When and how to plant tomatoes in the greenhouse?

Growing tomatoes is a rather troublesome and time-consuming process, and if we are talking about getting a crop in greenhouses and greenhouses, the required effort and time increase many times - because it is necessary not only to grow seedlings, plant them in the ground and care for them, but also prepare the greenhouse itself so as to create the tomatoes all the conditions necessary for the full development.

The conditions in which the cultivation of tomatoes is planned is one of the most important factors of its resistance to diseases and pests. In the process of preparing the greenhouse, special attention should be paid to the soil, the microclimate in the room, as well as disinfection.

The modern seed market is represented by a large number of different packages with mouth-watering pictures depicting bright, large and bulk tomatoes, and the sellers themselves do not get tired of singing the praises of their seeds, telling about their incredible yields, resistance to all kinds of adverse conditions and the ability to grow anywhere. Very often, such purchases end up with unjustified expectations - either the seed material turns out to be of poor quality, or the fruits are different, and sometimes the conditions are not at all suitable for this type of crop.

That is why, in order to avoid disappointment, you should very carefully select the seeds and focus on such key features as yield, resistance to pests and tomato infections, taste characteristics and compliance with the climatic features of the region.

Let us dwell on the listed points.

If we are talking about any vegetable crop, this factor is the most important. As a rule, the imagination, fueled by advertising descriptions on the package, draws the most rosy picture of the unprecedented fertility of the bushes. However, when we return to reality, we can estimate the approximate number of fruits with the help of ordinary calculations.

As a rule, from 1 square. m. greenhouse you can get about 10-15 kg of vegetables. If you plant hybrids specially designed for growing in greenhouses, this parameter can reach 20 kg or more. Usually, hybrids exhibit increased resistance to various changes in the microclimate, they are not particularly demanding to care and often show good yields even in low light conditions, which can often be seen in greenhouses.

Indeterminate varieties of tomatoes are suitable for greenhouses - that is, those that have a growth point above which they do not grow. However, if the greenhouse has a sufficient height, determinant tomatoes are also suitable, which can grow up to 3-4 meters. Such varieties bear fruit before the onset of cold weather, and therefore, they can be harvested more.

On every square. no more than 2-3 bushes of this type are planted in the plot, while agrotechnical work involves regular cutting of young stepsons whose length exceeds 5-7 cm. This procedure will prevent the awakening of dormant buds and the emergence of new branches. If this is not done, the tomato will not have enough strength to grow up, blossom and form the ovary - instead, it will spend all its life forces on increasing bushiness.

The obvious advantages of tall bushes do not mean that you should forget about the usual medium-sized specimens. In greenhouses, it is better to combine both types of crops, since indeterminate tomatoes ripen much faster than their “high brothers”.It is worth buying the seeds of the varieties “Dama”, “Riddle”, as well as “The Seagull”, “Asteroid”, “Eleonora” or “Ballerina”. These bushes are planted more often - on 1 square. m. can accommodate 4-5 seedlings.

If the size of the fruits is of fundamental importance to you, then we can recommend such large-scale species as “Mikado”, “Eagle's heart” or “Russian soul”. Tomatoes "Monomakh's Cap", "Chernomor", "Canadian Giant", as well as "Biysky Rosan", "Abkhazian" and "Cardinal" can boast great fruits. They are grown for use in salads or whole fresh.

To get tomato juice, you can advise varieties "Brilliant", "Bulb". Very juicy fruits of tomatoes “Peter I” and “Slavic Masterpiece” - from each fruit it is possible to get 1 cup of your favorite juice.

But if vegetables are grown for winter harvesting, then here it is worth choosing small-fruited varieties with strong skin. These include "Legend", "Italy", "Slivkovka", "Moneymaker" and "Sanka", as well as "Ventura", "Cherry", "Countryman" and others.

