When should tomato seedlings be transplanted and how to do it correctly? We determine the timing of transplanting tomatoes. Useful tips for beginners and experienced gardeners After transplanting seedlings

The closer spring is, the more gardeners' window sills become like. Numerous boxes, boxes, jars of earth - the cultivation of seedlings is in full swing. Someone sows tomatoes directly into cups or, and someone into common containers for subsequent picking. It is traditionally used for tomatoes, peppers, cabbage and many other crops. Some experts claim that without this operation good seedlings it's just impossible to grow. Why do you need a tomato transplant? Is it really necessary for tomato plants?

Why repot tomatoes?

In this regard, the main difference between tomatoes and other crops is that they do not just like to transplant. Damaged roots recover unusually quickly - dangling sucking hairs grow even thicker than before. The more picks, the stronger it develops root system.

Picking, or transplanting from a seedling box into individual pots, is an optional event. It has both positive and negative sides. The positives include the following:

- stimulation of the formation of additional lateral roots, which provides a powerful root system for seedlings;
- the possibility of rejecting weak and damaged seedlings;
- reducing the cost of growing seedlings;
– effective use available space and soil.

The negative ones include developmental delay, inevitable after any transplant, and the more late start fruiting.

Soil for transplanting tomatoes

For it is better to use not simple garden soil, but a mixture consisting of peat, sand and rotted compost. All this is taken in equal proportions, after sifting through a large sieve.

The resulting soil should be steamed in the oven or in a saucepan in a water bath. It is permissible to replace heating with freezing, but this will be a longer process. Only an artificial mixture of sand and sawdust can do without disinfection - according to the Mitlider method. She's good enough for her. This is recognized even by opponents of the famous doctor's system.

It is very convenient to dive seedlings of tomatoes into hydrogel - a special polymer crumb that has the ability to swell several times from absorbed water. Unlike traditional soil, hydrogel is sterile. It does not need to be steamed or frozen. The roots of plants receive moisture from it gradually and do not suffocate - there is always air between the pieces. As the water is released, the gel fragments simply decrease in size, only to increase again after watering. During picking, it is enough to put one or two teaspoons of soaked hydrogel under the root of each plant and you can not water the seedlings for weeks.

When to transplant tomatoes?

Tomatoes are usually transplanted twice. The first - in small individual cups or a common box, but with a distance of at least 15 cm from one another. The second - in larger pots or directly into greenhouses.

The younger the seedlings, the easier they will tolerate the transplant. The reason is simple: underdeveloped roots are less damaged. The weak sprouts themselves suffer much more, especially in not very experienced hands. Therefore, the time of the first picking, coinciding with the appearance of true leaves, is considered optimal. This usually happens at the beginning of the second week after germination. You can dive later. But then there is a danger that the roots of closely sown plants will have time to intertwine, and serious damage to them will not be avoided.

Why is a second transplant necessary? Why not just take large pots? The answers to these questions are surprisingly simple. Firstly, small cups save space on the windowsill, which rarely anyone has enough. Secondly, the moist soil, which has not yet been mastered by the roots of a tiny seedling, begins to turn sour in a pot, which is not at all useful for the development of the plant.

Experts have long proven that with a gradual increase in the feeding area, tomato seedlings grow stronger, which also affects the yield. Therefore, the second pick is carried out only when the plants are already cramped in a small volume. If it is not increased, not only the growth of the root system is delayed, but also the aerial part of the tomatoes.

How to transplant tomatoes?

Seedlings should be well watered the day before picking. If you do this just before transplanting, the soil in the box will become wet and heavy. It will stick to the thin roots of young plants in large clumps. And when you try to lift the plant by the stem, it can come off along with these roots. If the earth is not watered at all, it will immediately begin to crumble and expose the roots of the seedlings. The earthy lump, necessary for the preservation of the underground part of the seedling, has a size of no more than a phalanx of a medium-sized finger. Then the transplant will be painless for the future tomato bush, and it will quickly take root.

It is often advised during the first transplant to cut the cotyledon leaves and shorten the central root of the seedling. Is it necessary to do this?

The cotyledons of tomatoes themselves fall off over time. So it makes no sense to specifically cut them off - this will only cause additional wounds. As for shortening the roots, opinions are divided here.

Some gardeners believe that by cutting off the central root, the plant is deprived of the opportunity to grow deeper, to get moisture from the lower layers of the soil. Tomatoes without a tap root have to be watered more often, as they are able to absorb water only with fibrous roots close to the surface. Others argue that damage to the central stem causes the plant to develop an additional rootlobe and develop a larger feeding zone in width.

