How to grow tomatoes in polycarbonate greenhouses?

Many gardeners know about the method of growing tomatoes in a greenhouse, as it allows you to get fresh fruits almost all year round. However, along with many advantages, this process has a number of subtleties and nuances that depend on the type of greenhouse and climate characteristics. Below we will look at the basic rules and conditions that allow you to grow a good harvest of tomatoes in a polycarbonate greenhouse.

How to grow tomatoes in a polycarbonate greenhouse

The best varieties of tomatoes for greenhouses made of polycarbonate

The best option for polycarbonate greenhouses is the so-called indeterminate varieties, that is, those that are prone to unlimited growth.

The best varieties

The fact is that tomatoes with limited growth must be planted in the ground in the first half of May (otherwise they simply will not have time to give a full harvest), and at this time there is a high probability of a strong drop in temperature and frost. Another feature of indeterminate varieties is that they begin to bear fruit early, so the tomatoes have time to ripen before the end of summer. In addition, hybrids (Alexia F1, Ivanhoe F1, De Barao, etc.) are well suited for growing in polycarbonate greenhouses, since they are more resistant to diseases.

Indeterminate Tomatoes

Determinant and indeterminate tomatoes

De Barao red	Tall bushes with oval-shaped fruits, not very large (weight 60-70 g), red.	The variety is not susceptible to late blight disease, the fruits reach ripeness about 120 days after germination. From one bush, you can get about 4 kg of fruits that tolerate transportation and storage well.
Alexia F1	Fruits are round, slightly flattened, bright red in color with dense pulp, weight - 180-210 g.	It is characterized by resistance to most diseases characteristic of the culture, suitable for year-round cultivation.
Ivanhoe F1	Forms tall, powerful bushes with shiny bright red fruits (average weight - 200 g), which have a sweetish taste.	A high-yielding variety of medium ripeness that is resistant to diseases and sunburn. Fruits of universal application, with good transportability and keeping quality.
Pink Lady F1	Plants are tall, vigorous with large (230-280 g) pink fruits. The pulp has a satisfactory firmness and good taste.	The variety is distinguished by its high productivity, disease resistance, and is especially recommended for growing indoors.
Demiros F1	Powerful bushes with large rounded pink fruits weighing 200-220 g.	New hybrid variety with early ripening (102-105 days). The fruits retain their commercial qualities for a long time and tolerate transportation well.

You can also opt for the tomatoes Kashtanka, Eskimo, Almaz Yakutia, Stone Flower - these are early-maturing varieties that, with proper care, can give an excellent harvest.

Tomato Stone Flower

Instructions for growing tomatoes in a polycarbonate greenhouse

The main difficulties of the process are that in polycarbonate greenhouses there is often high humidity, temperature drops occur, and overheating of plants during the day is possible. This leads to too rapid growth of tomatoes, which can cause them to get sick and be attacked by pests, therefore, when growing a crop, it is very important to strictly follow the step-by-step instructions.

Tomatoes in a greenhouse - photo

Stage one. Greenhouse preparation

Preparation for growing tomatoes should begin a few weeks before planting plants (around the beginning of March), although in the case of polycarbonate greenhouses, large-scale events will have to be carried out. It is enough to check the ventilation and wipe the walls with a wet cloth.

Greenhouse preparation

Greenhouse preparation. Spring cleaning

The structure should be located in an open, illuminated place, as even the slightest shading can lead to a decrease in yield. It is important that there are hatches for ventilation on the end sides and on the roof of the structure - tomatoes will need a lot of fresh air, especially during the flowering period.

Polycarbonate greenhouse

Stage two. Soil preparation

High-quality soil containing the necessary substances and trace elements is one of the main conditions for the normal growth and fruiting of tomatoes.

The soil in the greenhouse requires preparation

Soil preparation is carried out in such a way that everything is ready about a week before the transplanting of the shoots, and is performed as follows.

Step 1	Remove the top layer of soil about 10 cm thick, as it often contains bacteria, fungal spores and insect eggs.
Step 2	Dilute a tablespoon of copper sulfate in 10 liters of water and spill the soil well for disinfection.
Step 3	Add the necessary components to the soil, depending on its composition and type: · For loam or clay soils - peat, compost and sawdust (bucket per square meter); · For peat plots - sawdust, compost, sod land per bucket per square meter, coarse sand - 0.5 buckets; · Black soil - a bucket of compost and sand per square meter.
Step 4	Apply mineral fertilizers - for one square meter, take a teaspoon of saltpeter and 3 tablespoons of superphosphate.
Step 5	Dig up the earth well and form beds. Recommended dimensions: width - 90 cm, height - no more than 40 cm, and the intervals between the beds - no less than 60 cm.

Soil for tomato seedlings

Stage three. Seed preparation

The seed should be selected of high quality, without damage or signs of disease. It is necessary to prepare and plant seeds in late February and early March, since the soil in polycarbonate greenhouses warms up quickly enough, so that the transplant can be started earlier than in the case of film structures.

Step 1	Place the seeds, wrapped in a cloth, in a solution of potassium permanganate (1 g per glass of water) for 20 minutes, then rinse well.
Step 2	Prepare a nutrient solution from a teaspoon of nitrophoska and a liter of water, put seeds in it, put it in a warm place and stand for 12 hours.
Step 3	After that, the seed, without washing, put in a container with ordinary water and place on the middle shelf of the refrigerator for 48 hours. During this time, it is important to monitor the constant moisture content of the seeds.

Immediately after preparation, you need to move on to the next stage - planting seeds to obtain seedlings.

Stage four. Growing seedlings

It is convenient to grow tomatoes in individual containers

Seedlings in pots

To grow tomato seedlings, you will need low (5-7 cm) containers and soil mixture. You can use a special commercial mixture, but experienced gardeners are advised to take the land directly from the greenhouse, so that after transplanting, it will be easier for young plants to adapt. For correct sowing of the seed, the following sequence of actions should be performed.

Step 1	Pour the soil into a container, moisten and tamp a little.	Earth boxes
Step 2	Make grooves in the soil no more than 1.5 cm deep at a distance of 7 cm from each other.	In the photo there is a box with soil and grooves Sown seeds
Step 3	Place the containers in a warm, well-lit place. The optimum temperature is 20-25 ⁰С.	Seedlings of tomatoes

In the first 20 days, shoots grow very slowly, after which growth increases and reaches a peak by the fortieth day. During this period, the seedlings need properly organized care, otherwise they will stretch out and become weak.

1. During the first month after the emergence of seedlings, they need to be watered three times under the root: the first - immediately after they appear above the soil surface, then - with an interval of two weeks. The water temperature is not lower than 20⁰С.
2. The appropriate temperature regime is very important: in the daytime - 18-20⁰С, and at night - 15-16⁰С.
3. In order for the shoots to grow evenly and simultaneously, they need to be turned daily so that the previously shaded side is under the rays of the sun.

Growing tomato seedlings at home

Seedlings on the windowsill

Stage five. Sapling picking

It is recommended to pick the seedlings twice so that the shoots do not stretch out, but at the same time gain strength. The first procedure is performed after 2-3 leaves appear on the sprouts, and the second - after 25 days.

Tomato seedlings before and after picking

Step 1

Fill containers no more than 8x8 cm in size with soil (you need to take the same mixture that was used for growing seedlings) and spill it with a warm solution of potassium permanganate (dissolve 0.5 g in 10 liters of water).

Step 2

Carefully remove the seedlings from the container using a small spatula. At each of them, pinch the long tip of the main root.

How to pick tomato seedlings

Step 3

Shoots should be planted to a depth of no more than 6 cm, paying special attention to the location of the root system: if it bends, the hole needs to be deepened a little.

Dive tomatoes one at a time into individual pots

Tomato seedlings: dive

Step 4

Water the transplanted plants with warm, settled water.

Step 5

The second pick is carried out 25 days later in pots 4-7 cm larger in the same way as described above.

Caring for plants at this stage is as follows.

1. The first three days after the procedure, the daytime temperature should not fall below 20-22⁰С, the nighttime temperature - 16-18⁰С. After that, it can be reduced by 2-3 degrees.
2. Watering is carried out about once a week so that the shoots do not stretch out and rot.

   How to water tomatoes

3. Top dressing is carried out according to the following scheme. The first - with a solution of nitrophoska (a tablespoon per bucket of water) two weeks after the first pick, pour about half a glass into each container. The second - 14 days after the second transplant: a tablespoon of superphosphate and potassium sulfate is taken into a bucket of water, a glass of solution is poured into each container.

