When to plant tomato seedlings in Siberia

Sowing tomatoes for seedlings on time is the first step to getting a good harvest. Novice vegetable growers sometimes make mistakes in this matter, because the choice of the time for introducing tomato seeds into the soil depends on the climatic conditions of a particular region. For example, the southern regions are characterized by early planting tomato seedlings... And, for example, tomato seedlings in Siberia should be planted later, when warm days are established outside. Consequently, the timing of sowing seeds will have to be shifted.

Why is it important to observe the timing of sowing tomato seeds

When growing tomato seedlings, you must not sow grains according to the approximate date. Too early tomato seedlings, grown in mid-February, will outgrow strongly at the time of planting in the ground. Most often, such plants get sick, do not take root well and bring a poor harvest. For early tomato seedlings, there is a growth control method. Usually it is based on a decrease in ambient temperature, occasionally - a decrease in the length of daylight hours. Tomatoes, of course, do not outgrow until they are planted in the ground, but a strong decrease in yield should be expected from such seedlings.

Tomato seedlings are considered the strongest in March. However, the grower himself must correctly determine the time of sowing tomatoes for seedlings according to the climate of his area. Take the south of the country, for example. Here, many gardeners begin to sow tomatoes for seedlings from the third decade of January. But if you take Siberia, the Urals, as well as most regions of the middle zone, then here the optimal time to start sowing falls on March 15-17.

It is important to take into account that the planted tomato seedlings in a permanent place should receive comfortable growing conditions. The Siberian climate is harsh, and if the night temperature still drops below +5^aboutC, early planted tomatoes will stop growing. Plants will start to hurt, and some may even freeze.

Selecting tomato seeds and preparing them for sowing

To obtain strong and healthy tomato seedlings in Siberia, it is necessary to prepare high-quality seed material:

• The process begins with the identification of unusable grains, thereby significantly increasing the percentage of germination. A small amount of tomato seeds can be sorted out by hand, and all broken, thin, blackened ones can be thrown away. Sorting a large number of grains is carried out using warm water collected in a glass jar. You can even add 2 tbsp for 1 liter of water. l. salt. Tomato seeds are immersed in a jar for 10 minutes, and after this time all floating pacifiers are thrown away, and the grains that have settled to the bottom are filtered through a sieve.
• Further, all selected tomato seeds are disinfected. To do this, prepare a steep solution of potassium permanganate from 1 tbsp. water and 2 g of red crystals. Tomato grains are dipped in a saturated liquid for 5–20 minutes and then washed with warm water.
  
• The next stage of soaking begins by immersing tomato seeds for 30 minutes in hot water at a temperature of 60^aboutC, to awaken the embryos.While the grains are awakening, a nutrient solution is prepared from the purchased fertilizers. The stores sell all kinds of growth stimulants for soaking the seeds. You can prepare the solution yourself from settled water with the addition of aloe juice. In any of these solutions, tomato grains are soaked for a day.
• The last stage of preparation consists of placing tomato seeds for two days in a refrigerator for hardening.

At this stage, tomato seeds are considered ready for germination. The grains are laid out between two layers of wet gauze or cotton fabric, spread on a saucer and put in heat until they are pecked.

Nowadays, you can often find pelleted tomato seeds in stores. This is a new way of protecting grains with a special shell. In production, such tomato seeds have gone through all stages of preparation, and they can be sown directly into the ground without soaking.

Soil for growing tomato seedlings

Many vegetable growers are accustomed to preparing their own soil for growing tomato seedlings. The basis is a mixture of equal proportions of humus, garden soil and peat. Sometimes, for disinfection, the soil is kept in frost for a long time. It is not difficult to do this in Siberian conditions. The soil can be calcined for about 30 minutes in the oven at a temperature of 100^aboutC. It is important to add nutrients that serve as top dressing for tomato seedlings. Based on 1 bucket of soil, add 10 g of urea, potassium sulfate, and also superphosphate.

If in the fall they did not have time to stock up on land, ready-made soil can be bought in every specialized store.

Best of all have proven themselves:

• Coconut substrate is good for growing tomatoes for seedlings. Plants grow strong with a developed root system.
  