Most gardeners, planting tomatoes in a greenhouse dream of getting 2-3 harvests for the entire season. This is possible if you combine varieties with different degrees of maturity. Carry "Druzhok", "Search", as well as hybrids "Ilyich" and "Semko" and some others belong to the early ripe. In addition, there are middle and late ripening varieties, but in order to achieve multiple crops in a greenhouse it is necessary to provide seedlings with different thermal conditions and different illumination.

There is an opinion. that hybrids grown in greenhouses are not susceptible to any diseases of garden crops. This is a common misconception; spores of dangerous fungi can easily penetrate the ground of a greenhouse with wind and even brought soil. And if such a problem happened in an open area and you can simply transfer the bushes to another place not infected in the next year, then it is much more problematic to do it in a greenhouse. That is why it is important to carry out measures for the disinfection of the soil, as well as to give preference to those species and varieties that show the greatest resistance to fungal infections. These include hybrids "Roma", and also "Chio-chio-san", "Erema", "Blagovest", "Kostroma", "Intuition" and "Budenovka".

Most often, vegetables in greenhouses are cultivated for sale, which is why portability of transport and prolonged storage comes to the fore for farmers. The best indicators from this point of view are considered varieties "Ivanovets", "Volgogradets" and "Krasnobay". They have a dense skin, due to which they have an excellent presentation and are not damaged during transportation.

By the way, if we talk about appearance, then for many this parameter is important - after all, aesthetics of nutrition is of great importance and it is pleasant for everyone to use not only tasty, but also beautiful vegetables.

Many modern hybrids have unusual shapes that can truly surprise: these are ribbed tomatoes “Etoile” and “Mushroom basket”, similar to slices of citrus “Lorraine” handsome, white tomatoes called “Snow White” and “White Miracle”, black varieties Rio Negro, Black Mikado, Black Giant and Gypsy.

Firework and Olympic flame tomatoes look very unusual - here each fruit combines several colors and shades. The striped fruits “Tiger”, “Hazel” and “Don Juan” look quite interesting.

Having our own greenhouse on the garden plots allows the summer residents to harvest ripe tomatoes much earlier than is possible in open ground. In addition, the greenhouse environment allows you to significantly adjust the conditions of growing bushes and protect them from adverse natural factors.

Planting of young plants in greenhouses is carried out taking into account the individual technical features of the structure - if it is heated, work is carried out in late April. In a polycarbonate structure, planting activities begin in early May, but seedlings should be planted in a film-coated greenhouse not earlier than mid-May.

It should be noted that there are no generally accepted terms for planting tomatoes in greenhouses, so each gardener and gardener must first of all be guided by the climatic features of the region, weather conditions and his personal observations. And of course, one should not forget about the age of seedlings - in order for a strong and healthy shrub to form from a seedling, it must certainly have a formed root and a sufficient amount for full development of leaves.

The readiness of seedlings for transplantation can be judged by two signs:

• the number of true leaves - 8-10;
• seedling age - at least 50 days.

Sowing is carried out at an outdoor temperature of 18-20 degrees and heating the soil to 15 degrees Celsius. It is imperative to pay close attention to the temperature at night. Planting of seedlings should be carried out only after the sun warms the greenhouse in the daytime so strongly that at night it maintains a temperature not lower than 10 degrees.

Each gardener seeks to get the harvest as quickly as possible, but it would be a mistake to think that the speed of ripening directly depends on the time of planting tomatoes in the greenhouse. If the seedlings are planted at low temperatures, then, on the contrary, it will lead to a significant slowdown of all growth processes and the seedlings will take quite a long time to recover. Thus, the effect will be achieved exactly the opposite of the expected - early ripening of the fruit in this case will not have to wait.

Of course, the temperature at the same time may vary from year to year, However, the average rates of planting tomato seedlings in greenhouses and greenhouses, taking into account the climate of the area, are approximately as follows:

• in the Moscow region - in the first two weeks of May;
• in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region - not earlier than the end of May-beginning of June;
• in the Urals and in the Siberian regions, landing should be carried out starting from mid-June.

