At what distance to plant tomatoes in the greenhouse?

What will be the harvest of any vegetable culture depends not only on the conditions in which it grows, but also on a large number of other factors: proper and timely fertilization, how the bushes are formed, their pollination. If we talk about tomatoes, then even the distance between the seedlings in the greenhouse and the direction given to the beds is important for them.

Before planting anything (this also applies to tomatoes), it is required to properly equip the greenhouse. Each vegetable or fruit needs its own conditions, optimal for its growth and for obtaining a good harvest.

Speaking of tomatoes, it should be noted that they are suitable for dry air, a large amount of natural light (solar), they are patient to drought. Experienced gardeners even rarely water the bushes in order to quickly form the fruit ovaries.

A greenhouse for tomatoes is placed in such a way that it is not in the shade of summer houses or tall trees. The light of the sun should fall on him without hindrance. The length from the greenhouse to the nearest object that forms the shade cannot be less than 10 m. In order for the seedlings to enjoy the heat and sunlight throughout the day, the greenhouse must be in the east-west direction. In addition, where there will be a greenhouse, it is necessary to drain the soil well by organizing drainage.

Watering can be any - from the watering can with water to drip irrigation. The only thing you need to know is that you do not need to water the tomatoes with a large pressure, you can damage the ovary, the stem, or even the root system, if you direct the hose to the ground. The most convenient option - the presence of drip irrigation.

Once the body of the greenhouse is prepared, you can proceed to measures for its internal arrangement, that is, to prepare the beds and form bushes.

If your greenhouse can be moved around the site, the best solution would be to put it where the season previously grew crops such as cucumber, carrots, zucchini, cabbage, onions. What is absolutely not suitable for the growth of a tomato is a potato or eggplant or, most surprisingly, a tomato bed.

First, the soil must be decontaminated. In a stationary greenhouse is a prerequisite. It is best to do this directly after the harvest is over. In order to best prepare the soil, you will need a large amount of dry bleach, a solution of copper sulphate in the ratio of 1 tablespoon to a 10-liter bucket of water or boiling water. It is necessary to pour all the soil in the greenhouse with solution or boiling water, and sprinkle it with bleach. If this is not done, harmful pathogens will remain in the ground in the land, respectively, the seedlings next year will bear bad fruit.

It is possible to warm the soil, if the early planting of seedlings is planned, when the earth is not heated to a sufficient depth. Before planting, it is also necessary to dig up the soil, having previously fertilized it at the rate of 5 kg of compost mixed with 250 ml of ash for each m2 of soil.

There are several options for tomato seating arrangements:

• Ordinary. It is used when it is decided to plant early ripening varieties. In the greenhouse, the distance between the bushes should not exceed 0.7 m between the beds and 0.5 m in rows.
• Ribbon (another name - two-line). This option means that the bushes are planted in two parallel rows. The distance between them is 0.5 m. The bushes can be positioned both opposite each other, and the “chess”.
• Combined. This option is suitable for cases of planting tomatoes of various varieties (different height, ripening time, bush size).In this situation, the determinant bushes are located along the walls of the greenhouse with an interval of 0.4 m between them. And the indeterminant tomatoes are planted parallel to the main path, leaving 0.6 m between the bushes.

Choosing the optimal number of bushes for the most "running" greenhouses 6x3 m in size, you need to keep in mind that, as a rule, these greenhouses have one main path for passage, located in the center. In them tomatoes are planted in the following quantities:

• Dwarf and undersized varieties - up to 200 bushes, if in the hole to plant 2 bushes. If one by one in the hole, then 100 bushes go out for one greenhouse.
• Saplings of medium size will fit in an amount not exceeding 40. It is necessary to make several small rows parallel to the central path.
• If a high grade of tomato is chosen for planting, it is better to stop at the “chess”, then the seedlings will not interfere with each other's growth, blocking the light. About 30 bushes will enter the greenhouse.
• If the variety is large-fruited, with a sprawling stem, the maximum seedlings that can be planted in a small greenhouse is 25.

