2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Asters are an excellent decoration for any flower garden - this is an indisputable fact. It is especially pleasing that they are able to bloom for a long time even in autumn. And this plant is extremely unpretentious and does not require too complicated care. The main thing is to properly grow seedlings of beautiful flowers. In principle, this is not at all difficult to do! What should you pay attention to when growing seedlings of these wonderful flowers in the first place, in order to subsequently get a huge number of beautiful multi-colored asters?
Sowing seeds for seedlings
Sowing the seeds of unpretentious asters for seedlings should be timely - overgrown seedlings are characterized by a much worse survival rate, and too late sowing of seeds does not bring anything good either. In order for the seedlings to grow healthy and of high quality, it is best to take fresh (that is, last year's) seeds, which must be sown from the end of March to the beginning of the second decade of April. If precious time is lost, then the sowing of seeds is carried out already on permanent sites directly into the ground.
For growing seedlings, you will need to prepare several boxes (the height of which is at least five centimeters), glass plates that fully correspond to the size of these boxes, prepared from soil taken in equal proportions of sand and humus with the ground, a weak solution of potassium permanganate, as well as perlite, a little wood ash and, of course, the treasured packets of seeds.
In order for asters to grow strong and healthy, it is extremely important to initially sow rather vulnerable seeds in the most nutritious soil. Even the most inexperienced gardener can easily prepare such soil: for this, sand, good garden soil and humus taken in equal parts are first mixed, after which the prepared mixture is steamed in a double boiler or in the oven, and then wood ash is added to it (for each bucket of mixture, usually taken in a glass of ash). It is useful to add a small amount of perlite to such a mixture - it will in every possible way help to improve the aeration of the soil and give the roots the opportunity to develop much better.
The prepared soil mixture is poured into pre-prepared wooden or plastic boxes for seedlings and, having slightly compacted it, generously spill it with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
As for the seeds, immediately before planting, it is recommended to treat them with some kind of fungicide: it will help protect young seedlings from a wide variety of fungal ailments that often attack seedlings growing in apartment conditions.
Having made many shallow grooves in the ground (ideally, their depth should not exceed two centimeters), they immediately begin to lay out the seeds of beautiful asters in them. And on top of the seed is sprinkled with a small layer of soil (this layer should be no more than two millimeters). By the way, some especially advanced gardeners recommend sprinkling the sown seeds with well-calcined sand half a centimeter thick - this approach will help to avoid the risk of infection with the ill-fated black leg and excessive soaking during watering. It is also important to ensure that the distance between the grooves made is within the range of two to five centimeters. And in order not to face too rapid evaporation of life-giving moisture, the crops must be covered with glass from above.
Seedling care
As a rule, the first shoots of asters can be noticed already after five to ten days from the moment of sowing the seeds - as soon as they appear, glass is immediately removed from the boxes, and then all containers with seedlings are moved to perfectly lit windowsills. At the same time, the air temperature on them should not exceed fifteen degrees - if it is higher, the seedlings will begin to gradually stretch out.
As the soil layer dries up, it must be moistened with warm water from a spray bottle - and in this matter it is extremely important not to overdo it, since excessive waterlogging is fraught with the development of a black leg. If a dangerous ailment nevertheless affects the seedlings, diseased seedlings should be removed as soon as possible along with small earthen clods. And then the resulting pits are covered with soil and thoroughly spill these areas with a fungicide solution.
Picking
Aster seedlings usually begin to dive as soon as two or three real leaves appear on it. At the same time, ideally, the composition of the soil into which the dived seedlings are transplanted should not be very different from the original. The only thing is that you can additionally add a spoonful of complex mineral fertilizer to the finished soil (and in order for it to be evenly distributed, the soil must be thoroughly mixed).
Seedlings with excessively branching roots are carefully pinched, after which all seedlings are placed in the ground to a depth of no more than one centimeter from the cotyledon leaves. And so that they do not turn out to be washed out with water during irrigation, the soil around them needs to be slightly compacted. It is already quite permissible to keep the dived seedlings at a temperature of twenty degrees. And when four or five leaves appear on the seedlings, they begin to gradually harden - for this purpose, containers with seedlings are taken out to slightly darkened places outside.
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