Not only tomato seedlings require hardening before planting. But of all heat-loving crops, it moves to the beds and greenhouse earlier, as soon as the soil temperature allows.
Hardening is necessary so that a plant grown in comfortable conditions can survive possible stress with minimal risks.
Anastasia Kovrizhnykh , an expert of the online publication "BelNovosti", an agronomist and landscape designer, told how to harden tomato seedlings.
Nothing new
There is no need to reinvent the wheel, as everything has already been invented, tested and verified.
What does hardening include?
This is not just a matter of periodically opening and closing the window and then taking the box out onto the balcony.
In addition to changing the temperature, you also need to remember to limit watering.
This way the plant develops strong roots, becomes more resistant to temperature changes, direct sunlight and changes in watering regime.
How to harden
1. You can start after the first full leaves have formed.
To do this, you need to gradually reduce the temperature and regularly ventilate the room (without drafts).
2. At the next stage, the seedlings are transferred to the balcony, where the air temperature should not be higher than +15 degrees during the day and lower than +10 at night.
At this stage, you need to protect the plants from direct sunlight.
3. At the same time, reduce the frequency of watering.
Thanks to this, the growth of green mass slows down, and the plant spends energy on strengthening the root system, due to which it becomes stronger and more resistant to bad weather.
Earlier we talked about whether it is possible to plant peppers twice in the same place .
Expert: Anastasia Kovrizhnykh
