Is it possible to grow tomato seedlings without picking?

Is it possible to grow tomato seedlings without picking - inexperienced gardeners often ask, fearing damage to fragile young plants in the process or not wanting to waste time on an unnecessary stage. You can - but you will still decide what to do in this or that case.

And we will tell you in detail how to grow tomato seedlings without picking and whether it is worth doing.

Do tomatoes need a pick

A pick is the transplanting of young seedlings from a common box into a more spacious and individual container to increase their growth and nutrition area. If this procedure is carried out correctly, the transplant only helps to strengthen the seedlings.

• Seedling picking - what is it and why is it needed?

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However, in order to carry out the process correctly, it is important to take into account quite a lot of nuances, otherwise there is a great chance only to harm the seedlings. It is important not to skip the phase of its growth, during which a pick is carried out, to prevent the plants from overgrowing and stretching, not to damage the still very delicate root system and thin stems during transfer - this is usually the reason for excitement among novice summer residents. They also add worries about whether the transplanted sprouts will get sick from stress.

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Experienced gardeners mainly complain about the time spent, because the picking of tomatoes is often carried out not once, but 2-3 times, which is a sufficient argument "against" in the case when there are a lot of seedlings, and she, it turns out, is quite capable of doing without this procedure without prejudice to further growth and development.

Benefits of growing tomatoes without picking

For the reasons described above, sowing of tomatoes for seedlings without picking has been increasingly practiced recently. Moreover, admirers of this method argue that the resulting plants are in no way inferior to those that dived several times - and, therefore, why waste time and effort. It's just that tomatoes grown without picking, after planting, have slightly different requirements for growing than those previously picked.

So, the advantages of tomato seedlings without picking:

• saving time and effort for the gardener;
• absence of possible damage to the stems and roots of tomatoes;
• no stress in plants, which means better adaptation after planting in the ground;
• excellent development of the main taproot, which was not pinched - watering in the open field is needed for such tomatoes much less often;
• better adaptability of an adult plant to unfavorable growing conditions - after all, its parts were not damaged.

Tomatoes - growing seedlings without picking

Sowing tomato seeds for seedlings without picking is done in the usual way. Depending on the ripening period of the selected tomato variety (early-, mid- or late-ripening), the seeds are planted in a previously prepared soil. They are pre-soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate, and the soil is disinfected and sterilized.

Seeds for seedlings that are not planned to be dived can be sown even in the last days of May, while gardeners usually start to deal with tomatoes in February! In this case, you will receive fruits in the open field at the same time.

Differences begin at the planting stage - tomato seeds are placed not in a common container with soil, but immediately in individual containers. These can be plastic cups or peat pots. There is only one condition for them - that the volume of the container is sufficient not only for the crumbs-sprout, but also for a larger, grown-up seedling plant. As a rule, this requires at least 0.5 liters, and preferably even 1 liter.

A third of the volume of the disinfected container with drainage holes is filled with soil, spilled with water and sown in each 1-3 tomato seeds using conventional technology, only slightly deepening. Why "spare"? In case any of the seeds don't germinate. If everyone survives, you leave the strongest and healthiest sprout (and it is advisable to do this without pulling out weak and deformed plants, but carefully cutting them off with scissors). If you don't have a lot of seedlings - well-sprung "spare" sprouts can simply be transplanted into a separate container.

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  Step by step instructions on how to grow healthy and robust tomato seedlings.

As the seedlings grow, gradually pour the prepared soil into the glasses, after which the young tomatoes are actively growing, quickly growing additional roots, plus to the intact main one, and practically do not get sick.

Another option for planting tomato seedlings, which they do not plan to dive, can be self-made containers like pieces of film or non-woven material, collected in a kind of bag with tucked edges and tightly packed together in a box.

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In this case, the entire volume of the bag is filled with soil, and, if necessary, adding soil, its edges are simply gradually expanded. Otherwise, they act according to the above scheme.

Large peat tablets are another great solution for those who want to grow tomato seedlings without picking

If you are really harvesting a lot of seedlings, don't want to mess around with hundreds of pots, or don't have a large, well-lit room for growing young plants, there is another option. Tomato seeds for seedlings without picking are sown all in the same common box, but with some nuances.

