Julia minyaeva planting petunias in a snail. traditional and unusual ways of growing annual seedlings

Growing and caring for petunia seedlings

When germinating seeds, light should be monitored. If it is not enough, then additional illumination is needed.

Shoots appear in 5-7 days. Growth occurs within two weeks. If no shoots have appeared during this time, then there is no point in waiting any longer. It means that something went wrong and the conditions will need to be changed.

When the first leaf appears on the seedlings, the seedlings can already be opened. Airing should be done twice a day.

Watering is done evenly. Neither drying out of the soil nor waterlogging should be allowed. Growing seedlings can begin to twist if they stand with one side to the light all the time. To prevent this from happening, it must be periodically turned.

If you find that the plant is sick with a black leg, you must immediately dive the seedlings.

In general, picking begins as soon as two leaves appear on the seedlings. For this, separate containers are already prepared. Only good, strong shoots are taken for transplantation. Dig them out carefully so as not to damage the roots. When transplanting, the seedling can be buried down to the very cotyledon leaves. After transplanting plants, they must be fed with a growth stimulant or mineral fertilizers.

Pinching petunia seedlings

One of the important points in growing petunias is pinching them. First of all, this applies to varieties with strong shoot growth. The result is a rather lush bush with a lot of flowers.

It is necessary to pinch the petunia when 6-8 leaves appear on the seedlings and lateral shoots are formed. Pinching consists in removing the tip of the shoot with the growth point. As a result, a new shoot will appear from each sinus, which in turn will give a large number of flowers.

In other words, we take the central shoot, where the main growth point is located, and pinch (remove) a few millimeters.

The pinching can be repeated two weeks later, and then done several more times so that the bush takes on the desired shape.

No pinching is needed for ampelous plants. Pinch, do not pinch, and such a plant will not branch.

Top dressing of petunia seedlings

Another important aspect is plant feeding. The first feeding is done using fertilizers such as Teraflex or Kemira. Dilute 25 g of the drug into 10 liters of water. Top dressing should be started when the first true leaves appear.

Further, within two weeks, as the soil dries out, the seedlings must be sprayed with a weak solution of potassium permanganate or Previkur. When the plants already have 3-4 true leaves in the soil, it will be necessary to add a solution of yellow Crystalon. The drug is prepared based on a bucket of water 1 tbsp. a spoonful of fertilizer.

At the same time, it is advisable to apply fertilizer not only at the root, but also to spray the foliage.

Foliar dressing is best done with solutions of fertilizers such as Kristalon green or Uniflor micro.

More frequent feeding of seedlings three times a week are carried out already when it begins to grow intensively. For this, complex mineral fertilizers are used. You can also use nitroammophoska, which is diluted at the rate of 20 g per 10 liters of water. In this case, it is necessary to alternate root and foliar feeding. Foliage spraying is often carried out with Brexil.

After you have made a dive, you need to spray the plant with a solution of the Radifarm root formation stimulator.

By the way, fertilizers of the Agricola brand are now quite widespread.These are pretty good formulations that cover a wide variety of crops.

Caring for petunia seedlings at home after germination

You need to take care of petunia seedlings carefully so that delicate sprouts do not die under the influence of unfavorable factors. If you want to achieve early flowering, then you need to carefully follow all agrotechnical recommendations and advice from experienced gardeners. Let's consider the main factors affecting the quality of the obtained seedlings.

Lighting

In order to comply with the correct conditions of detention, you need to take into account the timing of planting petunias for seedlings. If you are going to sow seeds in winter (in February, for example), be sure to take care of additional lighting of the containers, since natural sources may not be enough in the end, because beautiful petunias love light. Leave a little backlight at night.

When planting petunia seedlings in winter, additional lighting is required, which can be provided using phytolamps

Growing petunia seedlings requires a lot of light, so it is better to place containers on a windowsill

Watering

Planting petunias for seedlings requires careful attention to watering. Do not overmoisten the soil and wet the leaves, you need to watch out for rot

Water small plants very carefully at the root.

