, such as compost, straw, cow dung, and humus, is placed at the bottom of the resulting trench. The main condition is that the organic matter is in a state of decay. Then the fermentation process will contribute to the release of heat, which is required to heat the earth in the garden. From above, rotting organic matter must be covered with a thick layer of soil, otherwise the tomatoes will simply burn alive.

There are several ways to raise a bed with tomatoes, most often gardeners use one of the methods such as:

• planting tomato seedlings in wooden boxes. Such a box must be prepared in the fall, stock up on the necessary amount of nutrient soil for the required volume, dig the soil and fertilize it. And in the spring, the earth is disinfected, loosened and removed from the boxes. Instead of soil, decaying organic matter (compost, humus or manure) is placed at the bottom of the tank, it is well rammed and covered with a thick layer of earth from above. Now you can plant seedlings – the roots of the tomato will be warm enough while the organic material rots and decomposes.

  

• High beds can also be a solution for those regions where the threat of frost lasts until June.

  

  To build such a bed, you will need an additional substrate for tomatoes. The dry substrate must be poured into a mound on the main bed, the height of the embankment is approximately 15-20 cm. Tomato seedlings must be planted in this bulk soil, as they grow, the roots of the tomatoes will still sprout on the main bed, and while the tomato plants are young, they will be warm and comfortable in the embankment.

These are far from all methods, many summer residents use planting tomatoes in tubs or large pots, buckets, someone successfully uses bags with a special nutrient mixture for this, there are also methods for growing vegetables in water with dissolved fertilizers.

Secrets of Siberian gardeners

In addition to heating the land in the greenhouse, summer residents and gardeners in Siberia know a few more tricks to help them grow a good tomato crop:

1. Use for sowing only prepared and hardened seeds. You can harden tomato seeds in a conventional refrigerator, but before that they must go through several stages. First of all, the planting material is placed in warm water for 10-12 hours, so that the water temperature does not drop, you can use a thermos. Then the tomato seeds are washed with cool water and dipped in a solution of potassium permanganate for disinfection for half an hour. Tomato seeds can be fed with a solution of wood ash, sodium humate or nitrophoska. After that, they need to be put on a damp cloth and placed in a warm place. When the first seed hatches, put the saucer with tomato seeds in the refrigerator (it is better to use the zero chamber). Here they are hardened for two to three days. Only after that, tomato seeds can be sown on seedlings.

   

2. Siberians grow tomato seedlings in low boxes, the soil layer in which is no more than three centimeters. This is necessary so that the tomato seedlings have a well-branched root system, and do not go deep into the beds. This is due to the fact that at depth the earth warms up for a very long time, while on the surface the soil, even in Siberia, will become quite warm already in May.
3. During a dive, the roots of tomato seedlings need to be pinched. Gardeners at this stage remove half of the central root, which can be easily recognized, since it is the longest. It also promotes branching of the tomato root system, which allows seedlings to be planted earlier.
4. Tomato seeds are sown for seedlings in late March or early Aprilso that the seedlings have time to gain sufficient mass and not stretch out too much.

   

5. Planting tomatoes, even in open ground, even in a greenhouse, summer residents of Siberia try to choose only low-growing varieties, as they are more resistant to low temperatures, and at the same time able to survive extreme heat. Indeterminate tomato varieties are more demanding and tender, they need stable heat, and besides, such bushes will have to be constantly stepsoned and tied up.
6. During the period of fog (in most of Siberia, they begin in August) tomatoes planted in open ground must be protected at least from above. To do this, beds with tomatoes are covered with a polyethylene canopy.
7. Tomato greenhouses can be temporary, as the seedlings grow and the likelihood of frost decreases, the side parts of the greenhouse can be dismantled or all windows and doors in the greenhouse can be opened. This measure is necessary for maximum ventilation of plants, since greenhouse tomatoes in Siberia often suffer from late blight, After all, it is quite difficult to adjust the temperature and humidity in these conditions.
8. For normal development, tomatoes need regular watering and repeated fertilizer.. The first time you need to water and feed seedlings no earlier than 10 days after transplantation. After that, watering is repeated as the soil dries up, and tomatoes are fed at each stage of their development: during the period of growing green mass, during the flowering period and at the stage of fruit ripening. You can use only organic fertilizers for tomatoes (manure, chicken manure, humus).

   

9. For the fruits to ripen no more than seven ovaries should be left on each tomato bush. The remaining ovaries are simply removed by pinching the shoots.
10. If frost or late blight does not allow the fruits to ripen, large and medium tomatoes can be picked green and put in a warm and lit place. There, the tomatoes will calmly ripen within 1-2 weeks.

Conclusions

There are no exact recommendations in determining the date of planting tomatoes in Siberia. The gardener must independently analyze such important factors as the weather, the characteristics of the region, the location of the site, the type of greenhouse, the method of growing tomatoes and their variety. One thing is for sure – tomato seedlings should be as prepared as possible for the harsh features of the north, so it needs to be hardened and treated with fungicidal preparations at all stages of development.