It's no secret that tomatoes are light-loving vegetables. Therefore, many vegetable growers grow tomatoes in a greenhouse. It is in greenhouses that you can create optimal conditions for growing tomatoes. Growing tomatoes in a greenhouse is quite difficult for beginning gardeners. To understand how to grow a good crop of tomatoes in a greenhouse, you need to familiarize yourself in advance with growing this vegetable in greenhouse conditions.
Planting seeds
Before growing tomatoes in a greenhouse, you should familiarize yourself with some recommendations for hatching seeds.To grow tomato seedlings for a greenhouse, the seeds must be planted no earlier than the first half of March for summer cultivation, or in mid-October for winter cultivation.
Preparation of seed material
The technology for growing tomatoes in a greenhouse includes preliminary preparation of seeds for planting.
First you should start selecting the highest quality planting material. The best seeds for planting are the largest seeds. They contain a large amount of nutritional components and grow very quickly.
To select such seeds, you should use a special solution prepared from salt and water. To prepare it, mix a tablespoon of the substance with one glass of water. When the liquid is ready, pour all the seeds into the container. Within 5-10 minutes, a defective seed will begin to float to the surface, from which it will not be possible to grow a large crop of tomatoes.
Also, before growing tomatoes in a greenhouse, you will have to warm up all the seed. This procedure should be carried out if the seeds were previously stored in a cold room for a long time. Warming up is done 1-2 months before planting tomatoes in an unheated greenhouse. You can heat tomatoes at home using regular batteries. In this case, you should carefully monitor the temperature. It needs to be increased gradually from 20 to 65 degrees. At too high temperatures, it is better not to warm up, as this may cause the seeds to deteriorate.
To improve yields and protect seedlings in a winter greenhouse from various diseases in the future, you should disinfect seeds.
There are various methods for disinfecting seed material. Some vegetable growers use a manganese solution for this.It is poured into a small container, after which the seeds are placed in the tissue. Soaking should last no longer than half an hour. You can also use a mixture made from hydrogen peroxide for this. Before soaking, the solution is heated to 45 degrees and poured into a deep plate. Then tomato seeds are placed in it for 5-10 minutes.
Soil preparation
You can grow good seedlings in a greenhouse using prepared soil mixture. After all, the quality of the tomato seedlings depends on the planting soil.
To grow early tomatoes, the seeds must be planted in porous soil, which contains many nutrients. To obtain healthy seedlings, it is recommended to use a soil mixture prepared from some sand, peat and turf soil. All these components are thoroughly mixed and then poured over with nutrient liquid.
Growing tomato seedlings in unheated greenhouses can be done in soil consisting of completely different components. In this case, humus, a little ash and turf soil are added to it. All this is mixed and, if necessary, fertilized with superphosphate.
Planting
Growing tomato seedlings in a greenhouse in the first months is carried out in special small containers. Therefore, it is recommended to plant seeds in small pots made of peat. First, they are all filled with the soil mixture created earlier. After this, the soil in the pots is spilled with heated water.
When the soil dries out a little, you can start planting. Tomatoes in a greenhouse in winter should not grow too close. Therefore, we plant the seeds at a distance of 2-5 cm from each other.In order for the seedlings to grow faster, all containers with planted tomatoes are covered with film and transferred to a lighted place.
Care
It is necessary that the cultivation and care of young seedlings be carried out correctly. Therefore, you should familiarize yourself with how to properly care for young seedlings. Young bushes only need to be watered twice before transplanting. If you water too often, the seedlings will begin to stretch out greatly. The first time the procedure is carried out after the appearance of the first shoots. Next time you will have to water in 2-3 weeks. Watering should be done at a temperature of at least 20-25 degrees.
Some vegetable growers feed young seedlings. However, it is not recommended to do this before planting seedlings in a greenhouse, since the use of fertilizers can also cause the bushes to become very elongated.
Transplanting seedlings
Growing tomatoes in a greenhouse in winter begins with transplanting seedlings. Growing a good harvest in a greenhouse is not so easy. You need to learn in advance the basic secrets of growing tomatoes in a greenhouse.
Greenhouse preparation
Before growing tomatoes in a greenhouse, you will have to start preparing the greenhouse. Preparatory work should be carried out at the beginning of autumn so that the room is completely ready for winter. First, it is completely cleared of the remains of plants that were previously grown there. All the following steps depend on the room in which you will be growing tomatoes.