Petunia seedlings must be watered directly under the root

Temperature

Do not forget to maintain a stable temperature: + 23 ° - + 25 ° C degrees until the seedlings appear. Then gradually accustom the "little ones" to the open lid, increasingly leaving them uncovered. If you remove all the "protection" at once, still tender plants may die. After a successful pick, you need to leave the seedlings alone for a while so that they properly take root in a new place, and then continue to reduce the air temperature. At night, try to maintain about + 15 ° C degrees, and during the day a little more than + 18 ° - + 20 ° C. Avoid drafts, the flow of cool air should not be sharp.

Temperature for growing petunia seedlings day and night

Top dressing

It is worth feeding the petunias with any suitable fertilizer, it is applied 2 weeks after transplanting. First, you need to spray a little only the leaves, then you can use fertilizer for the roots.

You can feed petunia seedlings with vitamins in liquid form

Pinching petunia seedlings

Already at the stage of growing seedlings, begin to control the shape of the bushes, pinching the shoots that will grow back in time. But for ampelous (curly) forms this is not an option - they still branch a little. Pinching is recommended during the period when the garden seedlings have been planted in the ground and have already taken root in a new place. Next, take a good look at the petunia, count about 3-5 leaves from the bottom of the stalk, and then pinch off the shoot above them. It will serve as a growth point for the petunia. We warn you that pinching will somewhat slow down the formation of buds, but it promotes the growth of long shoots, which, after some time, become densely covered with bright flowers. Experts recommend re-pinching after 3-4 weeks. By the way, the cut stalk can be used to propagate petunias. Place the cutting water, and after the formation of roots on it, plant it in the garden or in a flower pot.

In order for the seedlings of petunia to grow, they pinch it

Petunia pick

For the next part of the petunia growing process, you need to find several small pots or any other suitable container for the grown seedlings that need to be transplanted (dived). You can use glasses of yoghurt products or plastic dishes, but remember that the root system of petunia turns out to be quite branched, so you need to provide for large enough containers in advance or then transplant the plants again.It is this planting of petunias on seedlings that will be most effective, because well-developed roots indicate the reliability of the seedling and mean that it will withstand movement into open ground.

After growing petunia seedlings, they must be transplanted into separate pots.

Growing petunia seedlings at home

In order to grow high-quality seedlings, you first need to know the development cycle of the plant and its preferences. Petunia is a perennial herb of the Solanaceae family. Depending on the variety and type of plant stems can be both erect and creeping and hanging with a stem length from 20 cm to one meter or more.

In order not to get confused in the huge variety of petunia varieties, a classification is adopted by the shape of the bush, the height of the stems, as well as the diameter of the flowers and their shape. According to the shape of the bush, petunia is divided into:

• bush
• ampelous
• cascading

The bush variety is most popular when grown. It is characterized mainly by erect stems up to 0.7 meters long. As a rule, for the formation of a bush petunia, special techniques are not required, except for pinching the tops of the stems. In this case, the development of lateral shoots is stimulated, on which the flowers are located.

Ampelous and cascading varieties and hybrids are very difficult to determine. The fact is that the cascade is a subspecies of ampelous, and the difference is that the stems of ampelous petunias do not rise up, but immediately hang down. The word ampelous itself comes from the German ampel, or hanging vase.

While the stalks of the cascading petunia are more durable and due to this they first grow up, but then, in view of the large mass, they begin to fall down, which in turn creates a cascade. Those. bush cascading more magnificent and higher ampelous.

Therefore, if you have a pots, then cascading or ampelous varieties will come in handy. And if you grow in a pot on a windowsill, then it is better to choose bush varieties.

After we briefly ran through the characteristics of the varieties, we move on to the most important thing, how to plant a petunia so that it delights us with its flowers as early as possible and as long as possible. Let me tell you some secrets.

Petunia seedlings in 2019: when to plant seedlings

Novice gardeners love to plant petunias on their plots. These plants are unpretentious in care, besides, they bloom beautifully and for a long time.

However, in order to see the results of the labors, it is necessary to give the petunia due attention. Some summer residents also believe that flowers planted on auspicious days according to the lunar calendar grow best.

Consider how to plant a petunia correctly, and when it is best to do it.

