Watering And Feeding Seedlings

2023 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-26 20:34

When growing seedlings, in addition to maintaining optimal illumination and temperature, the plants are regularly watered, fed, loosened the soil.

Usually, seedlings are watered 1-2 times a week so that the soil is soaked to the full depth of the container. Excess water from the pallets must be removed after 2-3 hours. If the bottom of the pot is constantly in water, the root system suffers from a lack of air. This negatively affects its growth and the ability to absorb nutrients.

The rate of one-time watering usually ranges from 30 to 100 ml, depending on the size of the pot. A sharp fluctuation in soil moisture (overdrying - waterlogging) should not be allowed. It is better to water with settled tap water.

In addition to root watering, plants respond well to spraying them with water from a hand sprayer. This technique additionally supplies plants with water and regulates humidity and air temperature, especially when the room is dry and very warm.

Despite the fact that the soil contains a full range of nutrients, the seedlings need to be fed. Root feeding (watering at the root) begins 10-12 days after germination or after picking and continues to feed the plants once a week during the entire seedling period. It is better to use Kemira lux complex fertilizer or solution (20 g per 10 l of water), where there are all macro- and microelements in a good combination for young plants.

After picking the seedlings and before planting the seedlings in a permanent place (greenhouses, open ground), the plants are fed with calcium nitrate (20 g per 10 l of water). Calcium promotes more active root growth and quick plant survival after transplantation. As a top dressing, you can use an infusion of ash (1 glass is poured with 8 liters of hot water, insisted, filtered). Especially such feeding is needed for plants during prolonged cloudy weather and already adult seedlings before planting.

Root feeding is carried out on the second day after watering with water. Consumption rate of liquid fertilizers: 20-50 ml - in the first half of the seedling period, from 50 to 100 ml - in the second half.

Foliar dressing (from a hand sprayer) can be given to plants once every two weeks or more often: with weak growth of the aerial part, in cloudy weather, with damage to the roots. The fertilizer solution (Kemira lux or urea urea in a concentration of 1 g per 1 liter of water) should fall on the lower part of the leaf, where the stomata are located.

For good air access to the roots, the soil is pierced with a fork or a sharp thin peg on the 2-3rd day after watering. You can loosen it only at the very walls of the pot, so as not to damage the roots.