Landless method of growing aster seedlings
Growing seedlings of garden flowers, including asters, start in early spring. Usually, flower growers harvest nutrient soil for this purpose in the fall, or they use a store substrate. But if suddenly, for some reason, it was not possible to pre-purchase or prepare land, you can use a very interesting and practical way of landless cultivation with the help of a snail. This method is often called "lazy", but it is very convenient. Not only is no soil required at all, but also for seedlings easy to care for, not to mention the fact that grown seedlings can be freely removed from the snail without damaging the rest.
How to make a snail?
Instead of a container with earth, aster seeds will germinate in a special snail. You can do it this way:
- spread a garbage bag on the table to make a long ribbon (no need to open it);
- put a tape of toilet paper on the top of the bag;
- lay the next tape of paper, aligning it with the bottom of the bag (so that it reaches the water);
- the last, third tape of toilet paper, again line the top of the bag tape.
Instead of garbage bags, you can cut long film strips.
The snail blank is ready.
How to sow asters in a snail?
Now you need to spray the toilet paper well with a spray bottle. Then step back 0.5 cm from the upper edge of the tape and use a wet toothpick to lay out the aster seeds, leaving a similar distance between them.
After the seeds are laid, carefully twist the tape into a roll, that is, make the snail itself, and place it vertically in a glass, at the bottom of which there is a little water. Water on toilet paper will flow upward to the seeds as it dries, creating the necessary moisture. And a plastic bag put on a glass will preserve it and create a greenhouse microclimate.
When placing the snail in a container with water, it is important not to confuse where its upper part is with the seeds.
When to transplant seedlings?
The container with the snail must be placed on a light windowsill. In about a week aster will sprout, and the package will need to be removed. When the seedlings get stronger, unfold the snail and get the seedlings one at a time. Depending on the time of sowing the seeds, the seedlings are dived into separate cups (with early sowing) and grown there. Or they are immediately planted in open ground if the seeds were sown in May.