The Timing Of Growing Seedlings For Different Crops

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Read the previous part. ← Growing seedlings of leeks and cabbage

March crops are made in pots 5-6 cm deep, the seeds are sealed to a depth of 0.5-1 cm. Seedlings dive into plastic cups or pots 6x6 cm in the stage of developed cotyledon leaves. In April, it is better to immediately sow in cups - one good seed each. When transplanting, seedlings are buried "up to the ears," during this procedure, and should be held by the "ears" so as not to damage the delicate hypocotyl stalk.

Seedling care is simple: water, ventilate more often, feed. The first feeding is done in the phase of two true leaves with a solution of ammonium nitrate (2 g per 1 liter of water), the second - 3-4 days before planting the seedlings in the ground - with a complete mineral fertilizer, according to the instructions for this fertilizer.

Gardener's guide

Plant nurseries Stores of goods for summer cottages Landscape design studios

Cauliflower and broccoli, as well as kohlrabi, can be sown on seedlings at multiple times to prolong consumption. For the earliest harvests, 35-40-day seedlings are grown, that is, crops should be done in the last decade of March. Repeated sowing is done after 2 - 3 weeks, 30-35-day seedlings are planted in the ground, starting from mid-May. Care is exactly the same as for cabbage.

East Asian cabbages (Peking cabbage, Chinese cabbage, Japanese cabbage) can be grown after 20-day seedlings for early harvests. Since these cabbages do not tolerate transplanting well, the seeds are sown one at a time in a pot.

Cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins. All these crops do not like transplanting, so they are grown one plant at a time in a pot, preferably in peat-humus, with a diameter of 8-10 cm. The best age at which cucumber seedlings are planted in the ground is 25-30 days, no more.

Before sowing cucumbers for seedlings, the soil in a pot is watered with warm water, 2 dry or hatched seeds are embedded in the resulting mud to a depth of 1.5-2 cm. Cover the pots with foil, put in a warm place (22-25 ° C). Shoots appear quickly - in a few days. At a temperature of 18 ° C, they can appear even later than after 10 days. Seedlings must be immediately placed in the brightest place. The first 3-5 days after the emergence of seedlings, they are kept at a temperature of 18-16 ° C.

Notice board

Kittens for sale Puppies for sale Horses for sale

In the future, seedlings should be grown at room temperature 18-20 ° С, on sunny days - up to 24 ° С. At higher temperatures and higher air humidity, seedlings grow quickly, but they turn out to be pampered, with large leaves and a poorly developed root system. Such plants do not tolerate transplanting well.

When the first true leaf appears, the weak plants in the pot are cut out, but not pulled out, so as not to damage the root system of the remaining ones.

Seedling care consists in watering and feeding. Watering should be done in moderation, only with warm water, it is better to feed it along with watering. With good soil, top dressing may not be given.

In the same way, seedlings of pumpkins, zucchini, squash are grown. Only the seeds are deepened when sowing by 3-3.5 cm, they sow one hatched seed in a pot, and the age of the seedlings before planting in the ground is less - 15-25 days. The seeds are placed flat in the soil, as provided by nature, and not on the edge, as some gardeners advise, since when sowing on the edge, the seeds do not always have time to shed the shell during germination. Then you have to soak it and remove it manually.

In the first days after sowing, you need to carefully monitor the temperature: during the day - 15-20 ° С, at night 12-13 ° С. At higher temperatures, these plants stretch out strongly, you have to fold the hypocotal knee in a ring and cover it with moist soil to the level of the hypocotal leaves. Care is exactly the same as for cucumber seedlings.

I grow seedlings of watermelons and melons in the same way. I sow on seedlings on April 15-20. Since the shell of the seeds of watermelons is very dense, the sprouts hardly pierce it, then it is better to sow with hatched seeds. Melon seeds hatch on the second day, watermelons can break through for a week. The optimum temperature for hatching and emergence is 25-30 ° C. In the future, I grow them on the windowsill at room temperature, and in May I take their seedlings to the dacha, where during the day she lives in a greenhouse, along with the rest of the seedlings, and on cold nights she moves into the house. I water rarely, but abundantly. I do not feed.

Greens and other crops. In early April, I sow in small quantities anise lofant, lemon balm, basil, bush dill Buyan, leaf lettuce, forest eruca. I sow all the plants individually, each in its own 100 ml glass, since all of them, except lemon balm and basil, do not tolerate transplanting well. I cover it with soil a little. I pre-wash the seeds of dill and lofant from essential oils.

At the same time, you can sow beets on early beetroots, and at the end of April, and rutabaga to grow larger. Both cultures tolerate transplanting well with a clod of earth, so they do not need individual dishes. Rutabagas can be sown in a greenhouse. For seedlings, it is better to use single-sprout beet varieties so as not to bother with planting. There are no problems with the care of all these crops, since they are cold-resistant (only eruka and basil require heat for seedlings), heat and light on the sunny windowsill at this time are enough for them.