Seedling racks: successful solutions by FORUMHOUSE users. Tips for beginner gardeners how to grow seedlings on the windowsill Which window is better to grow seedlings

Long before the arrival of heat and the start of work on land plots many summer residents are already opening the season, starting to grow seedlings of city apartments. Since the quality of those grown in not the most comfortable conditions plants depends future harvest, then the process does not require haste, but serious preparation for it is simply necessary.

How to grow seedlings on a windowsill?

Often summer residents start sowing almost in the middle of winter, motivating this by the desire to get a large and strong seedlings ready without serious problems acclimatization to continue growth and begin to bear fruit. However, instead of this, in the spring, many summer residents have to take out overgrown, literally creeping plants with pale green foliage and with a root system tangled into a dense ball.

To prevent this from happening, you can follow one of two strategies:

1. The first is not to rush with sowing, but to create the seedlings the most favorable conditions for growth;
2. The second - at early dates sowing in every possible way to slow down the growth of seedlings in order to level negative consequences lack of light and prolonged cultivation.

Obviously, the first way is preferable. Firstly, daylight hours naturally increase in spring, which means that seedlings are less likely to be elongated and frail, on the other hand, it will not be necessary to slow down plant growth by reducing watering and temperature.

But today it is not a problem. You can use both fitolamps and install economical fluorescent or LED devices to illuminate the plantings.

If at the same time provide seedlings and the rest optimal conditions: nutrition, watering, air humidity and temperature, then the plants will respond with friendly growth, will be strong and ready to give a good harvest.

Time to sow

According to this strategy, you can grow seedlings on the windowsill in the shortest possible time.

• medium and late ripening from sowing to planting in the ground takes from 55 to 60 days, early varieties and hybrids grow 10 to 15 days faster.
• Sweet grows in 65 - 75 days. This crop is not as sensitive to stretch when growing seedlings on a windowsill. Pepper seedlings can also be planted with buds, however, it is better to remove the flowers.
• sown 70 - 80 days before transplanting into the ground.
• need 60 days.
• Head lettuce - about 40 days.
• , pumpkins, zucchini, as well as sweet gourds: melons and watermelons are ready for planting in a month. Moreover, with such rapid growth, it is better to immediately sow these crops in individual containers.
• White-headed early-ripening and color is ready for transplanting to the beds after 45 days, and mid-ripening or late varieties in forty days.
• sown in the third decade of March or a little earlier.

As for the second concept, growing seedlings on the windowsill starts very early, and in order to restrain stretching, the room temperature is reduced. Seedlings, such as cabbages, after hatching should be kept at 6 - 10 °, which is not easy to do in an apartment, which means they also reduce watering, giving the plants moisture when they begin to wither.

Obviously this is not the best way.

What do you need to grow seedlings on a windowsill?

But in any case, it is important to carefully prepare for this important matter. Namely:

• Calculate how many seedlings will be needed;
• and fertilizers;
• Stock up on containers for seedlings;
• Think about ensuring the proper level of humidity and temperature;
• Prepare seeds decent quality and disinfect them before sowing.

AT minimum set equipment required by the summer resident to obtain healthy seedlings on the windowsill includes:

1. Shelves additionally fixed on the window or;
2. Illumination system on phytolamps, LEDs or fluorescent light sources;
3. A timer that sets the duration of artificial lighting;
4. Trays for sowing and containers for planting plants after picking;
5. Mats for heating landing boxes;
6. Daylight lamps;
7. Chains or cords for adjusting the height of the fixtures.

The problem of lighting seedlings on the windowsill

The sprouts emerging from the seeds do not have much strength to grow. And if they get minerals from the soil, then organic matter must be produced during photosynthesis, which requires light. Within a week or two after germination, the seedlings are ready for picking, however, with a lack of light, the plants turn out to be frail and more prone to root rot.

Ideally, seedlings in the first days require round-the-clock lighting, and then it is better for plants to provide 16-hour lighting. It is clear that March ten or April thirteen hours is not enough. Therefore, it is necessary by all means to ensure the access of light to plants.

How to arrange lighting for seedlings on the windowsill?

