When to sow tomato and pepper seeds for seedlings in 2020?

Bell pepper

Seedlings of this vegetable crop have a rather long growth period. It will take at least 80 calendar days, and sometimes more, to get seedlings that can already be planted in the garden.

Of course, these terms can be reduced if the seedlings are provided with good lighting. Many gardeners prefer to grow seedlings on windowsills where there is sunlight.

You can additionally arrange artificial lighting, which will accelerate the growth of seedlings. If there is little light, then young seedlings will begin to stretch out and develop poorly.

If you follow all the recommendations, you can get seedlings in two months. Thus, pepper should be sown in mid-March.

Tomatoes

Unlike bell peppers, tomatoes grow slightly faster. The time of sowing seedlings depends on the variety of tomatoes. Late varieties are sown somewhere around March 10-12, and early varieties are sown on the 20th of the same month.

In good light, the seeds sprout much earlier and the seedlings will accordingly be ready for planting in 40-45 days.

It is important to ensure that the seedlings have enough soil, otherwise they will begin to weaken and disappear.

Then, if there is not enough space, dive the seedlings into separate containers: you can use plastic glasses from yoghurts or sour cream.

But keep in mind the fact that the tomatoes will not be so small, respectively, and the containers should be large.

If you do not plan to plant seedlings in a greenhouse, then it is better to sow the seeds a little later so that the tomatoes in the cups do not overgrow. Too large seedlings are less well accepted in the beds.

It often happens that small inconspicuous tomatoes subsequently yield a better harvest than large and beautiful ones.

To correctly calculate the timing of sowing seedlings, you should also take into account the climate in which you live.

If you are planting vegetables in greenhouses, then you can slightly shift the timing of planting seeds and sow them earlier. In a greenhouse, the soil and air warms up faster than in an open garden. And there is no threat of frost.

When planting tomatoes and peppers in open ground, it is best to arrange some kind of shelter for young seedlings. For example, you can set arcs and cover the plants with spunbond or plastic.

Each gardener has his own secrets of growing seedlings. But it should be remembered that it is better to plant the seedlings in the ground when it is a little undergrowth than to overexpose in cups.

Therefore, when you see that the plants on the windowsill are growing too quickly, and the weather outside does not yet allow plant them in the beds, take emergency measures: cover the ground on which you plan to plant with a dark film seedlings.

When the soil warms up, feel free to plant the plants, but at the same time, make a shelter that will save tomatoes and peppers from accidental night frosts.

Sowing dates of seedlings can also be calculated using the recommendations indicated on the seed packages. It usually lists the approximate planting times for each variety.

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