Processing and germination of seeds
You can also accelerate seed germination at home using heat or cold treatment when they are swollen. Seeds with a thick seed coat (sweet peas (except for seeds with a white peel), nasturtium, Gaillardia, Venidium) are poured with hot water (about 40-60 ° C, depending on the number of seeds) and left for a day.
Large seeds, but not with a strong peel, are soaked for a day in ordinary water, but better with the addition of growth substances, such as potassium humate, "Epin-Extra", "Zircon". This is a very common method of accelerating seed germination nowadays. Then the water is drained, and the seeds are placed in a damp material (sand, perlite, soft cloth or paper) and placed in a film bag, which is placed in heat at 22-25 ° C.
But there are cold-resistant plants that germinate better at low positive temperatures (2-5 ° C). Under such conditions, aster, gaura, coreopsis, kosmeya, cochia, levkoy, echinacea germinate well in the refrigerator. These species germinate in warmth, but in the cold, germination proceeds, although not quickly, but amicably, and the seedlings from such seeds are more powerful and even.
Planting dates for petunias
As a rule, it is recommended to sow petunia very early. In the month of February, and best of all, right in January. This method is good for experienced gardeners or those who grow seedlings for sale, so that in April they are already blooming on the counter. But with petunia and so you will dance, while you grow it, watering, picking. Why complicate life for yourself and illuminate more seedlings. And when sowing in the early stages, it is necessary to keep young seedlings under the lamp for three days, without turning it off! And then it is necessary to supplement the lighting.
I did not subscribe to such feats, so I always sow petunias in mid-March, so in 10 days I will start sowing. Let it bloom in June, not April - this is very good, because until the cold weather it will bloom all the time! As a rule, it takes about three months to grow seedlings, just in June it will be possible to plant them outside. Otherwise, in the Urals, frosts can hit in early and mid-June, and petunia does not like frost - it may die. And the overgrown seedlings will stretch out on the window and wither - only tears.
Sowing in peat tablets
To facilitate the task of growing seedlings of various vegetable and flower crops, special natural containers were invented - peat tablets. They are made from peat - an environmentally friendly material that has good air and water permeability, friability, and therefore is ideal for growing petunias. Peat containers are produced in the form of compressed tablets, which increase in size as moisture gets in. Moreover, they already include various mineral elements, and therefore seedlings living in such tablets rarely require additional feeding.
Before sowing, the tablets are placed in a large box or other container in which they can stand. Then they are watered abundantly so that the tablets swell and take the required size. In the upper part of the tablet, a depression is made and a petunia seed is placed there, and again poured from a pipette or spray bottle.
Please note: for petunia, a tablet with a diameter of 40 millimeters is sufficient.
Usually granulated seeds are sown into tablets. But simple seeds will work as well, it just takes more time and patience. If pelleted seeds are sown, then getting into the peat, they slightly soak. They need to be kneaded a little and spread over the peat.
The advantage of growing seedlings in peat tablets is that the diving procedure is excluded here. The fact is that over time, the seedlings will also need to be transplanted into a more spacious container or planted in open ground. However, it will be much easier to do this, since the transplant will need to be done directly in this tablet, that is, without removing the seedling from the peat. This greatly facilitates and speeds up the process of caring for petunia seedlings.
Important: there is only one minus of growing seedlings in peat tablets - this is an expensive method.
The box in which peat tablets rest in orderly rows should also be covered with a lid to create a humid-warm environment. The tablets are poured "through the bottom", that is, pouring water into the common container in which the tablets are located.
Care for seedlings in peat containers is standard. After the emergence of seedlings, the film or glass is removed, and the temperature in the room is slightly lowered (from 23 degrees to 19). After a couple of weeks, it is raised again to its previous values.
It is important to control the moisture level, avoiding stagnant water and drying out of the earth. Landings are periodically ventilated
And when the time comes to transplant seedlings to a permanent place, it will be very easy to do this. You can be calm, since the seedlings will not experience unnecessary stress associated with transplanting, which means that the plants will immediately continue to grow and bloom earlier.
Sowing containers
When choosing a container for sowing, first of all, take into account the size of the seeds. The larger they are, and, accordingly, the longer the roots, the deeper the container should be. Medium and large seeds, as well as seeds in special casings (granular), are best sown directly in pots, if space permits. In this case, additional costs for picking can be avoided. For small seeds, you can use small containers, the depth of which should not be less than 5-6 cm.
