Preparing tomato seeds for planting. Preparing seeds for sowing - an individual approach Wetting seeds until they swell
Without good seed material Having undergone thorough training, there is simply nothing to do in the garden. Preparing seeds for sowing includes several stages. First, the material undergoes scrupulous sorting and selection, then the process of heating the seeds and processing with microelements begins. In addition, you will need to strengthen the seeds. To do this, they are passed through the processes of germination and hardening. Vernalization of planting material deserves special attention. Now about everything in more detail.
To begin with, the seeds that you collected from your beds need to be carefully sorted. As you understand, for great harvest You will only need healthy, large ones. Let's reveal a simple secret - sorting is easiest done using a solution table salt. To do this, you need to dissolve 3 grams of table salt in 100 ml of water. It is this liquid that is poured into a container (preferably glass) with seeds and shaken. Those seeds that float are removed, and those that remain are washed in water and dried. Of course, not all planting material can be sorted this way - tobacco seeds, for example, are so small that they can barely be seen with the naked eye. Evaluate your capabilities wisely.
The warming up process is no less important. It will help cope with viral diseases. This seed prevention is carried out as follows - the material is put into bags and sent for a while to a warmer place. So, for example, for onion sets, 9 hours will be enough, which it will spend in the warmth 12–15 days before planting. But tomato and cucumber seeds need to be kept on a heating radiator for about 3 days. First, the temperature should be approximately 50 degrees, and then during the day the seeds should be in a warm place with a temperature of +80 degrees. And one more point is important - after the seeds have been heated using the above method, they need to be cooled. This can be done using snow in just a few minutes.
How to prepare seeds for sowing - we pickle, harden and soak
Planting material must be protected from infections and bacteria. And for this you will need to carry out a special etching process, for which the well-known solution of potassium permanganate is often used. It is enough to soak the seeds in this solution for 25–30 minutes. As an option, dry etching is also used - in this case, the material for sowing along with the preparation is poured into glass jar, and then, closing the lid, shake well. It is optimal to do this one and a half to two months before sowing.
Hardening – effective method increase plant tolerance to cold. For hardening, the seeds are kept at zero temperature. For eggplants, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes, the procedure takes 12 hours, but for pumpkin ones it is 2 times less.
Next comes soaking. It is this process that helps speed up germination. And it should be done before sowing. This procedure is primarily needed by those crops that germinate slowly, for example, dill, parsley, onions and celery. To do this, planting material is distributed between wet layers of fabric, which is covered with a regular plastic bag to avoid drying out. It is kept in this state until the sprouts hatch. When sowing, be very careful not to damage the delicate plants. Almost all crops can be soaked, except for root vegetables - we do not soak them, as this will lead to the opposite effect.
Pre-sowing preparation of seeds – we enrich them with microelements and carry out vernalization
Methods for preparing seeds for sowing include enrichment with microelements. The procedure is similar to soaking, only in this case the water is enriched with special solutions or wood ash. Thanks to this, the planting material will receive many microelements necessary for growth. Soaking in an ash solution for at least two days is considered effective. The solution for this procedure is prepared as follows: add 100 grams of water to two tablespoons of ash. After the material for sowing is infused in this solution, it is filtered and prepared for planting.
It can be enriched with a solution of microelements, in which the seeds are kept for about four hours at a temperature of plus 20 degrees. Keep in mind that the planting material must be filled with a large amount of solution. In addition, you can only use non-metallic utensils for this. Pre-sowing seed preparation can be supplemented by vernalization.
It is this that speeds up the germination process and increases the resistance of sprouts to low temperatures, which subsequently leads to a good harvest.
During vernalization, planting material is soaked until completely swollen and germination begins. After which they are kept at zero temperature for 2 weeks. For onions, carrots, as well as cabbage and parsley, an average of 12–14 days is needed, and beets need slightly less – 8–9 days. germinate too quickly, so vernalization is risky. If you follow all the procedures taking into account our advice, then rest assured that there will be no problems with the yield in your garden!
The quality of seed preparation determines the quality of seedlings and the strength of sprouts, so I advise you to pay attention to this issue close attention. There are six main stages pre-sowing preparation seeds, which I would like to talk about in the article.
To plant on your site, buy seeds of zoned varieties and hybrids of vegetables. They are more adapted to the climate of your area and produce stable yields even in unfavorable years.
