Planting tomatoes

Recommendation points

• Choosing a variety of tomatoes
• Planting tomato seedlings
• Purchase of seedlings
• Growing seedlings from seeds: step by step instructions
• Planting tomatoes in the soil: agrotechnical requirements
• Features of planting seeds in open ground
• Preparation of planting material
• Site selection and tillage
• How to sow tomatoes: basic rules
• Care of young seedlings
• General recommendations for growing tomatoes

The yield of tomatoes depends on many factors. One of the main ones is adherence to the technology of planting vegetable crops. In this article, we will describe in detail the two main ways of planting tomatoes in open ground: seedlings and seeds. In addition, we provide tips for choosing a variety and caring for tomatoes..

Choosing a variety of tomatoes

The choice of tomato variety must be approached very responsibly. This process is not easy – breeders every year improve the old and bring out new varieties of tomatoes. Summer residents and gardeners have developed a whole “guide” for choosing a variety, which includes a number of basic criteria.

1. Preference for zoned varieties adapted to local climatic conditions. The peculiarity of the southern varieties is powerful foliage that creates shade for the fruits. Northern varieties mature in a short summer period and have small foliage, which provides maximum access to light.

2. Place of cultivation: open ground or greenhouse. Often, recommendations are indicated on the packaging. If there is no such information, then you can focus on the type of growth:

• determinant – universal varieties for growing in open ground and greenhouse conditions;
• indeterminate – greenhouse, planting in open ground is possible for the southern regions;
• super determinant – suitable for open ground or for early greenhouse harvest.

3. Ripening period:

• early ripening varieties – ripen early, but have a short fruiting period (suitable for northern regions);
• mid-ripening and varieties with a long growing season – more productive, “give off” fruits within 1-2 months.

4. Purpose of tomatoes: salad, for preservation or storage. Many summer residents prefer universal varieties, for example, Moskvich, Milashka, Tsifomadra, etc..

Table. Comparative characteristics of tomato varieties

Variety name	Growing region	Ripening terms	Place of cultivation	Productivity, kg / sq. m	Harvest purpose	additional characteristics	Care features
Alaska	northern regions	early maturing	open ground and film shelter	ten	universal	leaves of medium size, fruits are smooth, flat-round	moderate pinching
F1 Blues	Central regions	early maturing	greenhouse	6	storage	hybrid seeds can only be used for one year	resistant to tobacco mosaic virus
Agatha	southern regions	early maturing	open ground	8	conservation, salads	growing by seedlings and seeds	susceptibility to late blight
Veneta	southern regions	mid-late	open ground / greenhouse	8	conservation, salads	elongated oval shape	need fertilizing with mineral fertilizers
Moskvich	northern regions	early maturing	open ground	nine	universal	compact bush, low	does not require pinning
Red Arrow	northern regions	early maturing	greenhouses	15	universal	uniform yield of the crop	disease resistant
White filling	central / northern regions	early maturing	open ground / greenhouse	nine	universal	medium-sized fruits, fruiting period 2 weeks	unstable to disease
Yamal	northern regions	early maturing	open ground	8	salads, conservation	undersized plant, small fruits	unpretentious, does not require pinching

Planting tomato seedlings

Purchase of seedlings

Here are some practical tips to help you buy quality seedlings:

1. The stem of the seedling must be thick enough.
2. You need to purchase seedlings with green leaves, without signs of mold and brown areas.
3. The plant should have branched, but not too large branches.
4. At the root, there must be a moistened soil lump. No defects in the root system are allowed.

Important! A large number of leaves on a seedling indicates an excess of nitrogen fertilizers applied when growing seedlings. Optimally – 7-8 leaves.

Growing seedlings from seeds: step by step instructions

Consider the sequence of measures for growing tomato seedlings.

1. Preparing the soil. You can buy universal peat-based soil or use regular soil from the garden. In the second option, the soil must be warmed up before planting (3-5 days at room temperature) and treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Add ash (1:20) to the prepared soil – a source of potassium, ensuring good plant growth.

2. In containers for planting, make small holes for the outflow of excess water when watering.

3. Fill the container:

• 1st layer – drainage (small pebbles or eggshell);
• 2nd layer – prepared soil.

4. Drizzle with plenty of warm water.

5. Make holes in the ground with a pencil to a depth of 1–2 cm.

6. Put tomato seed in each hole and dig in.

7. Re-wet the soil with a sprayer.

8. Sprinkle the soil with a layer of sand (1–3 mm) and cover the container with foil, creating the effect of a mini-greenhouse.