Many gardeners are sure that the phases of the moon have a significant effect on the survival of the plant in the soil and its further development. That is why every year greenhouse owners study the lunar calendar, which indicates the most optimal days for planting vegetable crops both in open ground and in greenhouses.

Together with the growing moon, they rise up and with them the whole energy of the plant rises, and thus the growth of tomatoes occurs. At the stage of the waning moon, on the contrary, the life force of the plant rushes from the crown to the roots, and by the new moon it remains at all only in the roots. These days should not engage in planting seedlings, as well as transplanting bushes and pruning.

For gardeners and gardeners who plan to plant plants guided by the phases of the moon, there are some rules. So, the seeds of land plants should be planted within 10-14 days from new moon to full moon. Thus, the seeds and seedlings of tomatoes should be planted at the stage of the growing moon, and best of all - immediately after the new moon.

Before transplanting seedlings into the greenhouse ground, a number of preparatory work should be carried out. Let us dwell on them in more detail.

First you need to create a microclimate in the greenhouse that is favorable for the growth and development of tomatoes, and first of all, you should take care of additional shelter for the greenhouse. As a rule, for this purpose, polyethylene film is used, which covers the frame of the greenhouse in two or three layers. Experienced farmers recommend that a small air cushion be left between the layers, it plays a big role in creating the temperature and humidity levels necessary for growing a tomato. Do not forget that with prolonged heat, the bushes cease to develop, so you need to arrange ventilation holes on all sides of the structure.

If your greenhouse is intended for winter cultivation of tomatoes, then it is necessary to provide an additional lighting system, since during this period of time the daylight hours are greatly shortened and natural light is not enough for the full growth and development of vegetable crops.

An important role is given to the disinfection of space. Shortly before planting seedlings, the ground, walls and elements of the greenhouse frame should be treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate (at the rate of about 1 g of the drug per bucket of water).

Of great importance in the formation of the ovary and fruit ripening is the material from which the greenhouse is made. Currently, the two most popular types of coating are polycarbonate and polyethylene film. Each of them has its advantages and disadvantages.

Polycarbonate gives maximum protection to plants from ultraviolet radiation, but at the same time in such a greenhouse the temperature in summer will be too high, not every plant can withstand this heat. That is why such greenhouses are constructions for winter growing, and for summer greenhouses the use of polycarbonate is not justified.

The film has a number of advantages: it is easier for it to give the necessary shape, it is quite possible to cope with the installation itself and it is easy to replace the polyethylene coating in the event that the coating is damaged. However, polycarbonate allows you to grow the crop many times a year, so the decision on the use of a coating material should be taken individually.

It is important to properly prepare the soil for planting seedlings, and the approach varies depending on the type of soil:

• the loam must be lightened and softened, for this it is mixed with humus and sawdust at the rate of 10 kg per square meter of soil;
• peat soil is diluted with sand in the proportion of 5 kg per meter, and also enriched with sod and humus (10 kg / sq. m.)
• Chernozem also requires the addition of sand in the same proportion as in the case of peat soils.

In greenhouses, as well as in open ground, it is necessary to observe crop rotation and alternate cultivated plants. However, even in this case, the pathogenic microorganisms can remain in the soil, therefore, in order to avoid infection of tomatoes, the soil should be neutralized. A similar procedure is carried out in several basic steps.

• The top layer of old soil is removed to a depth of at least 15 cm from the surface.
• The remaining soil must be treated with a solution of copper sulfate, prepared according to the following scheme - 80 g of the compound is diluted with 1 liter of boiling water, stirred and gradually diluted with cold water to 10 liters and sprayed.
• 10-14 days before planting the seedlings the ground must be dug up and cleaned of all weeds.

After disinfection, you can continue to prepare the land for growing greenhouse tomatoes. For this, they dig it up with rotted mullein or bird droppings and compost so that each square meter. a meter of sown area accounted for 2.5-3 kg of fertilizer and make the beds 80-90 cm wide and 35-45 cm deep, the distance between the beds should be 60-70 cm.