In nature, plants live in conditions solar lighting consisting of waves of different lengths. The blue and violet parts of the spectrum are designed to regulate growth, helping the sprouts to be strong. The red spectrum affects germination.

Therefore, the whole spectrum is important, and it is necessary not only to make the most of the light entering the room, but also to give the seedlings effective illumination. It makes sense to install matte screen diffused light and use reflective structures such as foil-coated insulating material.

However, without special artificial lighting not enough. In conditions middle lane illumination for seedlings on the windowsills of residential buildings and apartments is important until transplanting seedlings to the site.

At the same time, ordinary, with a tungsten filament, lamps are the worst choice, they give only a small fraction of the natural spectrum, but they more than compensate for this with an excess of thermal radiation, which makes the seedlings stretch.

The most effective are specialized phytolamps, fluorescent or LED devices, which also turn out to be more economical.

How to place seedlings?

It is logical that it is not worth growing seedlings on the windowsill located on the northern wall of the building. However, the health of seedlings and the future harvest depend both on the area allotted to each seedling and on the volume of the container in which the plant's root system develops.

On a fairly spacious window sill measuring 1 meter by 30 cm, you can arrange about 40 bushes of tomatoes or peppers, but the needs of summer residents are usually much greater. The way out of this situation can be:

• Expansion of the window sill due to cantilever structures;
• Installing another shelf approximately in the middle of the window frame;
• Ready-made or homemade seedling racks on the windowsill

At the same time, the last two options are preferable, since all plants are easily accessible for care and watering, they do not interfere with each other and do not obscure the light, and it is easy to install a lighting system above the shelves.

Containers and seedling boxes

Any containers with a volume of up to 0.2 l, in which seedlings are often grown, are insufficient for the development of high-quality roots, they often intertwine, forming a dense ball, which, when transplanted into the ground, most die off. And, therefore, seedlings are more difficult to acclimatize and subsequently give a weak harvest.

In addition to sufficient capacity, containers for growing seedlings simply must have:

• Sufficient and very reliable drainage that does not allow moisture to stagnate;
• Opaque walls that protect the root system from overheating and cooling, as well as positively affecting its growth;
• Sufficient rigidity, ensuring a reliable position of plants when moving or any movement of the soil.

Watering seedlings

Until the sprouts hatch, the crops are watered daily with a weak solution of a biological cocktail or growth stimulator. Then, depending on the air temperature and the condition of the soil in the containers, the plants are watered or sprayed up to three times a week.

To ensure sufficient moisture for each plant after picking, you can organize a kind of irrigation system from a pallet using plastic bottles and thick woolen thread.

Air humidity

For most crops, an acceptable moisture level is around 70%. Unfortunately, in no residential area, especially when the heating is on, this level is difficult to achieve.

Therefore, due to the dryness of the air, seedlings on the windowsill accumulate an excessive amount of salts, and soil salinity occurs, which looks like a brown coating on the surface and provokes seedling diseases, especially cabbage.

To increase the humidity of the air, be sure to use household humidifiers or install a basin of water under the battery, into which a thick towel is lowered with one edge, while the other end is laid out on a heating device.

Seedling hardening

Before hitting permanent place seedlings grown on a windowsill must be hardened on a loggia, glazed balcony or in a simple greenhouse.

To do this, containers are exposed for at least two or three days for several hours in close to natural conditions.

Video - growing pepper seedlings on the windowsill

The most impatient summer residents open a new sowing season in February - agricultural work is done right at home. Plans, as always, huge! Only according to the mandatory program in February, you need to sow tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. And I also want to please my family early with lettuce cucumbers and root celery, yes onion grow through seedlings.

Meanwhile, the window sills are not rubber, and the quality of the future seedlings largely depends on how much space during the growth period will get its roots, and the sun - tops. Therefore, at first it is a good idea to accurately calculate how many seedlings of each crop you need to grow (do not forget to add 15-20% of the insurance fund). And then figure out how many plants can be placed on the windowsills, if each one eventually needs at least a half-liter cup.

