How to grow seedlings - tips and secrets

Summer residents are rubbing their hands with excitement, the most fascinating is starting the planting of seedlings. It is in the frosty February and deceptively warm March days that the foundation of the summer harvest is laid. The fans of the beds have their own rules and their secrets.

My neighbor is a sacred act that completely trusts her husband. And he acts simply: a good land harvested from the summer is laid out on the cup-shaped cups and with a light movement of the finger he deepens the seed of the future pepper or tomato into the ground. No soaks and seedings are used by the neighbors. Her husband, apparently, is an easy hand, so the harvest is always excellent.

In the old-fashioned way

My mother, on the contrary, always 3-4 hours before planting, withstands the seeds in a growth stimulator - a few drops per half a glass of water. The sister always throws the seeds into the water and looks: which ones come up - they are rejected.

I plant seedlings in circumcised rectangular milk bags, they are very compact on the windowsill. I tried to grow seedlings in a plastic bottle, cut in half along the entire length. On one of the halves laid about ten layers of napkins. She spread the seeds from above, watered them. The seeds are slightly pressed down, so that they are in tight contact with the paper. Covered the second half of the cut bottle, this design was placed in a cellophane bag. It turned out a mini-greenhouse. Even watering is often not required, the condensation forms in the greenhouse. First, the seedlings had strong roots, and then it intensively went up.

Seedling paper bed

Squash, pumpkin and squash are grown in paper. First I soak the seeds for several days. Then I spread them on a wet napkin or toilet paper. I put the paper in several layers, then I get a kind of "bed". I cover the seedlings with polyethylene. It is important that there is heat and the paper is always moist. As soon as sprouts appeared, I put seedlings on the window, in the sun. But I am growing the "paper" seedlings closer to May, so that the seedlings can be planted in the real land as soon as possible.

Eggshell

Sometimes, from greed, I will pour too many seeds, but I do not have enough space under the container. Then I put the "extra" seeds in the egg shell. I always have

there is a small margin. I pre-mine it, land, and "ass" neatly pierce an awl or carnation. I lay out the shell on egg pans, pour a little ground into the halves, then 1-2 seeds, again sprinkle with a centimeter layer of earth. It is also important to monitor the humidity. When the seedlings are planted in the open ground, I do not remove it from the shell, but just squeeze it to crack, and lower it into the hole. Eggshell is also an additional fertilizing for plants.

Seedlings on hydrogel

Sprouts of cabbage, celery, beans, leeks are grown with hydrogel. This is the way to cleanse, because there is no dirt from the ground. In the container I fall asleep pellets of gel and I fill in with a lot of boiled water of room temperature. I pre-add a few drops of complex fertilizer to the water. Through 6-8, a transparent soft mushy mass is obtained. I mix the seeds with the hydrogel, so that they are evenly distributed and reach the required depth. This method does not even require watering. Very quickly, the first shoots appear in a few days.

Bunching method

I cut the plastic film into strips about 10 cm long. I moisten the toilet paper and put it on the film. I spread the seeds in 2-3 rows. Again, cover with toilet paper again, and another top layer is a film. Then I carefully fold the paper into a roll and put it in a glass of water. After a while, a green bouquet grows. When I unfold it, you can immediately see which sprouts are strong and which are so-so. I plant in the ground with paper. But I recommend this method as fun for children. On an industrial scale, it is not suitable.

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Read also: 2 very good articles about growing seedlings Part 1 и Part 2

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When to Plant Seedlings

When to plant vegetable crops on seedlings, can you calculate the exact time frame?

It is possible and even necessary. Terms of sowing depend on the date of landing in the ground, from the region where you live, from the manufacturer, from the vagaries of nature. In addition, you will have to be a bit of a mathematician.

In January, I went to a neighbor, and next to the New Year tree is a tomato forest. She planted seedlings in December, she said, she was late last year, she decided not to repeat the mistake. Naturally, by May the tomatoes were dead, old and withered. She had to buy young seedlings at the market. Even experienced summer residents make mistakes in the calculations. But this business is not very difficult.

I calculate so. Typically, the seedlings are planted in the open ground to 10 June (in the greenhouse to 10-15 May). Now you need to know the optimal age of seedlings, ready for planting. Each culture has its own.

Ideal age for planting seedlings

Peppers and aubergines.

Seedlings age is 50-60 days, from sowing to seedlings - about 14 days. Sowing - after March 10.

Tomatoes.

Seedlings age is 50-60 days, from sowing to seedlings - about a week. Sowing is the first week of April.

Celery.

Age - 60-70 days, from sowing to seedlings - up to 15 days. Sowing - after February 25th.

Cucumbers, pumpkin, watermelons.

Age - 20-25 days, from sowing to seedlings - 3 days. Sowing no earlier than April 25th.

Cabbage.