Before more details on the features of growing seedlings, it is worth mentioning the preparation of young seedlings.

2 weeks prior to the landing, it is necessary to harden the young bushes. To do this, in the room where they are located, open windows or air vents and keep them open around the clock, and in clear weather the pots can be taken out into the street, starting from one to two hours. Gradually lengthen the interval and shortly before planting, leave the plants outside for the whole day. Given that early spring night temperatures are minimal, for the night bushes should be brought back into the room.

If the hardening of seedlings is carried out in the greenhouse, then all the frames should be removed and the room should be ventilated to the maximum. If the plants are sufficiently hardened, then they get a little purple hue.

Immediately before planting, plants are treated with Bordeaux liquid - this will prevent the occurrence of many diseases of vegetable culture. In addition, 5-6 days before transplanting, it makes sense to spray the seedlings with boron solution (1 kg per bucket of water) - this will save the buds of the first brush.

Plants that are ready for transplantation have strong stems, a well-developed root system, buds of the first hand that are formed and a height corresponding to the varietal characteristics. If the bushes meet the specified requirements, then you can proceed to transplanting.

Today there are several basic methods of transplanting seedlings.

The essence of the method lies in the almost complete absence of irrigation or minimal irrigation - due to this, the roots begin to look for a source of moisture and grow strongly.

In this case, the plant is planted at a fairly large angle, almost horizontally, with only half of the seedling placed in the ground. The upper part does not need to be lifted - over time it will rise independently and then it can be fixed to the support.

Of course, it is impossible to completely deprive the seedlings from watering - before and after planting in the hole, half a bucket of water is poured out, and all subsequent irrigations are made every two weeks.

Another method aimed at the formation of a powerful root. To do this, two seedlings of tomatoes of different varieties are planted in one pot at a minimum distance from each other. When the trunks are thick enough, they attract and make cuts with a length of 0.5-1 mm at the point of contact, and then bandaged. For 10-15 days, the bandage should be sprayed daily, and after the specified period, the bandage is removed, and one of the tops of the plant is cut off.

As tomato bushes appear, the shoots are not thrown out, but planted in separate depressions, shaded and watered, and fed every 10 days, alternating between mineral and organic fertilizers. Farmers argue that in this case the plant will be less susceptible to disease.

But these are all experimental methods that breeders use to obtain varieties resistant to adverse external influences.

In the conditions of a farm or dacha farm, planting seedlings into the ground is much easier - each bush is placed in the prepared holes and watered.At the same time, there are some nuances here, which largely depend on the type of tomato.

For indeterminate varieties, agrarians also recommend a chess system, only plants should be placed in 25-30 cm increments.

Tall varieties are planted in one or two stems, in the first case the length between the two rows should be 80 cm, and between the holes - 60. In the second case, the distance between the tomato bushes should be maintained at about 70-75 cm. These varieties are sown in the center of the greenhouse .

The method of landing directly is quite simple: The seedlings are placed in a prepared well, lightly sprinkled with soil and a little rotted manure or compost is added around the stem, after which they are carefully tamped and irrigated with 1-2 liters of water.

It is necessary to install a peg near each bush, to which the plant will be attached in the future. For short-growing tomatoes, a support of 50 cm in length will be enough, for medium-sized ones, 80 cm will be needed, and for determinant varieties, arcs with stretched wire up to 1.5 meters high should be prepared.

Immediately after planting the seedlings in the greenhouse ground, the ground should be covered with polyethylene, this cover can be removed after the seedlings take root, and the weather is warm and sunny on the outside of the greenhouse. The plant should not be watered until it takes root in the new soil. As a rule, full adaptation will take 1-1.5 weeks. Immediately after planting, bushes should spud up to a height of 10-15 cm.

If you grow several varieties, be sure to study in advance the need for each of them in the light - planting scheme should be designed in such a way that the neighbors do not create shade and do not cause discomfort to other bushes.

Transplanting seedlings should be done with maximum caution so as not to damage the roots. Ideally, if the seedlings are grown in peat pots - then the young plant can be transplanted along with its capacity - it will decompose from contact with wet earth and at the same time nourish the earth with useful substances.