For tomato, pepper and eggplant, it is also desirable to calculate how many plants of each variety are required to grow. And to make it more convenient to make calculations, it is better to draw a landing pattern on paper. On 1 sq.m in a greenhouse you usually grow (do not forget to add 15-20% of the insurance fund). And then figure out how many plants can be placed on the windowsills, if each one eventually needs at least a half-liter cup.

For tomato, pepper and eggplant, it is also desirable to calculate how many plants of each variety are required to grow. And to make it more convenient to make calculations, it is better to draw a landing pattern on paper. 2.5-3 pieces of indeterminate varieties or tomato hybrids (such as Debarao, Korneevsky, Lemon Giant, Intuition F1, Evpator FI, Pink Lady F1). 3-6 pcs. pepper ( Red Knight F1. Hercules F1, Ducato F1 etc.) and 4-6 pcs. eggplant ( Clorinda F1, Behemoth F1, Black Beauty etc.).

The optimal age of seedlings is 60-70 days.

Having soberly assessed your capabilities, think: maybe you should limit yourself to a smaller number of extra-class seedlings, which you can handle without much hassle, and postpone mass plantings for a second period. After all, its quality is determined primarily by harmonious development, and not by calendar age.

How to prepare a nutrient mixture for seedlings

Often, vegetable growers focus on the acquisition of seeds and practically do not care about the seed soil at all. For these purposes, many simply buy the first one they find in the store, or even collect land directly from the garden. And they do it in vain: a successful seedling start more than half depends on the quality of the substrate used for sowing.

There are many recipes for preparing a nutrient mixture. I have been using one for many years, it works well for almost all seedings. horticultural crops. Two weeks before sowing seeds, I mix high-moor deoxidized peat (not containing mineral fertilizers) with river sand(or vermiculite) in a ratio of 1:1. The resulting mixture is well watered and kept in a warm place. It is loose and porous, it develops well in it. root system. It is important that it is quite sterile and infertile, so the risk of developing diseases is minimal.

You can use ready-made purchased soils, after making sure that they are suitable for acidity. Impeccable in its properties is the soil for cacti - loose, moisture and breathable, it has little organic matter and a small amount nutrients(50-100mg/l).

Nutrients in the cotyledons are enough for young sprouts for the first time. And then they can be watered with nutrient mixtures (such as Agri-Cola, Kemira) or dived into more fertile soil. I prepare it from garden soil (I usually collect it from under thickets of clover or nettle and always freeze it), humus or biohumus (I add it to all crops except tomatoes), peat and coarse granular sand or sawdust in a ratio of 2: 1: 1: 1 .

seedling care

There are many ways to pre-sow seed preparation. Having tried almost everything in practice, I came to the conclusion: if the seeds are of high quality, it is most reliable to sow dry directly into the soil. For friendly germination, apart from water, heat and air, they do not need anything else.

Regarding the most common - soaking in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate - I can say for sure that it is useless as a prophylaxis for phytophthora, and there are no other diseases in my greenhouse. In my opinion, such procedures do more harm than good. On the seed coat there are not only harmful, but also beneficial microorganisms, so the seeds that have become sterile after potassium permanganate are completely defenseless against soil microflora. This means that disinfection of the soil mixture is required, and then the soil in the greenhouse. And all these potassium permanganate and copper sulfate, which, just in case (for prevention), are added to the mixture and drunk into the wells, are not harmless substances. Their unreasonable use leads to the accumulation of heavy metals in the soil.

I buy seeds only from reliable manufacturers. As a rule, they are sold already prepared for sowing, and if I collect my own, then only with healthy plants, therefore, it is absolutely not necessary to disinfect (except after standing for a couple of days on a sunny windowsill) or to stimulate them to germinate, they already sprout with a brush. I always sow them with a margin, so that after the emergence of seedlings it is possible to leave only the strongest sprouts.

I apply the treatment with growth stimulants (Epin-Extra, Zircon, Seedling. Amulet, NV-101) in isolated cases - to weakened seeds of especially valuable varieties with low germination energy (with an expired shelf life).