There are a number of requirements (you can call them recommendations) for the rational organization of the beds in a “typical” greenhouse with a size of 6x3. These, for example, are:

• beds form from east to west;
• if they are low, then their width should be on average 0.35-0.4 m, then there will be a distance of 0.4 m between the bushes;
• if in the central part of the greenhouse two rows are formed, then the disembarkation of the tomatoes is done by a “checkerboard”, which is much more convenient;
• the taller the variety, the greater the distance between the beds.

In order to maintain the desired thermal regime in the greenhouse, it is possible to arrange a coating in it not from one but from several layers. At a time when the temperature can change every day (this is especially characteristic of the end of April - beginning of May), the ground needs warming.

For this you need to lay layers of polyethylene with an interval of 5 cm. The required number of layers depends on climatic conditions. In early June, you can leave one layer. In order for the air ventilation to take place continuously, you need to equip several air vents in the greenhouse. As soon as the earth warms up to + 14-15 degrees at a depth of 15 cm, you can plant bushes in the greenhouse. So that the soil warms up faster, it is covered with an opaque dark plastic film.

If modern polycarbonate greenhouses with a sliding roof or opening (or even removable) sides of the Tulip, Botanic, Cabriolet, Matryoshka and others types are installed on the summer cottage, then there are much more options for arranging the beds inside. The design can be accessed from any side, therefore, the tracks are shaped in the way that is convenient for the owner.

For a bountiful harvest, it is better not to skimp and make a greenhouse yourself, but to purchase a high-quality, spacious polycarbonate construction. These greenhouses have many advantages:

• The snow accumulated during the winter will not put pressure on the roof, threatening to push or break it. Indeed, in most modern polycarbonate greenhouses, the roof can be easily moved or removed for the cold season.
• If the snow will cover the soil inside the greenhouse, it will prevent its freezing. Then the microflora of the soil will remain favorable.
• The possibility of airing the greenhouse from all sides - and from the sides, and from the roof, contributes to the fact that inside create the most natural conditions for crops. Since tomatoes do not like humidity, natural ventilation will prevent water from stagnating in the soil and air.
• Proper ventilation will help keep the inside air clean.
• Natural watering during a rain facilitates work to the summer resident.
• The design is durable and convenient to operate. If you correctly use it, it will last more than a dozen years.

Before planting seeds or seedlings, the summer resident should know what he plans to grow. Often on packages or labels there are unknown words: a determinant or indeterminant variety.And this, by the way, is very important.

• Determinant - undersized varieties. Between themselves, they are divided into semi-determinant, superdeterminant and determinant. Tall varieties are indeterminate. Determinantary - varieties with low stem, densely growing leaves and buds. The stepynki need not be deleted. Grow well in open ground and in the greenhouse.
• Bushes semi-determinant varieties grow to 1.2 m, and then stop growing. The maximum number of inflorescences that can be formed on one sapling is 12. There is no need to break off the stepsons, but if you need an early harvest, you still have to steppe the bushes.
• Superdeterminant varieties the most precocious. Harvesting occurs once, more than in the season the bush does not bear fruit.

Seedlings are planted in a greenhouse after warming, and the seedlings themselves will be strong enough to be located in open soil. If you place them too close, the fruits will be small, the growth will be slow, and if one seedling gets sick, the others will be infected instantly, as they are close and touch the leaves. Planting tomatoes far away means not saving the space available in the greenhouse. Between seedlings, planting mint, celery, cilantro, basil, parsley will be a good solution - this will help to make rational use of the place and decorate the greenhouse.

As for the indeterminate bushes, they are planted at a distance of 0.8 m from each other.

When the layout is selected, you need to take into account the height of the greenhouse. Above the tallest tomato bush in the greenhouse there should be at least 0.5 m of free space. The width of the greenhouse should be wider than about 1 m plantings. Then the conditions for the ripening of tomatoes will be most favorable.

