Planting time for greenhouse tomato
Tomatoes are grown by everyone who has at least a small piece of land. Some do it only for their own use, others for sale. However, all gardeners dream of getting a good harvest, and as quickly as possible. Therefore, if possible, tomatoes are grown in greenhouses. In greenhouse conditions, plants develop better and get sick less. In addition, the fruits ripen a few weeks earlier with at least double the yield.
Growing process tomatoes in the greenhouse can be divided into the following stages:
- Sowing seeds for seedlings.
- Preparing adult seedlings for transplanting into a greenhouse.
- Greenhouse preparation.
- Transplanting tomato seedlings into a greenhouse.
- Further care and harvesting of tomatoes.
One of the main points is the correct timing of planting tomato seedlings in the greenhouse. Planting too early or, conversely, late planting may affect the further growth of tomatoes. Read about:caring for tomatoes in a polycarbonate greenhouse!
Preparing tomato seedlings for growing in a greenhouse
To get tomato seedlings, seeds are sown in a greenhouse in February or early March. Sowing is done in moist and warm soil. If this is not possible, you can grow seedlings right in the apartment by placing the cups on a light windowsill. When the seedlings are already old enough, you need to harden them in order to prepare them for a change in temperature (that is, for transplanting into a greenhouse).
The hardening process should start no later than two weeks before planting in the greenhouse.
The windows are opened in the room, first for several hours, and gradually increasing the time. From the fourth day, the seedlings can be taken out to the balcony and, in good weather, left there overnight. If the seeds were sown in a greenhouse, the frames are raised for ventilation, and then they are completely removed.
A seedling ready for transplanting has a purple hue and a height of at least 25 cm.
Four days before transplanting, seedlings with buds are sprayed with a solution of boric acid at the rate of 1 g of the drug per liter of water (so that they do not fall off). And two days before planting, two lower leaves are cut off so that the seedlings take root more easily.
Greenhouse preparation
The time of planting a tomato for a greenhouse depends on its type:
- to glass greenhouses - April;
- to film greenhouses - May.
A common requirement for both types of greenhouses is the presence of well-heated soil at a depth of 15 cm (at least 13 degrees Celsius). You can check the readiness of the soil using a thermometer.
The soil in greenhouses is pre-renewed: the top layer is removed, and the remaining soil is treated with copper sulfate. A week before planting the seedlings, the beds are loosened and humus is introduced.
Planting seedlings in a greenhouse
Seedlings are planted in the evening at a distance of 50 cm from each other in a checkerboard pattern. A support is installed near each bush, to which it will be tied.
Early ripening varieties are located near the windows, and behind them - taller ones. The greenhouse is regularly ventilated. Seedlings fertilize superphosphate and stepchildren.