In fact, when picking, the root of the seedling is inevitably damaged. Shortening it additionally makes sense only if it does not fit in a pot, or the transplant container is too deep - more than 10 cm. At a shallower depth, the tap root will stop its growth when it reaches the bottom of the pot or cup.

It is very important to ensure good lighting for tomato seedlings immediately after transplanting. During this period, a peculiar program for the development of a tomato bush is determined. With a lack of light, instead of flower brushes, leaves continue to be laid after the fifth or sixth leaf. And this pushes the start of fruiting by almost a week, or even two.

It is equally important not to make a mistake with watering. Moisturize freshly picked seedlings, of course, it is necessary, but moderately. One teaspoon of water is enough for each copy. Excessive watering can lead to a lack of oxygen, causing the roots to not grow, and the aerial part will begin to lag behind in development.

Kira Stoletova

A large number of vegetable crops grown seedling way. This allows you to get early harvests. Gardeners begin the preparation process in March, and sometimes even earlier (if it is planned to plant plants in heated greenhouses). Let's try to figure out how necessary it is to transplant seedlings of tomatoes, when and how to do it.

Why transplant tomatoes

Picking when growing tomatoes in seedlings is not necessary. You can also sow the seeds in large cups, where the seedlings are located until planting. Most often, sowing is done in trays or cassettes: on the one hand, this saves space on window sill, balcony or in a small greenhouse, on the other hand, creates the maximum favorable conditions for strong seedlings.

Growing seedlings with excessively crowded planting tends to delay the start of the first harvest, resulting in some of the advantage of the seedling method.

Benefits of transplanting tomatoes:

• the breakage of small lateral roots stimulates the growth of the root system of the seedling;
• a gradual increase in the area of ​​plant nutrition contributes to an increase in productivity;
• diseased, damaged plants are removed;
• costs for initial stage cultivation of tomatoes is minimized.

There are also disadvantages: an illiterate or untimely picking leads to a long-term adaptation of the transplanted plants, and hence to a delay in fruiting.

Growing seedlings in large containers also has disadvantages. The soil, not mastered by the roots of the plant, turns sour. For tomatoes, neutral soils are most suitable, acidic soils help reduce immunity.

In vegetable growing, there is such a thing as the coefficient of deployment of the area during picking. This is a number that shows how many times large area will occupy the plants after the pick compared to the one they occupied before. For example, for cabbage, this coefficient is 5-7, and for tomato, pepper and eggplant - 8-10.

First pick

When to transplant

Tomato transplantation is carried out when the seedlings have formed the first pair of true leaves. This usually happens 15-17 days after germination. Gardeners recommend to withstand a few more days so that the stem of the plant strengthens and the root system becomes more powerful. Most often this happens by 18-12 days.

It is undesirable to miss the deadlines, because rapidly developing roots of seedlings will intertwine. When transplanted, they are seriously damaged - growth retardation can be a week or more.

Everyone will have their own calendar for sowing seeds and transplanting tomato seedlings into the ground. It depends on where the tomatoes are planted (in open ground without shelter or under temporary shelter or in a greenhouse); what are climatic conditions places of residence.

The calculation is simple: early tomatoes have a growing season of 90-100 days. On the permanent place Tomato seedlings need to be transplanted at the age of 50 days. If you plan to plant tomatoes in a greenhouse at the end of April, you need to sow in early March (50 days plus a week are counted for seed germination).

During picking, seedlings are immersed in the ground deeper than they grew. Additional roots quickly form from the hypocotyl knee.

What to plant

As containers during a dive, you can use ordinary disposable plastic glasses volume 150-170 ml. Glasses with a drainage hole are placed on a pallet.

Garden soil in its pure form is not recommended. Soil for seedlings is prepared specially:

• mix peat, sand and rotted compost, taken in equal proportions;
• to improve the soil is sown through a large sieve;
• disinfect the mixture by steaming in the oven, in a water bath or freezing;
• to increase soil fertility, add a pinch of superphosphate and potassium sulfate, a little biohumus (sold in the distribution network).

A good result is the use of hydrogel - a polymer crumb that absorbs moisture during watering, and then gradually releases it. If you add a little hydrogel under the roots of the seedling during transplantation, you can not be afraid of stagnant water or drying out of the soil, reduce the number of waterings to a minimum.

How to transplant

A day or two before transplanting tomato seedlings, it is watered. If this is not done, the dry earth will not hold on to the roots, and they will take longer to take root. When moistening the soil immediately before the procedure, the soil forms heavy clods, which, breaking off, also damage the root system. Best Option, - when the seedling is transferred to a new place with a small clod of earth, which is easily held by the roots.