Applying them, I do not deviate from the instructions. Overdose of growth stimulants for plants acts similarly to an overdose of vitamins for humans. Therefore, in order not to get the opposite effect, I count the drops with a syringe (it is most convenient to draw the entire ampoule into it and dose it if necessary). For example, in 1 ml of Epin-Extra there are 30 drops, which means that the norm is 5-6 per half glass of water (100 ml of water) or an ampoule per 5-liter bucket.

Seedling containers

An important point is the choice of capacity for sowing. I have been using homemade mini-greenhouses for a year now. Making them is easy: I take two different diameter (5- or 6-liter) water bottles. From one I cut off a bottom 6-8 cm high, from the other - a cap. Inside - ideal conditions for seed germination. By removing or screwing on the stopper or cap, it is easy to adjust the humidity. It is convenient to rearrange them from place to place, and as soon as it gets warmer, send seedlings to harden on the balcony during the day. And the sowing procedure itself takes a matter of minutes: I lay out the seeds on a damp, leveled surface, sprinkle with a 1 cm layer of soil and stock up on patience for about a week.

Amicable emergence of shoots is provided by temperature within + 23 ... + 27 ° С. Therefore, until the first loops of seedlings appear, I keep the crops in a warm place. After the appearance of sprouts, I expose mini-greenhouses to the most sunny window sill. If a decrease in temperature is required, then I simply open the window for a while. Such procedures are not harmful to seedlings, they are securely hidden under a cap.

Growing seedlings: note:

When working with growth stimulants, it is imperative to use personal protective equipment.

When soaking seeds, I observe the following rule: the volume of the solution in which the seeds are soaked should not exceed 3 volumes of the treated seeds. Otherwise, you can get an excess concentration of the drug.

If a grow seedlings without adding garden soil, only, for example, on a mixture of peat and sand, then plants planted in a permanent place have a poorly developed root system. It takes a lot of time for the roots to rebuild on a different soil (especially if the seedlings in pots are also heavily fed).

Growth phytohormones should be stored in the dark and in the refrigerator, under the influence of light and heat they are destroyed. So if in the store the ampoules just lie on the window, you should not buy them.

Most gardeners open the sowing season in late February - early March. In many regions, at this time it is still winter with short daylight hours, hot radiators and dry air in the apartment. To create a normal microclimate for plants, FORUMHOUSE users use their own hand-made seedling racks: they allow you to comfortably place seedling pots, properly organize LED lighting, it is better to use light from, and so on. Not everyone succeeds in making a light, reliable, multifunctional and inexpensive design. We will look at several designs that have been approved by FORUMHOUSE users.

Seedling stand.

Seedling quality depends on light, humidity, air temperature and soil temperature. So, due to a lack of light and an excess of heat, elongated, pale seedlings grow in the room. During the sowing season, it’s not so cold outside the window - in March, the temperature is above zero even in Siberia, and the heating in the houses is not turned off, the radiators are still hot. Seedlings respond to heat rapid growth, and the lack of light causes it to stretch.

Tatiana_555 FORUMHOUSE user

Heat is needed only before germination, and even then not all plants.

But it is advisable not to overcool the plants. It makes sense to put a thermometer in one of the pots with seedlings and control the temperature of the soil: it should not fall below 22 degrees for peppers and cucumbers, otherwise they will either not grow at all, or they will, but very badly. For tomatoes, the desired soil temperature is not lower than 20 degrees. That is why it is not recommended to put pallets with seedlings directly on the windowsill. But if you do not want to see any "floors" on your window, then you can use the advice viktor50: put wooden sticks 1-1.5 cm high across the windowsill, and already on these stands - pallets with pots for seedlings. Whole cold air will walk on the windowsill and will not fall on the pots.

Since in most cases the plants have to be illuminated, the need to place lamps is taken into account when installing the racks. . It should be possible to adjust the distance between the seedling and the lamp. Fluorescent lamps should hang literally a centimeter from the tops of the plants and move back as the plants grow. And it is important not to put high seedlings at the ends of the lamps - it is there that the lamp heats up strongly, and the rest of the bulb is slightly warm.

viktor50 FORUMHOUSE user.
Moscow.

