CULTIVATION OF SEEDLINGS - QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS, TIPS FOR GARDENERS

Pots and cups with seedlings firmly settled on the window sills of gardeners, and questions and complaints about the first failures began to be actively received.

What to do now - let's figure it out.

PICKING EGGPLANTS WON'T LIKE

This year I tried to grow eggplant seedlings for the first time. The plants sprouted amicably in seedling boxes and were doing well.

But when it came time to dive the eggplants into separate cups, problems began. Plants wilted and died the very next day after transplanting. How to dive eggplants correctly? I have the last batch of seedlings left - I want to save at least something.

Lyudmila Podennaya, Sergiev Posad

- Eggplants do not tolerate picking well, so in the future, if you need a small amount of seedlings, immediately sow seeds in separate cups. With the emergence of seedlings, be sure to supplement the illumination of the plants so that the daylight hours are about 12 hours. The first 3-4 days after the emergence of seedlings, maintain the air temperature at + 14 ... + 16 degrees, so that the seedlings do not stretch out and the root system begins to develop.

In the future, until the moment of landing in the ground, the optimum temperature is from + 18 to +26 degrees. The approximate age of eggplant seedlings for planting in the ground is 60-65 days. Moreover, it should have 6-7 dark green leaves and a developed root system.

For the remaining seedlings, try the following. Sprinkle the eggplant abundantly with water at room temperature (so that the liquid is on the surface of the soil). When the soil is well wet, carefully remove the seedlings with a fork with a lump of earth and transplant them into separate pots or cups. Spray with Ecosil diluted according to the instructions. Arrange in tall clear plastic containers. Close the lid or tighten with cling film. Air the seedlings for 10-15 minutes once a day. After 8-10 days, the shelter can be removed.

TOMATO CREAM

Tomato seedlings have small leaves, which also curl downward. What is the reason?

Ekaterina Ivanova

- Tomato leaves stop growing and curl most often with a lack of macro and microelements: magnesium, iron, boron, manganese, molybdenum and, first of all, potassium, which plants need for normal metabolism. Feed the seedlings with a complex mineral fertilizer with the obligatory presence of potassium.

SEEDLING IN THE GARDEN: WHAT TO COVER

This year, I want to grow seedlings of ultra-early tomatoes in a seedling greenhouse (I am going to sow seeds in April). It is not high (a little more than 1 m), the roof (it is the window) is made of glass, the walls are made of polycarbonate. Friends advised to additionally cover the crops with a black film before the emergence of shoots, and later to throw a dense spunbond over the structure at night. And what is the right way: to cover the entire greenhouse outside or only from the inside of the plant in it?

Svetlana Arkhipchik

- When sowing so early, it is advisable to use a double shelter system, and on especially cold days and nights - additional heating. To do this, set low arcs above the crops (10-15 cm). Cover them with a thick, but transparent, not black film. Black, of course, rather warms up, but also quickly gives off heat.

Do you want a "solar battery" in your seedling greenhouse? Instead of arcs around the perimeter of the garden bed, dig in dark two-liter bottles of water tightly to each other, throw a film on them. During the day in the sun, they will keep warm, and at night they will give off heat. When the seedlings grow up and it gets warmer outside, increase the height of the inner arches to 30-40 cm, and replace the film with spunbond.

PEPPER AND EGGPLANTS NEARBY

I read that peppers and eggplants do not like to coexist next to tomatoes, even on the windowsill. Tomatoes secrete substances that inhibit the growth of other seedlings. Is it so?

Valentina Zimina

- This statement is incorrect. Plants can oppress each other if they share a common bed (soil) or shade each other. But in the case of seedlings on the windowsill, oppression is not observed. It's just that peppers and eggplants grow slower than tomatoes in the seedling period, so gardeners sometimes get the impression that tomatoes oppress them. However, there are also nuances. These crops belong to the same family (nightshade). They have the same diseases and pests. And if, for example, tomato seedlings get sick, most likely, the disease will instantly spread to neighbors (peppers and eggplants).