Firstly, the box is filled with earth, like the cups, only by a third. Secondly, tomato seeds are not sown tightly, as in the usual case with the planned pick, but rather rarely, at a distance of at least 5-8 cm from each other. Thirdly, as soon as the seedlings sprout, cardboard or plastic wide strips-partitions are placed between them in the ground so that their roots do not intertwine.

Next, your task is to add soil as the seedlings grow, as indicated earlier.

Care of tomato seedlings grown without picking

Care is carried out according to the usual scheme for seedlings grown at home - supplementary lighting, timely watering as the soil dries, top dressing, hardening. The main difference from the dived seedlings is the above-described filling of earth in containers and hilling of young plants.

Usually, tomato seedlings are fed twice with complex fertilizer - 10 days after the pick and then two weeks after that. For unpicked tomatoes, a third such top dressing will also be useful.

Such seedlings are planted in the ground approximately 35-40 days after the emergence of seedlings. By this time, it should reach a height of 25-30 cm and have at least 8-11 well-developed leaves, and preferably also a couple of formed inflorescences. Disembarkation is carried out together with an earthen lump.

The selection of the best plants carried out at the seedling stage and good care in the future by the time of planting allows you to get powerful and strong tomato seedlings that do not wither and actively grows already in the open field.

Each gardener has his own habits and rules for growing seedlings. In addition, our plots differ significantly - in soil, climate, location. Everyone has the right to grow their plants as it suits them best.

And we just told you that, contrary to popular belief, it is quite possible to grow strong and healthy tomato seedlings without picking - and many are already doing this. Why not give it a try too?

How to grow tomato seedlings at home?

Every novice gardener can grow an excellent tomato crop at home without outside help, observing all agrotechnical norms for sowing, diving and planting seedlings. Only by ensuring the correct vegetation regime for the development of an annual plant can one expect an excellent result of one's work on a personal plot.

The key to a big harvest is always in the quality of the seeds. Before sowing these, you need to decide on the varieties of tomatoes, the timing of their ripening and the temperature conditions for sowing.

Varietal classification of tomatoes

It should be borne in mind that tomatoes are classified according to stem height, fruit shape and ripening time. Among the most popular high-yielding modern varieties that take root in our natural and climatic conditions, stand out:

• small-fruited - Sweet 100, Evita, Mirabell;
• medium-sized - Martina, Goldene Koeniging, Harzfeuer, Balkonstar;
• plum - Roma, San Marzano;
• large-fruited - Master, Beefmaster, Supermarmande.

Each land owner chooses a variety of tomatoes for planting based on the meatiness and elasticity of the fruit for further use on the farm - canning, sandwiches, salads or making sauces.

Before planting, it is worthwhile to decide in advance on the classification of the variety as a determinant or indeterminate species. The first option involves the development of low-growing plants, the second is prone to forcing a stem of more than two meters. This aspect implies completely different agrotechnical conditions for growing tomatoes in the open field.

Preparation of seed material and the timing of sowing tomatoes for seedlings

Planting tomato seeds for seedlings begins with the preparation of seed material, in particular, soaking the seeds in water at room temperature with the addition of flower fertilizers and growth stimulants. The proportions of the preparations are always indicated on the packages.

After bubbling, the seeds are spread in one ball on a damp gauze folded in several layers and covered with the same materials in order to create a warm vacuum at a temperature of 30 ° C with the creation of effective air exchange. After a couple of days, wet and warmed seeds swell and expel the first buds.

Seeds are sown into the soil in early March or early April. Growing tomato seedlings in a greenhouse leads to earlier seeding. For forcing the steams, you need a tray, the dimensions of which are selected depending on the expected amount of tomato seedlings grown.This can be a rectangular flower pot bought in a supermarket, or an unnecessary old vessel in the form of a metal or plastic basin.

The sowing container is filled with loose soil mixed with compost. You can buy loose humus in a specialized store, or cook it at home in the autumn.

The poured soil layer should not exceed fifteen centimeters, this height will provide optimal moisture saturation, and will not create an excess of moisture. Sowing tomato seeds for seedlings is carried out at the rate of one seed per three square meters. see land. The layer covering the sown seeds should not be dense and thick. The ideal option is 2-3 millimeters.