You need to fill and spill containers in advance, at least one day in advance.
Any container chosen should have holes in the bottom, which is especially important for germinating small seeds. If there is no hole, then a drainage layer must be poured into the container, up to about a third of its height.
Prolonged excess of moisture in the substrate most often leads to the death of seedlings from the "black leg".
It is better to use new containers for sowing. If this is not possible, then the used container must be cleaned of old soil and rinsed. It is better to have clean containers than to lose seedlings from diseases, often from expensive seeds.
Substrate preparation
It is necessary to fill and spill containers in advance, at least one day in advance, so that the moisture content of the substrate becomes uniform. First, the container is filled with soil mixture by about two-thirds, then it is slightly compacted or spilled so that it settles and there are no voids near the walls. Then add the substrate to the top of the container, leaving about 1 cm to its edge.
For small seeds, the top layer must be sieved and leveled well so that there are no depressions where the seeds can fall. If they find themselves even under small lumps, then they may not have enough strength to break through to the surface.
After that, if the soil was not watered before or it remained rather dry, it is watered carefully so as not to blur the leveled surface. It is better to put a container for sowing small seeds in a pallet and pour about 1 cm of water into it
If the substrate was wet, then it is better to dry it on paper. Otherwise, when filling, large voids are formed between the lumps, and when compacted, it strongly cakes.
The moisture content of the substrate during sowing is a very important factor. It should be such that the seeds in the first days after sowing can quickly swell, but not excessive, so that they do not rot. In most plant species, seeds germinate well in moist but not wet soil. Moisture can be determined by appearance. Wet peat will be black-brown and wet brown to dark brown.
4 steps to good petunia seedlings
But first things first.
It is best to transfer petunia seedlings to open ground on a cloudy day or in the evening, when there is no scorching sun. Before you get the seedlings out of the box, they need to be well watered so as not to damage the fragile roots. You need to plant seedlings at a certain distance from each other. For a large-flowered plant, this figure is usually 20 - 25 centimeters, for a small-flowered plant - 15 - 20 centimeters. After all future petunias are transplanted, do not forget to water them abundantly and mulch the soil with peat or humus. The latter should not be confused with manure. For these purposes, it is generally better not to use it, since in this case the risk of developing all kinds of fungal diseases will increase.
During the period of deciding the question: "When to sow petunias" the soil is not so important. It is necessary to approach this more thoroughly at the stage of planting seedlings in open ground. Fertile sandy loam and loamy soils are considered to be the most favorable for petunias. If you want the flower to delight you with its bright colors until the very frost, then it is best to transplant it already in blooming form.
Plant feeding and watering
Like many other flowers, petunia requires a fairly abundant watering in the summer and moderate in the winter. In addition, in no case, do not forget to feed your pet. As mentioned earlier, fertilization should be applied for the first time after germination (this is about a week later). Further, this procedure must be repeated every 7 - 10 days during the flowering of the plant. Mullein infusion, as well as complex fertilizers containing potassium, are perfect as "nutrition".
And finally…. Knowing these little wisdoms will certainly help you grow gorgeous "blooming heaps". However, there are a few more nuances, the use of which certainly does not hurt. So, removing faded flowers promotes the formation of new buds, and removing shoots that are too long makes the buds more lush. There are quite a few such secrets and they will be revealed to you very quickly. It only takes a little patience.
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Rules for caring for nasturtium seedlings at home
Any seedling needs regular care, this culture is no exception. Only with full care can you get friendly shoots and subsequently normal seedlings. In order to properly care for nasturtium seedlings, it is necessary to perform a number of key activities at home.
Care after sowing and before emergence:
- Maintain a temperature of 20-22 degrees before germination.
- Ventilate the mini-greenhouse every day by removing the cover or film for 20 minutes. If you see drops on the surface of the covering material, then they need to be wiped off.
- Watering is desirable from a spray bottle.
- Lighting at this stage does not play any role - the container can be both in the shade and in the light.
Rules for caring for nasturtium seedlings after germination:
- Move the seedling containers to a sunny windowsill (preferably south or southwest).
- Plants need 12-14 hours of daylight hours, so if necessary, you need to supplement the plants with phytolamps (otherwise the plants will stretch out and weaken).