The height of the planting containers + the height of the lamp + the maximum planned height of the seedlings + 10 cm just in case (then you can adjust it with stands).

According to viktor50, on a seedling shelf 450 mm wide, it requires only a double lamp 2x18 watts, and 600 mm requires 3-4 lamps. In order for the light to be better reflected down, it is recommended to paste over the lamps from the inside with aluminum self-adhesive tape. A lamp with a length of 1000 mm is not very successful “under the lumens”, a lamp of 36 watts with a length of 1200 mm would be better.

Seedlings do not need to be illuminated at night.

viktor50 FORUMHOUSE user

I get up at 7 in the morning, at 7 and the timer turns on the light, extinguishes at 22 o'clock.

What's more, many people make blackout curtains for the front and back of the shelving to give the seedlings a dark night for a certain amount of time. Then it does not stretch and grows strong.

Shelf for seedlings not on the window

FORUMHOUSE user New World he made a rack for seedlings not exactly on: in his apartment all the windows face north. The rack is installed in a little-used corner of the apartment, next to balcony door. New World has been using it for two years now, seedlings grow healthy and strong.

The manufacture of the structure takes several hours, if necessary, it can be disassembled in twenty minutes, assembled in the same amount of time. In the off-season, it serves as furniture.

Materials can be purchased at any hardware store or in the market. For this design you will need:

• guides - 2;
• brackets - 8;
• shelves - 3;
• lamps - 6;
• lamps "flora" - 6;
• timer;
• extension tee, plugs, wire, switches;
• dowels, screws, hooks, chains;
• dye.

You can take rack guides with single-row perforation - that's enough. Brackets are selected according to the depth of the shelves, you can buy black, white or brown. New World took 40 centimeter; two for each shelf, plus two more under the ceiling for hanging light bulbs. For the shelves were bought furniture boards 40x80 cm. To make the design look more aesthetic, New World treated the shelves with dark wax impregnation.

He fixed the rack guides to the wall under the ceiling at a distance of 60 cm from each other. I connected the upper brackets with a rigid jumper so that there were no problems with hanging the lamps. Under the lower shelf there is a small working table on wheels: it is convenient to use it for working with seedlings: top dressing, picking, etc.

There are pieces of white plywood on brackets, pressed against the wall by shelves. They protect the wall from splashes from the sprayer and serve as light reflectors.

Above each shelf there are two lamps, each with one regular lamp and one "flora". In regular fixing holes of fixtures for easy suspension New World twisted the hooks. The luminaires are hung on chains, which, in turn, hang on hooks screwed into top shelf(hooks cost a penny, screwed in seconds).

Each pair of lamps is led into one plug, and since all the light is not always required, switches were supplied. Thus, three pairs of lamps with switches are connected to the socket timer through a tee.

Shelves for seedlings on the windowsill

Hope Afan has been using a collapsible whatnot for many years. Its advantages: compact, disassembled at the end of the season and takes up little storage space.

The rack consists of three boards 20 mm thick, 15-20 cm wide, 60 cm long. Holes are made in the boards on four sides, chains are attached to them. The length of the chains is calculated using the above formula: so that seedlings can be placed under the bottom board of the whatnot and attached fluorescent lamp, which rises and falls depending on the growth of seedlings. Chains are put on hooks screwed to window block. At the end of the season, the whatnot is disassembled, and the hooks remain.

Design that does not damage the window

Sustainability is one of the criteria for a quality seedling rack. In order for the structure to hold firmly, it is usually attached to the window sill or to the window block, as Hope Afan. But it happens that making holes in good plastic is a pity. Here is the solution to this problem Eleni.

Shelf for seedlings on the windowsill.

She has a separate light and comfortable design, which can be placed on the windowsill. This is a frame on which the walls from the old cabinet are placed on top.

Window sill rack:

• Length 150 cm,
• width 50cm,
• height 100 cm.

Thus, the height of the floors is 50 cm each, and it turns out another third floor, up to the ceiling, 150 cm high.

Window sill shelving

Many FORUM HOUSE users approved of the design made by the husband OlgaVerba. but with some reservations. It is also placed on the windowsill and is not attached to anything. .