Age - 45 days, onions and leeks - 50-60 days, from sowing to seedlings about 5 days. Sowing - at the end of April.

Strawberries.

Age - 60-70 days.

Onion black and leek.

Seedlings are up to 50 days old. Sowing - after March 15.

Lettuce salad. Seedlings are up to 40 days old, from sowing to seedlings - 4 days. Sowing - after April 25th.

And now from calculations to practice.

For example, let's take tomato seedlings, I plant it in open ground on June 10, from this date I postpone the optimal seedling age (for tomatoes it is 50-60 days) and still take time from sowing until emergence, for example, 20 days. It turns out: June 10 - 60 days - 20 days = March 20.

Thus, I can sow seedlings in the twentieth of March. And I do such a calculation with every culture. Another example with celery. I land him on May 25th. The optimal age of celery seedlings is 70 days and 15 days - this is the time before seedlings appear. It turns out the following calculation: May 25 - 70 days -15 days = February 25 (we plant seedlings).

Of course, this is an approximate scheme, but it helps me a lot. A lot of nuances. My own seeds are growing faster than store seeds. Once she planted the seeds of expensive imported tomatoes and was so angry! Already all the terms have passed, but there are no sprouts. We went up a week later. I was then explained why it happened. It turns out that own seeds have 5-6% moisture, and some firms specifically dry the seeds specifically to increase the shelf life, their moisture content is only about 2%. Therefore, you need a lot of patience to wait for the seed to wake up. But this does not affect the harvest.

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See also:  Seedlings of freecia strawberries - how to grow?

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Pumpkin - a zone of special attention

These cultures grow very quickly, grow them immediately in peat pots, and then they are planted in open ground. And I try not to keep on the windowsill longer than the 3-4 leaf will appear. Pumpkin is very early, the seedlings are ready for planting at the age of 20-25 days, so, using the calculations, I plant it 10-20 April.

The main thing is not to hurry up

"Planting illness" and does not pass me by. Already in February I really want to tinker in the ground. Once planted tomatoes a month ahead of schedule, as a result, the plants suffered, and there was no result. There are two cultures that are not very afraid of overgrowing - this is celery and pepper. According to experience, it’s better to plant it later, the plants will quickly catch up. Once I didn’t have time to plant peppers, according to calculations I always plant them in mid-March, planted a month later - and what do you think: there was no difference with the neighboring March ones!

8 ways to protect seedlings from black stalk

Fungi of black leg in the soil is always, they are microscopic, you can not see with the naked eye. But the first signs of defeat are immediately noticeable: in young seedlings, the place of root transfer to the stem first turns black, and then the young seedlings fall like decorticated. It is impossible to cure them, but to prevent the disease is in our power.

Planted seeds of pepper bitter in March, the sprouts rose together, all plump, strong. A week later, I noticed that the section of the stem above the ground had become thin and transparent until it turned into a thread. A week later, all the seedlings were lying on their sides, their black leg was knocked down. That year I was left without peppers. But the enemy studied thoroughly.

Forewarned-read, armed

I noticed that sometimes the black leg attacks the seedlings, and sometimes, uh, has flown by. Is it really all about luck? Sado-water science is accurate, there is no magic. So I began to reason in order.

Net capacity

I keep containers for seedlings under the bathroom, I confess, they are not always clean. At the end of the season, I simply shake out the old earth, and in the spring I fill the container with fresh. But after all, there were clumps of old soil on the walls, it is not even frozen, it contains a lot of pests. Here is the first cause of the disease. Therefore, now before planting the container is always mine in soapy water.

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Reference by topic: Sowing seeds for seedlings - timing (table)

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Proven earth

I fill the containers with earth. And where is she from? Like many summer residents, I collect it from the greenhouse, where it is fat and fertilized. And as a free application a complete set of pathogens. Buying ready ground in the store is also not an ideal option. Manufacturers cunning and bring land from the same greenhouses, only industrial ones. So now I took the rule: the soil either take the frozen, or steamed (if a small amount, then in the microwave). And that the earth after this procedure was not dead, I spill it with a preparation containing biohumus. A week after this, the soil stands and is absorbed by vitamins.

More air

The soil must be loose and breathable. Because the black leg loves dense soils, where land without air quickly soups. The discovery of the last two years is a coconut substrate. This is not soil, but a substrate, therefore, there are simply no pests like a black leg in it, but the soil is friable, seedlings grow beautifully.

Seedling of seedlings

Post-lighting is a must. The black leg, as a rule, does not affect healthy seedlings, but what is health when the shoots are weak and pale. The tissues of such elongated stems are friable, delicate and very vulnerable. In February, and even in March there are such gloomy days that you can mix up day and night. Therefore, for several hours a day I turn on the lamp.

