Growing seedlings
Many vegetable and ornamental crops are very sensitive to cold, and for them any temperature drops that in our climate happen until the end of May are fatal. Therefore, they can not be in the open ground until the moment when the danger of the last spring frosts passes. Seeds of heat-loving crops require a definite and, most importantly, stable temperature for germination, which should not be below 20 ° C.Otherwise, the process of germination will be suppressed or even impossible. In addition, the duration of the heat season in our climatic conditions is insufficient for the plant to pass a full cycle of development from seed to fruit in the open ground - the plant does not have time to fully develop and give fruit after germination of the seed. Therefore, the period of germination, initial growth and entry into the stage of active growth the plant must pass in protected conditions: in a greenhouse, a greenhouse or on a windowsill in an apartment. After that, the plant falls into the open ground already fully formed, with a developed root system capable of developing the dhtnejshuyu.
There is another argument in favor of pre-growing seedlings for some crops. Cucumbers, for example, can be cultivated from seedlings, and can be planted in the open ground by nesting at the end of May, but plants grown from seedlings will yield a crop much earlier planted with seeds, thus extending the collection period of cucumbers. The same applies to such crops as cabbage, kohlrabi, salad.
Why it is necessary to grow seedlings
In Seeds of thermophilic vegetable and decorative kulgur are able to germinate only at a sufficiently high temperature of soil and air.
** Young sprouts of heat-loving plants are very sensitive to cold, sharp spring change of day and night temperatures, late frosts.
Due to the short duration of the heat season in our climatic conditions, the plant does not have time to go through a full cycle of development from seed to fruiting, the fruits can not ripen.
Seedlings allow to artificially prolong the thermal season of plant development due to the fact that the initial stage of growth will take place infavorable conditions for a greenhouse or an apartment.
The grown plant falls into the open pound formed, strengthened and ready for further development.
When growing seedlings, it becomes possible to obtain an earlier crop.
The process of growing seedlings is not too complicated and time-consuming, but it has a number of features and rules that must be taken into account and implemented for the production of healthy, strong plants. An ideal place for growing seedlings is a heated greenhouse or a heated bed in a cold greenhouse. It is not necessary to sow the seeds of heat-loving crops directly on the bed, you can sow them in a warm room and then transfer them to a bed. Still, the most affordable way is to grow seedlings on the window in a dwelling. To do this, choose the lightest window, preferably facing south or west, and do not start sowing in February or the first half of March, when the level of solar illumination is still insufficient. For the cultivation of seedlings in the room conditions, flat medium-depth plastic or wooden trays with holes in the bottom for draining excess water and
special ground substrates are designed. Simple ready land for growing, for example, indoor flowers is not suitable, because it contains a significant amount of fertilizers. The land for growing seedlings can be prepared independently by mixing fine sand, peat and sifted mature compost or garden soil from the humus fertile layer in equal parts.
Containers for growing seedlings should be disinfected, the substrate can be poured with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, and sand, which is sprinkled with soil surface for sowing seeds, must be calcined. These simple precautions will avoid the spread of plant diseases and grow healthy sprouts.