It is best to count the planting so that all the bushes are equally spaced from each other. As soon as the bushes begin to form, they are further buried in the ground. Digging does not need anything, on the contrary, you need to add soil to the surface of the beds. Then the stalk will be smoother, stronger, and the bushes will not fall to one side.

Under greenhouse conditions, stunted and standard tomatoes grow well and bear fruit.

If your greenhouse is equipped with heating, the bushes of tomatoes should be planted in the pre-watered soil in the holes 10-12 cm deep, in each of which a hole is dug deeper. In it and place the sapling, covered with earth. After 10-14 days, pour the ground into the first hole, thus strengthening the stem of the tomato.

After 3-4 days, when the seedlings are a little used to the soil and greenhouse conditions, you need to hold a garter. It is necessary to prevent the breakage of bushes, as well as their deformation as it grows.

Tapestries are:

• frame;
• linear.

The first consists of two pillars, which are located at different ends of the bed. Cords are stretched through them, the distance between each of them is 0.3-0.4 m. Growing up, the bushes will curl around these cords from different sides, and thus maintain a vertical position.

Linear trellis is different in that they have only one cord - at the top, and the ropes are tied to it. Their number is equal to the number of seedlings. Each bush is tied to its own rope.

Tall varieties are good in those hotbeds where you need to save useful space, that is, in small but high. For a bountiful harvest, you do not need to plant a large number of bushes, because on each seedling 8-10 fruit brushes with tomatoes can grow. Tall varieties do not interfere with each other, do not "take" the light, as they are located at a considerable distance. In addition, these very varieties are the most decorative and attractive in appearance, that is, they will fit well into the overall landscape composition of the summer cottage plot.

Between the rows of tall tomatoes can be left at 1 m, and between seedlings - 0.7 m.If there is very little space, you can reduce these intervals by 10-20 cm each. The same rule applies to hybrid varieties.

The first watering after planting occurs in two weeks (if the ground is very dry, it can be a little earlier). About ten days after the seedlings are planted, it is tied to a trellis. The bush is formed from the calculation of one stem, leaving a maximum of 8 brushes with inflorescences. Pasynki need to be removed, leaving one at the bottom of the bush. It is necessary to remove stepchildren in the morning, then they are easier to break off, leaving a column of about two centimeters. Cutting them is not recommended.

Pollination of flowers is as follows: brush with buds gently take in hand and gently shaken. Immediately after this, the soil must be watered or at least sprayed with inflorescences from a spray bottle. After 1.5-2 hours after watering the tomatoes, you need to ventilate the greenhouse well, for which you need to open the windows in it or, if the greenhouse with sliding walls and / or roof, move them. Airing is a must, especially when tomatoes are blooming. On the surface of polyethylene or polycarbonate should not be water droplets (condensate). To do this, open all the vents: side and ceiling.

If the soil is saturated with water beyond measure, the tomatoes will be sour, watery, the pulp will be pale. Fruits will contain little glucose (sugars) and other important substances.

On average, before the flowers appear, the seedlings need to be watered once every 5-6 days, 5 liters per square meter, and during the period when the tomato is flowering and bearing fruits, 12-15 liters each. Water for irrigation should be warm, not lower than 20 degrees.

During the growing season requires from 3 to 4 basal dressing. The first - after 20 days after transplanting into the ground. Fertilize the following mixture: 1 tbsp. l Nitrofoski with ½ liter of liquid cow manure dissolved in 10 liters of water. Each bush needs one liter. The second feeding occurs 10 days after the first. The mixture is different: 1 tbsp. l fertilizer with 1 tsp. potassium sulfate in the same amount of water. For each square meter poured already 5 liters of fertilizer. The third feeding occurs 10-12 days after the second. The composition is again different: 1 tbsp is dissolved in the same amount of water. l superphosphate and 2 tbsp. l wood ash. Watering is based on the amount of 7-8 liters per square meter.