So, you have stocked up on first-class seeds, and now you are faced with the task of awakening them to life. This is done in a few simple steps.
Seed sorting
Have you noticed that in one packet the seeds vary in size and density? If you want to get a rich harvest, select large and full-bodied seeds for sowing. From such seeding material the seedlings are strong and uniform, and the plants enter the fruiting phase faster.
Seed sorting is carried out using a 3-5% solution of table salt. Detailed instructions and you will find an alternative method in the article “”.
Seed disinfection
The next concern of the summer resident is to clean the seed shell from pathogens of fungal, bacterial and other diseases. To do this, they are subjected to disinfection. Classic version- this is warming up in hot water temperature +48...50 degrees for 20 minutes followed by rapid cooling. I usually use a thermos and cold tap water.
The seeds are also disinfected using sunlight, garlic and potassium permanganate. All these recipes and more are described in the article “”.
Treatment of seeds with nutrient solutions
The procedure is designed to improve the germination of seeds and charge them with energy for faster germination. Nutrient solutions are prepared both independently and using purchased preparations - for example,.
Excellent result allows the seeds to be kept for 6-8 hours in an ash solution. To prepare the solution, ½ matchbox, sifted wood ash stir in 2.5 liters of water.
You can find 13 more recipes for seed soaking compositions.
This year I plan to treat the seeds in Borogum-M solution. In addition to humates, this natural fertilizer contains nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and 11 microelements.
Soaking the seeds until they swell
And one more subtle one, but important point. It is advisable to soak the seed material in melt water, which needs to be changed every 2-3 hours. In this case, the liquid should only lightly cover the seeds, otherwise they will simply suffocate.
An interesting technique for reviving seeds is. It gives a stronger effect than simple soaking and significantly speeds up the germination of seeds.
Hardening of seeds
For seeds of heat-loving crops - tomato, eggplant - a technique such as hardening is useful. Thanks to hardening vegetable plants give more early harvest and bear fruit better in unfavorable summers.
However, processing low temperatures not indicated for seeds of all crops - I explained why this is so. Sometimes it is better to use, which is also excellent for awakening seeds.
Germination of seeds
Well, to get just super fast shoots, the seeds are germinated. This stage is also required if you are not sure of the quality of the seed.
For successful germination Three factors are equally important: water - its quantity and quality, temperature and time.
I have already talked about water, but the temperature and duration of the procedure should be adjusted depending on the culture and some other points. You can read about this in the article “”.
To make the process of preparing seeds for sowing more convenient, I made a table for myself in Excel. You can download it.
It's easy to use:
- According to the Lunar calendar, choose a favorable date for sowing the desired crop.
- In the “Sowing date” column, enter the date, for example, 03/01/2017 10:00:00. If desired, the numbers in the Micronutrient Treatment column can be changed depending on what nutrient solution you will be using.
- After this, dates will appear in the columns “Treatment of microelements”, “Soaking” and “Hardening” indicating the exact time when one or another stage of seed preparation should begin. All you have to do is set reminders on your phone or other gadget.
I have not included the germination stage in the table because its duration is largely determined by the quality of the seeds and cannot be standardized.
And in order to avoid annoying mistakes when sowing seeds for seedlings, I advise you to take a minute to study.
Preparing seeds for sowing
2. Seed sorting. The largest, undeformed and undamaged seeds are selected. To do this, you can use a sieve with appropriate cells, if the shape and size of the seeds allow it.
3. Warming up still dry seeds helps to increase their germination. It can be carried out intensively or passively, i.e. heat either for several hours on a radiator or over a pan of boiling water, or for several days on a windowsill or by pouring hot water there are piles of seeds in a thermos.
4. Disinfection. Some plant diseases are known to be spread through seeds. To prevent this, they can be disinfected in some way before soaking, for example:
✓ placing in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate for 15 minutes, followed by rinsing;
✓ placing in aloe juice for 1 hour;
✓ placing garlic in the pulp (30 g per 100 ml of water) for 1 hour, followed by rinsing. Intensive heating can also be considered disinfection.
5. Soaking the seeds. It is required to speed up germination, especially carrot and parsley seeds. They are soaked in warm water ( room temperature), changing the water every 4 hours.
Depending on the type of plant, the total duration of soaking may vary (table).