For careful extraction of plants from a common tray, a toothpick (a small knife) is used, with which the bush is separated from the mass of the earth. It is better to hold the plant closer to the root lobe so as not to damage the green part. A glass for young tomatoes is filled with earth by 2/3, a recess is made, water is poured into it, and then a seedling is placed there.

There is another option. It is necessary to make a large depression in the soil: place the pencil in the center of the glass and make circular movements several times, increasing the diameter of the circle, transfer the seedling and only after that pour water. In this case, the flow of water straightens the roots, deepens the bush, it remains only to compact the earth around the stem.

As the bush grows, the soil can be poured, creating conditions for the formation of additional roots. They act differently: the stem is buried to the cotyledon leaves.

Is it worth pinching the central root of tomatoes when transplanting seedlings? Some recommend pinching off a third part to stimulate the growth of the root system. Others believe that the spine at the age of 18-20 days is too thin and in the vast majority of cases is damaged without much effort.

There is no great need to cut the cotyledon leaves, because. they themselves dry out at a certain stage of plant growth. Pruning creates additional difficulties during the adaptation period.

Features of seedling care

After the first transplant, tomatoes need special conditions:

• compliance temperature regime: optimal daytime temperature - 18-22°С, nighttime - not lower than 16°С;
• sufficient lighting, (its lack will lead to the fact that the plant will stretch, and the flower brush is formed not after 5-6 leaves, but later, which will delay the start of fruiting);
• timely watering (the first - not earlier than a week after picking, while it is important not to overdo it, because excess moisture leads to oxygen starvation, slowing down development).

A small capacity over time can lead to inhibition of seedling growth. If two transplants were planned before landing at a permanent place, it is necessary to make a second one in time. In order not to miss the deadlines, at the first picking, 2-3 control bushes are immediately planted in a large container. If the bulk of the seedlings have stopped growing, lagging behind the control ones, it's time to hurry up with transplanting into a large dish or to a permanent place.

After a period of gradual acclimatization to the wind and sun outdoors, the young plants are ready to be moved to the garden.

This process can be traumatic for plants, so try to choose a cloudy day for transplanting or wait until the end of the day. This will save the seedlings from additional stress due to the bright, hot sun.

Seedlings will take root easier if the soil is loose, moist and warm enough.

Transplant instructions

Dig a hole for each seedling the size of the pot. Remove each plant from the container, pressing down on the bottom if necessary.

If the roots have formed a tight ball due to growing too long in a pot, loosen them with your hands or make vertical cuts.

Place the plant in the hole at the same depth as it grew in the pot. Then gently but firmly press the soil around the plant to force out any air pockets, then water with warm water.

After a week, water the new plants with the diluted fertilizer.

- Low plants can be planted in a row at the edge of the flower bed. Unpleasant view can be closed next tall plants. Cut flowers are conveniently planted in rows for easy access.

— ornamental plants look better in groups. Clusters with an odd number of plants work best - try planting three side by side. large plants or up to nine small ones.

- Plant young plants in existing flower beds among flowers that require the same amount of water and light. Do not place plants too close to each other.

Plant placement

One way to avoid problems when seedlings grow into full-sized plants is to ensure there is enough space between plants when planting.

Although the garden may seem bare at first, allowing the plants to grow freely, without crowding and with good air circulation, will help to avoid many diseases.

Mulch bare soil between young plants to keep weeds from filling up the space.

Aftercare

- Water newly transplanted flowers and vegetables every day in warm weather until their roots go deep into the soil. When you see new strong stems and leaves, you will know that the plants are properly rooted.

- On bare soil between young plants, apply a layer of organic material about 5 cm. This mulch will discourage weed growth and help keep the soil moist.

- Remove all weeds that appear in the planting area. They compete with your plants for water and nutrients.

At the beginning of the season, watch for unexpected temperature changes. Be prepared to cover tender young plants if frost hits unexpectedly.

- For plants that need support, provide trellises or supports.

Check the foliage regularly for insects and diseases.

- For many plants, it is useful to pinch off the tips of the stems after rooting to increase lateral branching and create a compact bush.

Seedling selection

Purchase plants from a reputable nursery or trusted store where they are likely to have received proper care.

- Buy at the beginning of the season, while the plants are fresh and young.

Check soil moisture and leaf freshness to determine if this plant has been well cared for.

Choose compact plants with strong stems.

Look for plants with bright green leaves free of discolored spots, signs of disease and insects.

- Examine the roots of the plant, they should be well developed, but not too tangled.

- Choose plants at the very beginning of flowering, young plants tolerate transplanting more easily.