Caring for tomatoes is not as complicated as it may seem. If you do not strive to get a huge harvest, everything will work out. However, it should be borne in mind that although tomato is not the most demanding culture, it responds to any agrotechnical event held in its address. Moderation is the key word in caring for him. It is not necessary to overly water, not to overdry, not to overdo it, but also not to forget to feed it.

The optimal conditions for caring for tomatoes include timely watering, fertilizer in accordance with the schedule, periodic soil loosening, garter of growing seedlings (and re-linking if necessary), weeding, and disease prevention.

Water the tomatoes as the soil dries, preventing complete drying. Watering should be rare, but abundant, not thicker once a week, if the summer is dry, and if it is rainy, less often. Tomatoes are the most beloved of drip irrigation; with it they usually bear more abundant fruit. In addition, if this type of watering is used, in the evening and under the roots or along the furrows, this will help prevent vertex rot. To protect seedlings from disease, you can add a few pinches of wood ash to the bucket in the water. Loosening is done every time a hard crust appears on the ground (usually this happens either after watering or after rain).

To feed tomatoes can be once every two weeks, but the fertilizer should not contain a large amount of nitrogen. As for micro-fertilizing, tomatoes require boron and magnesium. The second - with each feeding, and the first - when the flowering begins.

With weeds you need to fight from the very beginning of planting, it is best to combine this process with loosening and hilling.

The formation of bushes and pasynkovanie - not those things that are needed by tomatoes, gardeners need them more, as this depends on the abundant fruiting of the bush. In some varieties to form bushes is not required, they initially have a main stem. Pysynki need to remove during the whole season, no matter how many stalks on the bush. The only limitation is the period of intense heat, then one should neither tear off the leaves nor remove the stepsons. If the summer was rainy, you need to remove not only the stepchildren, but also part of the shoots, leaves from the bottom of the bush. This will help the seedlings to warm up faster and get better.

These varieties are a cross between tall, large-fruited and low-growing tomatoes. Taking into account which variety it was decided to plant, it is possible to locate bushes at a distance of 0.45-0.6 m, and leave 0.6-0.8 m between rows. With proper care, you can collect up to 8 kg of tomatoes from one plant.

Varieties with a small height of the bushes, as a rule, are early-harvest, so gardeners love them very much. If you chose these varieties for planting, they are best planted in a staggered manner, leaving between the rows of 0.5 m, and between the seedlings - 0.3 m.

The most difficult thing for a novice summer resident is to distinguish the stepson from the sheet. In the heat of the moment, he can remove the wrong thing, thus fruiting will decrease. Pysynki grow from the sinuses, and not on the stem. Steppeing is not necessary for undersized varieties, besides, they should not be tied up or propped up.

To get seedlings, seeds are planted in the first decade of March. You need a soil mixture, which is either purchased in a specialty store, or made with your own hands from those taken in equal parts of humus (compost), river sand, washed with water, and soil from the dacha.

Land needs to be sprayed, not watered. The temperature for better germination must be maintained constantly in the region of +22 degrees. The seedling is in a container under the film, it creates the effect of a greenhouse. After sprouts appear, the film must be removed. After the appearance of the first two leaves, you can dive the plant - this means that each seedling is transplanted into a separate pot. All care during this period is the need to regularly water the seedlings. Before picking, plants do not need fertilizer. The best property of low-growing varieties is in their early ripening.

To low-growing varieties include standard tomatoes. They are sown on seedlings later than other varieties. They have a weak root system, they are compact, their branching is extremely small. They can be planted more densely than other varieties, respectively, receiving a greater yield. In addition, standard tomatoes are less susceptible to diseases. The fruits of these varieties do not crack, they are very convenient to conserve.

