In order to grow healthy and high-quality seedlings, and subsequently get a good harvest of vegetables, it is necessary to follow certain agricultural rules for their cultivation.
Pre-sowing preparation
First, select the low-quality seeds by dipping the tomato seeds in a 5% salt solution and leaving them there for 10 minutes.
The good ones will sink to the bottom, and the dry and unripe ones will float to the top. Then rinse the good seeds and soak them in clean water to swell.
Germination of tomato seeds
To do this, put them in a cloth soaked in water, place them on a saucer, cover with film and transfer to a warm place for 24 hours so that they soak and then hatch. Prepare the soil and immediately sow such seeds and cover with film so that the moisture does not evaporate.
Hardening of tomato seeds
Remove the bag from the solution, wrap it in plastic wrap, move it to a cool place or place it on the refrigerator shelf for 24 hours.
This will harden the seeds well, after which you can immediately sow them in the ground.
Preparing fertile soil for sowing tomato seeds
For this purpose, it is better to use special soil - fertile soil, which consists of peat, turf soil and humus in equal quantities.
Add 10 g of urea, superphosphate and potassium sulfate to a bucket of such a substrate, then heat them for 30 minutes in the oven, set the temperature to about 100 degrees. Take turf soil where a variety of herbs grow.
Coconut substrate also has a good effect, on which seedlings grow strong and vigorous with well-developed roots. Specialized stores offer a large selection of ready-made soil.
In the second half of February and until mid-March, you can sow tomato seeds for seedlings, if you are growing tomatoes in greenhouses.
For open ground in greenhouses, tomato seeds are prepared for sowing already in early March. And if for growing only on a personal plot, then tomato seeds begin to be sown in the second half of March (depending on the region).
Rules for sowing tomato seeds for seedlings
Sow them in wooden boxes, 12 cm high. Fill them with fertile soil, level and compact slightly. Make grooves on the surface at a distance of 5 cm from each other and to a depth of 1 cm, then water them well with water or the solution in which the seeds were soaked before.
Place them in grooves at a distance of 2 cm and sprinkle with soil, then cover with film. Place the box in a well-lit and warm place with a temperature of 25 degrees. The first tomato sprouts can be expected within 7 days.
Creating Lighting for Tomato Seedlings
Tender tomato sprouts need a bright place to grow. In winter, the daylight hours are short, so you need to create additional lighting for at least 13-15 hours a day. In the first few days, when small loops appear, it is worth lighting them for 24 hours a day.
Rules for caring for tomato seedlings
Once the seedlings have fully emerged, move them to a cooler, well-lit place.
During the first 3 weeks, the seedlings grow very slowly, and then within 2-3 weeks they begin to grow rapidly.
At first, keep the room temperature at 17 degrees, then increase it to 19 degrees during the day for the next 3 days, and reduce it to 15 degrees at night.
Proper watering of tomato seedlings
During this period, water and feed the seedlings three times. Water them only with warm and settled water under the roots.
First, water a little, the second time after 7 days together with fertilizing. The third time, water the seedlings a few hours before picking. Then water once every 5 days, and after five leaves appear on the seedlings, water once every 2-3 days.
Feeding seedlings
The first feeding should be done after the appearance of a true leaf. Take 1 teaspoon of "Agricole-Forward" and dilute it in 1 liter of water. This solution strengthens the roots of young plants and improves their growth. The second feeding should be done after the appearance of the third true leaf.
To do this, dilute 1 tbsp. of "Effekton" in 1 liter of water. Perform the third feeding 14 days after the transplant. Dissolve 1 tbsp. of nitrophoska in 10 liters of water and water the seedlings with it, using 0.5 cups for each box.
Picking tomato seedlings
Tomato seedlings need picking, which can restrain strong growth and stretching of seedlings. Ideally, it would be good when each seedling grew in an individual 0.5 l container, plastic cup, pot or peat pot.
Fill the containers with soil and water with a warm solution of potassium permanganate. Plant plants with 3 true leaves in a small pot.
Then keep the seedlings in a room with a temperature of 21 degrees or more for several days. Once they take root, reduce the temperature by 2-3 degrees. On the 21st day, transplant it into a slightly larger container, pinch the main root and water generously with warm water.
Hardening off tomato seedlings
Plant tomato seedlings in the area when there is no threat of frost. This may be the end of April or the beginning of June (depending on the region).