It is not worth deeply deepening tomatoes, it can interfere with their development and further growth. It makes sense to plant the stems under an inclination - in this case they are formed dense and strong, roots will appear on the lateral sprouts, due to which the viability of the seedlings will increase significantly.

Sometimes it turns out that the seedlings have formed completely, and the conditions suitable for planting have not yet come. If you are dealing with overgrown saplings, it is necessary to artificially restrain their growth - for this, they simply pinch off the top, and the seedling will begin to more actively form side branches, which can also be pinched.

If the seedlings overripe slightly, then in the prepared hole they make another smaller one, and it is in it that the young bush is planted. This hole is not covered with earth for 14 days, such time is enough for the bush to take root, and after the allotted time it is necessary to gnaw the earth and sprinkle the seedling.

If the seedlings have grown significantly, then you can use another method of planting. The wells at the same time prepare a long but narrow, prepare the grooves. In the seedlings, the lower leaves are cut off and the bush is planted in a semi-horizontal state so that the root lies in the furrow and the tip sticks out almost vertically.After this, the holes are sprinkled with earth, and the top is tied to a support. In this case, the lower part of the stem, located in the ground, will give roots and as a result will form a strong bush with a powerful root system.

Like any other vegetable crop, tomatoes in the greenhouse need care.

After 10 days after planting the formed seedlings in the greenhouse soil, you can begin to fully irrigate the bushes. Every five days they are watered at the rate of four liters of liquid per square meter. meter of cultivated area - before the onset of flowering, and after the formation of ovaries, the amount of watering is increased to 10 liters per square meter. m. Water should not be too cold, its temperature should be maintained at 20-22 degrees.

From time to time it is necessary to remove all the shoots that are formed from the axils of the leaves - the so-called stepchildren. It is best to carry out these manipulations in the early morning. If grading is not given due attention, the bushes will grow, and this leads to an acute lack of lighting and causes a deterioration in the size and taste characteristics of the fruit.

It is very important to ventilate the greenhouse every day; it is optimal to do this immediately after watering in order to dry the wet pollen. If this is not done, the flowers will not be able to pollinate and the ovary will not form. In addition, if the greenhouse is ventilated insufficiently, then ripe tomatoes will have a sour and watery taste.

Everyone knows that in order for the plant to yield, it must be pollinated, in the conditions of the open ground the insects produce pollination, but they are not in the greenhouses, therefore, in warm clear weather, you need to shake the bushes slightly so that the pollen can get on the pistils. The result must be fixed; for this purpose, 2-3 hours after pollination, the bushes should be sprayed with water and aired the greenhouse.

Of course, all plants need bait, even if they are grown in an enclosed area. The first fertilizer is given 2 weeks after planting. Usually at this time 1 tbsp is mixed. l organic fertilizer (for example, "Agricola Vegeta") with 1/2 l. nitrophosphate and diluted with half a bucket of water. It is enough such structure to fertilize 5 srednerosly bushes.

The second dressing is carried out after 2 weeks, while half the spoon of Agricola is diluted with 1 spoon of Effekton-O preparation and again diluted in half a bucket of water, 14 days later, Agricol is bred again in a similar pattern, and the second component is taken superphosphate.

After another 2 weeks, the fourth fertilizer procedure is carried out. For this, half a spoonful of superphosphate and potassium sulfate is diluted in 5 liters of water, and after another 14 days they make the most top dressing - “Effect” in the amount of 1 spoon is diluted with a bucket of water and watering ripening tomatoes.

The opinion that plants in greenhouse conditions are reliably protected from any diseases and contact with pests is deeply mistaken. Tomatoes grown in greenhouses are sick as often as their counterparts grown in the open field.

The reasons may be very different.

Insects as well as fungal spores can penetrate with the wind through the greenhouse ventilation holes. In addition, parasites are often contained in the soil, which is brought from the outside or penetrate with organic fertilizers (rotted manure or compost).