   Top dressing of seedlings

4. In May, in the room where the seedlings are located, you need to constantly open the window to harden the shoots.

Note: some gardeners dive plants only once, and there are those who do without a dive at all, planting shoots immediately in a greenhouse.It is better to make the choice based on your own experience, climate characteristics and a particular variety.

Lighting for tomato seedlings

It is recommended to transplant plants into greenhouse conditions at the age of 50 days, and the shoots should be 25-30 cm in height, have 8-12 strong leaves and 1-2 inflorescences.

Stage six. Transplanting shoots to the greenhouse

Seedlings before planting in the ground

Transplanting tomato seedlings into a polycarbonate greenhouse can be carried out in the second half of May or early June, but it is recommended to first measure the temperature of the soil at a depth of twenty centimeters - it should be at least 13⁰С. The optimal arrangement of the bushes is chosen depending on the variety - they can be planted in a checkerboard pattern, in one or two rows. Plants that have one stem are recommended to be planted with an interval of 25 cm, and tall (more than 1.5 m) bushes - with an interval of 60 cm.

Seedlings with a clod of earth

The soil around the stem is compacted

On the beds, you need to dig holes about 25 cm deep, pour into each of them a liter of a weak solution of potassium permanganate (1 g per bucket of water). In plants, pinch off 3-4 lower leaves, place them in the holes and cover them with earth, without deepening them too much into the ground. After 10-12 days, after the bushes take root well, the earth can be filled up no higher than the level of the lower leaves.

Planted seedlings

Stage seven. Greenhouse tomato care

1. The optimum temperature inside the greenhouse is 20-22⁰С, and during flowering it is two degrees higher.
2. It is recommended to water the bushes for the first time only two weeks after transplanting to the greenhouse, after which watering is carried out about once a week with settled water under the root, not too abundantly.

   Watering

3. The soil should be loosened regularly, and the room should be well ventilated, since tomatoes do not tolerate moisture stagnation, and I can simply rot.
4. You can tie up and form the bushes two weeks after transplanting them into the greenhouse. The formation of plants is carried out in the morning, and it is recommended to leave 7-8 brushes with flowers on the bushes, and remove the side shoots. In the future, this procedure should be carried out regularly, otherwise the yield of foliage will be greater than the yield of fruits.

   Formation of tomato bushes

   Garter

5. It is necessary to feed tomatoes growing in a polycarbonate greenhouse 3-4 times (the first - about 20 days after transplanting) with nitrophosphate, organic fertilizers and superphosphate in turn.
6. Despite the fact that tomatoes are considered a self-pollinating crop, artificial pollination significantly increases the yield of plants. To do this, on sunny days, you need to gently shake the flowers or transfer pollen with a brush, then water the plants, and after two hours ventilate the greenhouse.

Subject to all the rules and appropriate plant care, growing tomatoes in a polycarbonate greenhouse quickly pays for all the effort spent, and gives a rich harvest of fruits with excellent taste.

Greenhouse tomato care

Video - Tomatoes: growing in a polycarbonate greenhouse

Growing tomatoes in a polycarbonate greenhouse is a very popular activity not only for large agricultural companies, but also for individuals living in the CIS countries. Today we will talk in detail about how to plant tomatoes in polycarbonate greenhouses, what is needed for this, and why it is needed at all.

General rules for growing

Before delving into the topic of growing tomatoes in greenhouse conditions in detail, you should take a look at the general rules, which are indicated in the following paragraphs:

1. The foundation of the greenhouse must be strong enough to withstand the heavy wind and the weight of the snow.
2. Seedlings are grown in separate greenhouses or at home.
3. The design of the greenhouse must necessarily allow for vertical garters of tomatoes.
4. You should have plenty of free time, as it will take regular chipping of excess buds as well as unnecessary foliage on your tomato bushes.
5. Take care of the sources of organic fertilizers in advance, which will require a fairly large amount.
6. If you plan to have more than 10 long tomato beds in your greenhouse, it is more convenient to place drip irrigation in it.
7. There must be enough free space in the greenhouse for maneuvering with buckets of water (a lot of water will be required)

Main steps

The process of growing tomatoes in greenhouse conditions consists of the following main stages:

1. Greenhouse preparation;
2. Selecting the right seeds;
3. Greenhouse soil preparation;
4. Growing seedlings;
5. Planting seedlings;
6. Post-seedling care and harvesting.

How to choose and prepare tomato seeds correctly?

There are special varieties of tomato that are focused on growing in greenhouse conditions.

Such varieties have a combination of the following qualities:

1. High productivity.
2. High or low ripening rate.
3. Gastronomic quality.
4. Resistance to diseases and adverse environmental factors.
5. Dimensions of the fruits themselves.
6. Suitability of the variety for long-term storage, without loss of taste and aesthetic qualities.

Depending on which of the above qualities appeals to you, choose the appropriate tomato variety.

So, if high yields are important to you, seeds of the following varieties are suitable for growing:

• De Barao;
• Banana Legs;
• "Auria";
• "Honey Drop";
• "Pink Raisins".

If a fast ripening rate is important to you, pay attention to the seeds of the following varieties:

• Typhoon, Druzhok, Ilyich, Poisk, Verlioka, Semko-98. These varieties are early maturing;
• Hurricane, Samara. These varieties are early maturing;
• "Junior", "Amber", "Joy of Summer", "Bear in the North". These varieties are super early maturing.

If the most pronounced taste is important to you, pay attention to the seeds of the following varieties:

1. Cherry. The variety has a high taste both fresh and excellent for drying and preservation.
2. "Caspar-F1". The variety fits perfectly into diet salads, and is great for pickling or pickling.
3. "Friend", "Sultan", "Rosemary". The varieties have a juicy and tender flesh, a thin skin and a slightly sweet taste, which makes them an excellent option for fresh consumption.
4. "Malachite Box". One of the most delicious varieties of green tomatoes.
5. "Bull's Heart", "Truffle". One of the most delicious varieties of red tomatoes.
6. "Yellow Long", "Honey King". One of the most delicious varieties of yellow tomatoes.
7. Marisol Violet, Black Cherry. One of the most delicious varieties of black tomatoes.
8. "Dimensionless", "Pink Flamingo". One of the most delicious varieties of pink tomatoes.

If you are looking for disease-resistant and weather-resistant tomatoes, take a look at the following varieties:

1. "Verlioka", "Olya", "Ural" and varieties "De Barao", "Admiralteisky". Varieties that tolerate a lack of sunlight well.
2. Barberry F1, Lyubanya, Orange Giant, Banana Legs, Pink Raisins, Orange Icicle, Carrot, Zinulya, Siberian Giant. High temperature and drought tolerant varieties.
3. Roma, Erema, Evpator, Intuition, Blagovest. And varieties: "Budenovka", "Chio-chio-san". The varieties are the most resistant to fungal invasions.

If you are looking for varieties with the largest fruits possible, the following seeds are suitable for growing:

• Siberian Giant;
• The Pink Giant;
• De Barao.

If you want the smallest fruits possible, the following seeds are good for you:

• "Cherry";
• "Grape";
• "Balcony Miracle";
• "Sweet Tooth".

The most mature tomatoes for growing include the following varieties:

• F1 Salahaddin;
• F1 Ivanovets;
• Volgogradets;
• "F1 Krasnobay".

Having decided on the variety, you should prepare the seeds for further planting, for which follow the following points:

1. Remove any overly small and damaged seeds, leaving only large and intact seeds.
2. A month and a half before planting the seeds, wrap them in a dry cloth, and warm them up by putting them on a battery or a warm place, the temperature of which reaches 40-50 degrees, for a period of 3-4 days.
3. Before planting, disinfect the seeds by placing them in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate for 20 minutes.
4. Before planting, soak the seeds for a day in one of the solutions of Virtan-Micro, Epin, Immunocytophyte.

How to prepare a greenhouse?

If you want to grow tomatoes in a greenhouse environment, you will need to properly prepare your greenhouse.

