Sowing seedlings in Moscow - the pros and cons of the method

Many gardeners are engaged in growing seedlings on their own. Not all beginners do it the first time. Sometimes it takes several seasons before excellent planting material is obtained. Applying the Moscow cultivation method seedlings you can avoid most of the typical mistakes that plague amateur gardeners and get excellent planting material.

Landing technology in Moscow

To grow seedlings in Moscow you will need:

• Seeds directly;
• Polyethylene (preferably not very dense);
• Toilet paper, for placing seeds on it;
• Scissors;
• Plastic cups for further germination of seed material.

Before planting, a mini greenhouse should be made of polyethylene. To do this, the polyethylene is cut along its entire length into strips equal to the width of the toilet paper.

We start arranging seeds for growing seedlings:

• We lay out the strips cut from polyethylene.
• We put toilet paper on them and slightly moisten it with water.
• We place the available seeds on a prepared basis. At least 1.5 cm must be retreated from the edge of the toilet paper.It is advisable to maintain a distance of at least 4 cm between individual seeds.
• Cover the placed seed with a second layer of prepared toilet paper.
• The upper row of paper, as well as the lower one, is slightly moistened with water.
• The last layer will again be polyethylene.
• We carefully roll the resulting strips into rolls and place them in disposable cups pre-filled with водой water (you can attach a tag with the name and type of germinated seeds to each roll).
• Seedlings prepared for growing are placed in plastic bags and placed in a warm and bright place (for example, on a windowsill above a radiator).

Seedlings according to Moscow in toilet paper are in this form until the birth of the first shoots and the formation of small leaves. Do not forget about feeding plants that are beginning to develop, since there are practically no nutrients in plain water. For this, liquid humic fertilizers are used.

1. It is advisable to carry out the first feeding at the time of the opening of the seeds and the appearance of sprouts.
2. The plants will need a second feeding when the leaves begin to grow.

The concentration of fertilizers used should be half that indicated in the instructions. Otherwise, the plants will die. This is due to the fact that the glasses contain a small amount of liquid, and not soil.

Next, the seedlings must be moved into pots with soil (if thermophilic plants are grown that require late planting) and continue to grow in the usual way until the moment of diving to a permanent place or immediately transplanted to a previously provided place.

Moving plants from paper to a pot of soil is not difficult. To do this, a roll with seedlings is unfolded, the plants are carefully cut off with scissors and moved into prepared pots.

The advantages of the Moscow method

Each method of growing seedlings has its own advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of sowing seedlings in Moscow are as follows:

• Due to the lack of contact of crops with the ground, the possibility of plant disease with a black leg is completely excluded.
• Seedlings in disposable cups significantly reduce the required space, which is almost always in short supply in the apartment.
• This technique is optimal for cold-resistant plants that can dive into the ground immediately after the first leaves are born.
• Some plants, for example, peppers and tomatoes, the seedlings of which should be small and strong, take root better after growing in Moscow style.

Disadvantages of the Moscow method

Any method of growing seedlings has both positive and negative qualities:

• Due to the lack of light, plants that love warmth and light slowly develop.
• In toilet paper, the rhizome of the plant develops poorly, and the trunks are strongly stretched.
• Heat-loving plants, after sprouting in rolls and before planting in the chosen place, must be additionally grown in small pots with soil (like ordinary seedlings).

The disadvantages of seedlings grown by the Moscow method are not so many, and they are not significant. But the advantages of this method are visible, even to inexperienced gardeners.

It is possible to grow seedlings of annual and perennial flowers that require such an approach, of various varieties, using the Moscow method. tomato and pepper, eggplant, all types of cabbage, onions and many other vegetables. Any novice gardener can cope with the planting technology. Plants grow robust and can thrive on their own in suitable climatic conditions.

Video: Moscow method of growing tomatoes