- Watering the seedlings at this stage should be done at the root, it is impossible for the moisture to get onto the plants themselves. It is very convenient to use a small syringe.
- Now you need to reduce the temperature to 18-20 degrees. Changing t will help avoid pulling the plants.
Growing nasturtium from seeds is a very interesting process with easy farming techniques. When you plant seedlings in open ground, you can not only admire its graceful beauty, but also use flowers and leaves to prepare various dishes, for example, for salads, pesto, soups, and cooking meat.
Tips for growing flowers
Majors or zinnias are not to everyone's liking, as they have a specific structure and high growing requirements. In bad weather (cold, frequent rains), the appearance quickly deteriorates.
Suitable soil
Zinnia needs fertile soil at all stages of its development. It must be loose so that oxygen can pass freely. For active growth, the plant requires a high level of moisture, as well as an acidity index of 7.0-8.0 pH.
Note: You won't be able to grow zinnia on loam.
For proper development of the crop, a nutritious soil with a lot of fertilizers is needed. The best option: add liquid fertilizers for decorative flowers to the water every 2 weeks.
Seed sowing rules
The prepared soil is poured into deep (at least 10 cm) spacious containers. The seedlings of flowers are large, so they maintain a distance of about 2 cm between the seeds.The depth of planting is 1 cm.
After the end of sowing seeds, the soil is thoroughly moistened. The container is covered with glass or foil until the first shoots appear. The greenhouse effect will speed up the germination process.
Seedling care
If the majors are provided with the necessary growing conditions, then leaving will be reduced to performing simple agrotechnical measures.
Water the plants as the soil dries out. After emergence, the soil is sprayed around the seedlings from spray guns. Flowers should not be poured to prevent the development of a black leg disease or other fungal disease.
During the cultivation of seedlings, three dressings are performed with a frequency of 2-3 weeks. Use ready-made complex formulations with a minimum amount of nitrogen.
If the sowing of seeds was carried out in a common container, then the seedlings, when they reach a height of 10 cm, are dived into separate containers. Zinnias do not like the procedure and it is difficult to tolerate any damage to the roots.
To improve and stimulate tillering, the flower is pinched over the 4th pair of leaves. Tempering is carried out 10-14 days before transplantation to a permanent place. Every day, in warm weather, containers with flowers are taken out into the street. Each time the time on the street is increased. By the time of transplantation, containers with seedlings should be outside all day.
Planting flowers in a garden
The soil in the flowerbed should also be fertile and loose. If the soil is not too nutritious, then humus is added. Depending on the variety, they choose a place in the flower bed.
- With the help of high varieties (Californian zinnias), it is easy to hide the unseemly areas of the garden. They are placed in the background.
- Varieties with an average height are placed anywhere. Most often they are planted in the central part. It is these species that are safely grown in flowerpots.
- Low-growing curb varieties are planted in the foreground. Such species grow beautifully on the balcony.
Note: Culture is not afraid of direct sunlight. If the flower is planted in bright sun, the petals will not fade.
Since the bushes branch, a distance of 30-35 cm is left between the seedlings. The plants have enough nutrients and care will be much more convenient. For low-growing varieties, a different scheme is used: 15 cm is left between the flowers.
If the seedlings are originally grown in peat pellets, the transplanting procedure is simplified. The seedling is placed in the ground along with the pot. To extend the flowering period, a little trick is used: when transplanting seedlings to a permanent place, the remaining seeds are sown nearby. Flowers planted with seedlings will bloom in the middle of summer, and those sown with seeds in late August - early September.
Outdoor care
After transplanting to a permanent place, care will not be difficult
It is important to ensure timely and abundant watering. If there is frequent precipitation, then it is not watered so often.
Zinnias do not like both drought and waterlogging of the earth.
After watering, weeds are removed and the soil is loosened. The crust that forms after rain will make it difficult for oxygen to reach the roots.
If the seedlings have not been pinched before transplanting, then this is done after the flowers have taken root in a permanent place.
During the summer, they must be fed 2 times.
- Fertilizers are applied after transplanting seedlings to a permanent place.
- Zinnias are fed again during the budding period.
Note: If the flowers do not develop well, then you can feed them more. They are kept for 10-14 days between dressings.
To stimulate the formation of new flowers, old wilted inflorescences are removed as needed.
