How to plant and grow tomatoes without picking seedlings
The seedling period for various varieties of tomatoes lasts from 45 to 65 days. Growing tomatoes without picking seedlings significantly reduces labor costs. With full adherence to agrotechnical techniques, the time from the moment of germination to ripening of the fruit is reduced by 10 to 14 days. This benefit is especially true for early ripe tomatoes with a short growing season.
Important! The picking process accounts for 30% of the total amount of labor required for growing seedlings.
The purpose of the pick is to create conditions for better nutrition and illumination for plants at a certain stage of growth. Seeds for seedlings are sown in small boxes. After the seedlings grow up, culling is carried out. The strongest seedlings are transplanted into separate containers or into boxes of a larger area. These techniques are justified for plants grown in greenhouse complexes, with a lack of space and low seed quality.
At home, where the space for plants is limited by the area of the windowsill, tomato seedlings are often transplanted several times. This leaves the strongest plants as a result.
Attention! During the pick, up to 50% of the roots are cut off, which significantly increases the survival time of seedlings.
How to grow tomato seedlings without picking
Everyone knows the tricks when a pick is not needed. When sowing some varieties of tomatoes directly into the ground, the seedlings are simply thinned out. Therefore, the principle is to grow tomato seedlings without picking at home. The method is based on the plant's need for a certain amount of soil for the full development of the root system. This rate directly depends on the age of the plants and largely determines the potential yield of the bush.
- At the initial stage, it is necessary to calculate how many roots of tomatoes you need to plant in order to fully provide yourself with planting material. Based on this figure, a container is prepared, the required amount of seeds and soil.
- The capacity of the seedling cups should be at least 0.5 liters, since tomato seedlings without picking will have to spend a full growth cycle in it, until they are planted in a permanent place. In addition to plastic cups, you can use boxes divided into cells with an area of 10 x 10 cm.
- Good quality seeds with guaranteed germination can be sown one at a time. If there is no firm confidence in the quality of the seeds, then you will have to use the standards of vegetable growers and sow at least three plants in a container.
- The soil is harvested with a full dressing of mineral and organic substances, which should provide the planting material with the necessary nutrition.The soil mixture should have a good lumpy structure, be breathable, moisture-absorbing, not clogged with pests and weeds.
- Taking into account the fact that growing tomato seedlings without picking takes a shorter period of time, seeds are sown later by two weeks. Sowing seeds for different varieties depends on the growing season and is determined individually.
- Prepared seeds are sown in containers filled with earth, according to the usual rules, in compliance with the temperature regime. After the seedlings appear, the containers are placed in an area with maximum illumination. Maintenance consists of regular watering.
- The weakest plants are removed from containers with three plants by cutting the stem below the cotyledon leaves or by pulling out. Before planting the plants in the ground, the night temperatures are reduced to 10-12 degrees, or by taking the seedlings outside in boxes for several hours.
Abandoning the picking of seedlings can significantly reduce labor costs for the painstaking process of transplanting and re-preparing containers. Well-seasoned soil and shortened terms of growing seedlings simplify the care of plants, in some cases even without requiring additional feeding.
Attention! The root system of seedlings, with long-term cultivation in a small volume, up to 0.2 l, signals the impossibility of further growth, thereby laying a low yield program.
Seedlings without picking - some advantages
It is clear that growing tomato seedlings without picking is much easier. But besides lightweight care, there are other benefits.
- Early-planted seedlings practically cannot do without additional lighting. This is due to the short duration of daylight hours and the weak intensity of solar radiation. Lack of light leads, if not to the death of seedlings, then often to excessive stretching of the bushes. This problem practically does not threaten seedlings planted in a later period.
- Large containers with soil are also a plus. They retain moisture longer, which allows you to keep watering to a minimum. Even when the soil surface dries out, tomatoes grown in comfortable conditions will have enough moisture from the lower layers. In conditions of a large volume of land, the main and lateral roots develop unhindered, capable of obtaining food from any depth.
- When growing tomatoes without picking, one should not forget that the selection was made at the initial stage of seed selection. This means that additional plant care activities are associated with varietal characteristics. For the greatest effect, try to grow the seedlings using the agronomic practices recommended by the seed manufacturer, without allowing the plants to pamper.
Seedlings grown without transplants differ from dived by a large reserve of health. She is able to better endure stress and give an earlier harvest. Considering the reduction in the time required for its cultivation, then this method looks very attractive. Moreover, in a city apartment, where planting seedlings in several stages is not very comfortable.
Experienced gardeners know that tomatoes planted in a later period, even with a pick, catch up with plants planted at home in late February. Imagine how much more successful tomatoes will be if they are grown without transplants and stress. But otherwise, both methods have fans and opponents, each with its own arguments.
