When to plant tomatoes on seedlings?

Crop production is a real science. In addition to the variety of varieties of different crops, methods of watering and fertilizing plants and other nuances, every grower should know how long the vegetables grow and when it is necessary to plant the seedlings. In this article, we will talk about when to plant tomatoes on seedlings and on what factors it depends.

Most vegetable crops before planting inopen ground or in a greenhouse grown in the form of special seedlings. That the seedlings are not killed by frost and brought as much harvest as possible, it is necessary to consider the following points.

Tomato variety

All varieties of tomato, depending on the maturity period, are divided into 4 groups:

early maturing - 105-110 days;
mid-ripening - 111-115 days;
late-ripening - 116-120 days;
very late - more than 120 days.

The variety of tomatoes chosen for planting is necessaryfind out from a consultant in a store in which you purchase seeds. However, most seed producers indicate this information on the packaging, so you will be able to find it out on your own.

But the variety is far from the most important indicator of when it is necessary to plant seedlings.

Soil or greenhouse

The time when it is necessary to plant tomatoes onseedlings, depends also on the conditions in which you plan to grow them. In the greenhouse, the ground less freezes in winter and, accordingly, he warms up more quickly in the spring, so you can plant seedlings in April already. Plant tomatoes on seedlings can be from the beginning of February.

If you plan to grow tomatoes in the open ground, under a film, then you will need to plant seedlings from the end of February and until about the middle of March.

Such terms are valid only for the central regions of Russia.

Climate

Planting time of seedlings in different regionsvaries according to climatic conditions. So, in the southern regions of Russia, tomatoes can be planted on seedlings for open soil from the beginning of February. In the northern regions, on the contrary, the timing of planting seedlings is better to shift a little further.

If you are not sure when to startplant the already prepared seedlings in the soil, monitor the temperature of the soil. You will need to measure the soil temperature at a depth of 10 cm using any household thermometer. When the temperature is above 15 degrees, seedlings can safely be planted in the ground. If the temperature is below 8 degrees, tomatoes can not be planted, as the plants will freeze.

To slightly accelerate the process of soil warming, cover a piece of land under seedlings with a film. So you can play with nature for about a week.

What do you need to remember when planting seedlings?

Many gardeners are too addictedusing fertilizers, and then complain about a meager crop. First of all, we are talking about nitrogenous fertilizers, such as urea, chicken manure, fresh manure, etc. If you go too far with their quantity, then all the strength of plants will go to the growth of the stem and leaves, but not to the harvest. Therefore, just before planting the seedlings, it is not recommended to use such fertilizers for the soil.
Experienced gardeners know that plants, as well as livingorganisms are susceptible to infection. Most often the plant becomes infected through already diseased and withered leaves. Therefore, before planting the plants in the open ground and during the first few days, it is recommended to monitor that there are no such leaves, and in case of their occurrence, immediately remove.

Also we recommend before planting seedlingsremove the so-called cotyledon leaves - the leaves that first appeared from the seed. After the seedlings have risen, they are at the very bottom of the plant. There is no sense from them, but they take a fairly large percentage of nutrients. After these leaves are removed, the plant will quickly begin to stretch upward and on it the first fruits will be fastened.