The preparation of the greenhouse should take place according to the following scheme:

1. Inspect the greenhouse for damage, especially if the polycarbonate cover has survived the winter.
2. Prepare the places for the beds in advance.
3. Stretch the wire along the entire length of the greenhouse, at a height of about 2 meters. The wire should run at the same level as the center of each bed.
4. Disinfect the greenhouse with hydrated lime. Take 3 kg of slaked lime, mix it with 10 liters of water, and add 500 grams of copper sulfate there. Process the frame of the greenhouse and its inner walls with the resulting liquid.
5. Tomatoes require frequent ventilation, which means you should check or install vents in the greenhouse, preferably on the ceiling.
6. Check the operation of the irrigation system (if any), as well as the heating systems (if you plan to grow tomatoes in winter).

Soil preparation

To grow tomatoes, you need to prepare the soil. Soil preparation can be carried out in different ways, a complete list of which would require writing a separate book.

For this reason, we will describe the most optimal way to prepare tomato soil in a greenhouse, which consists of the following points:

1. In the greenhouse, remove 40 centimeters of old soil over the entire tomato growing area.
2. At the very bottom, you should put a 3-5 cm layer of old branches, as thick as a raspberry shoot.
3. The second layer is made of sawdust, the layer of which should reach 5 cm. If possible, a thin layer of weeds can be put on top of the sawdust, but not the tops of garden plants.
4. If tomatoes are planned to be grown in winter, the third layer should consist of 10 cm thick manure. If tomatoes are planned to be grown only in autumn or spring, the manure is replaced by a layer of peat of the same thickness.
5. After the manipulations done, we fill it all with the previously acquired soil.

The soil itself for the greenhouse is prepared based on the following ingredients:

• garden land;
• vegetable humus a year ago;
• compost regardless of type and age;
• sod land;
• sand;
• peat.

Sod and garden land in the total mass should occupy 60% of the soil for a tomato. Compost, sand, peat and humus should account for 10% for each component.

The soil prepared in this way should be laid in the greenhouse in late summer or early autumn, after which it should be infused at least until spring. Immediately after laying the soil, treat it with a phytosporin solution, abundantly watering its surface with this solution from a watering can. This is necessary to control the destruction of possible fungal spores.

We recommend buying ready-made soil for growing greenhouse tomatoes from garden stores, as this will save you a lot of time and effort.

How to grow seedlings?

If you want healthy tomatoes, you will need to learn how to properly grow and care for your seedlings.

To do this, you should initially prepare a container for future seedlings, which should be one of the following types:

1. Wooden boxes with a side height of 7 cm, the bottom of which must be shipped with foil.
2. Plastic containers 28 cm wide and 32 cm long.
3. For the subsequent picking of seedlings, you will need liter plastic bottles, from which the neck should be cut off, or get plastic cups, the depth of which should be at least 15 cm.

Having decided on the container, we proceed to the direct planting of future seedlings, relying on the following points:

1. Take the prepared container and pour a 5 cm layer of soil into it.
2. Tamp the sprinkled soil evenly.
3. Take a ruler and make some kind of grooves, the depth of which should be half a centimeter. The grooves should be marked along the entire length of the container area, with a distance of 3 cm from each other.
4. Prepared tomato seeds are placed in each of the grooves, at a distance of 3 cm from each other.
5. After planting the seeds, the grooves are carefully covered with 1 cm layer of soil, lightly compacted, and moistened with a sprayer.
6. The container is closed with a plastic bag, and placed in a warm place until the first shoots appear. The temperature of the place where the seeds will germinate should not fall below 25 degrees. Otherwise, the seeds will germinate much longer. Monitor the moisture level under the film, and spray the soil in a timely manner, without letting it dry out.

After the first shoots appear, move on to the next growing steps, such as:

1. Remove the film and place the container on a windowsill, the temperature on which should not drop below 20 degrees during the day and 14 degrees at night.
2. Organize the seedlings with additional lighting, for which fluorescent lamps are ideal, or special phytolamps for seedlings with a pink glow. It is advisable to keep the backlight on for at least 16 hours a day.
3. Spray seedlings in a timely manner to keep the soil moist. It should be sprayed, not watered.
4. Feed the seedlings every 10 days using chicken manure or cow dung. Chicken manure is bred at the rate of 100 grams per 10 liters of water, and cow dung at the rate of 300 grams per 10 liters of water. For one container of the size indicated above, no more than 500 ml of this kind of fertilizer should be spent.
5. If you feel the need, in the intervals between feeding, you can water the seedlings with fresh water, the temperature of which should not be lower than 20 degrees.

After completing all the above points, grow the seedlings until they are picked.

Seedling picking

The picking of plants must be carried out so that in the future they can be easily transplanted into the garden bed, without the risk of injuring the root system. Moreover, without a pick, the root system of the seedlings can get confused with each other, and then their transplantation can be fatal for them.

The picking of seedlings after cultivation should be carried out in accordance with the following points:

1. The pick is carried out about a month after the first shoots appear.
2. A pick is carried out only when the seedlings have 6 leaves.
3. Before picking, the seedlings are watered abundantly.
4. In cups or plastic bottles, soil should be poured to the brim, and tamped.
5. After tamping the soil, take a stick and press a hole in the soil with it, 2-3 cm deep.
6. Drop a pinch of superphosphate at the bottom of the hole.
7. Take a fork, and gently pry the seedling bush under its root system, and then remove it from the container. The first two leaves of the sprout must be plucked.
8. Shake off excess soil from the root system of the sprout, and plant it in a glass or bottle.
9. Fill in the hole, tamp lightly and pour 30 milliliters of sodium humate solution on the sprout.
10. Hold the transplanted shoots over additional lighting for about a week;
11. Water the seedlings as the soil dries.

Transplanting shoots to the greenhouse

The final stage in growing seedlings is transplanting them into a greenhouse.

The transplant is carried out on the basis of the following points:

1. Seedlings are transplanted into the greenhouse for about 45-50 days of growth.
2. Bushes are placed at a distance of 50 cm from each other.
3. Near each bush, a meter-long peg is driven in, tying the bush to it, and to the previously stretched wire, which was discussed at the very beginning of the article.
4. The holes in which the bushes will be planted should have a depth of 2-3 cm exceeding the length of the root system of the seedlings.
5. Humus is added to the bottom of the hole, the layer of which should not exceed 1 cm.
6. Before transplanting, the formation of a bush consists in removing almost all of its leaves, with the exception of a few of the topmost ones.
7. After the bush is in the hole, fill it up, tamp it lightly and water it abundantly.
8. Mulch the soil with sawdust or manure. The thickness of the mulch should be about 10 cm.
9. If you wish, you can water the planted seedlings with mineral fertilizers, but in general, this is not necessary.

Follow-up care

Subsequent care of grown tomatoes is carried out as follows:

1. Water the seedlings on the 12th day after planting (except for the first watering immediately after planting in the ground, so that the earth settles).
2. Before flowering, one bush consumes about 4 liters of water, and during flowering, about 12 liters.
3. Watering is carried out every 5-6 days.
4. Spraying is optional.
5. The temperature in the greenhouse should not exceed 25 degrees, and not fall below 16. During the flowering period, the temperature can be raised to 27 degrees.
6. Plant feeding is carried out from the moment the first ovary appears. Feeding is carried out with superphosphate, potassium sulfate, wood ash, or liquid mullein;
7. Light mode should be at least 12 hours.
8. Cut off the leaves touching the ground on the bushes, and also get rid of the stepchildren.

Potential pests and diseases

After growing your tomatoes may be susceptible to the following diseases:

1. Top rot. Treat with a solution of copper oxychloride, at the rate of 30 grams per 10 liters of water.
2. Gray rot. Treat the plant with "Barrier" and "Barrier". Substances are sold in different concentrations, which means they need to be diluted based on the instructions on the package.
3. White spot. Treat the plant with 1% Bordeaux mixture or 0.5% copper oxychloride.
4. Streak. Treat the plant with 1% manganese solution.

As for parasites, they can be completely avoided with proper maintenance and care of the greenhouse. We will discuss more detailed information about treatment, signs and possible diseases in another article.

Without tomatoes, the list of self-grown crops would be incomplete. Paired with cucumbers, they have firmly won the minds and hearts of enthusiastic owners of suburban areas. And believe me, juicy "Signors" will be happy to generously fill the diet and stocks of the owners with proper care. The harvest will amaze with its abundance, provided that all agrotechnical subtleties are observed. Knowledge of the nuances is extremely important if a tomato is planted in a polycarbonate greenhouse. After all, the use of plastic coating makes its own adjustments to the general rules for growing greenhouse pets.