After the end of the seeding procedure, the container is placed in a warm place and the first shoots are expected. When these appear, it is necessary to take care of effective lighting of the place where the container is installed, since a heat-loving plant, receiving a sufficient amount of light, will form not only a stem, but will give all its strength to the leaves, which will subsequently provide strong and hardy seedlings.

At the beginning of forcing, the first two leaves are formed on the stem. It is from this moment that intensive lighting of the shoots begins in order to effectively form the root system by plants and harden them - taking them out into the street for several hours, increasing the time by twenty minutes every day. With the growth of shoots, the time for seedlings on the street also increases.

Planting tomato seedlings in a greenhouse

After hardening procedures at 60 days of age, the seedlings can be planted in a pre-prepared greenhouse, in which the soil for tomatoes should be similar in structure to the soil in the seedling growing tray. The main useful property is the saturation of the soil with the necessary microelements that can determine the conditions for the growth of strong and fruiting stems. The greenhouse should have a collapsible structure, since after the tomatoes are planted in the ground, the process of getting used to the natural climatic conditions will continue.

Many professionals in the agronomic field advise sowing seeds in the greenhouse right away. This makes it possible to simplify the task of growing seedlings, their hardening and picking at times.

Picking tomato seedlings

Growing tomato seedlings at home may involve planting them in open ground without the use of greenhouse structures. For this, the sown material at the age of 30 days is subjected to picking, transplanting into separate pots in order to develop a strong root system of a separate stem. After the end of the late frost period, the dived seedlings are planted in fertilized soil, immersing the stem to the first lower leaf. If the seedlings have long stems, you should pay attention to their garter to a stably stable support, which can serve as an ordinary wooden glazing bead.

After the seedlings have begun at the landing site, it is worth regularly monitoring the appearance of new shoots with already developed leaves. These sprouts should be removed in order to further form a strong root system of tomatoes.

To ensure a high future yield of growing tomatoes, you should not miss the appearance of four shoots on the seedlings and remove the tops.

Top dressing of tomato seedlings

Initial fertilization of the soil for tomatoes requires a sufficient amount of humus in it. However, this is not at all sufficient to provide plants with the necessary micro and macroelements throughout the entire growing season of development and fruiting. If the soil contains a balanced composition of the necessary biological substances, then there are no problems with the growth of tomatoes. However, the ideal option is rarely found in nature, often the gardener has to independently monitor the condition of the soil and plants, regulating the lack of useful components by applying top dressing.

The lack of certain types of elements is always characterized by external defective manifestations on the seedlings:

• if the stems of the planted plants are thin, dense and acquire a purple color, while the plants are undersized and do not discard inflorescences for a long time, there is a lack of nitrogen, which can be replenished by applying nitrogen fertilizers;
• if yellow and dark brown spots appear on the leaves of the seedlings, the foliage curls and dries up, while the stalks die - there is not enough magnesium for the tomatoes, due to which the so-called chlorosis develops;
• if the tops of the seedlings have turned yellow, and the lower rows of foliage are still green, you urgently need to feed the tomatoes with calcium and iron;
• in cases of a long absence of inflorescences, it is advisable to add phosphorus fertilizers to the soil;
• with a lack of manganese, the seedlings fade, weaken and are not able to physically form inflorescences;
• the lack of boron contributes to the growth of many shoots from the rhizome when the main stem withers, the seedlings turn into bushy plantings.

Tomatoes are very whimsical to watering and saturation of the soil with useful components. A particularly useful component is ordinary wood ash, which must be present in tomato beds.

Pest control

A very important point in growing seedlings is pest control. Aphids, which devour foliage and inflorescences, are especially dangerous for tomatoes. Modern means of intoxication help fight against it. An effective biological method for combating harmful insects is growing tomatoes in the same area with nasturtium or poppy, attracting other types of insects that destroy aphids.

Tomato seedlings love bright sun, warm, well-ventilated places, protected from the sultry lunch heat, frequent watering of the stem base with room temperature water.