Favorable and unfavorable days for planting petunias for seedlings in 2019

You can start planting petunias for seedlings in March. There is already enough sunlight for seedlings at this time, so the seedlings will be strong and healthy. If you look at the lunar calendar, you can see that the following days are ideal for sowing seeds:

10 to 16, 19, 20, 23 and 24.

It is not recommended to plant flowers during the new moon, which falls on March 5, 6 and 7, as well as on the full moon, which will be March 21. As a rule, in April, in some regions, petunias are sown not only for seedlings, but also immediately in open ground. Favorable days for sowing seeds:

7, 8, 11, 12, 16 to 18, 20, 21, 29 and 30.

It is not worth sowing petunia from April 4 to April 6 and on the 19th, that is, on the new moon and full moon. However, it should be borne in mind that, first of all, the quality of the seed is of great importance.

Seed selection

If you are a beginner gardener, then it is better to choose not very expensive petunia and preferably not in granules, but in bulk. Usually in a pack of expensive petunias there are only 5-6 seeds, or maybe even less, so the percentage of germination immediately drops. Therefore, first of all, we choose seeds, on the packs of which the grams are indicated, and not the number of seeds.What does it mean? In grams, there will be a larger number of seeds, maybe even about 50-100 pieces, which means that the germination percentage will increase to 80-100%. And one more thing, it is better to take a mixture of seeds, as this will increase the variety of colors in the garden. The expiration date is also very important. You need to buy only fresh seeds.

Planting petunia seeds for seedlings at home

Once the seed selection has been made, the seeds must be planted. The soil should be loose, with fertilizer already applied, keep in mind that petunia prefers non-acidic soil. As for the capacity for planting, there is a great choice here. You can buy special containers for seedlings, or you can use plastic bottles, containers, etc. already in the house. There must be drainage holes, if they are not there, then they must be drilled so that excess water does not stagnate. Next, you should pour the soil into the selected container, without adding about 1 cm to the edge.After that, you need to water the soil and compact it. Petunia seeds are very small in size, so they are sown on the surface of the earth without dusting, otherwise they will not germinate. It is very difficult to distribute petunia evenly over the ground. There are several ways:

1. A toothpick soaked in water will help to distribute the seeds over the surface. The seed adheres well to it, and with its help the grains can be transferred to the desired place. It is better to water the seeds from a sprayer, this will not allow them to bunch up or go deep. It is not necessary to water abundantly, since the earth is already pre-moistened.

2. You can sow seeds on the surface of the snow. Put snow on top of the ground in a dense layer and scatter the seed carefully over the snow, since the black seeds of petunia are very clearly visible on the snow-white snow. In this case, there is no need to water the crops, since the snow will melt and lower the seeds to the ground, thereby moistening the surface.

Then you should cover the container. Stores sell special cups for seedlings with existing lids, this is very convenient, but if you use a container from available tools, you can cover the seedlings with an ordinary plastic bag

It is very important that the bag covers the seedlings tightly. What is it for? Polyethylene prevents moisture from evaporating, which is so necessary for seed germination

When the seedlings are tightly covered with a bag, the water evaporates into condensation, which accumulates on the surface of the bag. If there is a gap somewhere, the moisture will evaporate and the seedlings may simply not rise, or dry out and die.

Picking

It is possible to establish the readiness of seedlings for transplanting into a new container by the number of natural leaves - if there are more than two of them, you can start transplanting the plant. As a rule, they reach a similar condition for petunias 30-35 days after planting the seeds. Recall that the target of a pick is to move seedlings from a common container to separate containers in order to contribute to a lot of the rapid development of their root systems.

Petunia picking is carried out when there are at least two leaves on the seedling

For a dive, seedlings will need containers with a diameter of about seven centimeters. There should be holes at the bottom of the containers through which excess moisture will come out. When removing seedlings from the old soil, you can use wooden sticks or a dessert spoon. Be careful not to damage the roots when carrying the petunia.

Picking petunias into plastic cassettes

Make a hole in the newly-made soil, counting on the fact that you need to immerse the cotyledons to such a depth that they remain visible above ground level. Gently dip the petunias into the hole and continue hardening for the next two weeks.