Table. Duration of seed soaking
It is very useful to soak the seeds first not in plain water, but in a biologically active infusion. Well proven:
✓ aloe juice solution (juice of two large leaves per 1 liter of water);
✓ infusion of chamomile (2 tbsp per 1 liter of water);
✓ valerian infusion (2 tbsp per 1 liter of water);
✓ oak bark infusion (1 tbsp per 1 liter of water);
✓ mullein infusion (1 tbsp per 1 liter of water);
✓ purchased biostimulants.
Seeds for soaking are placed in a gauze bag, dipped into the solution and kept for 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the size of the seeds and the thickness of the shell. If total time soaking for more than 2 hours, then continue soaking in plain water.
After soaking, the seeds are laid out on a flat surface and dried.
6. Hardening. It is usually carried out for seeds of heat-loving crops (tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, eggplants, zucchini, etc.), so that the seedlings from them are more adapted to the temperature of open ground. In addition, such seeds, as the experience of many gardeners shows, germinate faster than their unhardened counterparts. After soaking, the seeds are placed in the refrigerator for 6 hours in a compartment where the temperature is maintained at about +1 ° C, and the tomatoes are kept in the freezer for a week.
How to increase the amount of seedling material
If you need larger number shoots, but there are very few seeds, you can increase the number by seedlings. When she grows up enough big size, each bush must be cut to a length of 7-10 cm and placed in water to obtain roots - then your seedlings will be 2 times larger than before.
How to bubble seeds
Soaking seeds does not always give the desired result; still, some of the seeds may not sprout or they will not sprout at the same time. To ensure that the seeds germinate as quickly as possible, you can use a more effective method of preparation - bubbling. It involves soaking seeds in water enriched with air. Usually they just use an aquarium compressor for this. The seeds are wrapped in a spacious bag and immersed in a container filled with water at room temperature, in which a compressor sprayer is placed.
Each vegetable crop required different time bubbling: peas and radishes - about 12 hours, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes - up to 18, and bell pepper- up to 24 hours
The very first, and at the same time, the most important stage in greenhouse farming is competent preparation seeds for sowing, which includes them correct processing, hardening and much more. Why so much trouble and why can’t you just sow the seeds in the ground? We assure you - than more attention and the diligence you devote to this stage, the healthier and richer your harvest will be. You've heard that in the spring the day feeds the year? So, the hours spent on preparations will result in hundreds of kilograms of tasty and juicy greenhouse vegetables in the future. And also - an absolutely calm season, when you don’t need to worry about random drafts, pests, or diseases of the covered soil. And it’s not all that complicated – now we’ll break it all down.
Choosing seeds for sale - avoiding the very first mistakes!
The biggest mistake novice greenhouse owners make is to quickly buy grains and plant them. Yes, of course, all these tomatoes and cucumbers on the covers are to die for, but not all of them are intended for growing indoors, and even, quite possibly, not for your region. Sellers take what “goes well,” and, believe me, half of them don’t understand the rudiments. The only thing they will more or less reliably tell you is whether the bushes will be short or tall. Everything else is a lottery. And also keep in mind that the packets of seeds in the open air are the same ones that managed to get wet yesterday while the saleswoman was covering them. Such “preparation” is fraught with an extremely weak harvest.
But the most important factor the choice is the manufacturer. Read reviews, talk to fellow avid gardeners, and always choose a company that has proven itself well. On Russian markets These are the brands “Gavrish”, “Ilyinichny”, “Russian Garden”, “Poisk” and “SeDeka”. Please note that contact details and GOST are indicated on the packaging. And immediately look at the expiration date - it should be stamped, not printed.
Now all that remains is to decide on the variety. It’s already simpler here: for middle zone In Russia, take vegetables with early and medium ripening periods - they will get sick less, which is especially true for tomatoes. If you haven’t found the varieties you’ve heard about positive feedback, it’s better to order through the online store.
Calibration - selecting the best
These procedures are necessary in order to immediately select all the best and most viable for sowing. Here's what you need to do:
1. Pour the seeds into a 3-5% saline solution (50 g per 1 liter of water).
2. Mix everything for three minutes.
3. We collect garbage from the surface of the water, and those seeds that float to the surface are the smallest and empty ones, while the viable ones always go to the bottom.