Video: tips for growing tomato seedlings

It is advised to pick tomatoes twice: the first time, when a couple of leaves appeared, and the second time directly into the greenhouse or open ground. After that, the seedlings will be healthy, and the root system will be strong.

How is picking tomatoes

It is better to start picking when a couple of leaves appear on the seedlings, then they will better take root in a new place and will hurt less.

Stages of a pick:

• Seedlings need to be watered before picking, water softens the ground, so the tomatoes will be easily removed;
• After a couple of hours, the seedlings can be removed one at a time and transplanted into separate pots (cups, etc.);
• It is better to put on gloves on your hands, well, it is better to wear rags, they will protect both hands and seedlings;
• In separate containers, the soil should be the same as in the general box, treated from pests with a weak solution of manganese, preferably warm (room temperature);

• The seedling is removed from the common box with a spatula or spatula (scoop), while the root is shortened by a third;

• It is better to take seedlings by the leaves, and not by the stems, since the stem can be damaged and the sprout will die, and if the leaf is damaged, the seedling will be in order. And from below, the sprout is taken as a clod of earth in which the root is located;

• A hole is made in a separate pot, you can use your finger, you can use a pencil 5-6 cm deep, where the seedling is placed, while it is important not to bend the root, and all the leaves should be above the ground;

• After planting, crush the earth around the seedling (compact);

• When all the seedlings are dived, they need to be watered with water at room temperature and the seedlings should be left in the shade.

Seedling care after picking

In the future, the seedlings are watered twice a week, the main thing is that it does not dry out. As soon as the dived seedlings take root, they are transferred to a bright and ventilated place.

If the picking of tomatoes was done not in separate containers, but in another larger common box, then the re-picking is done as well, only the distance between the seedlings increases to 8 cm.

How to water tomato seedlings before picking

Before picking, tomato seedlings are watered 2-3 times a week with water at room temperature. First, water it little by little, until the first seedlings appear, then a week later.You can not water often, the earth should dry out a little, but not dry out.

You should not water the seedlings from above, you need to try to water under the roots so that water does not get on the leaves.

Alternatively, you can spray the seedlings with skim milk. Half a glass of milk is diluted with one liter of water, and the leaves are sprayed in the morning. It helps with leaf curling and viral diseases of tomatoes.

note

Is it necessary to dive tomatoes

Many gardeners grow tomatoes without diving. For this, the seeds are planted immediately in separate containers so that the roots of the seedlings do not intertwine.

With this planting, tomatoes will not need to dive when planting them in the ground or greenhouse. Only in this case, the seedlings get sick and take root for a long time.

How to plant tomatoes without picking

In order to plant tomatoes without picking, you need to plant seeds in separate containers or a common box, partitioned inside into separate parts as follows:

• Plant 3-5 seeds in one cup, it doesn't matter if they are dry seeds or germinated;
• When the seeds have sprung, they need to be thinned out, for this unnecessary and weak seedlings are not pulled out, but cut at the root, so as not to damage the roots of other plants. Usually two seedlings are left;
• When leaves appear, thin out again, leaving one of the strongest and healthiest seedlings;

• You should add soil to the pots as the seedlings grow, this strengthens the roots and accelerates their growth.

Seedling care without picking

Such seedlings are watered with water at room temperature, depending on the drying out of the soil. Also, seedlings can be fed with fertilizers and exposed to light, each time turning the pots in the direction of the light movement so that the seedlings do not grow crooked.

Before planting seedlings in a greenhouse or in open ground, they must be hardened. For this, the room where the seedlings are located is ventilated, and over time, the seedlings are taken out into the street for a while.

Do I need to dive tomatoes and peppers

It is believed that diving strengthens the plant, as:

• When diving and pinching off a third of the root, the root system begins to branch out, thereby strengthening the plant;
• Diving tomatoes slows down their growth, which prevents the stems from stretching too much;
• It is easier to transplant seedlings into the ground from separate containers without damaging the roots than from a common box, where the roots can get tangled, and break when planting;
• If the size of the pot corresponds to the size of the seedlings, then during watering, the root system develops and strengthens, and in large containers the water stagnates, the roots lack air and the seedlings begin to stretch.

