We Grow Seedlings

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Seedlings are grown either outdoors or indoors. Both options can be done at home. Any experienced gardener knows how to grow seedlings in several ways

Potless way

involves growing from seeds in closed greenhouses and greenhouses (heated and unheated). For the southern regions, unheated premises are more suitable. This method of growing seedlings begins with the following actions:

a) a 15-centimeter layer of soil is poured onto the film, which must be lightly tamped, and grooves are prepared in it for planting seeds;

b) the grooves are watered with water with added potassium permanganate (calculate about 1 g per 1 liter of water). Immediately after that, seeds are planted in them, covered with dry soil on top, and watered again. To exclude the development of a black leg, it is advisable to sprinkle the sowing sites with ash. Everything is covered with foil.

Compliance with the temperature regime depends on the culture. Before the first shoots appear, the temperature usually ranges from 15 to 25 degrees. With their appearance, the film is removed in order to reduce the temperature by 6-7 C. Seedlings require certain care, including regular watering, maintaining light and temperature conditions in the room, loosening the soil if necessary, removing weak and late shoots. If all the seedlings turned out to be weak, then it is advisable to feed them with a solution of mullein (100 g per 1 liter of water) or a mineral garden mixture (5 g per 1 liter of water).

Young plants are transplanted to a permanent, pre-selected place only when dangerous spring frosts are no longer expected. Carefully dug up together with a lump of earth, they move into the prepared holes. Outwardly, such seedlings are distinguished by their small height and juicy healthy leaves. In general, plants grown in a potless way have good strength, withstand transplanting well, and, as a result, delight gardeners with an excellent harvest.

Pot method

Is the cultivation of each individual plant in its own individual container. Here, the imagination of garden owners knows no bounds. Almost everything is used: all kinds of pots, cups made of any material (plastic, paper, peat), cut bags left over from dairy and other products, and so on.

This method is only suitable for home use. The emergence of strong shoots can be expected within a month and a half after planting the seeds. At this time, they need to be planted in open ground. However, weather conditions often do not allow this. Staying in pots, the plants stretch out, the leaves first turn light, and then turn yellow and dry. In such cases, there is only one way out - to move them to more spacious containers. But it is not worth delaying planting in the ground, since this can negatively affect the future harvest.

The pot method is divided into two types - growing with a pick and growing without it. The first option involves planting two or more seeds in one individual container. Subsequently, only strong plants remain, and weak ones are removed. With this cultivation, low planting boxes are filled with a 10 cm layer of soil, in which the seeds are planted. Seedlings dive after the appearance of the first leaves. This technique prevents the stems from pulling out and helps to grow healthier and stronger seedlings.

Only strong and strong seedlings are selected for diving. A pike is used as a tool - a sharpened wooden or plastic stick with a diameter of up to 1 cm and a length of at least 10 cm. With its help, it is enough to simply make indentations in the ground. The plant is dug in and transferred to another hole, the roots are laid with a peak. For a better, more intensive development of the root system, it is recommended to pinch the main root by about a third of its length. It is necessary to deepen so that 2 cm of the stem under the cotyledon leaves protrude from the soil. If the seedling is weak (pale leaves, the stems are very elongated), then it can be buried almost to the very leaves. Immediately after planting, the soil around the seedling is slightly compacted with the same lance and watered. It is important to prevent sinkholes in the soil, and if they did form, then they need to be covered with dry soil mixture.