- Greenhouse with a wooden frame. Growing tomatoes in a wooden greenhouse in winter is very dangerous, since it is in such wooden structures that various insects and diseases that are dangerous to the bushes most often appear. Therefore, before growing tomatoes in a wooden greenhouse, it will have to be fumigated with sulfur in advance.To do this, the substance is mixed with a small amount of kerosene and scattered on the ground. Then the whole thing is set on fire and smolders for about 10 minutes. This time is enough to get rid of mold, mildew and other infections.
- Greenhouse with a metal frame. Most modern greenhouses are made of metal frames. In this case, sulfur cannot be used during processing, as it may cause corrosion. Instead, the walls are treated with lime mortar. To prepare it, half a liter of lime is diluted in 10 liters of water and infused for 7-8 hours.
After disinfection, the greenhouse will need to be thoroughly ventilated and the walls cleaned with a brush.
Soil preparation
It is imperative to prepare the ground before how to grow large tomatoes. Proper preparation of soil for young bushes will help to obtain a high-quality harvest.
If vegetables have been grown in a greenhouse for 5-7 years, then you should think about completely replacing the soil.
The soil becomes unsuitable for growing vegetables after five years of continuous use. Some vegetable growers find it problematic to periodically completely replace the soil. In such cases, you will have to start disinfecting the land. Bordeaux mixture, copper sulfate or garden lime are used to disinfect the soil. If desired, the soil can be watered several times with hot, boiled water.
Tomato roots do not tolerate low temperatures well and therefore it is recommended to think about additional insulation in advance. The area for tomatoes will have to be completely cleared of soil and insulated with sawdust or straw. A small layer of compost and soil is laid on top.If desired, you can add a little organic fertilizer with ash or sand to the soil.
Planting
Before you begin to figure out how to properly grow and care for tomatoes in a greenhouse, you need to familiarize yourself with the peculiarities of planting this vegetable.
First you need to decide on the most suitable landing scheme. The choice of scheme directly depends on the variety of tomatoes being planted:
- Short. We grow such tomatoes in a checkerboard pattern with a distance between each bush of at least 50-60 cm.
- Determinant. They are planted in 2-3 rows, the distance between which should be 50 cm. The bushes in each row are planted at intervals of 20-30 cm. This will be enough so that the plants do not shade each other.
- Tall. These plants are the largest, and therefore the rows should be 85 cm apart from each other. The bushes are planted at a distance of 70 cm.
Having chosen the most suitable scheme, you can begin planting. It is recommended to replant seedlings 50-60 days after planting the seeds. By this time, all bushes will have formed a strong root system that will tolerate replanting without any problems.
First, you should water the soil in which the seedlings are grown and remove them from the containers. If the root system of the tomato has grown greatly, you will have to shorten the roots by 2-5 cm. After removing the seedlings, you can begin to create holes. They don't dig too deep.
It will be enough to make holes about 10-15 cm deep. A special mixture prepared from superphosphate, wood ash and humus is added to each of them. You can also add 1-2 liters of manganese solution to them.
During planting, seedlings should go deep into the ground to the first leaves.If they are too large, you can sprinkle a small part of the stem with soil. When all the seedlings are planted, the soil around them is compacted and sprayed with Bordeaux mixture. It is recommended to leave tomatoes alone for several days after planting. This is necessary so that they can fully get used to the new place.
Care
Growing tomatoes in a greenhouse must be accompanied by constant care. After all, proper care of tomatoes in a greenhouse from planting to harvest will help to obtain the highest quality fruits. It is recommended to learn in advance how to care for tomatoes in a greenhouse.
Watering
Quite often, the skin of tomatoes grown in greenhouses begins to crack. Most often, this problem appears due to improper irrigation of the bushes. Due to excess moisture, tomatoes begin to become saturated with liquid and crack. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an optimal irrigation system. The frequency of irrigation depends on the varieties grown. Moisture-loving types of tomatoes need to be watered daily, once a day. All other varieties are watered once every 3-4 days.
Top dressing
Study feeding tomatoes in winter greenhouses you only need to do it twice. For the first time, the procedure is carried out a week after planting the bushes. Next time, fertilizing should be done after the first fruits appear on the bushes.
Ammonium or calcium nitrate in powder form is added to the soil. It can be added to the liquid to prepare the solution or simply sprinkle dry powder on top of the soil.
Conclusion
Planting and caring for tomatoes in greenhouse conditions is not an easy job, for which it is better to prepare in advance. Therefore, you should familiarize yourself with how to properly care for tomatoes planted in greenhouses.