The disease can also develop from infected seeds, and, unfortunately, this is much more common than we would like.

The most common problems of greenhouse tomatoes include:

• insect pests;
• small worms:
• late blight;
• mosaic;
• rotting with excessive moisture:
• homoz.

One of the most dangerous pests of greenhouse crops is the bear. She lays the larvae in the manure, so often penetrates into the greenhouse with him. This is a rather large insect with shortened elytra and powerful front paws, which it uses to dig underground passages. The main problem associated with a bear is its fertility - one female can lay up to 300 eggs, so a couple of pests can transform after a short time into a whole colony that can destroy the whole tomato crop in a greenhouse. To get rid of a bear, you can use hot pepper infusion. To do this, you need to take 100 g of pepper for 10 g of water and pour half a liter of the mixture into each hole. If the pepper is not at hand, you can replace it with 2 cups of vinegar.

Scoops are small butterflies, caterpillars cause damage to plants, which gnaw stalks and petioles of tomatoes at night, thereby causing great damage to the plant. Scoop destroy manual way.

Wireworms are the larvae of the click; the lights look like caterpillars measuring 2 * 2.5 cm. These pests gnaw the roots of tomatoes.

The whitefly is a flying insect. If it got into the greenhouse through windows or doors, then the risk of losing the entire crop turns out to be quite large, since they move in flocks and massively cover the leaves, drinking from them all the vital juices. As a result, the plant turns black and quickly dies.

It is very easy to get rid of wireworms - for this, several days before planting seedlings in the ground, pieces of raw carrots and potatoes are buried at a distance of 15 cm. At the same time, stick the sticks into the vegetables and leave them sticking out of the ground. After a couple of days, the sticks with vegetables planted on them are pulled out and burned, and the ground under them is dug up, they collect all the wireworms and get rid of them.

Increased humidity in greenhouses often leads to the development of fungal diseases and the most common of them is blight.

At the same time on the leaves and stems of the tomato appear brown spots from the outside, and on the inside a whitish bloom forms. Soon the disease spreads to the fruits and in a matter of days destroys the whole plant.

To avoid such an unpleasant phenomenon, experienced gardeners recommend making a small hole when planting seedlings in the hole itself and placing dried nettles there - it is believed that it will reduce the risk of late blight infection.

Vertex rot is another common greenhouse disease in tomatoes. At the same time, small spots are formed on immature fruits, which can be either watery or dry. The cause of the problem may be a lack of moisture, and a lack of nitrogen in the soil. Regular watering and timely feeding can significantly reduce the risk of vertex rot. It will not be superfluous to periodically spray the plant with calcium nitrate.

Leaf mold is a great threat to the plant. This is a fairly common cause of diseases of greenhouse tomatoes, which begins with the appearance of brown spots with a rough coating on the leaf plate. Soon after the first symptoms appear, the plant dries out. The reason is an oversupply of irrigation, because the spores of fungi spread very quickly when crops are irrigated. To defeat the mold, it is necessary to reduce the level of watering, often air the greenhouse, and also spray it with copper chlorine oxide.

Mosaic is widespread in greenhouses, infected tomato leaves are covered with patches of yellowish hue, and then twisted and dried.If this happens, then you can try to save the plant, for this seedling is watered with a weak solution of potassium permanganate a couple of times a day. Experienced gardeners recommend every 2 weeks to process the fruit and leaves with a mixture of urea and skim milk.

Gray rot affects the fruits already in the very last stages of their ripening, with watery spots appearing on them, which soon ruin the entire crop.

The struggle in this situation is meaningless, because any contact of a tomato with chemical preparations will invariably harm the fruit poured.

Plants in greenhouses can not be 100% protected from adverse natural factors, just as in the conditions of open ground they are sick and need care. If all the rules of agricultural engineering have been observed, then you can get not one, but two, and even three crops of tasty tomatoes during the year.

For information on when and how to plant pomdor in the greenhouse, see the video below.