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Foreword

There is hardly a gardener for whom transplanting tomato seedlings into open ground is a completely unfamiliar process. Today, more than 70 million tons of tomatoes are grown in the world a year, and the lion's share is thanks to tireless summer residents! Apparently, the secret of the popularity of these vegetables is in in large numbers happiness hormone, serotonin. In this article there is a lot of new and interesting information about transplanting young seedlings - test your knowledge.

Cherished half the battle - we select seeds

Transplanting seedlings is a stage to which the sprouts still need to grow. To avoid misunderstandings, let's start from the beginning. And this entertaining process begins with the selection of seeds. Pick up good seeds tomatoes for future seedlings - this is already half the battle. Someone may be confused by such a discrepancy between efforts - there is so much work with sprouts ahead, and then just choose the seeds.

But, as practice shows, sometimes purchased miracle tomatoes show anti-records in germination, forcing us to waste time repeating the same procedures. Even if germination pleased, it is not a fact that these tender sprouts will turn into strong and healthy plants with the same fruits as in the picture.

If you first decided to start growing seedlings, you can eliminate this course of events with the help of simple precautions:

By the way, the last method is the most effective. Self-harvested seeds give an amazingly high germination rate - firstly, they are guaranteed not to lie long years on the shelves, secondly, the largest and most ripe fruits were selected for seeds, thirdly, the number planting material almost unlimited, which cannot be said about a few seeds in branded bags. Therefore, using the help of neighbors for the first year, do not make a mistake in the second year - from the summer, think about what you will plant in the ground in the spring.

Preparation of seeds and soil - we do not allow misses

In the matter of preparing seeds, some gardeners are hopelessly outdated, and some are headlong into experiments, exposing planting material to a whole cascade of soaking, disinfecting, hardening, and so on and so forth. Let's try to find the golden mean!

And today, many use the good old solution of potassium permanganate to protect seedlings from viruses. You should definitely not write it off - if you have stocks of potassium permanganate, use this method as well. For 1 liter of water, dissolve 1 g of the substance and keep the seeds in this composition for 15-17 minutes.

If there was no cherished drug, or you are an ardent supporter of more modern ways, feel free to replace potassium permanganate with tested drugs ( Mikrassa, Novosil, Zircon, Epin, Immunocytophyte). Some gardeners recommend combining alternate soaking in potassium permanganate and epine(growth stimulant) - in the latter, the seeds should stay for at least an hour. Give it a try, it shouldn't hurt.

Another good way, which definitely will not harm future shoots - pre-soaking in melt water. Getting melted water is as easy as shelling pears - if there is pure snow on the street, collect a full bucket and, as soon as a third of the snow melts, drain this life-giving moisture, and discard the rest. melt water can also be obtained using a freezer - freeze water in plastic bag or plastic bottle. When the water has melted by a third of its volume, drain the liquid and discard the remaining ice.

Melt water is an excellent catalyst that effectively awakens the seeds from "hibernation", because this is how nature signals the seeds in the soil about the onset of spring.

If the nights in your region are too cold in spring, then it does not hurt to wrap the seeds in a damp cloth and hold them on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for 3-4 days, after which you can confidently start sowing. Confident if ready. Fortunately, today you can quickly purchase a ready-made soil mixture - fortunately, such a pleasure is not so expensive. However, there is an opinion that it is better to take the land from the garden so that the seedlings get used to the microflora, acidity and composition, in a word, to the environment in which they will find themselves after transplantation.

The opinion is very sound if the soil in the garden is sufficiently loose and nutritious. But even in this case, care should be taken - the land should be taken from the beds where cabbage or cucumbers grew last year, but in no case after potatoes, onions or peppers. There is a third, most neutral option - to go to the nearest forest belt and collect leafy soil.

Waiting for a miracle - when will the seedlings appear?

Tomato seeds can test your patience for three whole weeks before deigning to show the strings of sprouts that look so much like loops. Soaking can shorten this period by two or three times, but still be patient and do not hang up your hands if in a week you don’t see a single sprout - gently moisten the soil from the spray bottle, preventing it from drying out, put the trays on sunny side, to batteries or closer to the stove. Tomatoes, although they languish for a long time, give very friendly shoots!

Given the slowness of planting material, in the middle climatic zone of Russia, we recommend sending seeds to the ground in the middle or end of February. Especially if these are mid-season and late-ripening varieties. Early varieties can be planted in mid-March. Do not neglect the advice of seed producers if you used purchased planting material.

When seedlings have made themselves felt, move the seedling trays to a cooler but well-lit place, such as a balcony. The recommended temperature is not lower than 12 degrees. This measure is needed to harden the sprouts. Seedlings can be transferred to a warm room for an hour and a half a day, no more.