© Author: Svetlana KRIVENKOVA, agronomist

CULTIVATION OF SEEDLINGS - TIPS AND SECRETS FROM READERS

THREE SECRETS OF THE PERFECT SEEDLING

1. Most of all my seedlings suffer from dryness in the apartment. This is especially noticeable in March-April, when it is already getting warm, but the heating has not yet been turned off. At this time, I fill wide pallets by a third with expanded clay or pebbles. I set cups with seedlings on them. In the morning and in the evening I water the stones with water. Once a day, I spray the plants with heated water from a spray bottle.

2. When the sun is shining outside the window, and the batteries are still heating, I try to lower the air temperature. I put bottles of cold water on the radiators and window sills next to the plants. I open the windows, but I make sure that there is no draft.

H. At every third watering, I add natural honey to the water (1 tsp per 1 liter of water). Seedlings grow strong, just perfect!

Natalia VLADIMIROVA, Moscow

I DO NOT HURRY AND ... I MAKE UP!

For seaming, I grow tomatoes of early ripening varieties, which together give off fruits. After that, I immediately remove the plants from the greenhouse, and in their place I grow other vegetables (late cucumbers, Chinese cabbage, lettuce and herbs). I sow tomato seeds for seedlings at the end of March.

I pre-soak them for 20-25 minutes in hot water (+50 degrees). Then for 5-7 minutes I immerse it in a solution of a growth stimulator (according to the instructions) or honey water (1 tsp honey in 1 tbsp. Water). Without rinsing, I wrap it in a damp cloth, put it in a plastic bag and send it to the warmest place in the apartment (I have this shelf in the kitchen next to the hood). After 2-3 days, the seeds are pecked.

I sow them one at a time in half-liter pots of soil. To make the tomatoes grow strong and not get sick, I water them with iodine solution once a week (1 drop per 2 liters of water).

Lydia Averkeeva

SALVATION OF SEEDLING FROM THE BLACK LEG

To protect tomato seedlings from the black leg, I dive plants in the stage of the first true leaf. During this period, they easily tolerate a transplant, since they are already strong enough, and at the same time, their root system is not yet highly developed, therefore, it does not suffer much from damage. However, it happens that plants get sick with black leg before the first true leaf appears. In this case, I dive healthy seedlings into separate cups into the soil spilled with a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate. At the same time, I deepen them to the very cotyledonous leaves. After picking, I dust the ground around the seedlings with sifted wood ash. I water the plants further only when the soil dries up. Once every 1 - 2 days, I gently loosen the soil with a fork.

Lyubov BOBROVA, St. Petersburg

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We also recommend reading: Growing seedlings and seeds for her - from A to Z. Memos to the summer gardener

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SEEDLING SYMPTOMS - WHAT IS NOT ENOUGH

Seedlings cannot speak, but young plants are still able to tell that something is wrong with them. We have prepared a handy table of anxiety symptoms and problem solutions for you.

SYMPTOM	WHAT TO DO
Leaves of seedlings on peat soil began to wither	Spray the plants over the leaves with a solution of copper sulfate (0,5 g per 1 liter of water). Repeat the procedure after 5-6 days
The seedlings become sluggish during the day, and by the evening they return to their normal state.	Most likely, the plants are too hot on the windowsill. Attach baking parchment to the window to diffuse the light, cover the battery with a thick cloth, or even better - put several books on it and cover the top with a blanket. This will noticeably reduce the heat directed to the windowsill. At the age of the first, third and fifth true leaves, feed with a solution of potassium humate (1 tsp per 1 liter of water)
Yellowish spots on young leaves	Seedlings lack iron. Spray the plants twice with an iron chelate solution (3 g per 4 liter of water) at intervals of 1-1 days
The veins on the leaves turn purple	There can be two main reasons - lack of phosphorus or cold. If there is a draft on the windowsill, remove it. If the air temperature in the room is above +15 degrees, feed the seedlings with phosphorus-containing fertilizers (according to the instructions). In addition, feed the plants twice with an interval of 5 days with Epin's solution (7 drops per 200 ml of water)
Seedlings stop growing	Feed the plants with ash infusion (3 tablespoons of sifted ash, pour 1 liter of boiling water, leave for a day, strain). After 3-4 days, feed under the root with a solution of potassium humate (1 tsp per 1 liter of water)

SAVE "SELLING" MEMO PICTURE

5 ERRORS IN CULTIVATION OF SEEDLING - VIDEO

© Author: Elena ISAEVA, Agronomist

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