Contradictions between tomatoes and polycarbonate

Lightweight and durable greenhouse structures with a polymer coating confidently displace obsolete glass and film predecessors from suburban areas. They have a lot of advantages, but sometimes ignorance of the specifics of the material turns the advantages into weighty disadvantages. Therefore, if you plan to plant seedlings, you should take into account the technical features of the greenhouse. A zealous owner should not forget that tomatoes:

• Ample and regular ventilation is necessary. Natural "ventilation" in structures covered with solid polycarbonate sheets is lower than in "frame" greenhouses with glass or foil. Therefore, for good growth of bushes and fruit ovary, a structure is needed not only with lateral, but also with upper vents. It is desirable that there are at least three vents. It is even more desirable that at least one of them be equipped with a device that automatically opens the ventilation hole in the event of a "bust" with the temperature inside the structure;
• Preventive protection is required against harmful phytophthora and other vegetable pests that multiply in an enclosed space as actively as cultivated plants. Therefore, before planting seedlings, the greenhouse is regularly processed in order to destroy fungal spores, putrefactive microorganisms and larvae of voracious insects;
• You need lower humidity and temperature parameters than cucumber bushes, which is why they should not be planted together in the same greenhouse. Otherwise, the yield of one of the crops will significantly decrease.

Another important requirement from the "signors" of tomatoes is good illumination. Slight shading will not fail to affect the growth and development of the planted seedlings and, as a result, the yield. Because in terms of light transmission ability, polycarbonate is inferior to glass, it is better to eliminate objects casting a shadow. What is easier to do: transfer the structure or transplant bushes, you need to decide in fact on the spot.

Those wishing to know how to plant tomatoes correctly should remember that seedlings by age must be older than 60 days. They are quite vigorous and viable plants for indoor use, protected by a rigid, airtight polymer sheath. For example, for structures covered with a film, plants are recommended to be planted 60 days after the sprouts "peck", because polyethylene will not be able to protect them from the effects of frosts that occur in spring.

Tomato Standard Requirements

The future inhabitants of the greenhouse have their own list of requirements, regardless of the type of room coverage. For good growth and systematic development of vegetables:

• Be sure to need calcium, which will prevent flowers from falling off and the formation of black spots on the fruits. Enrich the greenhouse soil with this microelement during feeding with solutions of calcium chloride or calcium nitrate;
• Magnesium, potassium, nitrogen, boron, phosphorus are required, which are contained in the most popular summer cottage fertilizer "Azofosk" in the most accessible form for assimilation by plants;
• You need a moist soil that can hold water for a long time without drying out. And at the same time, greenhouse soil should not be too heavy. For tomatoes, sandy loam, slightly clayey soil is recommended, in which moisture will linger, and the moisture level does not exceed 70% loved by tomatoes. In order to achieve the recommended effect, peat is introduced into the sandy soil, and sawdust and the same peat into the clay soil, but already as a fertilizer.

It must be remembered that the life cycle of a bush varies from 110 to 130 days, depending on the personal characteristics of the variety. In order for the plant to have time to go through all the stages of the green and red life path, it is planted in the ground quite early. For the middle lane, the usual period is from the end / middle of the first decade to the middle of the second decade of May. By May 15 - 20, the seedlings should already settle in the greenhouse. For the northern regions, the planting dates, of course, are shifted with a focus on specific climatic conditions.

The lifespan of a variety is an important parameter when choosing a variety of cultivated vegetables. In any case, seedlings are planted only when the ground has warmed up to a depth of less than 20 cm. Naturally, in the northern regions favorable conditions for planting occur much later. This means that the northerners need a tomato variety with a shorter life cycle than for the middle lane. True, the increased daylight saves, but you should not rely on it recklessly.

Technology of planting tomatoes in a greenhouse

We got acquainted with the individual claims of these vegetables. We figured out how to create conditions in a greenhouse for their safe growth. We realized that for planting tomatoes, we should prepare a room and grow or purchase seedlings. Those. all efforts to obtain a harvest will consist of two stages: obtaining seedlings and preparing the greenhouse.

Stage # 1 - growing seedlings

It is easier to buy seedlings, and less time will be spent with energy. However, there will be no confidence in the exact observance of agrotechnical standards for its cultivation. In addition, not all varieties are suitable for effective planting. Often, in the spring, there are tangible differences between night and day temperatures, due to which moisture can condense on the walls. It can significantly harm unhardened varieties, because contributes to the emergence and spread of diseases.

For cultivation, it is advised to acquire disease-resistant, hardened hybrids with the alphanumeric index F1. They are somewhat more expensive than varietal seeds, but they adapt better to the conditions set by polycarbonate. They get sick less, bear fruit more abundantly. Self-pollinating hybrids will not need to be artificially pollinated. Among them there are representatives of large-fruited tomatoes and varieties of the "cherry" type. The only negative is that the seeds of the hybrids will not have "parental" properties. The next generation loses the qualities laid down by breeders when crossing two varieties. The characteristics of the hybrids appear only in the first generation.

For planting, you can use:

• determinant tomatoes, the bushes of which reach a height of 0.7 to 1.5 m and stop growing after a set of 6-8 introduced;
• indeterminate, growing and blooming throughout the summer cottage and garden season without restrictions.

Indeterminate tomatoes are a priority. Their fruits begin to ripen earlier, and the bushes take longer to bear fruit. However, with a reasonable combination of two or three types, it will be possible to harvest fruits for seasonal salads, and for long-term storage, and for conservation. There is no consensus about planting different varieties in the same greenhouse. According to the assurances of a number of gardeners, gardeners, this is not worth doing. There are those who disagree, claiming that in an arched structure, for example, it is irrational to cultivate bushes of the same height. It is advisable to plant determinant species along the rounded walls, and along the line of their indeterminate counterparts close to the center.

Hybrids do not need to be disinfected, soaked, germinated, hardened, etc. they are distilled as follows:

• We will prepare boxes, plastic bags or boxes with holes to drain excess water at the bottom. The height of the planting container is up to 7 cm. At the stage of preparing containers for seedlings, it must be taken into account that different varieties of tomatoes are not sown in the same container.
• We prepare a soil mixture from parts of sod land, peat and humus of equal volume. Fertilize it with one tablespoon of superphosphate and the same amount of wood ash. If there is no time to bother with cooking, we buy soil with pre-mixed fertilizers, intended for seedlings.
• Before planting, water the soil mixture with a solution of a useful agent - guamate, diluted according to the instructions attached to it. The solution should have a beer color and a temperature of about 35-40 ° C.
• We plant seeds directly in boxes / bags / boxes on the principle "for a school", i.e. densely into grooves up to 1.5 cm deep. The distance between the sowing grooves is 5-7 cm.
• We install containers on supports laid on the windowsill (bricks, bars, stacks of old notebooks, etc.). It is necessary that air flows freely to the root system.
• In the box, the seedlings will grow for about 30 days until two or three of their own leaves appear. During this time, they only need to be watered 3 times so that the seedlings do not stretch too much. The first time we will pour a small amount of water when all the seedlings appear "to the light". Further, according to the situation: in one or even two weeks. The ground should be moist, but not waterlogged.
• We regularly rotate the boxes, exposing different sides to natural light, so that the stems do not "skew".
• We dive, i.e. we transplant the seedlings into separate pots 8 cm deep, as soon as we count two or three real, not cotyledonous leaves. A transplant is needed to restrain the growth of the stem. Its optimal length before planting is 25-30 cm.Our task is to timely forcing seedlings of the required length by the time they go to greenhouses. After transplanting into a more spacious container, the root system of the seedlings will develop more actively, and not the stem with leaves.

Picked seedlings in separate pots are watered weekly. By the time of watering, the soil should dry out noticeably. After 12 days after transplanting, at the same time as watering, the plants are fed by adding 1 tablespoon of nitrophoska and azofoska per 10 liters. Each sprout should get half a glass. After 15 days, we re-feed, you can use ready-made products such as "Senora Pomodoro" or "Fertility". Pale green seedlings need to be fed with "Ideal", if the fruits are slowly gaining growth with guamate, the rapidly growing - with superphosphate.

With proper care, young bushes before planting in a polycarbonate greenhouse will look like in the photo:

The main thing is that the seedlings have from 8 to 12 their own developed leaves of a dense green color and one, but better, a pair of formed inflorescences. The minimum permissible height is 15cm, the maximum is 35cm. The stem height of 40-45cm is the limit that dictates the use of a specific scheme for planting tomatoes in a greenhouse, excluding the appearance of roots that interfere with the growth on a stem buried in the ground.

