How to grow a good crop of tomatoes in a greenhouse, in the open field?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Every spring, avid summer residents are overcome by a lot of trouble. How to grow a good crop of tomatoes, cucumbers and other greens? How to protect from pests? What you need to know in order to surely please your family with the fruits of your own labors?

Today let's talk about everyone's favorite tomatoes. How to grow a good crop of tomatoes, what do you need to know for this, what are the subtleties in this matter?

Preparing seeds

The key to a good harvest is quality seeds. Unfortunately, they may look he althy outwardly, but the result of sowing will upset with poor germination or seedling diseases. Why does this happen? There are several reasons: the seeds are too old, infected with a virus, bacteria or fungus, improperly prepared before sowing. How to grow a good crop of tomatoes with these? Almost nothing.

Buy seeds from reputable growers. Before they are sold, they are usually treated with special substances against the fungus, which is indicated on the packaging. Of course, such seeds are more expensive, but if you don't want too muchspend money, you can disinfect before disembarking and yourself.

Doubt about the expiration date? In order not to guess whether they will ascend, arrange a preliminary check for the "source material" in 2-3 weeks. Place a few seeds in a linen bag in warm water for about a day. Then put in the same damp cloth in heat for 3 or 4 days. Then plant the seeds in the prepared soil and watch the seedlings.

Seed treatment

How to grow a good crop of tomatoes if the source material does not quite satisfy you? Before processing the seeds, carefully inspect them, remove hollow, too small or large ones. Seeds can be disinfected with a solution of potassium permanganate (1%). How to cook it? Very simple: drop a gram of potassium permanganate in a liter of water. Wrap the seeds in a piece of gauze and place for twenty minutes in the resulting solution (just do not overdo it), then rinse and dry.

Before sowing, you can additionally treat the seeds with microelements, a mixture of which is purchased at the store, ordinary ash is also suitable (a teaspoon of wood ash dissolved in a glass of water is insisted for a day). Seeds are kept in solution for about five hours.

To speed up germination, you can soak them before sowing. Seeds swell in about 18 hours. To do this, the best option is to put them on a damp cloth or foam rubber, place a damp cloth on top. Rewet if needed.

Growing seedlings

How to grow a good tomato crop the easiest way? There are two ways. After swelling the seedseither planted directly in the soil or germinated. In the latter case, seedlings will appear much faster. You can buy seedlings already prepared, but it is not difficult to grow them yourself.

Growing should be started in time - taking into account the variety of tomato and the climate in your area. The future harvest largely depends on this. The further south you live, the earlier you can start the landing procedure.

At first, tomato seeds are sown in special containers or boxes, then dive - they are planted in individual pots. This prevents the sprouts from being overstretched and improves their root system.

Features of care

Plastic containers are best as they are easy to clean, transport and disinfect.

Want to know how to grow a good tomato crop? Get ready to scrupulously follow some care rules.

Different varieties should be planted in separate containers. Each of them must have opaque walls, a drainage hole and a non-leaking pan. The soil should be taken loose and fertile, you can purchase an already prepared mixture in the store. The substrate is leveled in containers, slightly crushed and moistened abundantly.

You can plant both dry and germinated seeds. They should be laid out on top of the ground (you can pre-draw grooves) in rows every two centimeters. It is better to keep the distance between the "stripes" of seeds from three to four centimeters. For convenience, you can take tweezers.

Top thinly sprinkle the seeds with the substrate,compact or lightly press into the ground with a pencil and sprinkle with earth. We moisten the soil by spraying.

Other subtleties

We place the boxes in heat (not lower than 22 ° C), it is better to mark the names of the varieties on the labels. Avoid hot batteries - the soil will overheat and dry out, and the seeds will die. You can cover the sowing with polyethylene film - create a mini-greenhouse. Then the moisture will not evaporate. But shoots need to be aired from time to time.

So that the seedlings do not grow crooked, we regularly rotate the box relative to the light. Before seed germination, the soil should be warm - not lower than 25 ° C. Expect seedlings in a week or a day earlier. If the room is cold, this period is extended.

Shoots have appeared - we rearrange the box in a cool and well-lit place. We stay there for about a week. Then we return to the heat again until the first pair of leaves appear.

Before picking, tomato seedlings are practically not watered so as not to outgrow. The soil is protected from drying out by moisturizing with a sprayer.

Dive seedlings

Do I need a mandatory pick? Previously, there were no such doubts. But now many gardeners do without it. The main thing is to decide on this issue in advance: the technology of planting and care depends on it. But still, consider the picking process: how and when to do it.

Seedlings dive when they get the first pair of leaves. Fill suitable containers (e.g. paper or plastic cups) with soil. In advance, a couple of days,water the seedlings. Remove the sprouts from the ground with a dive peg (you can take a toothpick). At the same time, carefully hold each plant by the ground near the root. You can pinch this very spine by a third, but this is not necessary.

Secrets of picking

Transplant each seedling into its own container, spread it with a toothpick and press the roots to the ground, fill in the hole, water it abundantly and send it to a cool, damp place. Return to the windowsill when each seedling takes root. If necessary, the pick can be repeated - as you grow, change the cups for more voluminous ones.

Seedlings during the growing process are usually fed 2 or 3 times with a ready-made nutrient mixture or homemade fertilizer. Shortly before planting in the ground, the plants need to start hardening - open the window or take it out every day for a couple of hours on the balcony. On warm days, you can leave it on the loggia all day, covering it with foil at night. By the way, some enthusiasts manage to achieve good results without a garden plot. How to grow a good tomato crop on a balcony, and is it possible in principle? We answer: this is quite real, there would be a desire. There are many methods on how to grow a good crop of tomatoes on a loggia or balcony. But in this article, we are still considering the "garden" option, so let's get back to our seedlings.

