What must be done when Tomato shoots appear in order to harvest a record harvest in the summer

The love of Russian summer residents for tomatoes is indestructible. It is worth planting them once - and you will certainly do it every year. The reason is simple: there is nothing tastier than a tomato just plucked from a bush.

The key to a high yield of tomatoes is strong and healthy seedlings. To grow them just like that, it is enough to stage by stage a complex of simple measures.

1. Sowing

I pre-soak tomato seeds in water, and then in an epin solution. I sow in disinfected soil, moisten the top layer and put it on the warmest and sunniest window sill. I cover the container with plexiglass or foil. The first green loops of sprouts appear within 3-5 days.

Often, sprouts of tomatoes and peppers have a cap of unopened seeds, in this case they need help: gently moisten the seeds with drops of water from a syringe and wait a couple of hours. Most often, the leaves throw off the wet seed themselves, if not, you can do it manually.

2. Temperature regime

As soon as shoots have appeared, the film must be removed, and the temperature must be reduced to 15-25 ° C during the day and 12-15 ° C at night. The sprouts should be protected from drafts and sudden temperature changes, otherwise they can get sick.

My seedlings are on the windowsill, under which there is a very hot battery, I have to cover it with a thick blanket.

3. Lighting

Further, it is necessary to provide the seedlings with a long daylight hours, from 10 to 14 hours. The first shoots are recommended to be illuminated around the clock.

You can buy special lamps for seedlings or buy ordinary fluorescent lamps and come up with your own design. Ideally, the backlight should be 7-10 cm taller than the plants.

I have a very sunny apartment and I usually do not light up the seedlings. But every day I turn the cuvettes so that the sprouts reach the light evenly.

4. Watering

The tomato does not tolerate waterlogging and stagnation of water, as well as moisture on the stems and leaves. The first shoots should be watered especially carefully, using a syringe or spoon and trying not to get on the shoots themselves. Further watering - only at the root or along the edge of the container, in the morning / evening in a day or two.

Spraying these plants with spray water and watering them from above from a watering can is not allowed!

5. Picking

When the third true leaf appears, the seedlings dive into separate containers. It is better to immediately take larger glasses, a container with a volume of 200 ml. in a month it will become cramped for the seedling and will have to be transplanted again.

1-2 hours before picking, I water the seedlings, then carefully grab the sprout together with a lump of earth at a depth of about 3 cm and transfer it to the hole prepared for it.

IMPORTANT! We take the soil for transplanting the same that was used for seedlings and disinfect it in advance. The first few days after the pick, do not expose the seedlings to the bright sun.

If you are too lazy to mess around with a pick, you can plant tomatoes immediately in separate pots. However, picking is useful:

• it does not allow the stems to stretch too much;
• stimulates the development of the root system;
• increases transplant adaptability.

In my practice, seedlings without picking took root for a very long time after planting in the ground.

6. Top dressing and prevention

The first feeding is permissible one week after germination, the second after the appearance of the second true leaf. In the future, it is recommended to fertilize tomatoes once every 1-2 weeks. You can use commercial fertilizers or folk remedies, such as an infusion of yeast or a solution of ammonia.

If you plan to dive seedlings, then the first feeding should be postponed for a week after the dive. The seedlings have enough nutrients from the soil itself.

For the prevention of diseases, it is recommended to periodically spray the seedlings with milk whey, skim milk, Bordeaux mixture, etc.

7. Hardening

When the seedlings grow up, it is important to provide them with adaptability, by carrying them out to the balcony on warm days or by regularly opening windows. Fresh air is just as good for plant development as any other activity.

As you can see, there is nothing difficult in growing tomato seedlings at home. Follow these simple rules and the harvest will not disappoint you!