4-5 days before planting in greenhouses, the seedlings should be sprinkled with a boric acid solution prepared at the rate of 1 g per liter. This treatment will protect the first flower buds from infection. For spraying, we choose a cloudy morning so that the sun's rays do not burn young leaves.

It happens that self-grown seedlings are above the specified limit, but this is not a reason to deprive her of her chances for a normal life and fruiting. She simply lands in a special way, as shown in the picture below.

We will assume that we have grown viable tomato bushes. It takes about one to two weeks to transfer them to the ground. By all indications, it's time to start processing and arranging the "green house" for vegetables.

Stage # 1 - greenhouse preparation and disembarkation

The greenhouse should be fully prepared for the settlement of green inhabitants 5 days before starting work. Based on this circumstance, the owner should choose the methods of cleaning and disinfection. After cleaning and disinfecting the territory limited by polycarbonate, you need to start breaking down the beds.

It is best to "stretch" the beds along the long walls. It is convenient to arrange them in the form of two or three separate strips or in the form of letters P or W, deployed with their legs towards the entrance. The width of the beds is calculated individually, its optimal value is 60-90cm, maybe 100 or even 110cm. The main thing to remember is that the minimum distance between the bushes during planting cannot be less than 50 cm, and you need to retreat 10 cm or a little more from the border of the garden. The passage between the ridges is determined arbitrarily, but not at the expense of convenience in the process of weeding and performing other maintenance procedures. If space permits, it is advisable to make passages of 70 cm, if not, then 50 cm or a little less.

The greenhouse ridges of this vegetable are usually higher than the general surface level, because the ground raised above the ground warms up better and faster. There are discrepancies in the priority heights: from 20 cm to 40 cm. The height depends on the owners' ability to fill the bed with a suitable soil mixture and on the physical ability is for a long time at the bed in the "bent" or "squatting" position.

The soil for tomatoes must be optimized in the following ways:

• loamy and clayey soil is "loosened" by adding humus, sawdust and peat per 1m² bucket;
• soil with a predominance of peat is "lightened" by adding sod soil, humus and small shavings per 1m² per bucket. And another half a bucket per 1 m² of coarse sand.

After filling the "optimizers", the homemade soil mixture should be fertilized with 1 tablespoon of potassium sulfate with 2 tablespoons of superphosphate, and then thoroughly dig it up. Immediately before planting tomatoes in the beds in a polycarbonate greenhouse, the ground should be watered with a pink solution of potassium permanganate. For the preparation of the disinfectant we will dissolve 1 gr. pharmacy potassium permanganate powder in 10 liters of water at a temperature of about 60 ° C.

Then we form the holes in a checkerboard pattern, in a kind of zigzag or against each other, not forgetting that there should be 50-60 cm between the tomato bushes. Prepare a solution from 1 bottle of the greenhouse prophylactic drug "Zaslon" and pour it 0.5 liters into each hole ...

Compliance with the recommended distance is almost a prerequisite. If there is a lot of free space between the bushes, they will actively begin to actively branch. Due to the numerous stepchildren, the yield will decrease. We'll have to carry out pinching more often than necessary, and this is unnecessary stress for sensitive “seniors”. Removal of stepchildren is carried out on a sunny morning, not cutting off, but breaking off excess branches. After that, foams 2-3 cm long should remain on the stem. The sun will dry the broken surface and heal.

We plant tomato seedlings in the prepared beds in the following sequence:

• before planting seedlings, we cut off two or three of its lower leaves;
• turn the pot of seedlings over and, slightly tapping, release the container;
• the root system, which has retained the shape of the pot, is installed in the hole so that the cotyledon leaves are located above the surface of the soil;
• we fill the free space with soil dumped during the formation of the holes;
• water for the first time and immediately tie the bushes to the trellis after 10-12 days. We are not in a hurry with watering in order to keep the growth of the stems in height.

A video lesson will visually help you master the procedure:

Studying in detail the process of forcing seedlings and the procedure for preparing the greenhouse provides many advantages. Compliance with agrotechnical standards will ensure yields and help prevent diseases. In any business, it is better to thoroughly understand in order to get the desired result and not learn from your own miscalculations and mistakes.

Recommendations for growing tomatoes in a greenhouse: planting and care

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Landing

Installation of polycarbonate.

We pick up wet soil from the hole with one hand, plant the plant with the other, and cover the roots with wet soil.

Step 3. We cover everything with a 1 cm layer of earth, spray again. We put the box in a bag and place it in a warm place, about 25 ° C.

Such fruits are distinguished by their versatility, which means that they can be used almost anywhere. In addition, they are very unpretentious and easy to grow. True, this process takes at least four months, and the yield of such varieties is not always high.

Creation of an interval between tomato bushes for a greenhouse of 60 centimeters;

If you want to plant tomatoes in a polycarbonate greenhouse, when choosing seeds or seedlings, you should pay attention to the following factors: the yield of the variety, its ripening time and taste. It is important how the fruits look, what type of bush, how the fruits adapt to the environmental conditions, and what the size of the fruit is when ripe. In addition, it is important to pay attention to how resistant the variety is to infestations and various diseases, however, this depends quite strongly on the climatic conditions of a particular region, as well as on what fertilizers you are going to use.

After the crops bloom, the temperature should be 26 - 32 degrees. The lower limit of temperature during the flowering period is at least 14 - 16 degrees. After you have collected the first fruits, you can maintain the temperature in the greenhouse at 16-17 degrees. This can have a beneficial effect on the growth and ripening of tomatoes.Another important point of care is rightfully considered to be pruning of stepchildren - lateral unnecessary processes developing on the leaves. They should be removed regularly, and the bush itself must be formed from the main shoot, on which about five brushes are left.Before planting the plants in the ground, you should make sure that it has warmed up to a temperature of 15 degrees. It should also be remembered that the stems of the seedlings should not be too submerged in the soil, since in this case the tomato can go into the roots, and not into growth. The soil should not contain excessive amounts of nitrogen, as in this situation the foliage will grow excessively, not the fruit. After you have examined the seedling for damage, you can plant the future tomato in the ground. How to do it correctly, our video will demonstrate.

To be able to enjoy fresh tomatoes regardless of the season, you need to start growing ripe and juicy fruits in your own greenhouse. To get a good harvest, you need to adhere to all the rules for planting tomatoes, as well as take proper care of these very demanding plants. Our recommendations will help both experienced and novice summer residents to plant tomatoes and get a rich harvest.

High humidity can reduce the palatability of tomatoes, making them watery and sour.In order to determine this indicator, it is necessary to place the thermometer shallowly into the ground and measure the temperature. If it is + 15 ° C or more, the land can be used for planting plants. The second point is the air temperature in the greenhouse. To grow tomatoes in a simple film greenhouse, you will need to insulate it, including the use of heaters. Polycarbonate, on the other hand, has high thermal insulation characteristics, so such a greenhouse heats up very quickly. Nevertheless, it is recommended to insulate the floor between the foundation and the base of the greenhouse. For this, you can use expanded polystyrene or roll materials. It is optimal to lay polycarbonate not in 1, but in 2. To build the foundation, you will need to dig a trench around the entire perimeter of the site to a depth above the freezing of the soil (about 70 cm). A sand cushion is laid at the bottom of the trench in several layers, each 20-25 cm long. All layers are leveled, tamped and watered. To give rigidity, reinforcement is made using steel rods interconnected with wire. The next step is to install the formwork. Wooden boards are used for it. The height of the formwork above the surface is approximately 20-30 cm. A concrete mixture based on cement, sand, crushed stone and water is poured into the formwork. It is preferable to take a high grade (300-500).

Care

We fill the hole with dry soil, level it as much as possible and compact it a little.Now the seeds are provided with the best conditions for germination. All that remains is to check the seeds every three days, ventilating them and spraying them with water. As soon as you notice the first loops, take them for disembarkation, otherwise you may be late. The only thing that you definitely need to pay attention to is the "caps" from the skin of the seeds, which can prevent the leaves from opening. Dampen them with water or carefully remove them by hand.

