Content
Tomatoes (tomatoes) have long been considered the most favorite vegetable on the planet. After all, it is not for nothing that breeders have created a huge number of varieties. The vegetable is essential for nutrition for children and adults. Therefore, it is grown not only outdoors and in greenhouses. Some gardeners manage to get good harvests on balconies and loggias. But we will talk about a specific place for planting tomatoes: in a greenhouse made of cellular polycarbonate.
It is clear that the choice of a place for planting vegetable crops affects the yield, as well as the timing. Therefore, the question of when to plant tomatoes in a polycarbonate greenhouse is very important, especially for novice gardeners.
What is important to know
Planting tomatoes in a greenhouse made of cellular polycarbonate has its own characteristics. No one can simply name the deadlines. After all, the question "when" itself is not so straightforward. There are many things to consider.
The choice of the timing of planting seedlings in the greenhouse is influenced by many factors:
- First, when you need to sow tomato seeds for strong seedlings.
- Secondly, you need to timely prepare the polycarbonate greenhouse itself.
- Thirdly, it is important to take into account the climatic conditions of the region.
- Fourthly, the question of when to plant tomatoes in a greenhouse is influenced by the correct choice of varieties in terms of ripening.
In a word, planting tomato seedlings in a polycarbonate greenhouse is preceded by extensive agronomic training.
How to deal with seedlings
When deciding on the timing of planting tomatoes in greenhouses, you need to decide when to sow the seeds... The fact is that there are requirements for seedlings. She must be:
- strong, not elongated;
- height no more than 35 centimeters. Higher seedlings are considered overgrown;
- seedling age up to 60 days;
- the tops should be green, the distance between the leaves is small.
Seed sowing dates
Vegetable growers live in different regions, the climate in Russia is not the same. Naturally, the timing of planting seedlings in a polycarbonate greenhouse will be different.
How to determine the timing of sowing seeds for a heated greenhouse in any region:
- Tall tomatoes are sown for seedlings from late February to March 10.
- Seeds of early and medium-ripening varieties should be sown from February 20 to March 10.
- Ultra-early tomatoes, including Cherry, in early April.
- Sowing late tomatoes for seedlings is carried out after February 20.
In the Urals and Siberia when growing late-ripening tomato seedlings, the timing will be different. In heated polycarbonate greenhouses, seeds are sown in late March, early April. For the rest of the tomatoes from the 20th of April. You can use the gardener's calendar, but compiled for a specific region. By the way, some vegetable growers sow seeds when the moon is in:
- Scorpio;
- Corpuscle;
- Cancer;
- Libra.
They believe that the seedlings in these cases grow strong and when it comes time to plant them in a polycarbonate greenhouse, they meet all the technical parameters.
Favorable days according to the lunar calendar for 2018 for sowing seeds for seedlings (general data):
- in February - 5-9, 18-23;
- in March - 8-11, 13-15, 17-23, 26-29;
- in April - 5-7, 9-11, 19-20, 23-25;
- in May - all days except 15 and 29.
Selection of varieties
The choice of varieties also applies to the question of when to plant tomatoes in the greenhouse. This applies to the time required to obtain fruits of technical ripeness: early ripening, mid-ripening, late-ripening varieties. They are all good for the greenhouse.
To get a good harvest, you need to use tomatoes intended for indoor cultivation, self-pollinated. It's just that there is insufficient air circulation in polycarbonate greenhouses, flowers are often not pollinated, barren flowers are formed. This negatively affects the formation of the crop.
For a greenhouse made of cellular polycarbonate, you can use:
- Determinate types of tomatoes. The height of the bushes is 70-150 cm. When 6 to 8 ovaries are formed, the plant stops growing and gives all its strength to the formation and ripening of fruits.
- Indeterminate species. This is the best option for closed ground, including for greenhouses made of cellular polycarbonate. They grow and bloom throughout the growing season, there are no restrictions on these parameters. On the bushes all summer at the same time there are flowers, ovaries, formed and reddening greenhouse tomatoes.
You can find out about the features of each type from the picture below.
Naturally, the formation of bushes will be different. When seeds are planted for seedlings, experienced gardeners select varieties with different ripening periods in order to receive finished products from June to the first frost.
So, the seedlings are ready, what to do next?
Greenhouse preparation
A greenhouse made of cellular polycarbonate has a number of advantages:
- It is much more profitable than structures covered with a film: the service life of the structure is quite long. After all, the material is durable, the ability to withstand large snow caps and strong winds, frosts.
- The design reliably retains heat, by installing heating, you can deal with tomatoes even in winter.
The question of when to plant tomatoes in a polycarbonate greenhouse is its preparation for planting plants. As a rule, work should be started about 15 days before planting seedlings. What do you need to do?
If you install a greenhouse before planting tomatoes, then you need to take care of its equipment:
- First, choose a good location. A properly placed structure should be well lit from all sides so that the plants do not stretch out. With a lack of light, yield losses are significant. If there is no place without a shadow on the site, then the plants in the greenhouse will have to be highlighted. Artificial lighting lamps are suitable for these purposes.
- Secondly, decide how the plants will be watered. Indeed, by planting tomatoes in a polycarbonate greenhouse on time, you can lose fruit due to improper watering. Experienced growers recommend installing drip irrigation systems. Sprinkle tomatoes with warm water. It is advisable to find a place in the greenhouse for a large tank. In it, the water settles and heats up.
- Thirdly, to resolve the issue of ventilation. Although the greenhouse has doors and vents, it is not always possible to open them on time. Especially if you live in a city apartment, and you don't go to the dacha every day. In this case, it is advisable to equip an automatic ventilation system before planting the plants.