When a pick is not required

Picking can be avoided by initially immersing the seedlings in separate pots or sowing in peat tablets.When using peat tablets, they can simply be removed from the container in which they were previously and transferred to a newly made container. This way you will not damage the roots of the plant and cause less stress on it, since the seedling will remain in the same substrate.

To avoid picking, grow seeds in separate containers

Landing dates

The main method of growing petunias is the seedling method. If you sow it directly into the soil, then, depending on its variety, it will bloom only at the end of summer, that is, 2-3 months after seed germination. Therefore, it is recommended to sow it for seedlings and do it in advance.

It is possible to transplant the grown seedlings to a permanent place in the ground only after the onset of stable heat and in the absence of the threat of frost, since the plant dies at temperatures below zero. Petunia seeds are extremely small in size, so a certain time is required for their germination.

The timing of planting a flower for seedlings depends on many factors. First of all, this is the desired flowering time. In order for petunia to bloom in May, it is required to plant it for seedlings in January. Petunia, planted in February-March, blooms in summer.

Plant variety and species also affect planting timing. Ampelous and cascading petunias are planted 2 weeks earlier, since germination is slower and the development of long shoots also requires a longer time. Terry petunia is planted in early February. Sowing of small and large-flowered bush petunias starts from February 15 and is planted until the end of the month. It takes 2 to 2.5 months to grow before flowering.

The quality of the seeds is also important. It is advisable to purchase seeds from reputable producers.

One of these manufacturers is Pan American. In addition to the name of the variety and its brief description, the optimal planting dates are also indicated on the packaging from Pan American. They must be adhered to.

Depending on the region

Climatic conditions have a great impact on the timing of planting seeds for seedlings, since spring in different regions comes in different ways. It is necessary to sow seeds for seedlings in such a way that by the time of planting in the ground, the flower has developed well, formed a bush with a sufficient number of full-fledged leaves and, possibly, even buds. This takes 2.5 to 3 months. Seedlings are planted in a flower bed after the heat is established, when there is no threat of frost.

For central Russia and the Moscow region, the most optimal month for sowing seeds is February. Seeds of bush varieties of petunias are best planted in the last decade of February and before March 15. Ampel varieties - from the 1st half to the end of February.

The climate of the Leningrad region is somewhat harsher; the warmth here comes only in June. Therefore, the seeds of ampelous petunia need to be sown from the 15th to the end of February, and the bush petunia should be sown in March or early April. Seedlings can be planted in the ground starting from the first days of June.

In the Urals and Siberia, warm weather also sets in later, so the timing of planting seedlings in open ground is postponed to the end of May - the first ten days of June. To grow seedlings by this time, seeds are sown in the second decade of March. Earlier sowing will lead to overgrowth of seedlings, therefore, seedlings planted in the soil will take a long time to take root.

In the Volga region, the timing of sowing seeds for seedlings is almost the same as in the Moscow region, that is, this is the last decade of February, but no later than March 15. But in warmer regions of the Volga region, planting of seeds can be carried out a little earlier (by about 7 days).

Lunar calendar

Planting seeds and planting seedlings in the ground according to the lunar calendar is very popular, where the most favorable days for sowing are indicated. It is used by many gardeners and gardeners.For a petunia, the best time to plant is when the Moon is in constellations such as Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Taurus and Gemini.

All subsequent actions for growing petunias (picking, feeding, planting in open soil) are not recommended to be carried out during the New Moon and Full Moon, including the next 12 hours before the onset and after the end of these lunar phases.

By manufacturer

Manufacturers indicate the minimum required information on the seed bags. In addition to the name of the variety and its description, first of all, information is given on the growing conditions, the time of planting seeds for seedlings and the timing of transplanting into open soil.

The exact dates are not named, limited only to the indication of months: for planting seeds for seedlings, February and March are called, and for transplanting it into the soil, May and June. Depending on the type of petunias, the following terms may be recommended: for ampel petunias - January, and for dwarf petunias - February-March.

Such a determination of the timing implies taking into account the climatic features of the region and the recommendations of the lunar calendar.

