Growing Seedlings Of Vegetables, Picking Seedlings

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

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Pick or transplant - which is better?

The quality of the seedlings, and subsequently the yield obtained, largely depends on how freely the plants were located and how much soil was occupied by their root system. The need for living space for seedlings is different and directly depends on its age. Therefore, to save living space, it is wise to first sow the plants in small containers together with each other, and then plant them in a separate container. However, all agronomic guidelines that exist today say that the generating capacity of the root system of peppers and eggplants is very weak, so it is better not to dive them, but to sow seeds directly into pots, in which the plants will be located before transplanting into the ground.

They say the opposite about tomatoes, that they seem to like a pick. Let's first clarify: a pick is a transplant of a plant with pinching of its roots by about 1 / 3-1 / 4 of the length. To be honest, I have not seen a plant that would have liked such an execution - imagine yourself in their place. Of course, I understand why such an approach suddenly appeared - to ensure the development of a good branched root system, since it usually leaves much to be desired for grown seedlings.

Therefore, there is a certain reason for picking, but for plants it is always stress, and any stress affects their development negatively. The only way out, which I see, is to use the technology of sowing seeds in sawdust. If they are sown not into the soil, but into sawdust, then no problems arise in principle, but the plants:

• develop rapidly and form a powerful root system, much larger than the size of the aboveground part;
• do not notice the transplant and quickly continue to develop.

it is better to sow seeds in sawdust, and then carefully transplant them into large containers, and then into even larger ones. Of course, by sowing seeds right away in large pots, you will avoid many of the hassle of replanting, but you will not get good seedlings. But it is for this that this whole spring nightmare with seedlings, in fact, is being started.

I will name the positive factors of the gradual transplantation of plants into ever larger containers:

• saving the illuminated area, which is already extremely limited;
• a gradual increase in the required amount of soil: at the initial stage, it does not require a lot, so the soil can be prepared in batches;
• the formation of a powerful root system due to the gradual filling of the entire earthy coma with roots; this, in turn, leads to more intensive plant development.

There is also a negative side to this approach. This is the danger of stress on the plants as a result of the initial transplant from sawdust into the ground. This can be completely avoided if, before picking (when 1-2 true leaves are formed in seedlings), water the plants well so that the sawdust becomes not just slightly wet, but very moist. Then, using some suitable object (for example, a handle from an ordinary teaspoon or knife), carefully remove the plants with sawdust from the container and put it on the table, and then very carefully separate one from the other; then proceed with the usual planting in separate cups.

The next transplant is carried out when the seedlings have 4-5 true leaves and root buds on the lower part of the stem. Before it, you need to water the plants well again, carefully remove it with a lump of earth from the pot and move it to a large container, adding soil mixture on all sides. As a result, it turns out that two transplants are needed:

• first, when plants are transplanted from sawdust into separate small containers with soil mixture;
• the second, when plants are transplanted from small containers to large ones.

Which containers to choose?

As for the containers used for planting, it is better to use three types of them in accordance with the stages of growing seedlings.

The first stage of growing seedlings is flat plastic containers. Their height is only 2 cm, but as many years of practice have shown, this is quite enough.

The second stage of growing seedlings is small yogurt cups with drilled drainage holes. Filled with a loose and fertile, slightly moist soil mixture. Plants that were in sawdust are very carefully watered and carefully taken one at a time (you can use the end of a rounded knife and slightly lift all the soil out of the container).

The roots emerge very easily from the substrate and it can be guaranteed that you will not break a single root off any plant. When planting, the plants are slightly buried. Strong deepening (there are recommendations to deepen to cotyledon leaves) is undesirable, because this can lead to decay of the plant stem and its subsequent death. However, in order to still ensure the formation of additional roots on the stem, you need to fill the cups with the soil mixture not completely, but 2/3. And after a week, when the plants adapt, it will be possible to add the soil around them to the edges of the cups.

As a result, the plants will not get sick, and the formation of additional roots will be ensured. The cut seedlings must be immediately watered with solutions of trichodermine (1 teaspoon per 1 liter of water), rhizoplan (1 tablespoon per 1 liter of water) and black yeast (2 tablespoons per 1 liter of water). It is also a good idea to add Trichodermine to the potting mix (even ready-made potting mixes with Trichodermine are now being sold). After all operations, it is better to mulch the soil around the plants. To do this, you can use the same sawdust or, better, dry algae (biofertilizer from seaweed "Success"). After picking and watering the seedlings with a solution of biological products for a week, the plants do not need to be watered (this is the most dangerous period, and waterlogging at this moment can lead to the appearance of a "black leg").

The third stage of growing seedlings - special pots for seedlings (sold in shops for gardeners) and one-liter rectangular milk bags ("bricks"), cut in half. As a result, two pots are obtained from one liter package. In the case of using bags in each, it is necessary to make several drainage holes with an awl. The transplant technology is common. At the end of the transplant, the plants must again be watered with solutions of biological products: trichodermin, rhizoplan and black yeast. Further care Further care of the seedlings consists in maintaining the necessary regimes: temperature, light, water, air and nutrition.