- When tomatoes are planted in the greenhouse, there is a risk of frost return. Although cellular polycarbonate keeps heat well, the temperature still drops, the soil cools. This negatively affects the development of plants. You can insulate the soil under the planted seedlings with the help of hay and straw.
Surface treatment
Regardless of whether the greenhouse is new or you have already used it, the entire surface must be treated with disinfectants. The choice of funds is quite large. Most often, copper sulfate is diluted or Bordeaux liquid is prepared.Gardeners with extensive experience in growing vegetables in greenhouses recommend using a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate for processing greenhouse surfaces. It is sprayed with sprayers, wetting all areas.
The soil
Little secrets
Before planting seedlings, you need to prepare the soil. If your greenhouse is on a foundation, of course, you cannot choose a new place for it. Since growing tomatoes in one place leads to soil contamination with spores of pathogenic fungi and harmful insects, you will have to remove the soil by ten centimeters, treat it with vitriol. Pour fresh composition on top. You can take soil from potatoes, legumes, phacelia, cucumbers, mustard.
Why else do you need to know when to plant tomatoes in a polycarbonate greenhouse? Many gardeners, three weeks before planting seedlings, scatter green manure seeds over the entire surface, and then dig up the soil, enriching it with green mass.
Improving fertility
Even those vegetable growers who have been dealing with tomatoes for more than one year do not know the exact number of the start of work: climatic indicators never repeat.
When to start preparing the soil in a cellular polycarbonate greenhouse? After you have decided on the timing of planting seedlings, you should dig up the soil. This should be done in 10-15 days, so that the earth has time to "ripen".
Tomatoes grow well in fertile, neutral soil. Before digging, make compost, humus, wood ash. Mineral fertilizers can be used to enrich the soil.
They dig the earth to the depth of a shovel bayonet, although the tomatoes themselves are not planted deeper than 10 cm when planting. The fact is that the roots of the plant grow in depth and in breadth, and in loose soil, the development of the root system is more successful.
Soil treatment
The soil in the body is well spilled with a solution of copper sulfate: for 10 liters of water, one tablespoon of blue crystals. After processing, the greenhouse is ventilated. Copper sulfate disinfects the soil, destroys the spores of many fungal diseases.
Until the tomatoes are planted, the earth will rest and warm up. The air and soil temperature in the greenhouse should be at least +13 degrees. Here is another answer to the question of when to plant tomato seedlings in a greenhouse made of cellular polycarbonate.
When we plant tomatoes
Knowing when exactly to plant tomatoes in a polycarbonate greenhouse is necessary in order to prepare the beds and seedlings. By this time, the plants should have a height of at least 25-35 cm.
Cooking the ridges
The beds are prepared in 10 days. We place them along the long walls. If the width of the greenhouse is large, you can make one bed in the middle and along the wall without an entrance door. Distance between the beds should be from 60 to 70 cm, width from 60 to 90.
The root system of tomatoes does not tolerate cold well, so they are broken up on a dais: a height of 35 to 40 cm. This will depend on the amount of harvested land. In any case, the soil level in the bed should be higher than the level of the aisles.
After that, the holes are prepared. The distance between them will depend on the varieties of tomatoes you choose. Each hole and the surface around it are spilled with a hot pink solution of potassium permanganate. Watering is carried out 2 days before planting tomato seedlings in the greenhouse, so that at the right time the earth is moist and loose.Trellises for tying seedlings are also being prepared.
Planting seedlings
To start preparing seedlings for transplanting to a permanent place in a polycarbonate greenhouse, you need to know exactly when to start work. After all, tomatoes need appropriate preparation.
- 5 days before planting, tomato seedlings are sprayed with a boric acid solution (10 liters of water + 1 gram of substance). The work is carried out before sunrise so that the water droplets have time to dry. Otherwise, burns may occur. Processing is especially important if flowers have already bloomed on the tomatoes. A simple technique will not allow the buds to crumble, which means that the harvest will not suffer.
- 2 days before the selected planting date, 2-3 leaves from the bottom are removed on tomatoes so that they do not come into contact with the ground. This technique is necessary for the circulation of air between the plants and the successful formation of flower brushes. It is impossible to break off the leaves on tomato seedlings so as not to infect the plant. The work is carried out with a processed knife or scissors. The work is carried out on a sunny day so that the wounds heal well. Leaves on tomato seedlings are not cut out at the base of the stem, leaving a stump up to two centimeters.
- On the day when the tomato planting is scheduled, the seedlings are well watered. The soil in the garden is slightly moistened. It is better to transplant in the evening, when there will be no heat.
After planting in the greenhouse, the seedlings are shed well. The next watering is in about five days.
Approximate time for planting tomatoes in a greenhouse
Let's summarize to clarify when the tomato is approximately planted in a polycarbonate greenhouse:
- If the greenhouse is with autonomous heating, then work begins on April 29.
- For an ordinary polycarbonate greenhouse - from May 20.
Of course, our readers understand that such terms are approximate. It all depends on the climatic features of the region.
Let's summarize
As you already understood, the choice of the right time for planting tomatoes in a polycarbonate greenhouse is not only important, but also diverse. It brings together the features of the climate, agrotechnical standards, the choice of tomato varieties. By the way, many experienced gardeners advise growing plants with the letter F1 - these are hybrids. They meet all the standards for greenhouse tomatoes.
To choose the date for planting tomatoes, you need to arm yourself with a piece of paper, make the necessary calculations using our material. We wish you a successful harvest of tomatoes grown in polycarbonate greenhouses.