Petunia seedlings care tricks

Petunia is a delicate flower, picky about temperature, humidity and light. Initially, only two components are needed for seed germination - heat and moisture. But gradually, with fasting, the shoots need more and more light. Petunia seeds are sown mainly at the end of winter, when there is very little sunlight outside the window. Naturally, much more light is needed for healthy growth of seedlings. Therefore, the seedlings should be additionally illuminated with phytolamps. Containers with petunia seedlings begin to light up intensively from about 2-3 weeks, when the newborn succulent shoots cover the entire surface of the earth with a green carpet. It is then that in parallel it is necessary to reduce the air temperature in the room to 16-18 degrees Celsius.

Watering petunia seedlings should be done often, but not abundantly, but slightly adding water to keep the soil moist on the floor. For the first two weeks, the seedlings should be in a greenhouse effect. To do this, the seedlings are kept under a film, but control the humidity level inside the seedling container, preventing condensation from getting on the leaves. Watering is carried out from a spray bottle, after which airing is carried out for 15-20 minutes. Grown up petunias are watered from a syringe or pipette and only at the root. The film or glass is removed only when the first pair of leaves appears on the shoots.

In general, competent watering of petunias is the key to successful growing healthy seedlings. This flower has low resistance to various fungal diseases. Black leg is especially dangerous for petunias.

Therefore, it is important to ensure that moisture does not accumulate on the soil surface. In order to prevent the development of this disease, you need to sprinkle dry clean sand

Please note: the seedlings must be turned in different directions to the sun during the day so that the plants do not bend.

Top dressing

During the seedling period, petunia consumes a lot of nutrients, therefore, for its full development, it must be constantly fed with elements containing a large amount of nitrogen.

Weak seedlings can be sprayed with a growth stimulant (for example, Epin, Bud). You can also sprinkle seedlings with mineral fertilizers.

A week after the pick, the plants are fed with nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizers. You can use ready-made mixtures (Kristalon), as well as add superphosphate.

Calcium nitrate will help form a strong, stocky bush.

Important! Do not apply fertilizer to dry ground. Combine all fertilizing with watering! The best food for petunia seedlings is wood ash, as it contains more than 30 nutrients that are so necessary for flowers.

The more nitrogen and other elements the seedlings receive, the better their growth and flowering will be. Also, ash can increase the immunity of plants.

Wood ash is considered the best food for petunia seedlings, as it contains more than 30 nutrients that are so necessary for flowers. The more nitrogen and other elements the seedlings receive, the better their growth and flowering will be. Also ash can increase the immunity of plants.

Ash dressing is prepared with water, and the bushes are watered with this solution at the root. After a week, the feeding is repeated. Ash can also be applied dry, simply by sprinkling the soil under the bushes with a nutritious substrate.

Top dressing should be applied at intervals of 12-14 days. After a week, you can see from the seedlings how they react to this or that type of feeding. Do not get too carried away with fertilizers. The onset of the next feeding should be determined solely by the appearance of the plants.

Sowing technique of petunia seeds for seedlings

When the main preparatory work has been done - a container for seedlings has been selected, a mixture has been prepared and the most favorable day has been selected - you can start sowing.

Sowing loose petunia seeds is not an exercise for the faint of heart. Often, the size of flower seeds is no more than half a centimeter, and therefore it is very difficult to lay them out with a certain step on the ground. Of course, it is better to use granulated or pelleted seeds. They are more dimensioned, and therefore it is quite easy to pry them with tweezers and spread them on the soil. Moreover, the granules can be sown piece by piece directly into pots or peat tablets, slightly deepening into moistened soil.

Even sowing will provide better germination and uniform growth of seedlings. The disadvantage of granulated seeds is their high cost. One sachet can contain from three to seven seeds, while in a regular pack there is a whole scattering of them. And, if spending money is not a problem, then we recommend not wasting your nerves and time on cheaper options.

With loose seeds, everything is somewhat more complicated. Since it is not possible to sow them individually, in order to ensure the best germination of seeds, you can resort to various methods of planting such a miniature seed.

Fact: one bag can contain up to hundreds of small-caliber seeds of different varieties of petunias.