Let's characterize the largest and most attractive varieties. They are also distinguished by their unpretentiousness in the growing process, and are used, as a rule, fresh. Their advantages include excellent taste and disease resistance. Breeders like these varieties very much, because they make excellent hybrids.Removing stepchildren. Here are some points to clarify. This should be done exclusively in the morning. The first stepsons appear, as a rule, simultaneously with the appearance of the first flower brush, therefore, this process must be monitored. Further, the removal procedure must be carried out regularly; We have listed several fairly important factors that everyone who plans to grow tomatoes in a polycarbonate greenhouse needs to consider. It would be useful to draw attention to some of them more thoroughly. Taking into account all the nuances, you can choose for yourself the best varieties of tomatoes for greenhouses, and thus grow the tomatoes of your dreams. This information even helped many to grow and sell seedlings - polycarbonate greenhouse tomatoes. So, learning the rules of the agricultural industry can be a good investment for your future business.About a month before the end of the growing season, you need to pinch the top. When the fruits ripen and begin to turn red, the lower leaves are removed. Pruning is best done in the morning. In the process of caring for tomatoes, do not forget about the prevention of various diseases. Black leg disease is very dangerous for seedlings. To avoid the appearance of this fungus, the soil is changed to a new one before planting crops in the greenhouse.

Hybrid varieties are best suited for greenhouse cultivation. They should be planted in warm ground in the first half of May, when the height of the seedling stems already reaches 30 - 35 cm.

A modern greenhouse can be built from ordinary plastic film, glass or the latest durable material - polycarbonate. In any case, it must be of normal size for good growth and harmonious development of the tomatoes. Growing a vegetable like a tomato requires a competent approach, so it is important to provide for all the nuances.

Before the flowering period, tomatoes are recommended to be watered at intervals of 5-6 days at the rate of 4-5 liters of water per 1 m².

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Video "Growing tomatoes in greenhouse conditions"

After installing the foundation, a frame is built. It can be made of wood or metal (from pipes). Polycarbonate is attached to the frame. This is done using self-tapping screws with thermal washers. Self-tapping screws are screwed in at a distance of at least 2 cm from the edge of the plate. The holes for them are made larger than the head of the self-tapping screw by 2-3 mm, this is important for thermal expansion of the material. Polycarbonate sheets are 6x2.1 m and 12x2.1 m in size. The sheets are attached with the protected side out.

We tie up the seedlings by hanging hooks with a wound rope to the crossbars. Tie the rope itself to the stem as low as possible. Leave a little margin so that the heavy tomatoes do not tighten the mount later.

Where to begin?

As soon as the cotyledons open, lower the temperature and move the seedlings to a lighter place. And as soon as the first pair of real leaves appears, proceed to the pick.

• Consultation of a competent seller or a detailed article on our website will help you in choosing. The main thing is to choose the variety that is most successfully grown in your region, is intended specifically for the greenhouse and does not require special "dancing with tambourines", as gardeners like to say. There are also varieties that meet individual requirements: with fruits of the desired shape and color, a certain height of the bushes, the possession of salting or salad qualities. Finally, be sure to look at the seed date and production.
• Periodic removal of the lower leaves. Periodic means doing this regularly, but you shouldn't remove more than three leaves a week. It is advisable to do this by breaking them to the side - this will be more correct, because this will not damage the trunk and stems.
• And we will begin our excursion with how to choose the right type of bush. Greenhouse tomatoes are divided into four types:
• In order to prevent the development of late blight of leaves, the bushes are treated three times - a week after planting the seedlings, 20 days after the first treatment, and then after about a third of the brushes have bloomed. It is customary to process the bushes by means of "Barrier" and "Zaslon". The third treatment is recommended with a garlic solution.

It is believed that after this age, the seedlings take root well in a new place and adapt to the proposed conditions. As mentioned above, tall varieties are planted in a checkerboard pattern, but medium and dwarf varieties require a different planting method - in rows, while the distance between plants should be about 40 cm.

After you build your greenhouse from polycarbonate or other material with everything you need - comfortable lighting, a good ventilation system, that is, you have completed all the preliminary preparations for planting a tomato, you can proceed to the next stage.It is necessary to prepare the soil inside the greenhouse for the subsequent planting of tomatoes.

During the flowering period, these indicators increase to 10-15 liters. The water temperature is 20-22 ° C. During fruiting, top dressing is done, 3-4 times. The first is organized about 3 weeks after planting the seedlings. Each subsequent feeding is done after 10 days. For these purposes, superphosphate, nitrophosphate, ash and other fertilizers are used. Often there are problems with the growth of tomatoes.

Bush type: an important factor when choosing a variety for greenhouses

Diagram of the greenhouse frame device.

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• By the way, you can also tie up tomatoes in a greenhouse in different ways:
• Almost everything that you have at hand is suitable as a container for tomato seedlings: plastic bottles, mayonnaise buckets, bags and boxes. But plastic glasses are especially convenient: when planting in a greenhouse, we simply cut them on the sides and extract the plant with roots preserved in dense soil. It is only important to make drainage holes in such cups - at least with the same awl, hot on fire.

Basically, tomato varieties are distinguished as indeterminate and determinant. To summarize everything, the indeterminate varieties are good in that they manage to tie 6-7 brushes up to the trellis, which promises a rich harvest, and the determinant ones do not grow above 1 m, and therefore there will always be enough light and air in the greenhouse.

Determinant type

This type of bush is no less interesting, so we will talk about its features of growing fruits. A distinctive feature of such bushes is that they do not grow up after a certain moment. Namely, when 5 brushes are tied on them, sometimes the growth stops already on the fourth hand.Determinant;

A video on how to create optimal conditions for growing tomatoes, how to cope with diseases and how to form a bush.

Non-overgrown seedlings are planted vertically, if the plants are elongated, they must be placed in the prepared pits obliquely, tearing off the bottom sheets and sprinkling with earth. Pay extra attention to those seedlings that have outgrown. For her, a 12-centimeter hole should be made in the ground, in which another deeper hole is made, which coincides in height with the height of the pot in which the seedling is located. After a few weeks, the originally formed hole must be covered with earth.

• Experts do not recommend growing tomatoes in the same greenhouse for several years in a row. In this case, cultures can often get sick.
• Very often plants grow fat, that is, they have powerful stems and leaves and bear fruit very poorly. The reason for this is excessive watering and fertilization. To remedy the situation, you need not to water the tomatoes for 10 days, increase the temperature in the greenhouse and carry out root feeding with superphosphate (for 10 liters of water, 3 tablespoons of fertilizer). 1 liter of such a solution is poured under each plant. Tomatoes may have leaves and flowers falling off. This indicates dry soil, high temperature and rare ventilation of the room.
• A very important point when growing a tomato is planting depth. For warm regions of our country, for example, Stavropol or Krasnodar Territories, the planting depth is done as much as possible. As for the temperate latitudes, everything is somewhat different. The optimum planting depth is 20-25 cm.In the event that the seedlings are large, it is advisable to lay them at an angle or lying down, sprinkling with earth. This will provide a more powerful root system. Tomatoes are planted at a distance of at least 50 cm from each other. First, you need to dig small holes, pour them abundantly with water. At the same time, fertilizers can be applied: manure, sawdust, humus, but only in very small quantities. Otherwise, you can get a low yield.

Determinant type

Polycarbonate fixing scheme.

Plant tomato seedlings only at the end of the night frosts, and preferably in cloudy weather. During the night, such seedlings will have time to gain a foothold in a new place.

There is only one difficulty in growing seedlings in glasses and boxes - the soil in them quickly dries up and cracks due to its small volume. But instead of endless loosening and spraying, use leftover granulated tea (not leafy, so as not to get mold). This unusual mulching will allow you to much better retain moisture and create a smoother surface, which is more useful for plants. The same goes for unsweetened coffee grounds.You can harvest the seeds by hand by collecting them from the previous harvest. Many people do this, who are tired of bringing home counterfeit products from the market, which then do not even come out. There is nothing difficult in this matter, just remember that not all fruits can be left with seeds at all. For example, from hybrids - next year their offspring will give you crooked and painful bushes with fruits that are far from marketable.By itself, this type is also not uniform, which should be considered, especially if you are expecting a rich harvest. For example, some representatives of this type of tomato are quite simple for growing, the first brush appears quite late in them, and after the appearance of the last (fifth) growth stops. In this case, it is necessary to remove the brushes that appear later in order to maintain the growth of the bush.

