Savory seedling care or how to grow strong healthy seedlings
Savory grows well in open ground, but young bushes are very afraid of frost, so it is often grown as seedlings. Proper care of savory seedlings will allow you to get strong plants by the time of planting in the garden. In general, the procedure is no different from growing seedlings of other horticultural crops. Good lighting, relative warmth and a well-adjusted watering and feeding schedule are what a savory needs.
Features of the temperature regime for savory seedlings
For herbs, heat plays an important role, but only at the stage of seed germination. Until shoots appear, pots with future seedlings should be kept at a temperature of 20 ° C. But when the seeds sprout, it is necessary to rearrange the seedlings in a cooler room (no higher than 15 ° C). If this is not done and continue to grow savory at high temperatures, the seedlings will outstrip their development. Given the presence of good lighting, in the warmth the seedlings will develop first upward, stretching. For uniform growth, so that the stem gradually thickens and leaves form, coolness is needed.
Concerning lighting, then it should be good, but absent-minded. If possible, it is best to install additional lighting. Daylight hours for seedlings should last at least 12 hours.
Savory seedlings are at first very thin and flimsy; after opening the greenhouse, the ground under them quickly dries up and is taken in by a crust. To prevent this and retain moisture, cover the seeds after planting with a layer of vermiculite. Among other things, this component will also protect the seedlings from diseases, in particular from the black leg.
Savory seedlings care - basic rules
The seeds should sprout about 10 days after sowing. Now you can remove the film.
Seedling care is not particularly difficult and consists in the following procedures:
- Moderate watering. The soil should not be allowed to dry out, especially when the seeds will germinate. You need to water every 2-3 days, but little by little. Waterlogging is no less dangerous for savory, because then the seedlings will rot.
- Top dressing. To form strong seedlings, it is recommended to feed the savory with mineral fertilizers, for example, nitroammophos, once every two weeks. Growing bushes can be shed a couple of times with organic matter.
- Picking. Since small seeds are most often sown immediately into a common dish, picking is indispensable. But, unlike most crops, savory can be dived in "heaps" of 4-5 plants. The delicate stems are very easy to break if trimmed one by one.
Caring for savory seedlings includes hardening. A week and a half before planting the plants in the garden, you need to slowly accustom them to the outdoor temperature. Seedlings can be planted in the garden at the end of May, when a steady heat is established.