The process of growing tomatoes on a shtambe differs from that of other varieties. First, the landing occurs in a pyramidal way. Most often they are grown in open ground, but in regions with cold winters they grow quite well in greenhouses. After the seedlings are planted in the ground, it almost does not stretch out and has a strong, non-sloping stem.

It is necessary to pickle a plant throughout the entire growing season, as well as remove the lower leaves. In August, you need to pinch the top of the head, thus forcibly stopping the growth of the bush.

The main problem when planting tomatoes in the greenhouse is the correct calculation of the size of the beds and the width of the passage between them.Of course, it mainly depends on the type and size of the greenhouse.

One pass is not very convenient when caring for tomatoes, but the space in the greenhouse is used as economically as possible. This is especially important if your greenhouse is small.

Two passes help to solve some of the issues with the care of seedlings. The only problem may be that the tomatoes in the garden, located in the center of the greenhouse, may not have enough lighting. But this trouble can be easily resolved by placing the tallest varieties in the center. If the greenhouse with a sliding roof, the light of the sun can fall directly on the bushes.

In greenhouses with a larger area, you can arrange long beds, but you need to provide for the possibility of watering the bushes. In addition, light should be placed on the seedlings. Hybrid varieties, as a rule, occupy a lot of space as they grow, so it’s better to plant them in one row. As for the compact varieties that are not prone to branch, they can be arranged in two and in three rows.

The higher the grade, the closer to the center it should be planted. Further, on the sides, sredneroslye, and closer to the walls of the greenhouse - stunted. Then the light will be enough for all the seedlings.

Since light is very important for the growth of tomatoes, it is impossible to plant them thickly. Every leaf and fruit should have enough natural light.

In addition, be sure to trim the leaves below the bush and prevent the growth of stepsons. If you decide to plant tomatoes not in a greenhouse, but in open ground, you are not constrained by borders, you can act on your own. The space will be suitable where there is a lot of sun and little wind.

It is best to form a bed with a width of 1 meter. Length - arbitrary, depending on the number of seedlings. Before planting bushes, the beds are cleared of debris and fertilizer is applied, the most suitable is 5 kilograms of compost for each square meter of beds, previously having loosened the land. The most convenient arrangement of the bushes is in a staggered manner, then leaving becomes much easier, as well as harvesting.

If the seedling begins to fatten, that is, the upper leaves curl, the stem is thick, the leaves are bright, green, this is fraught with poor formation of floral brushes. In such bushes all the power goes into the greens, nothing remains for the fruit. This is due to an excess of nitrogen fertilizer or organic matter. Abundant watering can also affect this.

To remedy the situation, you need to eliminate watering for a week or more. In addition, you need to raise the temperature in the greenhouse to 26 degrees, without airing the greenhouse. Pollination should be carried out manually, in the period from 11 am to 1 pm. To stop the growth of the bush, you need to feed it with superphosphate fertilizer.

If flowers and fruits fall from a seedling, it means that the ground is dry. The reasons may be poor lighting, poor ventilation, overheating of the greenhouse. To stop this, you need to make all the necessary measures: water the bushes, open all the vents (or move the sides and roof), thus, the temperature will decrease.

If the fruits ripen only on the first brush, and on the others they do not exist or they mature very slowly and weakly, it is urgent to remove the tomatoes from the lower brush, even if they have not ripened yet. After that, it is necessary to pour plenty of water in the greenhouse with plenty of water (at least 10 liters per square meter). It is necessary to open everything in the greenhouse that is possible (doors, roof, vents) so that the temperature is set no higher than 18 degrees.

If you notice thin, weak bushes with loose brushes, the reason may be both insufficient light and a small amount of nutrients in the ground.

Optimally, if every bush is illuminated from all sides by the sun, as well as blown by the air.To do this, the distance between the seedlings must be such that even after growth, they do not touch the leaves or branches. In addition, if there is no contact between the bushes, diseases spread more slowly, and the crop becomes more abundant.

To learn how to plant tomatoes in the greenhouse, see the next video.