Growing tomatoes is not easy, especially in the Russian climate - you need greenhouses, and time and effort to manipulate seeds and seedlings. However, whoever at least once independently tried to get a seedling from a seed, and from it a fruiting plant, will do it again with the passion of a gardener.

Tomatoes are one of the most common vegetables on the table, they are in demand at any time of the year, both raw and processed. Tomato fruits can vary in size, shape, color and taste. Each juicy tomato is invariably a source of vitamins and nutrients. These plants of the nightshade family also have a therapeutic effect on varicose veins, constipation and gastritis with low stomach acidity.

In the Russian Federation, the crop will grow and bear fruit well both in protected ground and in open beds (the yield depends on the growing area). Tomatoes need excellent insolation, warm dry air and fertile soil (loam or sandy loam) with a moderate level of moisture and neutral acidity to grow.

Tomatoes are one of the most common vegetables on the table.

When and how to sow tomatoes for seedlings

The key to a good and strong harvest is knowing the answer to the question of how to plant tomatoes for seedlings correctly. Any mistakes made at this stage will negatively affect the growth of mature bushes.

The approximate period when it is recommended to plant prepared tomato seeds for seedlings is from 50 days to 2 months before planting in a greenhouse or open ground. After sowing the seeds, the first shoot appears in about a week to ten days. From here, you can deduce the approximate time of exposure of tomato seedlings in planting containers on the windowsill, it will be 1.5-2 months from the first sprouts pecking.

For different regions of Russia, there are approximate dates for when to sow tomatoes for seedlings:

  • South and South-East - from the 2nd decade of February to mid-March, while landing in open ground - from mid-April to the end of May;
  • Center (including the Moscow region) and the Far East - from mid-March to early April (open ground - from May 10 to early June);
  • North, Siberia, Ural - 1 half of April (plant on the beds from late May to mid-June).

How to sow tomatoes for seedlings

For a more accurate determination of the timing, it is necessary to find out the date of the end of spring frosts and soil freezing. From it it is necessary to count back 2 months, this will be the day when it is necessary to sow the seed material of tomatoes.

Important! With further planting, not on the beds, but in greenhouses, you can sow a couple of weeks earlier.

Some gardeners, in addition to forecasting the weather, plan their sowing activities with an eye on the lunar calendar, which can always be found on the Internet.

Lunar sowing calendar

In order for the cultivation of seedlings to be successful, it is necessary to provide the future tomatoes with optimal conditions:

  • the presence of sufficient light - it is advisable to sow seeds on the south side of the house, on an unobstructed window sill;
  • if natural lighting is not enough, it is imperative to supplement the illumination of tomato seedlings with special phytolamps (this is what the well-known gardener Marina Rykalina advises, recommending that a young seedling should be illuminated around the clock in the first three to five days);
  • after the first shoots of tomatoes have appeared, it is advisable to provide the plants with a lowered night temperature (no higher than +15 degrees);
  • future tomatoes should be grown in high humidity, which can be achieved by spraying them with a spray bottle.

The pre-planting material should be placed in a saline solution to determine which seeds are suitable for germination. Then it is advisable to let them swell in plain water. At this stage, saucers are used, on which wet paper is placed. Sometimes it is required to disinfect the seeds themselves or the soil with potassium permanganate, soda or aloe juice.

In order to plant tomato seeds for seedlings, planting containers should be carefully prepared. They should be filled with a special soil mixture.

Additional Information. The well-known Internet gardener Vitaly Degtyarev has interesting tips for using ordinary charcoal as drainage when preparing soil for seedlings. Small grooves 1 cm deep break through, while the distance between adjacent rows should be no more than 4 cm. Seeds should be planted in them with a step of 1-2 cm.If the seedlings do not grow well, then it will be possible to plant them in new containers later. A layer of soil is poured on top and covered with a transparent film to create the effect of a greenhouse.

Every day, the gardener must open the film and check if the topsoil is dry. At the same time, waterlogging should not be allowed, which can lead to mold.

Top dressing of tomato seedlings

As for feeding the seedlings, you should listen to the experienced gardener Yulia Minyaeva: she rightly believes that the enthusiasm for fertilizers will contribute to the overgrowth of tomatoes - in a few days a whole tree can grow out, which, if transferred to the ground from stress, can die.

To ensure the branching of the root system, the seedlings need a pick, i.e. transplanting plants in different pots.

Pests and diseases

In addition to diseases inherent in nightshades, there are many pests that love juicy tender tomato seedlings.

Damping off

If the seedlings remain under the film for too long, they lack oxygen and suffocate. In such cases, the germination rate does not exceed ten percent, the sprouted seeds rot. You can help if you reduce the intensity of moisture and treat the soil with potassium permanganate.

So that the seedlings do not dry out, you need to treat the soil with potassium permanganate

Root rot

The disease is caused by spores of the fungus, characterized by yellowing of the leaves, blackening of the stem, followed by rotting. It is necessary to remove the diseased plant, disinfect the soil with special preparations.

Withering

Soil fungus causes this chronic seedling disease, which begins with the tip wilting, the leaves become stained, and most of the plantings wither. Affected plants are removed along with the soil, their places are treated with an antifungal agent.

Blackleg

The reason is the infected soil, due to which almost all the seedlings that were planted in it die within a day: the stems become thin and acquire a black tint. It is impossible to treat a black leg; as a preventive measure, it is necessary to disinfect and loosen the soil. The remaining seeds should be planted in other containers.

Black leg of a tomato

Aphid

Small black or brown insects deprive seedlings of nutrients, causing the leaves to curl and fall off. You can fight aphids with a solution of laundry soap.

Spider mite

If black dots appear on the back of the leaf, the leaves turn yellow, and the young shoots are covered with sticky cobwebs, then the seedlings were attacked by a tick. They exterminate it with plain water, mechanically washing away pests from seedlings.

Those who have ever received tomato seedlings know how to properly grow them from seeds and, when the right time comes, transplant seedlings into open ground. It is also necessary to protect young tomatoes from pests and diseases. The result of the hassle is worth it - your vegetables are always tastier.