When to transplant - the climax

At first, frail sprouts get prettier every day and turn into real seedlings. Your task during this important period is to carefully monitor and not rush to act - careful watering, observing the temperature regime and a little combined fertilizer for seedlings. If the seedlings have frail legs, then it has little sun - analyze and correct.

Already at the stage of the appearance of two strong leaves in warm climes seedlings are planted in open ground, but this does not apply to the cold conditions of Russia. Tomatoes respond very well to picking, so you can safely transplant such young seedlings (20-25 days after emergence) into larger boxes or pots, giving room for the development of the root system. By the way, some gardeners at this stage bury the plants a few centimeters into the ground - this contributes to the emergence of new roots, and the more developed the root system, the stronger the plant will be and the more abundant the harvest.

Seedlings should be sent to the ground when a stable plus of at least 15 ° C is formed on the street at night. By this time, plants can grow up to 20-30 cm in height, and have 5-6 large leaves. It is important to plant seedlings before they begin to bloom, so as soon as they form warm weather Let's go to the garden.

We already wrote about the predecessors above - do not forget to observe the crop rotation. A few hours before planting, the plants are watered abundantly with water. room temperature so that they can be easily removed from the pots. It is most convenient to disembark in the evening - at this time, the hot sun will no longer be able to harm. The place for landing should be sunny, warm, protected from sudden gusts of wind and drafts.

Rules of good manners - how to deal with the senor tomato?

The first rule of transplantation - we try to take out the plants along with a large clod of earth around the roots. Ideally, we do this so that the roots do not understand at all that they have been transplanted somewhere. In this case, the plants will not even wither the next day and will grow very quickly. In the process, try not to touch the leaves and stems with your hands, even if you are wearing gloves - work with the roots.

Holes should be dug at a distance of 15–20 cm from each other, although there may be peculiarities - it all depends on the variety, some plants can grow up to 3 meters in height, and they will need much more living space. We water the recesses well and add a tablespoon of superphosphate to each - this fertilizer does not burn the roots and saturates the plants with exactly the amount of phosphorus that they need. Phosphorus is a key element in the development of the root system.

Immerse in a hole to the cotyledon leaves (1–2 cm from the root), sprinkle the roots with earth, tamp tightly at the base and water again. The next day, the plants may look drooping and lethargic, but with regular watering, the seedlings will quickly grow stronger and begin to bloom.

To grow tasty and large fruits, use phosphate-potassium fertilizers, but do not get carried away with mineral nitrogen fertilizers. Top dressing should be applied along with watering, but only after all plants have taken root in a new place. Watering is applied strictly under the root - for this procedure, choose early morning or late evening.

Do not forget about the need to remove stepchildren. It is very important to remove the lower leaves; they should not be under the green fruits of tomatoes. No more than two or three leaves can be removed at a time, otherwise the plant will experience stress. It is better to cut the leaves with sharp scissors or a knife so as not to damage the skin on the trunk.

The most important rule is that the temperature of the soil during planting seedlings should be at least +15 degrees, and for + 18. The air temperature should also be appropriate: not lower than +8-10 degrees. If you want to plant seedlings in the greenhouse early, then start taking out containers with it for a few minutes every day so that the seedlings can get used to and "harden". Look on the Internet for the weather forecast for your region for the week ahead, so that it does not turn out that the cold will come a few days after the sprouts are planted in the ground.

The second thing that should not be forgotten is the preparation of the soil for planting seedlings. Experienced gardeners it is advised to pour 1 tbsp into the hole in advance. a spoonful of superphosphate fertilizer and fill to the brim with water, and plant the plant only after the water has been absorbed. If you do not have fertilizer on hand, you can add a handful wood ash, which is also very useful for seedlings.

The third rule: do not forget that the seedling bushes must be planted deeper than they grew while in a pot, and you even need to sprinkle them with earth from all sides so that the root system is strengthened. After this, it is necessary to water the plant abundantly, which is called shedding the roots, and after that you can not water for a whole week.

And fourthly, if the seeds were planted in special peat pots, it will be much easier to plant them in the ground, because the plants do not need to be removed from them. If you planted seedlings in plastic or cardboard cups, then it is very difficult to remove it without damaging the roots.

There are several ways to do this manipulation without loss: pour plenty of soil in a cup, and then gently shake out the plant; cut off the bottom and side of the cup and pull everything out together with the roots, but in this case the container for planting will be damaged; carefully dig a bush with a spatula, turning it as deep as possible, and pull out the seedlings along with the roots.

Try to follow these tips, observe the plants and write down your observations, in just a few years you will be able to grow great plants and give advice to other gardeners.