About nutrition

If the plants in the process of growing seedlings did not receive balanced nutrition in the required volume, then by the time they are planted in greenhouses, their reproductive organs do not have time to form, and they do not bloom for a long time. In addition, plants are planted weakened and depressed and get sick for a long time. That is why it is so important:

• use fertile soil;
• carry out regular feeding;
• to ensure the presence of beneficial microorganisms in the soil, which would convert substances into a form that plants can absorb.

At the same time, you cannot overdo it with fertilizers, because an excess of some element is also harmful.

For example, an excess of nitrogen fertilizers when growing seedlings of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants accelerates the growth of vegetative parts, which always slows down the formation of the crop.

Watering

Contrary to a number of recommendations "keep the seedlings in a black body" (watering when the leaves wither), I believe that the soil should be constantly moist, but, naturally, without excess water. Water, of course, can only be used standing and warm. Better yet, add a little (just a little, just to muddy the water) sapropel mud into the settled water (I use sapropel from our Ural lake Moltaevo) - in this case the water becomes soft, and the plants more vigorous.

In addition, in this case, lime deposits, which are so destructive for the root system of plants, do not appear on the soil.

Top dressing

To grow powerful and healthy seedlings, during the period of its cultivation, it is necessary to carry out 2-3 additional fertilizing with mineral or organo-mineral fertilizers. The first feeding is carried out 10-12 days after transplanting. The best results are obtained by feeding with organomineral concentrates Ideal, New Ideal, Gumi, which contain microelements, Planta's preparation and Kemira-Lux complex fertilizer. It is better to alternate the above feeding and carry out such an organo-mineral feeding once a week.

It is also important to water the seedlings once a week with a solution of biological products (rhizoplan, trichodermin and black yeast). Alternating feeding will provide adequate nutrition for the plants. Fertilizers should be used with extreme caution, diluting strictly according to the instructions. large doses of fertilizers applied to small pots of seedlings will instantly burn the roots with all the ensuing consequences. In this case, it is necessary to strictly monitor the appearance of plants, which, depending on the lighting conditions, more or less often, but there is an additional need for potash fertilizers.

At the slightest sign of potassium starvation, it is necessary to feed with ash or an ash solution.

Seedling protection from disease

Everyone knows that most often vegetable seedlings are sick with the so-called "black leg". It is extremely difficult to fight this disease if it has already hit your plantings. The percentage of rescued plants turns out to be small, and all the dates for planting another batch of seeds, naturally, will already be missed. Therefore, prevention is preferable. It used to be recommended to steam the potting mix for this purpose.

But this operation is very unpleasant. In addition, harmful, because as a result of such an execution, not only harmful, but also useful microflora is killed. Therefore, it is better to do with other means. The main measures to prevent this trouble are: · loose, air-permeable soil (achieved by adding stale sawdust and agrovermiculite to the soil); · Adding trichodermin to the soil; · Adequate lighting and moderate watering, especially in cloudy weather; · The presence of drainage holes in the landing tanks of the required size; · Regular (once a week) watering with biological products (trichodermin, rhizoplan and black yeast); · Regular (once a week) spraying with the "Epin" growth stimulator in order to increase the immunity of plants.

Seedling hardening

Artificial lighting, which to a large extent we have to be content with when growing seedlings, is clearly not enough for its normal development. Therefore, you need to use all warm sunny days to gradually accustom the plants to the real life-giving sun. And it also needs to be accustomed to stronger temperature drops, which are inevitable in a greenhouse. In other words, solar and temperature hardening of seedlings is necessary. To do this, the seedlings are taken out on the balcony or loggia, at first for a short time, and then the residence time is gradually increased and left there for the whole day.

It is advisable that the balcony is glazed, then you can take advantage of all its advantages earlier. The best option, of course, is a southern glazed balcony or loggia. In this case, it is necessary not only to take out densely standing plants in pallets, but also to arrange them more freely so that at least in the daytime they feel the spaciousness, because the area of the balcony or loggia is still larger than the room space you use.

This is extremely important for the normal development of seedlings. And if the weather permits, then you need to leave freely placed plants on the balcony and overnight.

Seedling quality and early harvest

Several factors are important for an early harvest:

• the degree of resistance of seedlings to adverse weather conditions, in particular, to frost;
• nutritional balance;
• strictly controlled illumination.

We have already talked about illumination (12-hour daylight hours) and nutritional balance. Let us now dwell on the resistance of seedlings to frost. Naturally, since we are talking about frosts, the resistance of plants in this case means relative resistance to low temperatures, and not that tomatoes will calmly survive freezing temperatures without shelter - such miracles have not yet been invented.

But the relative stability is also extremely important - it means that the plants will not experience stress with a short-term drop in temperature and will continue to develop normally. And this is important for getting an early harvest, because you have to plant seedlings in the ground earlier than the usually accepted dates. However, a lack of light, high temperatures and insufficient air humidity in an apartment "stretch" the plants and reduce the strength of tissues in the walls of plant cells, and this, in turn, reduces their resistance to low temperatures.

Such seedlings cannot be planted until the end of the frost and, therefore, an early harvest cannot be obtained with this approach. The mechanism of damage to plants during frosts is that water freezes in their cells, and the formed ice crystal breaks the cell walls. Therefore, it is necessary to create regimes that reduce the water content in plant cells and increase the accumulation of dry substances in them. This only happens if the plants in the seedling stage are not stressed, or at least the effect of these stresses is insignificant.