Growing tomatoes in a greenhouse: how to properly care

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 beginner gardeners. To understand how to grow a good crop of tomatoes in a greenhouse, you need to familiarize yourself with growing this vegetable in greenhouse conditions in advance.

Planting seeds

Before you grow tomatoes in a greenhouse, you should read some recommendations for hatching seeds. To grow tomato seedlings for a greenhouse, seeds must be planted no earlier than the first half of March for summer cultivation, or in mid-October for winter.

Seed preparation

The technology of 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 lot of nutrients and grow very quickly.

To select such seeds, you should use a special solution prepared from s alt and water. To prepare it, a tablespoon of the substance should be mixed with one glass of water. When the liquid is ready, all the seeds are poured 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 have been stored in a cold room for a long time before. Warming up is done 1-2 months before planting tomatoes in an unheated greenhouse. You can warm up tomatoes at home using conventional batteries. In this case, you should carefully monitor the temperature. It must be increased gradually from 20 to 65 degrees. When temperatures are too high, it is better not to warm up, as this may spoil the seeds.

To improve yields and protect seedlings in the winter greenhouse from various diseases in the future, seed disinfection should be done.

There are various methods of seed disinfection. Some vegetable growers use a solution of manganese for this. It is poured into a small container, after which the seeds are placed in the fabric. Soaking should last no longer than half an hour. You can also use a mixture prepared 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.

Ground preparation

You can grow good seedlings in a greenhouse with the help of prepared soil mixture. After all, the quality of tomato seedlings depends on the planting soil.

To grow early tomatoes, seeds must be planted in porous soil, which contains many nutrients. To obtain he althy seedlings, it is recommended to use a soil mixture prepared from part of the sand, peat and soddy soil. All these components are thoroughly mixed, after which they are poured with a nutrient liquid.

Growing tomato seedlings in unheated greenhouses can be carried out in soil consisting of completely different components. In this case, humus, a little ash and soddy land 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 that, the earth in pots is spilled with heated water.

When the ground dries out a bit, you can start planting. Tomatoes in a greenhouse in winter should not grow too close. Therefore, we plant seeds at a distance of 2-5 cm from each other. To make seedlings grow faster, all containers with planted tomatoes are covered with a film and transferred to a lighted place.

Care

Your seedlings need to be grown and cared for properly. Therefore, you should familiarize yourself with how to properly care for young seedlings. Young bushes need to be watered only twice before transplanting.If you water too often, then the seedlings will begin to stretch strongly. The first time the procedure is carried out after the appearance of the first shoots. The 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 growers feed young seedlings. However, it is not recommended to do this before planting seedlings in a greenhouse, because due to the use of fertilizers, the bushes can also stretch out a lot.

Transplant seedlings

Growing tomatoes in a greenhouse in winter begins with transplanting seedlings. Growing a good crop 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 you grow tomatoes in a greenhouse, you will have to prepare 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 grown there before. All of the following actions depend on the room in which you will be breeding tomatoes.

• Greenhouse with wood frame. It is very dangerous to grow tomatoes in a wooden greenhouse in winter, since it is in such wooden structures that various insects and diseases that are dangerous for bushes most often appear. Therefore, before growing tomatoes in a greenhouse made of wood, it will have to be fumigated with sulfur in advance. To do this, the substance is mixed with a small amount of kerosene and crumbles to the ground. Then all this is set on fire and smolders for about 10 minutes. This is enough time to get rid of mold, fungi and other infections.

• Greenhouse with metal frame.Most modern greenhouses are made of metal frames. In this case, sulfur should not be used during processing, as corrosion may occur due to it. 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 decontamination, the greenhouse will need to be thoroughly ventilated and the walls cleaned with a brush.

Soil preparation

Be sure to prepare the soil before growing large tomatoes. Proper soil preparation for young bushes will help to get a quality harvest.

If vegetables have been grown in a greenhouse for 5-7 years, then you should think about a complete replacement of the soil.

Soil becomes unsuitable for growing vegetables after five years of continuous use.It is problematic for some vegetable growers to periodically engage in a complete replacement of the soil. In such cases, you will have to deal with the disinfection of the earth. To disinfect the soil, Bordeaux liquid, blue vitriol or garden lime is used. 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 warming in advance. You will have to completely clear the area for tomatoes from the ground and insulate with sawdust or straw. A small layer of compost and soil is laid out on top. If desired, a little organic fertilizer with ash or sand can be added to the soil.

Planting

Before you start to figure out how to properly grow and care for tomatoes in a greenhouse, you need to familiarize yourself with the features of planting this vegetable.

First of all, you need to decide on the most suitable landing pattern. The choice of scheme directly depends on the variety of tomatoes planted:

• Short. We grow such tomatoes in a checkerboard pattern with a distance between each bush of at least 50-60 cm.
• Determinant. They sit in 2-3 rows, the distance between which should be 50 cm. The bushes in each row are planted at an interval 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. The bushes are planted at a distance of 70 cm.

Having chosen the most suitable scheme, you can start planting. It is recommended to transplant seedlings 50-60 days after planting seeds. By this time, all the bushes will have a strong root system that will transfer the transplant without any problems.

First, you should water the soil in which the seedlings are grown, and pull it out of the containers. If the root system of a tomato has grown greatly, then you will have to shorten the roots by 2-5 cm. After extracting the seedlings, you can start creating holes. They don't dig too deep.

It will be enough to make holes about 10-15 cm deep. A special mixture made 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, then you can sprinkle a small part of the stem with earth. When all the seedlings are planted, the soil around them is compacted and sprayed with Bordeaux mixture. Tomatoes are recommended to be left alone for a few days after planting. This is necessary so that they can fully get used to the new place.

Care

Growing a tomato in a greenhouse must be accompanied by constant care. After all, it is the proper care of tomatoes in the greenhouse from planting to harvest that will help to get the highest quality fruits. It is recommended to learn in advance how to care for tomatoes in a greenhouse.

Irrigation

Quite often, tomatoes grown in greenhouses begin to crack. Most often, this problem appears due to improper irrigation of the bushes. Due to excess moisture, tomatoes begin to absorb liquid and crack. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an optimal irrigation system. The frequency of irrigation depends on the cultivated varieties. Moisture-loving types of tomatoes need to be watered daily, once a day. All other varieties are watered every 3-4 days.

Feeding

You only need to feed tomatoes in winter greenhouses twice. For the first time, the procedure is carried out a week after planting the bushes. Next time, feeding should be done after the appearance of the first fruits on the bushes.

Ammonia or calcium nitrate is added to the soil in the form of a powder. It can be added to the liquid to prepare the solution or simply sprinkle the soil on top of the dry powder.

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.

Recommended