9. Put the boxes in a dark place (temperature – not less than 15 ° С). After 5-7 days, the first shoots will appear. After that, the seedlings can be transferred to a bright place and remove the film.

10. When the first 2-3 leaves appear, the seedlings should be dived. Plant the tomatoes in separate containers, cutting off 1/3 of the root.

11. Seedlings should be fed weekly with fertilizers with microelements.

12. When plants take root in new containers, hardening can be carried out – daily ventilate the room and take out the seedlings to the balcony.

Advice!If the seedlings have grown, but the time for planting in the ground has not yet come, then they need to be strengthened – install props (knitting needles or wooden skewers).

Planting tomatoes in the soil: agrotechnical requirements

For planting tomatoes, choose a sunny place with a low location of groundwater. The most suitable precursors for tomatoes are legumes, root vegetables, pumpkins, cucumbers, courgettes and green crops. Before planting, the soil must be processed, observing a number of rules:

1. Spray the soil with a 75% solution of copper sulfate; solution consumption – 1.5 l / sq. m.
2. Dig up the bed and level it with a rake.
3. Moisten with warm water and form wells. Row spacing: medium-sized varieties – 50-60 cm; undersized varieties – 45-50 cm.

Advice!After planting tomatoes in the ground, the plant must be watered and spud. This will strengthen the seedlings and help keep the soil moist..

Features of planting seeds in open ground

Preparation of planting material

Early ripe tomato varieties are better suited for a seedless growing method: Vologda fruitful, Explosion, Amurskaya Zarya, Apples in the snow. It is quite possible to improve the germination of seedlings if, before planting, the seeds are treated with one of the following methods:

1. Wrap the seeds in a damp cloth and place in the refrigerator. After 3-4 days, transfer the planting material to a warm place. A sharp change in temperature is a kind of impetus for seed germination.
2. Take a plastic bucket with a lid. Make a wire frame inside the container and cover it with nylon. Fill a bucket halfway with hot water. Sprinkle the seeds on a cloth, close the lid and put the container in a warm place.

The listed methods of seed preparation should be carried out 1 week before planting tomatoes in open ground.

Video: disinfection of seeds in a solution of potassium permanganate

Site selection and tillage

The rules for choosing a place for growing tomatoes with seeds are the same as for the seedling method. But the pre-treatment of the soil is somewhat different..

It is better to prepare the site for planting in the fall. Mark the location of the bed (70–80 cm wide), lay a layer of unripe humus and compost on it. Pour fertile soil on top. The total height of the bed should be about 25-30 cm.

Tall beds of wooden boards are well suited for planting tomato seeds..

How to sow tomatoes: basic rules

When planting tomatoes, you must adhere to the following recommendations:

1. Sowing dates for tomatoes: late April – mid-May (depending on the climatic conditions of the region).
2. The optimal distance between the beds is 50 cm, between the holes – 30 cm.
3. Landing recesses are dug out in a checkerboard pattern.
4. Before sowing, the hole must be watered with warm water..
5. Seeds should be laid out in a circular manner. One hole – 4-5 seeds.
6. Pour the planted and dug seeds with warm water, and then cover with a cut of a plastic bottle.

Care of young seedlings

You can remove the shelter after the emergence of shoots. This should be done gradually – by 2-3 hours, daily increasing the hardening time. If it’s sunny and warm outside, the plants can be opened completely.

Thin planting tomatoes – leave 1-2 of the strongest bushes in the hole, and transplant the rest to a new place.

Young tomatoes grown from seeds are less demanding for watering. Their root system is more developed than that of “seedling” seedlings, and they are able to provide themselves with moisture from the soil. Watering should be done in hot and dry weather.

General recommendations for growing tomatoes

1. At the moment of flowering of the first brush, tomatoes should be treated with Bordeaux liquid. Subsequent spraying is carried out every two weeks. Such measures will protect the fruits from blackening, protect the bush from diseases and Colorado beetles.

2. All leaves that touch the soil must be cut off in time, and extra stepsons must be removed.

3. After rain or watering, the ground around the trunk must be mulched (moisture will retain in the soil).

4. During flowering, the stem of the bush can be shaken a little for better pollination..

5. After feeding, the plant must be watered so that the nutrients are well dissolved and reach the root system of tomatoes.

Both methods of planting tomatoes have their own advantages and disadvantages. The seedling method is more reliable, but at the same time it is very laborious. Seed-planted tomatoes are drought tolerant and bear fruit over a long period of time – up to frost.