Many gardeners argue about the importance and necessity of diving.

note

It is believed that in regions with short summers and cold climates, diving is necessary, since when diving and plucking off the root, the root system begins to grow to the sides, which is good for the plant. In such regions, fertile, nutritious and warm soil is at the surface

At the same time, in warm regions, there is no particular need for a dive, since the root system will receive everything it needs at depth even at depth.

Tomato seedlings without picking

A pick or dive is the transfer of young plants to another location. This method is widely used when growing seedlings. Tomatoes tolerate this procedure quite well, and some gardeners transplant young sprouts twice or even three times as they grow. The time for the first pick comes when the first true leaves appear in the plants, this is about 7-10 days after germination.

Earlier, following the general opinion that picking is necessary, even necessary and brings great benefits to seedlings, I also transplanted small tomato sprouts from a common box into separate cups. It should be noted that this work is not difficult, but it never brought me much joy, probably too painstaking for me. Therefore, one day I tried to grow seedlings of tomatoes and peppers without picking at all.It turned out no worse, and since then for many years I have not been doing diving, to my delight.

Tomato seedlings without picking

I grow seedlings mainly in cups. And to avoid picking, I sow both tomatoes and peppers directly into cups. Moreover, I fill the containers intended for tomato seedlings by a third, and for peppers - almost completely.

Plastic cups for seedlings

Before sowing tomatoes, I fill the cups with soil by a third

For planting, I use seeds harvested by myself, I always have enough of them, so I sow at least 3-5 seeds in each glass, I do not save.

I sow 3-5 seeds in a glass

When tomato shoots appear, I thin them twice, and I do not pull out unnecessary plants, but carefully cut them with scissors. First, I leave two sprouts in each glass, and when they grow up, get stronger and throw away 3-4 real leaves, then I leave only one of the strongest and healthiest plant.

Seedlings of tomato seedlings

I leave one plant in a glass

Excess seedlings during thinning, if necessary, can, of course, be transplanted into other containers.

As the seedlings grow, I gradually add the prepared soil to the cups. To avoid an unpleasant disease - "black leg", I huddle young plants a little. After adding soil, tomatoes quickly grow additional roots, grow actively and practically do not get sick. Peppers don't stretch as much as tomatoes and don't need to add a lot of soil to their cups.

Sometimes I grow some of the seedlings right away in boxes.

Tomato seedlings in a box

In this case, I also fill the containers first by only a third, and then, as the tomatoes grow, I add soil to the desired level - 12-15 cm. In the boxes I put partitions between the plants, so the roots do not intertwine and are not damaged during planting. This means that the adaptation of seedlings after planting in open ground goes very well.

A rigorous selection of the best plants and good care allows you to get powerful and strong seedlings of both tomatoes and peppers by the time of planting.

Tomato seedlings

Seedling sweet pepper

There are practically no plant fallouts, they do not even wither and immediately actively grow.

Of course, I do not urge everyone to abandon the picking of seedlings completely, but simply draw attention to the fact that good seedlings can be grown without this procedure.
blog Delicious Vegetable Garden

Is it better to grow tomatoes with a pick or as a pepper?

Vladislav

Sowing: if in a greenhouse - then 50-60 days before disembarkation to a permanent place, if in open ground 50 days before disembarkation. (when the return cold ends in your area, check with experienced gardeners).
At the expense of the pick: if you do not have a place, you cannot provide normal supplementary lighting - sow as late as possible, in the flesh up to 40 day old seedlings and always in individual cups, so you will not need to slow down the growth of seedlings with a pick or drugs such as Athlete. If the opposite is true, then even more so without picking and in separate cups, just cut the roots in the soil with a knife, so that a fibrous root system begins to develop, not a pivotal one. This is the most time-consuming way of growing seedlings, of course, unless you need to grow vegetables in more than 2 families.
Varieties for dummies. for 5 years I have been growing in the open field, a red tomato, yields a harvest in any summer. Of the yellow ones - yellow brawler, early, tasty. You can recommend a lot of varieties to the greenhouse, but start with the win-win and tasty ones: Blagovest, Platus, Chimgan, Pearl of Siberia - their bushes are no more than 1.8 m (semi-determinant).