4. Wash and dry what is selected in this way well.
We process grains - we follow all technologies
There is no need to treat purchased seeds - this has already been done. But varietal tomatoes and cucumbers collected from your own plot are a must. This is easy to do: keep them in a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate for exactly 30 minutes. For convenience, wrap in cotton pads. After this, rinse the grains well under water - preferably several times.
Disinfection is a must!
For more intensive germination, plants are also soaked in the solution. copper sulfate(1 l), boric acid (0.2 g) and even in aloe juice.
There are other ways to prepare plant grains for sowing:
- Step 1. Place several layers in a dish soft fabric, between them are seeds. Fill with water for several hours.
- Step 2. Drain the water and leave it overnight at room temperature.
- Step 3. In the morning we place the grains in plastic bag, tie and leave for another two days.
Before planting, it is better to treat tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers like this: soak them in a solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour, rinse them under water for another half hour, and therefore put them in ash solution. After this, leave the seeds in a damp cloth in a warm place (30°C).
Watermelon and melon are prepared a little differently. First, they should be soaked in potassium permanganate, and then put in a warm place for three days, and then in the refrigerator for one night. Finally, we dip the sprouts in hot sweetened wine for 24 hours - this will make the fruits especially sweet. But it is more rational to soak the radish in water with chalk - then it germinates well and gives an excellent harvest.
Heat treatment - survival of the fittest!
If you took seeds from wonderful vegetables, but you know for sure that they were sick during life, they must be disinfected by heat treatment. Mittleider always recommended him too. But keep in mind that after such a tough test, which destroys pathogens both on the surface of the grain and inside it, you have very little material left for planting. But if such seeds sprout, they will be very strong and healthy plants. Just keep in mind that not everyone can do this: radishes, tomatoes, cabbage, carrots, potatoes and legumes will not tolerate heat treatment.
So what is heat treatment itself? In fact, everything here is simpler than it seems: you need to soak the seeds for 20-40 minutes in water at 50-52°C. Exactly how much depends on the culture.
Bubbling - saturate the sprouts with oxygen
This processing method is suitable and useful for absolutely everyone, even very small ones. It must be carried out before disinfection. For this purpose, purchase a regular aquarium compress; pour soft water into a tall narrow jar. warm water and spray the compressor on one. As a result, the seeds must be in constant motion for 24 hours.
Treatment with biostimulants – new generation seeds
In short, biostimulants are active substances that are designed to stimulate the most different reactions inside the body. They have a good effect on root growth, budding and plant immunity. Thanks to this preparation, greenhouse plants will be well adapted to any stressful situations.
The biostimulant seed itself seems to awaken and strengthen the immune system. For greenhouse seeds, take “Epin” and “Sodium Humate”. You can read on the packaging itself how to properly soak in such a solution - everyone’s instructions are different.
Please note: if you purchased already processed in the right ways seeds, as indicated on their packaging and what gives them an unusual green, blue or red color, then you can sow these immediately - they do not need special preparation.
The final stage: germination
Here's how you can't do it: fill the pits completely and leave it like that for three days. During this time, they will suffocate and die, unfortunately. This is how you do it: soak it in a saucer on gauze moistened with water, wrapping everything in a bag.
Preparing the soil for planting crops
We select a container for sowing. Here, too, you need to take into account several nuances. Firstly, it should not be taken too deep - otherwise the soil, in which there are few roots, will sour and may become diseased. Such a container should also have drain holes - the diameter of a pencil. Smaller ones will be clogged by the soil. You can also use special seed cassettes.
Another common mistake is to buy the cheapest soil, or even take it from the greenhouse. Such soil quickly cakes and forms a dense crust through which seeds cannot grow. This is not to mention the mass of pathogens. Therefore, do not save at this stage - it is better to buy coconut substrate, which is loose, has a large structure and is saturated with air. The roots of the seedling develop perfectly in it.
You will be surprised, but saturating the soil with useful substances is also a mistake! It must be quite “poor”, otherwise it will be difficult for the plants to germinate. Future sprouts need different nutrition than adults - just as newborns do not eat borscht. For example, the famous soil for seeds is made up of part sand and three parts sawdust: it turns out quite poorly chemical composition, the soil is loose, breathable and moisture-absorbing, and without any random weed sprouts.
If you already have experience in planting and growing greenhouse plants, you know that the greater their germination capacity and germination energy, the more friendly and powerful their seedlings will be. This is why it is so important to purchase high-quality planting material
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