• Fans of the traditional cultivation method prefer ready-made soil for tomatoes "EXO". If the store does not have soil specifically for tomatoes, a universal one is allowed.
  
• Peat tablets are considered the best and most convenient for growing tomato seedlings. In addition to the fact that plants develop well in them, briquettes save the gardener from unnecessary work associated with picking tomato seedlings. 2–4 tomato grains are planted in each tablet 40 mm in diameter. After germination, one strong seedling is left, and the rest are plucked. When the time for transplanting comes, the tomato seedling, along with the tablet, is simply immersed in the soil of a half-liter container.
  

Each grower uses the type of soil that is easier and cheaper for him to work with.

Determine the time of sowing tomatoes for seedlings

So, sowing tomatoes for seedlings in Siberia is customary in mid-March. However, this period is not a standard, since the place of planting of adult plants affects the determination of this date. Despite the harsh climate, tomatoes in Siberia are grown in a greenhouse, hotbeds and in a vegetable garden. For each growing method, the planting time for tomatoes is different, which means that the time for sowing seeds is also different.

Ready for planting in a permanent place under a film or in a greenhouse are tomato seedlings of about fifty days of age, counting from the moment of germination. To this period of time it is necessary to add from 5 to 7 days for germination of the grains. Having made approximate calculations of the age of tomato seedlings of different ripening periods, the following results are obtained:

• the age of early varieties of tomatoes at the time of planting is 45–55 days:
• the age of mid-season varieties at the time of planting is 55-60 days;
• the age of late and tall tomatoes at the time of planting is about 70 days.

Disembarkation overgrown tomato seedlings threatens with late flowering, as well as the absence of an ovary on the first clusters.

The date of sowing tomato seeds is determined by the future place of growth:

• for indoor growing of tomatoes, it is better to start sowing seeds for seedlings after February 15 to mid-March;
• if it is planned to plant seedlings under a film in the garden, it is optimal to start sowing tomato seeds from the first days of March until March 20;
• when growing tomatoes in a garden without any shelters, sowing seeds for seedlings is optimal to start from March 15 and end in the first days of April.

Simply put, sowing seeds for greenhouse seedlings begins 1.5–2 months before planting, and for open cultivation - 2–2.5 months before transplanting.

Sowing tomato seeds in the ground

If peat tablets are not used, tomato grains are sown in common boxes or in separate cups. The seeding principle is the same. If cups are used, it is advisable to put them in an empty box for ease of transportation.

So, in the soil it is necessary to make holes 1.5 cm deep. If sowing is carried out in common boxes, the grooves are cut with a distance between the rows of 5-7 cm, where the grains are laid out in 2 cm increments. For separate cultivation, 3 holes are squeezed out in glasses in the soil. Place one grain at a time. All grooves with seeds are covered with loose soil. It is impossible to fill the soil with water strongly. It is enough to slightly moisten the groove before sowing the tomato grain, and then moisten the entire soil from the sprayer when the grooves with seeds are filled.

Before young tomato sprouts appear on the surface of the soil, it is necessary to create a favorable microclimate. The boxes are covered with glass or transparent film and placed in a warm, lighted place.

Lighting arrangement

Tomato seedlings are very fond of light. There is not enough daylight for plants, especially in February. It is optimal for tomato seedlings to receive light for 16 hours. The first 3 days for hatched borings, in general, it is advisable to organize round-the-clock lighting. Simple incandescent bulbs are not recommended. They give off a lot of heat, plus they are not able to emit the entire color spectrum that plants require. Better than this are LED or fluorescent light sources, or a combination of both.

Care for sprouted tomato seedlings

After the sprouts appear, the film cover is removed from the boxes, but they are kept for at least 7 days at the same temperature for the adaptation of plants. Further, the seedlings reduce the room temperature to +17^aboutFrom within a week. Tomato seedlings will get stronger, and then they will grow during the day at a temperature of +19^aboutC, and at night the degrees must be reduced to +15^aboutC. You can regulate the temperature inside the room by opening the window, the main thing is that there is no draft. This temperature regime is maintained for about 1 month until two full-fledged leaves appear.