Semi-determinant;

The size of the fetus also matters

Of course, many summer residents dream of having a good harvest from their greenhouses and personal plots. Professionals and amateurs go to great lengths to satisfy this desire. One thing is for sure: you need to think in advance about growing fruits (be it cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, apples).

After about two weeks have passed since planting vegetable crops, they will need to be fertilized for the first time. Such feeding should consist of mullein and nitrophoska - at the rate of a tablespoon of nitrophoska, half a liter of liquid mullein per 10 liters of water.

Small tomatoes

Once upon a time it was customary to plant tomatoes after cucumbers. But in recent years, these cultures began to get sick together with this method of planting - they are struck by an unpleasant ailment called anthracnose. That is why preparing for planting a tomato involves replacing the soil and processing it using a hot solution of copper sulfate - its temperature should be about 100 degrees. To prepare the solution yourself, you should take a tablespoon of this fertilizer.

Medium Tomatoes

X

Big tomatoes

It is better to make the width of the bed no more than 90 cm.

How to choose a variety?

To plant tomatoes, cucumbers or flowers, you will need to stock up on high-quality soil. The land must be fertile. You can make beds for plants yourself or buy ready-made ones. Now in many country shops in the assortment there are ready-made beds for greenhouses. They consist of sidewalls and a galvanized fastener. The sides are made of plastic polycarbonate. These beds are very durable, they can last more than 10 years. They are prefabricated structures. The height of the side of the bed is 20 cm, and any length can be made. Such ready-made beds, depending on the design and color, can be very diverse.

Currently, almost everyone has their own land plot in the form of a summer cottage or vegetable garden, where various agricultural crops are planted, including cucumbers and tomatoes and, of course, flowers. You can grow such plants only for yourself or for subsequent sale. The latter option can be a very lucrative business. In both cases, in order to get a good harvest, it will be necessary to rationally organize the technology of growing plants. Tomatoes, cucumbers, flowers can be grown both outdoors in the garden and in the greenhouse.

How to prepare seeds yourself?

You can use the most common soil for seedlings, from the garden, adding only one third of humus. In such a land, it will then be easy to extract tender shoots so as not to injure the roots. But further on for greenhouse tomatoes, a denser soil is already needed.

But, if everything is in order with the selected variety, and you really liked the harvest, then leave the most beautiful and even fruits on the seeds. It is advisable to take such only from the first brushes - your secrets of nature. But do not rip them off right away - let them ripen as much as possible, but do not also overripe. Then pick these tomatoes, lay them out in a warm, dry place, and let them ripen for another two weeks. From this, the fruits will become soft, ready to collect material. But, if during these weeks on any of the fruits you find the first signs of rot, immediately take the seeds.

Others are distinguished by early fruits and do not need to remove brushes and stepsons at all. There are also such semi-determinant bushes that we mentioned in the list, which can even continue their growth upward after the fifth brush, although they do not spread in breadth.

Stamp.

How to grow healthy and robust tomato seedlings?

First, you need to decide on some points, for this we strongly recommend that every fan of growing tomatoes, answer a number of the questions listed below even before you start choosing seeds.

Each bush should be watered with this solution, using a liter for each of them. After 10 days, it is necessary to feed the crops again using potassium sulfate and a fertilizer called Fertility. To prepare such a fertilizer, add a tablespoon of the product and a teaspoon of potassium sulfate to 10 liters of water. It is recommended to use this top dressing about three times a season. You can see the steps for caring for tomatoes in the greenhouse in our video.

• Many novice summer residents often ask one question - is it possible to plant other vegetables along with tomatoes in the same polycarbonate or glass greenhouse? Experts say that other plants from the nightshade group get along well with them - for example, pepper. Therefore, planting tomatoes at the same time as pepper is perfectly acceptable. Since both of these crops - both peppers and tomatoes - require similar care conditions. Of course, planting peppers in the same room with tomatoes is best only when you can't do without it. In this case, the planting of pepper can be carried out both on a separate bed, and between the tomatoes.
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• It is mandatory to install wooden stakes next to the seedlings. In the future, tomatoes will be attached to them. The height of the stakes can be different, on average it is 60-70 cm. Planting is only part of the work. Plants need to be cared for throughout the growing season. It is recommended to pick off yellow and dead leaves, if there is a crust on the surface, loosen the soil, protect them from harmful insects, periodically water and fertilize. Unwanted foliage is removed in the morning. Any summer resident should know that growing tomatoes for several years in a row in the same greenhouse or greenhouse is not recommended.

Land will be needed to lay the beds and grow plants. Land can be bought, but it will be very expensive.The best option is to dig up land on ownerless fields, meadows and forest edges. In this case, only the top layer of the soil is taken - sod at a depth of no more than 20-25 cm. After that, the earth should mature. It must be remembered that you need to stock up on land in early spring after the snow melts. The earth is placed in a basement or other room and covered tightly with an opaque material.

The layout of the beds in the greenhouse.

When growing tomato seedlings, put crushed eggshells on the bottom of the container, which will serve as both drainage and calcium dressing. This is especially important for elongated tomatoes that are prone to apical rot.

And this is what the collection itself looks like: cut the tomato into two halves, then carefully remove the seeds with a spoon. Because they will be wrapped in pulp, rinse them under running water, for which it is more convenient to spread the seeds on a sieve. Then spread out a couple of newspapers and lay out your catch so that it dries well. The air temperature should be at least 30 ° C, but protect all this from direct sunlight.

This is one of the most optimal types of tomato for a greenhouse.

Let's talk about these types in more detail. Getting to know each of them will be very useful for summer residents, because it will help to properly take care of vegetables and provide them with proper care, which will certainly be followed by a rich harvest.

What do you need the tomatoes that you are going to grow?

We plant tomatoes in greenhouse beds

Together with feeding the plants, caring for them also implies that crops should be watered in a timely manner and in the right amount.

The soil for peppers, like for tomatoes, should be loose and moist. There is even a special kind of pepper, which has an interesting shape and fruit color, which is called "tomato-like". It is also quite acceptable to plant tomatoes with eggplants. How to do this according to all the rules, the video at the end of the recording will tell you.

In the greenhouse, you can grow not only tomatoes, but also cucumbers. To get a good harvest in the fall, you need to carefully dig up the ground, and in the spring you need to apply fertilizer. In the spring, seedlings are planted. If seeds are planted, then they are taken two or three years ago, since the young give more barren flowers. 20-24-day seedlings are planted in a greenhouse or greenhouse. It is better to plant plants in 2 rows, the depth of the pits is 10-15 cm. The soil should be fertilized with minerals. The optimum temperature for their growth is 20-25 ° C. It is recommended to build a trellis, as cucumbers almost always stretch towards the light and curl.

• The best option is to alternate them with other crops, for example, cucumbers. Cucumbers and tomatoes have one common disease - anthracnose (root rot). Because of all this, before planting, it is best to remove the top layer of soil (10-15 cm), where the infection is located, and treat the surface with a solution of Oxychom or copper sulfate. Cucumbers and tomatoes cannot be grown in the same greenhouse.
• They wait a month or two, then they cover it with a transparent film and put it on a sunny place. As a result, various biochemical processes begin to actively occur in the soil. In this case, the temperature can reach 60 ° C. Ripening the soil is necessary to cleanse it of bacteria, viruses, fungi, helminth eggs and other parasites. The soil is then ready for use.
• Greenhouses and hotbeds are very widespread today due to the fact that by maintaining optimal humidity and air temperature in them, you can get a higher and better harvest. The greenhouse itself must also meet certain requirements. By virtue of all this, the primary task when growing a tomato or other vegetables is the arrangement of the greenhouse itself, its correct construction. It is necessary to consider in more detail how planting is carried out in a polycarbonate greenhouse, the peculiarities of caring for agricultural crops, the rules for installing a greenhouse.
• And it is important that the planted seedlings in the greenhouse are good. Here is one of the most successful greenhouse garden projects for this culture:

These carefully prepared seeds can be stored for up to 5 years, but remember that germination will deteriorate slightly every year. And for convenience, make small paper envelopes for storage, on which write the variety and year of collection.

They, in particular, are distinguished by a fairly short maturation period, which, of course, makes them even more attractive. And in the summer, in polycarbonate greenhouses, they do not even need additional heating. For more complete clarity: the summer period for ripening is more than enough for them.

This type is ideal for growing in a polycarbonate greenhouse.

What are the climatic conditions in your region?