Svetik

Tomatoes are best dived. First, I sow in one container in rows - it is convenient to use cake boxes. Then I put them in separate cups, pinch the root, and even then not always 🙂 And sometimes I sow peppers in separate containers right away, sometimes just like tomatoes. But I didn't notice much difference.Even planted peppers do not differ from those that are sown immediately on the spot. In general, there are many different reasons for the growth of seedlings - the weather, the quality of the seeds, and others. I sow peppers and tomatoes in March. Previously, it does not help, there was experience with the February seedlings. March overtook her and surpassed her in growth. Good luck.

Galina spylnaya

With a dive.

Kuzmich

It is IMPOSSIBLE to grow tomatoes in Siberia without picking.
P.S. The same as pepper. Our summer is short, without good tomato seedlings you will not get it.

Dina erbit

Of course with a pick!

Nina Ablalimova

Tomatoes must be dived. For a greenhouse, you can try "grosmester", on the street - "matryoshka".

New day

I experimented last year, sowing with a dive as usual and without it. Those without, I sowed 2 pieces in a container, which I make from a film. I take a 1-liter tank, wrap a 2-layer thick film on it, fix the edges and bottom with a stapler, remove the can. The height of such a glass is 25-30 cm. Tall enough, I explain why: I pour a little soil, about 5 cm, plant seeds. If both plants have sprung up, I remove one. And as the seedlings grow, I fill up the earth. The result is an excellent seedling with a powerful root system.
Tomato bushes grown without picking did not differ much from bushes grown in the traditional way. The harvest is the same, but less fuss with seedlings.
I live in the middle lane, so it is difficult to recommend varieties for your region. there are many defendants from Siberia, experienced gardeners. Will advise you anything.

Anna Malchikova

Julia has a very interesting way of growing seedlings, she really gets a powerful root system. But I traditionally dive both tomatoes and peppers. Just for convenience: there are many indoor flowers, and the seed jars take up little space on the windowsill. And since the beginning of April, I throw out the cut seedlings on a plastic-glazed balcony and live with an open door. The family members are not very happy, but tolerate.

Julia Solovieva

you need to dive and tomatoes and peppers and eggplants,

Olga

I plant tomatoes in 3-5 liter milk bags.Those who later ascended, throw out the remaining ones, dive into the same bag, burying them up to their ears (I make a hole with a pencil) They grow additional roots Before planting 1-2 plants in a bag

Marina

Now there are many seeds of the "Siberian Garden" company on sale - it is the Siberian selection, you should try them

Natalia Begisheva

tomatoes love picking. you can and a couple of times ...
but it is better to plant peppers in pots right away

Tatiana Tsivilskaya

I dive peppers, tomatoes and eggplants ... I think that you need ...

Len.to4ka

I also dive tomatoes, no pepper. But I liked Julia's answer!

tatiana savchenko SIBERIA

I sow tomato, pepper and eggplant seeds in small containers - plastic containers from putty (I have been using them for many years). After the appearance of the first pair of true leaves (when the plants germinate, then their first leaves are cotyledons, the real ones appear later), I open them into 0.5 liter plastic cups (I buy disposable dishes in a store, they last 2-3-4 years). The glasses are filled with soil (slightly compacted) by about 3/4. Be sure to leave an empty space in the glass, this is necessary so that you can fill up the earth. When picking at a tomato, I pinch off about 1/3 of the central root (this is necessary to stimulate the growth of the root system), I do not pinch the roots of peppers and eggplant. I deepen all the plants to the cotyledon leaves.
I have the following sowing dates for tomatoes. Large-fruited tall varieties for greenhouses - late Feral - early March, early ripening varieties for open ground - late March - early April.
From year to year, I use soot proven, well-proven varieties, adding 2-3 new ones.
For me personally, the favorites are:
For greenhouses Raspberry Giant, Grandee (improved Budenovka), Paul Robson and sometimes, hunting, Persimmon. The first 2 varieties are very large-fruited, thin-skinned, fleshy, low-seeded, sweet.Paul Robson - these are "black" tomatoes, very, very sweet, with a good keeping quality, stored in uncanned form almost until December, without losing their "marketable" appearance. Persimmon - large-fruited yellow tomatoes. The disadvantage of this variety is that it is difficult to transport and poorly stored, but it is extremely tasty.
For open ground - Fighter (Buyan), Explosion (improved White filling), Altai standard varieties - completely trouble-free varieties, as they say "for the lazy", do not require pinning, you can not tie them up. The Heavyweight of Siberia and Grushovka are more capricious.
In general, Siberia is big. I wrote for the conditions of Novosibirsk