Shelf for seedlings on the windowsill.

Sfilip FORUMHOUSE user

The construction is awesome. Still it would be necessary to make a curtain from a reflective film for windows and glue the sides in order to more light reflected on plants.

Another disadvantage of this design is the size of the fixtures. It is better to make them the entire width of the structure. Plants that stand on the edges of the rack will not have enough light. And until the lighting situation changes, it is better to put the least valuable copies around the edges.

Rack from children's shelves

In a FORUMHOUSE user's apartment Shkurep very narrow windowsill, it is impossible to put trays with seedlings on it normally. The solution to this problem was a rack made of laminated children's bookshelves. Shelves protrude 10 centimeters beyond the borders of the window sill - thus, there is more space for seedlings. The battery under the windowsill is off all winter.

Personally, I prepare the soil as follows: for three kilograms of soddy land, I add one kilogram of sand, rotted compost and peat. This composition of the mixture is suitable for sowing, and for picking it will be necessary to add the same amount of compost to increase the amount of organic matter.

I want to note that there are varieties that are weak to the disease black leg. For them, it is necessary to exclude organic matter, and add only peat and sand. Before filling the containers with soil mixture, I pour a small layer of sand for drainage on the bottom of each, then fill them with earth, without reporting 1.5 cm to the top.

Before sowing seeds to grow seedlings of flowers, I spend hardening for them original way which I found out not too long ago. Namely, I temper them with variable temperatures. I soak the seeds for 12 hours at room temperature, and then I put them in the refrigerator and keep the same time at a temperature of +2⁰. I carry out this temperature treatment until the seeds peck.

When sowing very small seeds I mix them with sand. Then I make small grooves with a pencil, and sow the seeds with an interval of 3 cm. If the seeds are large, I make holes in the soil, lay them there, and lightly sprinkle with roasted and cooled sand. After sowing, I cover the containers with glass or plastic wrap.

In order to qualitatively grow seedlings of flowers, after the appearance of the first shoots, I rearrange the pots on the windowsill closer to the light. Some of the plant species need it more. This is purslane, levkoy, sweet pea. If your window sills face north side, I advise you to do additional lighting if you want to grow high-quality seedlings of flowers. At the same time, daylight hours do not need to be lengthened, just make the place brighter.

When the seedlings of flowers grow enough, it must be swooped down. Some small seedlings that have risen in bunches should not be separated, but dived together. At the same time, leave an interval of 5-6 cm between these piles. When the time comes to plant them in open ground, then it is necessary to separate them as well. Large seedlings dive in the same way after 5-6 cm.

When growing seedlings of flowers, they must be regularly fed, and ammonium nitrate should be the first of the top dressings.

How to grow seedlings at home- after all, our apartments are not the most suitable place for this. Plants lack sun, length daylight hours, places on the windowsill. However, all this can be corrected.
Here are some tips for growing seedlings at home to keep plant stress to a minimum.
For many summer residents, the answer to this question is obvious - on the windowsills. But is any window sill suitable for growing seedlings?

The most illuminated are the southern windows. It is best to place seedlings on them. If your windows face north, west or east, use special reflectors to help compensate for the lack of sunlight.

A mirror is perfect for this purpose. It is installed on the edge of the windowsill front side to the window. You can also use a sheet of plywood or cardboard covered with foil. Just be careful, because the mirror and foil reflect sunlight too bright. Adjust the tilt of the reflector so that the reflected scattered light falls on the plants, otherwise you will not avoid burning the leaves.

How to place seedlings on the windowsill?

The quality of seedlings depends on how much area their root system occupies and how much living space is given to each plant.

Eggplants and tomatoes require the most space. For normal growth and development on an area measuring 100 × 10 cm, no more than 14 seedlings of eggplant or tall tomatoes of 8 weeks of age will fit.

A little more on the same area you can place undersized tomatoes - up to 18 bushes 5-6 weeks of age.

Cabbage and pepper are more compact, on an area of ​​0.1 square meters, 30-36 bushes of 6-7-week seedlings of cabbage and 20-30 bushes of pepper can be placed without damage.

