2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Growing seedlings is a real pleasure. But how to grow good seedlings, what you need to know for this and how to debug the cycle of your actions, you will learn from this article
Growing seedlings at home is an occupation for those who love to do this, are ready to patiently do everything they need and enjoy the results of their work. In addition, the period from planting in the garden to harvesting is reduced. Finally, it's just fun!
What are the advantages of the seedling method of growing vegetables?
- getting early production. When sown in boxes, seeds germinate 3-4 times faster than those that would be sown in open ground.
- rational use of land. While the seedlings are growing in crates, the soil in the beds will yield an early harvest, such as lettuce, radishes, and onions.
- saving seeds.
- it is easier to identify and discard weak seedlings.
- the ability to grow heat-loving plants in the northern regions.
- you can compact time and grow several crops in succession on one bed.
What is meant by good seedlings?
Planting material grown in free space, in natural light, in good soil, with sufficient warmth, will be called quality planting material. Therefore, when growing seedlings on the windowsill, we must bring the above natural conditions as close as possible.
High-quality sprouts, they are squat, with a thickened trunk, a powerful root system.
Errors that arise when growing seedlings on a windowsill
1) lack of light, excess heat.
2) lack of proper air humidity.
3) insufficient space for each sprout.
Light Plants need - this is their nutrition! Starch, protein, sugars and other substances are formed in plants in the light. Lack of light is especially destructive for young shoots, in which photosynthesis practically does not work, and the root system is still very weak.
For seedlings, 14-15 hours of lighting are needed, so they will be provided with additional lighting. In cloudy weather, two 100 W light sources are enough, per 1 sq. m. area. Such illumination is necessary for plants throughout the entire period. If the day is sunny, then it is necessary to light up in the morning and evening hours, dialing the same 14-15 hours.
What lamps can be used for supplementary lighting:
* Cold-glow fluorescent lamps. This is one of the best options. Such lamps are sufficient for additional light.
* Phytolamps (LED) are especially good for plants. But such lamps are unsafe for their radiation for humans.
* Incandescent lamps can also be used, but here, as they say, "for fishlessness and cancer - a fish", it is better to light from an incandescent lamp than darkness. It should be borne in mind that incandescent lamps are a source of heat, and this is an additional heat load on plants.
* You can do without lamps. To do this, you need to install a foil screen on the windowsill with the planting material, thus creating a partition separating the plants from the room. The ability of the foil to reflect light will create additional illumination, and the seedlings will stop reaching for the window. Such a screen will additionally serve as a service, namely, isolate the plants from the heat of the batteries.
The heat of the batteries with a lack of light and low air humidity is detrimental to young shoots
Air humidity, like light, is one of the main factors in obtaining high-quality seedlings.
As usual, the humidity in the room is about 35%, like in the desert. For healthy seedlings, moisture is needed twice as much - 70%. To increase it, a thick cloth is thrown over the battery, the lower part of which is dipped into a bucket of water.
Space for plants. Normal seedlings should grow wider than tall, so each plant must cover a specific area. To grow seedlings up to 1.5 months of age (peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers), each plant needs an area of 80 sq. cm. and the corresponding volume (9 * 9 * 9) cm. With an increase in the age of plants, the volume and area double.
When growing seedlings in indoor conditions, there is a great danger of pampering it. Therefore, the seedlings must be hardened by taking out the boxes to fresh air. Hardening of seedlings increases the amount of dry matter in plants, which affects its vitality.
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