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Traditionally, tomato seedlings are grown using a pick. But with this method, the roots of young plants are severely injured. Therefore, many growers use a different method. Learn more about it.

For several years in a row I have been growing tomato seedlings in cups without picking. This method has several advantages:

• from seedlings grown without transplanting stronger plants grow;
• seedlings are not injured when planted in the ground, so the crop ripens a little earlier than with traditional cultivation;
• growing tomato seedlings without picking requires less labor.

The main concern is to fill the cups with soil and sow seeds in them. There is a lot more fuss with the pick.

What capacity to choose

For normal development, tomatoes require a container with a volume of about 0.5 liters. You can use cut milk, juice, or beer plastic cups. The main thing is not to forget to make holes in the bottom of the container for water drainage. I grow seedlings in fairly large quantities, so I have adapted to making glasses from old film - this is cheaper and you can always make the right amount.

For the manufacture of seed containers, I use pieces of plastic pipe left over from a used roll of film. The diameter of the tube is about 7-8 cm, the length is 30-35 cm. I loosely fill the prepared soil mixture into the tube. Then I wrap a rectangular piece of tape around the pipe. I fasten it on the side with a piece of wire, and I form the bottom of the future glass, tucking the film protruding from the end. Then I put the glass on the ground and take out the pipe with a light tap and shake. At the same time, the earth remains in the glass.

Preparation of soil for seedlings

I tried the most different soil for seedlings - purchased and homemade. Now I settled on a mixture of peat, earth and sand in a ratio of 2: 3: 1. Another type of substrate that I use successfully is coconut flakes. But when using it, you need to be very careful about fertilizing seedlings, because there are no nutrients in the shavings themselves.

The glasses stuffed with the substrate are tightly set on the greenhouse racks and be sure to water them with water.This must be done so that the earth settles before the seeds are sown in it.

Sowing seeds

I sow the seeds immediately after filling the pots with the substrate. I calculate the sowing time taking into account the varietal characteristics of the tomatoes. Early varieties at the time of planting on a permanent place should be 40-50 days old, late ones - 65-70 days. I try not to overexpose seedlings in pots for longer than the prescribed period. "Old" seedlings take root worse, the harvest is delayed.

For sowing, I make a depression of about 1 cm in each pot and put a seed there. After that, I water the soil in the pots well again. Until the shoots appear, I maintain the temperature within the range of 27-28 ° C. When the seeds hatch, I lower the temperature to 16-18 ° C. After a week, I increase the temperature by 2-3 ° C and maintain it throughout the entire period of growing seedlings.

Tomato seedlings

Tomato seedling care

I don't water tomato seedlings in cups too often. A large volume of soil holds moisture for a long time, even if the top layer is dry. I carefully observe the seedlings - if their shoots are elastic, with foliage raised up, then watering is not needed. And if the leaves have dropped slightly and the plants look wilted, it's time to water.

A slight withering of the leaves does not harm the tomatoes at all. Excessive moisture affects them much worse. But this does not mean that seedlings can be watered from time to time. It is important to catch the moment when the plants just started to wither, but in no case dry out.

So that the seedlings do not stretch out, I supplement it in such a way that the daylight hours lasts at least 18 hours. Some people leave the lamps on all night. I believe that this is not necessary, because plants need at least a short rest period.

Planting tomato seedlings

By the time of planting in a permanent place, the seedlings are fully formed and sometimes even throw out the first buds. Due to the large volume of the cups, the root system of the plants is well developed.

When landing on a permanent place, I unfold the film without disturbing the earthen lump. After that, I place the plants in the holes, sprinkle with earth and water. Thus, tomatoes practically do not notice the change of "place of residence" and continue to develop.