How to place a lot of seedlings

If the size of your window sill is not enough for all the seedlings, increase usable area with the help of simple devices. For example, put a piece of plywood 40-50 cm wide on it. This will increase the useful area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe window sill by 1.5-2 times and protect the seedlings from the dry and hot air of the radiator.

At a height equal to the middle of the window, you can make an additional shelf from boards, plywood or any other available material that can withstand a load of at least 10 kg. If the window is large, you can make a rack in several tiers.

Some especially enterprising gardeners hang containers with seedlings in the air.

To do this, they take a strong thread or rope, one end of which is fixed on a cornice or a specially attached plank above the window, and the other end is tied to a pot with a plant. It turns out something like hanging pots.

How to prepare a window sill for seedlings

Before placing containers with crops on the windowsill, create the necessary microclimate for the plants:

• seal all the cracks so that there is no draft that is detrimental to young plants;
• put a piece of plywood or any other material at hand on the radiator to protect the seedlings from the dry air coming from the battery;
• wash the window well - this will improve the illumination of plants several times.

Seedlings: home care

Until shoots appear, light is not needed. During this period, crops are most in need of high temperature and moisture - this contributes to better seed germination.

To ensure such conditions, place the containers in the warmest place in the apartment and cover them. plastic wrap, glass or other improvised material. To provide high humidity spray the substrate daily with a spray bottle. But do not overdo it - the earth in the tank should not swim.

Seedling care after germination

As soon as the first shoots appear, the containers with seedlings should be moved to a more lit and cool place (with a temperature not higher than 17 ° C). If the weather allows, they, for example, can be placed on a warmed balcony or loggia. Under such conditions, the growth of the aerial part of the plants stops and the root system begins to develop. After 5-7 days, the containers with crops are again transferred to a warm place.

The first 2-4 days after germination, seedlings are not recommended to be watered. Subsequently, tomato seedlings are watered rarely (once a week in the morning), but plentifully. 15-20 days after germination of the plant dive in individual containers, deepening to the cotyledon leaves.

8-12 days after picking, they carry out first feeding. An infusion of bird droppings is best suited for this purpose. To prepare it, dry litter (you can buy it at garden center) are bred in hot water in a ratio of 1:20 and insist 2 hours. Then the infusion is filtered and seedlings are fed to them after the next watering.

Second top dressing carried out 2-3 weeks after the first. But this time they use complex fertilizers - Kemira-universal, Mortar, Rost-II or nitrophoska (1 tsp per 5 liters of water).

To protect against diseases, tomato seedlings are recommended to be sprayed every week with a solution of milk (0.5 cups of skimmed milk is diluted in 1 liter of water). This will protect plants from viral diseases.

Caring for seedlings of pepper and eggplant after germination

These crops are not watered at all for the first few days after germination, and then they begin to water abundantly, but not often (once a week). In the phase of two true leaves, the plants dive into larger containers - practitioners say that large seedlings of pepper and eggplant take root better than those that are dived in the phase of cotyledon leaves.

The first time the seedlings are fed 10-15 days after picking. To do this, 5 g of urea and 30 g of superphosphate are dissolved in 10 liters of water. Second top dressing carried out 3-4 days before planting in open ground. In this case, another solution is prepared - 50 g of superphosphate and 25 g of potassium sulfate (or potassium salt) are diluted in 10 liters of water. The amount of top dressing is the same as with regular watering of plants.

Cabbage seedlings care rules

Seedlings begin to be watered from a watering can with a thin spout after germination. Do this as needed when the soil in the containers begins to dry out. The room where the seedlings are grown is periodically ventilated to reduce the risk of fungal diseases.

First feeding carried out when cabbage seedlings have 3 true leaves, they are fed with a solution complex fertilizers(Solution, Kemira-universal, nitrophoska, etc.), using 0.5 tsp. drug in 1 liter of water. Second top dressing carried out immediately before planting seedlings in the ground (for 7-10 days), but they already use a different solution - 1 tsp each. urea and potassium sulfate per 5 liters of water. If desired, you can add boric acid and blue vitriol on the tip of a knife.