Remember not to water the tomatoes too much, as this can negatively affect the quality and taste of the fruit.

Preparatory work

When there is a week left before planting tomatoes in the greenhouse, you need to carry out the stage of preparing the beds. Their width should be about 60 - 90 cm, and the height should be about 25 - 30 cm. Between the beds, you should definitely leave passages about 70 cm wide.For planting a tomato, it is customary to use clay or loamy soil after sawdust is added to it , humus and peat in equal proportions. For one square meter of land, you will need about three buckets of such a mixture.

These plants love light. To increase branching, the cucumbers are pinched. This is done in the area of ​​the apical bud of the main shoot above the stem node. Watering cucumbers, unlike tomatoes, should be more abundant and frequent. Before fruiting, this can be done less often. And during the period when fruits appear, watering is carried out every 2 days. This can be done with a watering can, or you can build an automatic irrigation system: sprinkler, subsoil or drip. This will require a pipeline from which water will be supplied.

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Do-it-yourself greenhouse construction

Drip irrigation scheme in the greenhouse.

Having prepared the soil for planting tomatoes, make holes 20-25 cm deep.Leave the distance between the holes within 70-90 cm, and plant plants in the rows at a distance of 30-50 cm.

Now we are preparing tomato seeds for growing in a greenhouse. To do this, discard them in advance by placing them in a 5% saline solution for 10 minutes, removing all floating specimens. After that, rinse them and place them on a clean paper towel, previously moistened with water. Put another one on top of the same, and leave for 20 hours in a warm place. After that, the planting material is completely ready.

As for the standard type, in our article we will not pay much attention to it, since its varieties are created more for open ground, and not for growing in polycarbonate greenhouses.

Plant beds

It is also notable for the fact that this type of bush does not in any way limit the growth of the stem, due to which, in polycarbonate greenhouses, tomatoes can be grown all year round, which, of course, has a positive effect on the size of the crop.

How long do you expect to ripen?

Experts advise watering tomatoes every five days.

In the case when peat is used instead of soil, humus, turf, sawdust and sand must be mixed with it in a ratio of 1: 1: 1: 0.5. After preparing the soil, it should be fertilized with double granular superphosphate - you need to take a teaspoon of the product, as well as wood ash - it will take a couple of tablespoons. The preparation of planting material for planting in a polycarbonate, glass or film greenhouse invariably begins with growing seedlings. It is best to sow seeds in special containers from February to the end of March.After about 50 days, when the shoot is about 30 cm long, the tomato seedlings can be removed from the containers.

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How to grow tomatoes in a greenhouse

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In the greenhouse, you can grow a variety of vegetables: tomatoes, cucumbers, and so on. Tomatoes are very easy to grow. It is important to know that a few days before planting them in the form of seedlings, you will need to make beds.

As mentioned above, to plant vegetables or flowers in a greenhouse, the first step is to select a site and build the greenhouse itself. The plot must be open and large enough. You can make almost any size of the greenhouse, the optimal width should be no more than 5 m, for the length there are no restrictions. The site should be well insulated, since the sun's rays are necessary for plant growth and photosynthesis. After the territory has been selected, you will need to build a foundation.

If you've fertilized your tomato beds well, then there shouldn't be any nutrient problems in the summer. The only thing that can interfere is diseases of the root and stem, which will not allow taking everything you need from the ground. In this case, then you will switch to foliar feeding, every week spraying the plants with Fertika Lux solution, taking 10 g of fertilizer per 10 liters of water.

You need to prepare tomato seeds for growing seedlings like this:

With the size of the fruit, or rather with varieties of different sizes, the situation is much simpler. There are already much less complicated and incomprehensible terms and additional conditions. And yet, you need to pay attention to the size, because it depends on what kind of tomato crop to count on and what kind of care to provide. In addition, size affects both sustainability and how to properly grow seeds and seedlings.

Tomato planting technology

But as one of the best, this type requires proper care. And care, of course, begins with planting seeds or seedlings. Landing, which is quite obvious, should be done correctly. How is this correct?

How much attention are you willing to pay to plant care?

Consider the fact that in the first ten days after planting, watering is also not desirable, since the crops have not yet had time to adapt to the new living conditions. When you take care of plants in a greenhouse, remember that the water temperature for irrigation should be around 20-22 degrees.

The planting scheme largely depends on the type of plant and the characteristics of its bushes. For example, in low-growing varieties with an early ripening period in a greenhouse, three shoots are formed, so they are advised to plant them in two rows, observing a checkerboard pattern, as shown in the video.

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It is the easiest to plant tomatoes, the harder it is to get a good harvest. After planting the seedlings, it is not watered for 10-12 days. After that, they are tied up. Tomatoes are formed into 1 stem, while leaving about 7-8 flower clusters. You can leave several stepsons or only one bottom. This should be done in the morning. The columns from them are left 2-3 cm high. To prevent the transfer of viral diseases from one plant to another (healthy), break off the stepsons so that the juice does not fall on other tomatoes. This makes a big difference. Pollinate flowers on their own by gentle shaking. After that, spraying with water is carried out immediately. Spraying increases humidity, so the next step is to ventilate the greenhouse.

The height of the latter should be no more than 35-40 cm, width - 60-90 cm, length is arbitrary.

Tomato care rules

Polycarbonate greenhouses are becoming increasingly popular. This building material has many benefits. Firstly, it is quite easy to install, and secondly, it has good thermal insulation properties, due to which powerful heating in the greenhouse is not required.Polycarbonate transmits sunlight well and scatters them. Fourthly, unlike ordinary glass, this is an impact-resistant material, in addition, it is flexible. Its biggest advantage is that it is affordable. To build such a greenhouse, it is advisable to organize a strip or monolithic foundation, the first option is simpler and cheaper.

Well, finally, the time has come for planting tomatoes. The soil is ready, the air and ground temperature is normal, spring is in full swing - it's time to bring seedlings to the greenhouse. And then everything is easier:

Step 1. Pour the substrate into the box and shake it several times. In this way, we achieve an ideal horizontal plane on which we lay out the seeds. If you did not process them, then with a step of at least 1 cm.

So, what are the sizes of fruits? It's very simple: small, medium and large. Now, let's dwell on each of the sizes in more detail, and also give examples of specific varieties and even hybrids.You should adhere to simple growing rules. Such as:Not every variety of tomatoes can be called universal: some are better suited for juices, others for pickling, some for salads. If, say, you are going to sell your tomatoes, then high yielding varieties of greenhouse tomatoes are better suited for you. A question such as caring for your tomatoes in a greenhouse also matters: some sort of tomato will be more whimsical, some less.

The approximate amount of water that plants need before the flowering period is 4 - 5 liters per square meter. During the flowering period, this amount increases to 10 - 13 liters. It is best to water your crops in the greenhouse in the morning. Proper care of vegetables also involves maintaining an optimal temperature regime inside the greenhouse. When the weather is sunny outside, the greenhouse should be about 20 - 22 degrees, with cloudy - 19 - 20. It is especially important to prevent sudden temperature fluctuations at night. The temperature during this period should be about 16 - 17 degrees before flowering.

In this case, two bushes should be at a distance of about 35 cm from each other. As for the standard varieties, in which one shoot is well developed, it is permissible to plant them more densely. But at the same time, the distance between crops should not be less than 30 cm. Since tall varieties of tomatoes need more space, it will be correct to plant them at a distance of about 70 cm from each other.

Planting vegetables in a greenhouse is a great option. A greenhouse, in particular a polycarbonate greenhouse, can provide plants with sufficient insolation, temperature and humidity. To get a large and high-quality crop, you will need not only to plant the plants correctly, but also to organize constant care for them, which includes regular watering, pinching, removing yellow and dead leaves, loosening the soil, tying up, fertilizing the soil and protecting against pests, in including pathogens.

Features of growing cucumbers

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Options for the execution of beds in the greenhouse: a - a bed on a stand, b - a raised bed.

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We bring in boxes with seedlings and water.

Conclusions and recommendations

Step 2. Next, we make a weak solution of potassium permanganate, pour it into a spray bottle and spray the seeds. So they will not move from their place, they will even be crushed a little.

In this section, we are talking about the cherry tomatoes that we all love, which we are used to seeing, for example, in such a salad as Caesar. They are very convenient to preserve, and in terms of their taste, they can be an excellent addition to any table. Of course, they are quite whimsical in terms of growing conditions. They can only be taken care of in greenhouses.