Do not thicken seedlings

Previously, seeds sowed very densely, especially small ones. There were a lot of shoots, competition among seedlings is high. The air inside stagnated. If any plant gets sick, then the virus quickly spreads to the neighbor. Drove everything. Now I take containers with cells, in each grow two or three seedlings. And if I put it in one box, it's either dive early or thin out.

Ventilate

Gentle sprouts are afraid of drafts, but this does not mean that they do not need to be ventilated. Not that I opened the window and left. I open it for 10-15 minutes, and if for an hour, I remove the boxes from the window. The earthen room cools down very quickly, and the moist, damp earth is a good breeding ground for viruses.

The main thing is to keep a balance: neither hot nor cold.

Do not fill

I water so that the water does not pour on the tray. It is better rarely, but abundantly, than often and gradually. Then the surface dries quickly.

Deoxidize

The soil for seedlings should not be acidic. Therefore, I add ash or dolomite flour to it. I sprinkle sand on top of the ground - this is a folk remedy for fighting the black leg. Its essence is that moisture at the root neck does not linger. You can sprinkle with ash or activated carbon, powdered.

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See also: Growing tomato seedlings in the pit

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How to curb seedlings, overgrown?

The most common mistake is to plant tomato seedlings in February. Well, still a couple of weeks to suffer! After all, tomatoes love warmth and light. And where to get it, if it is cloudy on the street, even the snow has not come down. On the windowsill, the plant experiences stress, and we will experience it in the fall, when we do not find the crop. Maybe let's not rush?

I have three windows in my apartment, two of them light. On one window is placed about 25 bushes of tomatoes; if you set the shelf in the middle and put them in two rows, you get about 50 bushes.

Greed

Sometimes brings greed: this is thick, the shoots are amicable, everyone is stretching towards the light, a sheet of one covers the sheet of another. And it's a pity to lose it. Of course, such will grow, but the fruits will be like seedlings: stunted and small. Therefore, the last time I leave the seedlings exactly as much as fit, and not one more. I follow the rule: for seedlings of the age of 45 days, the living space of 10x 10 is needed.

Early sowing

You always want to get the crop early, that’s the seedlings were planted early, it happened in February. It seems that everything is logical: I planted it earlier, ate it earlier, but it turned out the other way around. For plants, the main thing is light. But it is not enough. Then, in the greenhouse, seedlings spend their energy recovering. An early harvest does not work. Now I plant seedlings a month later, somewhere in mid-March, or even in early April. She does not outgrow and sprightly goes to the country.

Excessive care

But even if plantings are rare and the sun is enough, with early sowing another problem lies in wait - the rooms are very dry and hot. Had to water every day. And moisture stimulates growth. I read a lot of literature, and everywhere they advise, while the seedlings are small, to keep it at a temperature of about 20 °, and when it gets stronger, then lower the temperature.

When the seedlings become thin and pale, then the natural reaction is to feed it. I start fertilizing with nitrogen. The situation seems to be getting better, the stalk is getting thicker, but the upper small leaves are twisting. If you continue in the same vein, then the whole top will be hardened, although it is all green and cheerful. This is a sure sign of nitrogen overfeeding. And this tomato will not add health.

What to do?

But if the tomatoes are still stretched, then something must be done

First, I reduce the temperature. This immediately inhibits growth.

Secondly, the tomato has one remarkable feature. If you look at the stalk of the plant, you can see a lot of points-hillocks.

It is the embryo of the roots, the plant itself tells us that it is worth drowning it, how it will grow new roots. With peppers and eggplants, this is not allowed. I take a high plastic bottle and transplant the plants, deepening the stems about 10-15 cm. After transplanting I water, I add a biofungicide to the water so that the disturbed roots do not get sick.

If before landing in the open ground is still far away, then still pinch and the crown. But not the tip, but to the second pair of lower leaves.

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See also:So that the cucumber seedlings are not stretched

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Planting lying overgrown seedlings

From one to two!

If the tomatoes are very stretched, then divide the stem into two equal parts. I take the razor in my hands, count the bottom of 5 leaves and cut it off. I place the crown in a jar of water. Water I prepare specially. 10 g superphosphate pour 100 ml of hot water, top up to 1 l and wait for the fertilizer to dissolve. 50 ml of this solution add to 1 l of water and put tomatoes in this water. A week later, the crowns grow their roots, new seedlings are planted in separate pots.

And with the bottom part I do so. Soon new shoots (stepchildren) will appear from the sinuses of the lower leaves. I wait, when they reach 5 cm, then I leave only the top two stepson, and delete the lower shoots.

If by all truths and crooks it was possible to hold seedlings-overgrown to dacha, then when planting put the plant in the groove horizontally and cover the ground with the first real leaf. Soon the stem will rise itself. I wish you success, and remember: everything has its time!

© S.Glishchuk, I.Muromova, P.Lokteva, A.Muromova

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