Methods for planting petunia seeds:

Mix with sand. Drainage is poured at the bottom of the seedling container, on top - earth 6-10 centimeters thick. The soil is well moistened. In a separate container, mix a small amount of sand with seeds. Then the mixture is spread in a thin layer over the surface of the wet soil. Then the crops are sprayed with warm water from a spray bottle. Sowing in the snow. Snow is spread in a thin layer over the surface of the ground. Then the seeds are sown directly onto the snow. The bottom line is that if the seeds are in a heap in some place, then you can easily redistribute them, since it is not difficult to do this in the snow. As it melts, the snow will "absorb" the seeds into the ground to the required depth. Watering such crops, of course, is not necessary. Sowing with a tool. For especially patient summer residents, an option may be suitable when the seeds are laid out piece by piece on the surface of the soil using a toothpick or tweezers. To make the seed easier to pick up, the end of the toothpick should be moistened with water. And another, but already dry toothpick will help shake off the seed.

Then the crops should be watered carefully.

Please note: petunia seeds cannot be buried in the ground or covered with soil. They are too small in size, and they simply do not have enough strength to break through the thickness of the earth.

Petunia seeds should be close to the surface.

It does not matter which seeds were used for sowing, however, containers with future seedlings must be covered with film or glass and left in a room where the temperature is + 20-22 degrees. It is important to keep the soil slightly moist, and accumulating condensation must be removed regularly.

If everything is done correctly, then the first shoots will appear in a week.

Seed selection

Which to give preference: coated or uncoated seeds? It is worth dwelling in more detail on the pros and cons of each type.

1. Granular seeds are convenient in sowing, they allow you to sow each seed pointwise, which subsequently eliminates the need for one pick of seedlings.
2. Temporary overdrying of the soil does not so much affect the germination of untreated seeds, for granular seeds, constant moisture is the key to a successful harvest.
3. The shell of the pelleted seeds contains a starter set of nutrients and stimulants, so the first feeding of the seedlings can be done later.

Petunia pick

When 3 - 4 pairs of leaves on the shoots begin to form, the time comes when it is best to dive the petunia after germination. This happens about 4 weeks, on average 25 - 28 days after sowing the seeds, depending on the growing conditions and variety. Therefore, you can even roughly calculate the day when the petunia dive.

How to dive petunia seedlings

• For picking, you need to take pots with a diameter of 6 cm. It is better not to use peat pots for seedlings. The soil in them dries out quickly, and petunia prefers moist soil rather than dry soil.
• We fill the pots with earth loosely, loosely, so that the roots of young plants have the opportunity to straighten out and take root, to be injured as little as possible. Some gardeners believe that root pruning should be done when transplanting sprouts, but we don't think this is necessary. In any case, when transplanting, the roots are injured and this is enough to stimulate the development of the root system - this is how it is correct to dive a petunia. Also, you do not need to pinch the tops of the plant.
• Water the pots with soil with water so that the roots immediately fall into a humid environment.
• We take out the sprouts from the container. It is good when the planting capacity is small. Strictly for one plant variety. Then you can immediately pull out all the shoots together without picking out one at a time.
• Carefully separate the sprouts one at a time from each other along with a lump of earth, being careful not to damage the roots.
• We make a hole in the pot, of such a size that the plant will fit together with roots and an earthen root.
• We deepen and compact the root collar so that the plant does not dangle.
• If necessary, add more earth and be sure to water the petunia again. This is how petunia seedlings are picked at home.
• After picking, it is necessary to sign the variety and the name of the flower on the plant index.

Picking petunia from peat tablets

Peat tablets are a very convenient material for growing any seedlings and in the classical sense of the word picking, it is impossible to dive petunia shoots. However, when 3 and 4 leaves appear on the sprout, there is little room for roots in the peat tablet. That is, this is the moment when you can dive petunias and you need to transplant them into a larger container. The technology, how to dive a petunia from peat tablets, is exactly the same as described above. With the difference that you do not need to pull the roots out of the peat tablet. Plant the grown roots in the seedling pot along with the tablet.

Is it possible not to dive a petunia? Can! If you immediately plant granulated seeds in a balcony box with a distance of 15 - 20 cm between seeds, or in large seedling pots, where they have enough nutritious soil before planting in the garden.

