The right time to plant tomato seedlings for the greenhouse
The planting time of tomato seedlings for a greenhouse is difficult to calculate in advance, especially if the greenhouse is cold and spring weather is unstable, which is typical for both temperate and cold latitudes. In any case, the future harvest should be protected from the effects of weather changes by choosing the right cold-resistant variety and competently preparing and replanting young seedlings.
Choosing the right seed for your greenhouse
Correctly chosen tomato seeds dictate the entire future harvest. For greenhouses, varieties with a long growing season or with a long vine that significantly exceeds the height of the greenhouse are not suitable... For seedlings intended for cultivation in closed ground, it is important to have the ability to self-pollinate and sufficient resistance to diseases associated with high levels of moisture, therefore, we sow only varieties designed specifically for indoor growing. Also, the high yield of each individual bush and the possibility of repeated harvests are important - preferably until late autumn. You need to read the information about the fruiting of the variety before growing tomatoes. All information on how to sow tomatoes of this type and for how long to carry the harvest of the future harvest is located on the packaging with the planting material.
Seeds harvested on their own during one of the previous harvests should gain strength for at least one year - they can only be planted by missing one or two summer cottages. It is important to remember that for sowing material for seedlings, only pure varieties are used, not mixed varieties. Not a single experienced gardener sows seeds that he inherited from unknown varieties or, if there is a suspicion that the once sown tomatoes are a hybrid species.
When to sow seeds for seedlings
The time when you can sow tomato seeds is calculated based on several factors at once:
- the characteristics of the greenhouse (insulated, cold);
- forecasts for spring (are late frosts expected);
- the ability to germinate seeds at home (or the need to immediately sow tomatoes in greenhouses).
Simple mathematical calculations come into play to help determine when to land at a particular latitude. So, from the moment of sowing a tomato seed to the day planting tomato seedlings in a greenhouse, two months will pass (55-65 days). By the end of this period, certain conditions must be met - the daytime temperature in the greenhouse should not fall below 24C, night - keep within 17C. In a heated greenhouse, such conditions are easy to achieve, so the timing of planting seedlings will not be limited by any time of the year.
Having a simple summer cottage greenhouse without heating, the gardener should be prepared for the fact that half of the growing season, tomato seedlings will warm at home. In some cases, seedlings are planted in a permanent place no earlier than May 20. However, even under the best scenario, with good stable weather and sufficient humidity, the transfer of tomato seedlings to a "cold" type greenhouse will take place only in the first days of the last spring month (approximately May 3-5).
Considering all of the above factors, it is possible to approximately establish the optimal period for planting tomatoes for seedlings. For middle latitudes with a temperate climate and when choosing an early variety of tomatoes, the dates when tomatoes are sown fluctuate between 1-5 March; for southern latitudes, with a predominantly warm spring and, if desired, growing late-ripening varieties, the timing of planting tomatoes for greenhouses is postponed to the end of February. In any case, only seeds that have undergone treatment and disinfection are sown.
When to plant tomato seedlings in a greenhouse
An understandable desire of a gardener to plant tomato seedlings early and harvest the first crop, when ovaries are just beginning to form in neighboring greenhouses, can result in the death of all seedlings or, at the best option, prolonging the adaptation period of seedlings. Excessive custody of plants and transferring seedlings to a greenhouse, when green "bubushki" have already formed on the lower fruit stems, is also not the best option, since the first ovaries, during adaptation, are likely to fall off. So when is the best time to plant tomatoes in a greenhouse?
And again everything is decided by mathematical calculation, only now you will have to evaluate the appearance of the seedling itself:
- 15 cm is the correct height for a short mature bush and 30 cm for a tall one;
- From 8 to 12 true leaves - this is how much a tomato bush should have, ready for transplanting to a permanent place;
- from 5 to 7 mm - this should be the thickness of the stem;
- 1 to 2 flowers without a hint of ovary formation is a good indicator that you can plant seedlings in a greenhouse.
Of course, even if all these signs are present, the decisive factor in the issue of transplantation will be the weather conditions. If we take as a sample the average spring without abnormal temperature indicators, then the timing when you need to plant tomatoes can fit into the following framework:
- from April 27 to April 29 - in a permanent greenhouse with constant heating;
- from May 2 to May 5 - into a capital greenhouse without artificial heating, but with an internal film shelter;
- from May 15 to May 21 - in a capital greenhouse without heating and a film tent inside;
- from 23 to 28 May - under a simple film frame, reinforced on arcs.
In addition, it must be remembered that not all gardeners have the opportunity to grow seedlings on their own and go to the nearest market to buy. How to determine the disembarkation time in this case?
The purchased seedlings must be planted on the day of purchase - it is impossible to rehabilitate it if the sprouts turn out to be unviable. Therefore, immediately pay attention to the appearance of the seedlings and keep in mind - the sellers' stories that the seedlings will magically come to life in the greenhouse is a pure marketing ploy.... Purchased plants should not:
- be lethargic or have traces of kinks on the stems and leaves;
- have damaged, mottled leaves;
- have a thick stem and dense, leathery leaves;
- already be strewn with flowers or have ovaries.
Be sure to ask the seller if the seedlings were hardened and under what conditions. Ideally, if the plants turn out to be greenhouse, that is, they have undergone adaptation in the same conditions where they will be grown in the future.
When to plant seedlings - the secrets of proper adaptation
We have already figured out that the timing of planting must be determined by the appearance of the plants and the temperature conditions in the greenhouse. Now let's talk about how to bring the tomato seedlings themselves to a state where transplanting to a new place will cause minimal harm to it. The most important stage of preparation will be the hardening of tomatoes planted in individual containers, by bringing the conditions of their stay closer to those that await them at a permanent place.
When to plant tomatoes in the greenhouse? Two weeks before the expected date of planting a tomato in a greenhouse, the temperature in the room where the seedlings are located is artificially lowered, for which you just need to open the upper sections of the windows. After 3-4 days of this "primary" adaptation, tomato seedlings can already be taken out to the balcony or placed in front of the open lower section of the window (if there is no draft). Gradually, over the course of a week, the presence of seedlings on the balcony is increased from one hour to six. Plants already in the greenhouse are hardened by simply opening the frames for the same period.
At the end of the first week of adaptation, if there are already flowers on the seedlings, the whole plant is sprayed from a spray bottle with a solution of 0.5 g of boric acid and 0.5 l of water. A couple of days before planting tomatoes in a greenhouse, pinch off the two bottom leaves. However, this does not need to be done if there is no confidence in the exact timing of the transplant, since after pinching the leaves, the fruit brush will begin to develop faster and it will be impossible to stop the process. In this case, the period when to plant tomatoes in the greenhouse will be dictated by necessity.
If the gardener decides to plant tomatoes at an early date, or the tomatoes for seedlings have already passed all the stages of preparation and it is undesirable to delay further, the plants that are already fully ripe should be separated from those that can still wait with transplantation. Inside an unheated greenhouse, a film tunnel is stretched, preferably a double one, with a gap between the walls from 1 to 3 cm, and the fully prepared, hardened seedlings are transferred to a permanent place. Thus, tomatoes for the greenhouse can be planted in several stages, which means that the harvest can be extended for a longer period.