Planting in the ground

We move on to this stage when the plants acquire developed leaves in the amount of 8-11 pieces and a couple of formedinflorescences. At the time of planting, seedling growth should be approximately 30 cm (plus or minus 5 cm).

Many summer residents know how to grow a good crop of tomatoes without a greenhouse, and do just fine without it. But we still consider the "greenhouse" option. After all, almost everyone can build the simplest greenhouse for the safe and efficient cultivation of tomatoes.

So, if you plan to first plant plants in a greenhouse, you need to prepare it in advance: cover it with foil, equip windows and organize soil. A good time for this is the end of April or the beginning of May. During these months, the air is still cool at night, so cover your greenhouse with a couple of layers of cling film two centimeters apart. One layer is subsequently removed.

How to grow a good tomato crop in a polycarbonate greenhouse

It is undesirable to grow tomatoes together with cucumbers - they require different care. If there is only one greenhouse, it is divided in half with a film. Tomatoes need good ventilation, so you will need vents on the sides and top. In addition, they love light, which means that any shading should be avoided.

If the soil in the greenhouse is clayey, peat, humus or sawdust is added to it (one bucket per square meter). Sand, sawdust or earth with turf are poured to the peat soil. You can additionally feed the soil with fertilizers.

In the finished greenhouse, beds are laid out and seedlings are planted. There are many schemes for this, it all depends on the height of the plants and their variety. The size of the greenhouse, the presence of supports for the garter, the illumination and the possibility ofwatering.

What's next?

How to grow a good crop of tomatoes in a greenhouse, what conditions must be met in the first place? Tomatoes are very demanding on light and do not like too humid environment. When watering them, observe moderation, ventilate your greenhouse more often, otherwise the flowers and ovaries will fall off.

Shortly after planting (in ten to twelve days), the tomatoes are tied to pegs or stretched wire installed nearby. It is better to take polyethylene twine for this. It is customary to form one stem in tomatoes, removing extra stepchildren. In the greenhouse, tomatoes are pollinated by slightly shaking their brushes, and they also carry out several root dressings.

How to grow a good harvest of tomatoes in the open field

By the time of planting, the air should warm up to at least 12 oС, and the plants should reach a height of at least 20 cm and "grow" about eight full-fledged leaves. The exception is when the seedlings have outgrown.

We choose a sunny place for landing with protection from the wind (on the south side). Low damp areas with close groundwater are not suitable. The soil requires a slightly acidic or neutral reaction, a good option is loam with fertilizers.

It is better to start landing on a cloudy day. If it is sunny, wait for the evening, during the night the plants will get stronger and adapt to the heat of the day. The planting pattern is selected based on the height and variety of tomatoes and the existing irrigation system. Seedlings should be planted in such a way that the plants do not interfere with each other. Each fruit should receive maximum sunlight and air.

How exactly to plant

Before placing in the ground, the seedlings are generously watered to make it easier to remove them from the pots and not damage the roots. Holes arrange "on a bayonet" in depth. Immediately before planting, they are filled with water until absorbed.

The seedlings are carefully buried in the prepared holes: strictly vertically along with an earthen clod. Sprinkle the root with soil and add a little compost. Above - again the soil, which is rammed and watered.

It is best to immediately dig pegs 50-80 cm high next to each seedling - for a future garter. You can stretch the wire to a height of about a meter. Garter twine is better to take synthetic, in order to avoid rotting.

Further care

Immediately after planting, the bed is covered with plastic wrap. When the tomatoes take root, it is removed (subject to warm weather). Watering seedlings is not recommended until they take root. Usually it is eight to ten days.

Tomatoes are watered under the root, and the leaves must be protected from water, otherwise the plants will get sick. It is undesirable to use the sprinkling method, as this cools the soil and leads to a delay in ripening. The best hours to water are in the afternoon.

With the beginning of fruit growth, the need for watering in a tomato increases dramatically, it must be carried out regularly and more often. The difference in soil moisture is undesirable. Having "drank" each bush, do not forget to loosen the soil around it and destroy the weeds. Admitground compaction is undesirable.

We form and spud

The question of whether to spud tomatoes or not is of interest to many gardeners. The debate over how to grow a good crop of tomatoes in the country never subsides. Some gardeners consider this procedure unnecessary. But hilling has a number of advantages. It enriches the soil with oxygen, strengthens the root system of plants, improves their nutrition.

To increase and accelerate ripening, tomatoes are shaped - stepchildren and pinched. After that, only a few brushes of fruits remain on the bush (usually 5-6). Stepsons (the so-called lateral shoots) are removed from the stem, pinching over the topmost of the brushes. You can form a bush in one, two or three stems by removing the lower shoots.

Here are all the basic secrets of how to grow a good crop of tomatoes "outdoors".

How to avoid disease

Diseases are more common in plants grown indoors. This is due to high humidity, temperature differences, condensation on the film. For the purpose of prevention, the greenhouse should be regularly emptied of debris and disinfected, before sowing, decontaminate seeds, discard seedlings affected by the disease, monitor possible pests and ventilate the greenhouse in time.

When growing tomatoes in the garden, you should ensure good feeding, observe the timing of planting different varieties, and mulch the soil. After harvesting, the greenhouse should be disinfected with a special solution.

If the tomatoes are still sicklate blight, they are treated with copper chloride (solution). In the most severe cases, pesticides will have to be used.