It is best to keep the cut seedlings of petunia at a temperature of 17 - 19 degrees. So it will take root better and will not stretch out.

How to feed petunia after a pick

After the first pick, it is necessary to feed the petunia with phosphorus for the fastest recovery and development of the root system. It is found in many universal mineral fertilizers.

When to feed petunia. Top dressing should be carried out not earlier than the moment when new leaves begin to develop.

Advice. No need to over-feed the plants. Everything will tell the size, the number of leaves, the color of the leaves, the size between the pairs of leaves.If the plant develops well, then no additional feeding is necessary. Many things can be fixed by observing the temperature and light conditions.

Correct care

Usually, seeds begin to sprout within five days from the date of sowing. If this happened, then you can congratulate you, because you have successfully completed the most difficult stage. Indeed, as many gardeners know, the main difficulties in growing petunia seedlings are associated with low germination. And while the sprouts will sprout, airing will not be required.

At this stage, you can limit yourself to the removal of the accumulating condensate. Ventilation can then be started, ensuring that fresh air is supplied to the container. A hint that it is time to completely remove the lid will be the release of the sprouts from the seed coats.

at the first sign of germination, the container should be placed in a very bright place, where it will be protected from direct sunlight. The temperature should be maintained at a level not higher than +18 degrees. In such conditions, it will be possible to avoid stretching the seedlings and make them stronger;
watering of seedlings is carried out, focusing on the condition of the soil. It is necessary not to be mistaken not only with the frequency of watering, but also with the amount of water in order to prevent both drying out and waterlogging of the soil. An imbalance in any direction can lead to the death of seedlings;
also at this time, you can begin to carry out additional illumination of seedlings. For this, phytolamps are used, although if they are not available, they can be replaced with energy-saving and fluorescent lamps.

They must be used with caution, placing them at a safe distance, otherwise the plants can get burned from bright light. Lighting should be abundant enough

Therefore, you need to turn on the lamps early in the morning and leave them until the evening. In cloudy periods, additional lighting can be carried out throughout the day. For young seedlings, supplementary lighting is recommended for at least 16 hours a day. If the plants lack light, then they will begin to stretch and will be weak.

In the first weeks, young seedlings grow extremely slowly. Indeed, at this time they spend most of their energy on the formation of the root mass. Therefore, you will have to wait and continue to care for them in the same way.

Growing seedlings in a "snail"

When you need to save space in the apartment, but you still want to grow flowers, the "snail" method is used to germinate petunia seedlings. However, looking ahead, we will immediately make a reservation that this is not the best way to grow flower seedlings. But first things first…

A "snail" is a rolled tape made of polyethylene, toilet paper, or laminate backing in which the seeds are placed. This method provides faster and better seed germination.

The snail is used when there is practically no land in the arsenal. With this method of germination, it is not possible to bring seedlings to the very planting in the ground, but completely to the stage of picking.

So, the essence of germinating seeds in a "snail":

• a tape measuring 15 * 100 centimeters is cut from polyethylene;
• roll a layer of toilet paper over the tape;
• the paper is moistened;
• from one edge of the strip, seeds are laid out on the surface of wet paper at a distance of 4 centimeters from each other;
• put another layer of paper on top of the seeds, moisten it with water;
• all layers are covered with another polyethylene tape;
• carefully roll the structure into a roll;
• the resulting "snail" is tied with a rope so that the structure does not fall apart;
• the snail is placed in a high container with the seeds up;
• water is poured into the bottom of the jar with a layer of up to 5 centimeters. From above, the container with the snail is covered with a bag to create a greenhouse effect;
• the result is a compact, twisted roll with a diameter of 10-12 centimeters, which takes up a minimum of space in the room.

To provide the seedlings with nutrients during the "planting" work, sprinkle a little earth on top of the toilet paper.After all, plants still need soil.

One of the advantages of this method of germinating seeds is the fact that the plants do not come into contact with each other by the roots. It is very convenient to extract shoots when picking - just roll out the tape and remove the shoots from it.

The lack of germination in litke is obvious - due to the dense planting, the plants receive very little sunlight. Their roots are sometimes squeezed between the layers, and therefore develop poorly. Seedlings grow weaker than normal germination.