Caring for cucumber seedlings at home

If in containers of two sown seeds both sprout, remove the weaker sprout. Just do not pull it out of the ground (this will damage the roots of the second seedling), but simply cut it off at the very level of the soil. Water the seedlings regularly, every 1-2 days (it is better to do this in the morning), and only warm water. Also make sure that there is no draft in the room - this can destroy the seedlings.

To prevent the seedlings from stretching and being stocky, provide them with good lighting (if necessary, illuminate the plants on cloudy days) and add soil 1-2 times during the growing period (when the seedlings begin to stretch). When the plants have 2 true leaves, they can be fed with a solution of nitrophoska or nitroammophoska (1 tsp per 1 liter of water).

Some gardeners use magnetic water to water seedlings. Getting it is very simple - just put a piece of magnet in a watering can, fill it with water and let it stand for a while.

How light affects seedlings

Light is the most important factor when growing seedlings. The frequency of watering and the temperature in the room depend on how lit the plants are.

So, in sunny weather, seedlings should be watered more often (every 1-2 days). And if the room is also hot - up to 2 times a day. On cold and cloudy days, watering, on the contrary, is reduced.

The distance between seedlings on the windowsill also depends on the degree of illumination. If there is enough light, containers with seedlings can be placed closer to each other. Well, if your windows face the west or north side, the seedlings should be placed further away so that they do not compete with each other for light and do not stretch even more.

More than others, tomato seedlings are prone to stretching. The signal for increased growth of shoots for her is the shading of the lower leaves by larger young ones. To prevent this, as new ones grow, the lower leaves can be cut off. Do this about 2 weeks after picking seedlings. After another 2 weeks, the operation can be repeated if necessary.

In cloudy weather and at night, containers with seedlings are best transferred to a cooler place. Cold-resistant seedlings of cabbage can be taken out to a glazed balcony, and containers with tomatoes, peppers and eggplants can be placed closer to the balcony door.

"Why is this necessary?" - you ask. The fact is that in the light, plants undergo photosynthesis - a process in which plants accumulate starch, glucose and other substances they need for life, and also absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. At night, photosynthesis stops or slows down significantly. Plants store energy for growth and development.

And what happens if at night the seedlings remain in dark warmth room? Since the temperature will remain high, the plants will continue to breathe, consuming the substances accumulated during the day (photosynthesis will no longer occur because there is no light). It turns out that instead of accumulating nutrients, plants consume them at night.

In good light, photosynthesis in plants is very active. They form 10 times more organic matter than they burn during respiration, and due to this they develop well, have short internodes and a rich color. If the light is not enough organic matter little is formed, and the plants only have enough strength to breathe. Such seedlings have a pale color, grow poorly and often get sick.

The influence of air humidity for seedlings

For the growth and development of seedlings big influence also provides the humidity in the room. If it is excessively dry, moisture evaporates intensively from the surface of the leaves. In this mode, the roots (even if the soil is moist) cannot provide the plants with moisture to the full extent, because of which the plants become stressed and stop growing.

One more negative consequence dry air - the accumulation of excess salts in plants and soil, which provokes the occurrence of all kinds of diseases (especially cabbage seedlings).

Therefore, in the room where seedlings are grown, try to maintain optimal humidity:

• pepper and eggplant - 60-65%;
• cucumbers, zucchini and cauliflower – 70-80%;
• all other cultures - 70%.

Determining the humidity in a room is very simple. Measure the air temperature in it with a conventional mercury thermometer (this will be the reading of a dry thermometer). Then wrap its head with a wet cloth and take readings again after 10 minutes (this will be the wet bulb reading). Subtract the second from the first figure and determine the humidity in the room using the table.

If the air in the room is too dry, you can increase the humidity using a simple and effective trick. On the floor near the battery, place a long pot for balcony flowers or any other similar container. Wet a piece of thick porous cloth, lower one end of it into a pot, and put the other on a radiator. You will get a kind of "wick" through which water will rise up and evaporate. This will not only increase the humidity in the room, but also slightly reduce the temperature.

To grow healthy and strong seedlings, consider all the points described above and carefully follow our advice. Then good result you are guaranteed.