Plants standing by the window must be drawn to the light. Boxes must be rotated periodically to avoid elongated, uneven stems.

Organization of watering tomato seedlings

Watering young plants is carried out with warm, settled water in small doses directly under the root. For all germination time before picking, tomato seedlings are watered three times. The first watering is carried out 10 days after sowing. By this time, the film has already been removed from the boxes, and all the sprouts have appeared on the surface of the ground. The second time the seedlings are watered after 7 days, and the last third time - 2 days before the pick.

Seedlings should not be overfilled with water. Greater dampness will prevent oxygen from reaching the roots and rot will begin to form. The soil under the plant should be loose, slightly damp. Frequent watering will be needed after the pick, when the plant has 5 full leaves. During this period, the frequency of watering can reach every two days.

Top dressing of tomato seedlings

Usually tomatoes are fed with organic fertilizers.Experienced vegetable growers can themselves dilute solutions of the desired consistency. It is preferable for novice gardeners to use store preparations. So, the first top dressing can be done with Agricola-Forward. A teaspoon of dry matter is diluted in 1 liter of water, and the plants are watered. The time of the first feeding is determined by one full-fledged leaf that appears.

The second top dressing is applied when three full leaves grow on the tomato. To do this, use the drug "Effekton". The solution is prepared from 1 liter of water and 1 tbsp. l. dry fertilizer. The next feeding is carried out 14 days after the pick. The solution is prepared from 10 liters of water and 1 tbsp. l. nitroammophos... Half a glass of liquid is poured under one plant.

The penultimate top dressing is done 14 days after transplanting the seedlings into large pots. The solution is prepared with 10 liters of water plus 1 tbsp. l. potassium sulfate. The last dressing is applied shortly before planting. 1 glass of a solution prepared from 10 liters of water and 1 tbsp. Is poured under each plant. l. nitrophosphate.

Picking tomato seedlings

Tomato picking usually falls on 10-15 days after germination. Many growers immediately transplant seedlings into separate large cups. As practice shows, for the first pick, it is advisable to take small half-liter containers. The glasses are filled with soil, poured with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, with a temperature of about 23^aboutC. All seedlings that have 3 full-fledged leaves are carefully pry up with a spatula and placed in a separate glass. Slightly elongated shoots are buried to the level of cotyledon leaves.

Immediately after the dive, the sun's rays must not fall on the plants. It is necessary to ensure the air temperature in the daytime +21^aboutC, and at night +17^aboutC. As they grow, after 3 or 4 weeks, the tomatoes are transplanted into large containers, where they grow until they are planted in the ground.

Hardening tomatoes

Before planting tomatoes in their permanent place, they must be hardened, otherwise the plants simply will not take root. This is done 2 weeks before the transplant. The indoor temperature is gradually reduced from 19 to 15^aboutC. A week before planting, tomato seedlings are taken out into the street. The first day is enough for 2 hours. Further, the time is increased, and the last day, the seedlings are left to spend the night on the street.

Planting tomatoes in a permanent place

Before planting tomatoes, you need to determine the optimal place for them to grow. It is clear that the greenhouse space is limited, and the choice of beds is small here. But the garden has shaded and sunny areas. The culture will feel good in a sunlit garden bed, closed from being blown by cold winds. It is better if root crops, onions, cabbage or beans grew on this place last year.

Holes are dug under the seedlings in the garden bed. The distance between them depends on the varieties. For low-growing tomatoes, it is enough to maintain a step of 40 cm, and for tall tomatoes, the distance is increased to 50 cm. At the same time, a row spacing of 70 cm is adhered to. The depth of the hole is selected according to the volume of the glass with the plant. Usually 30 cm is sufficient. The tomato is carefully removed from the glass along with a lump of soil, lowered into the hole, and then sprinkled with earth. If the seedling falls, you can stick a peg near it and tie the plant to it. After planting the tomato, the hole is watered with warm water.

The video shows tomatoes in Siberia:

Growing tomatoes in Siberia is no different from other regions. Just because of the harsh climate, they adhere to other terms of sowing and planting in the ground, and the rest of the agricultural technology remains unchanged.

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