One of the most important moments in the development of tomatoes is the preparation of seedlings for planting it in the ground. 10–12 days before planting seedlings, they begin to harden it, i.e. the vents are kept open day and night. On warm days, it is taken out to the balcony for 2-3 hours for 3 days. Then the plants are taken out for the whole day and even left overnight, weather permitting.
And when growing seedlings in greenhouses, frames are periodically removed to harden them in good weather. Well hardened seedlings have a light purple hue.
2 days before planting, it is advisable to cut off 1-2 lower leaves on plants. This contributes to better survival of seedlings and faster development of the first flower brush. If the seedlings are ready for transplanting, and you cannot do this, then you need to slow down its growth by stopping watering and sharply lowering the air temperature.
To preserve flower buds on the first flower brush, it is necessary to spray it with boric solution (1 g of boric acid per 1 liter of water) 4–5 days before planting the seedlings.
Ready seedlings should have buds on the first flower brush and a thick non-lodging stem, the height of which depends on varietal characteristics, large leaves and a well-developed root system.
Planting dates
When choosing the optimal timing for planting seedlings in a permanent place, experienced gardeners are often mistaken as well. our weather is unpredictable. That is why it is better to plant seedlings in 2-3 terms with short intervals.
On the one hand, early planting of hardened seedlings creates a favorable combination of factors (increased soil and air humidity, low soil temperature) for better development of the root system. But at the same time, the likelihood of damage from recurrent frosts increases.
The timing of planting seedlings in protected ground depends mainly on the location of the site and the type of protected ground. Seedlings can be planted in normal spring in glazed greenhouses with additional heating on April 29–30; without heating, but with additional shelter of plants with a film tunnel made inside the greenhouse - May 5–10; without heating and additional shelter - May 20–25; in open ground under film shelter - May 25–30; in open ground without film cover on June 5–15. But for these periods, our weather can make very serious adjustments.
Therefore, the risk associated with an earlier planting of seedlings must be insured by preparing for possible frosts. To do this, it is desirable to cover the greenhouse with two layers of film with a distance of 2-3 cm between them. To prevent the greenhouse from being empty until the seedlings are planted, gardeners usually grow early greens along the edge of the beds.
Seedling planting schemes
With regard to the scheme for planting tomatoes in a greenhouse, there is no consensus, how many experienced gardeners - so many opinions. Therefore, the press often contains many schemes for planting tomatoes, they depend on the variety and method of plant formation. The most optimal for the greenhouse, in my opinion, can be considered the following schemes:
- early ripening low-growing varieties, formed in 2–3 stems, are planted in a checkerboard pattern in two rows with a distance between them of 50–55 cm, and between plants 35–40 cm;
- for standard and determinant plants formed in 1 stem, the distance between rows is 45–50 cm, and between plants is 25 cm, i.e. per 1 sq. meter can plant up to 10 plants. But this scheme requires careful care of the plants so as not to thicken them, and more seedlings;
- tall varieties are planted in two rows in a checkerboard pattern with a distance between rows of 75–80 cm, and between plants - 55–60 cm each when grown in 1 stem and up to 70–75 cm when grown in 2 stems.
But the most optimal combined scheme for the joint cultivation of ultra-early, determinant and tall varieties.
To do this, on each half of the greenhouse, seedlings are planted in two rows. In the first row near the glass, early ripening determinant plants (of the Olya type) are planted after 35–40 cm. They are formed into only one stem, followed by the transfer of the upper stepchild to the continuation of the stem.
In the second row (at the aisle), tall tomatoes are planted every 60 cm and they are also formed into only 1 stem. Then between them, retreating to the sunny side from the "giants" by 10 cm, superdeterminant standard plants are planted 25 cm apart, which form only one stem and pinch after the second brush, leaving 2–3 leaves above it. While tall plants grow, ultra-early ones will already give up their entire crop.
