2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
One of the most important stages in growing seedlings is sowing seeds. Correctly sown seeds will quickly please with the first shoots. Therefore, it is very important to familiarize yourself with all the nuances of this event and approach it as responsibly as possible. The speed of emergence of young seedlings, as well as their quality, depends on how successfully you can cope with this task
Sowing seeds step by step
After disinfection and soaking, seeds of onions, leeks and celery are sown in prepared containers. As for the seeds of tomatoes, eggplants and peppers, they can additionally germinate slightly (in conditions of high humidity and at a temperature of 25-30 degrees) between two layers of tissue, which are placed on a substrate made of a fairly moisture-absorbing substrate. And the seeds that have turned up are carefully moved with tweezers into the container intended for growing seedlings. This method is good in that it makes it possible to select the most viable seeds and discard dead seeds.
In boxes made of wood or plastic, seeds are sown in rows. Pressing a piece of a half-inch board with an edge into the ground, mark even grooves. The distance between the wall of the box and the extreme groove should be approximately one and a half to two centimeters, then each groove takes about five to six centimeters (including the segments following the grooves).
The depth of the grooves is always in direct proportion to the size of the seeds. When sowing medium-sized and small seeds, the depth of their embedding should not exceed the thickness of the seeds by more than 2, 5 - 3 times. Planting depth is usually indicated on the seed packages.
Celery seeds should be mentioned separately, since when sowing, after mixing them with a small amount of soil mixture, they must be evenly distributed along the grooves, without sprinkling them with soil. But when sowing seeds of other crops and grooves, and all the soil from above, it is recommended to fill it with peat.
As for the density of sowing seeds, for tomatoes, eggplants and peppers it is one seed per one centimeter of a row, for onions 2 - 3 seeds are taken, and for celery - 3 - 4.
The sown seeds can be pressed to the ground with a piece of dry cardboard - good contact with the ground is very important for quick germination. And only after that, the seeds are sprinkled with a sufficient soil layer.
In order to prevent the sown seeds from floating up during watering, it is advisable to cover the soil with a slightly loose cloth permeable to air and water. A non-woven covering material such as Lutrasil, Spunbond, etc. is good for this - due to the light transmission of this material, it is permissible for them to cover even seeds that require light for better germination (for example, lettuce or celery). It can serve as a covering material for several years, moreover, it can be sterilized by boiling.
Seeds in sowing containers should be watered using warm water until the first young shoots appear. At the first watering, a humate solution (0, 005%) will also be useful.
On pre-prepared sticks, the date of planting and the variety of crops are noted. This is especially recommended when different crops are grown in the same cassette.
Germinating seeds need access to air, heat and moisture. To prevent soil cooling and maintain optimal moisture content, seed containers can be placed in inflated polyethylene bags or covered with plastic cling film.
You should not place containers in the cold and in places with drafts, but it is better not to put them on the sunny side either - at the very beginning of planting, light can lead to the release of excessive moisture and decay of the seed.
As soon as there are signs that the seeds have begun to germinate and make their way out, the plastic shelter is immediately removed.
The seedlings themselves should appear in about one and a half to two weeks. If the containers with the sown seeds are in a draft or in the cold, as well as with an excess of moisture, this process can take three weeks.
Sprouted seeds require warmth and sunlight - as soon as they germinate, containers can be safely transferred to a warmed balcony or to a windowsill. It is important not to forget that strong temperature fluctuations should be avoided.
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