How to dive tomatoes - terms and features of the procedure

Tell me how to dive tomatoes? This year we decided to grow our tomato seedlings. Sowed in common trays, lighting and room temperature were observed. However, after transplanting, many plants died without taking root. They dived, it seemed, neatly, the roots were not damaged, maybe too late or wrong? Help avoid such mistakes next season.

Home-grown tomato seedlings are always better than purchased ones, because in this case it is probably known what kind of variety and what it was "fed" with. Timely and correct picking of plants is of great importance in the process of growing tomato seedlings. Today we want to remind you what it is for, as well as when and how to dive tomatoes.

What does picking give?

Seeds for seedlings are sown either directly in separate cassettes or tablets, or in a common container. Regardless of the method, in any case, after a while, the plants become cramped. Tomatoes have a very developed and powerful root system, therefore, in order to give it the opportunity to form this way, the seedlings must be dived. This means that the plants are transplanted into more spacious containers, where they begin to actively grow roots both in length and in width. Such seedlings are the key to a strong tomato bush, which will well tolerate subsequent transplantation in open ground and give a rich harvest.

In addition, weak bushes can be selected during the picking process.

When to dive tomato seedlings?

The timing of the pick depends on the conditions growing seedlings... On average, it takes about 1.5 weeks from sowing to the first transplant. You need to focus on the appearance of leaves (real, not cotyledonous).

The first pair of leaves has grown - you can start picking.

You should not postpone the procedure, because the overgrown seedlings tolerate it worse.

How to dive tomatoes?

The only difficulty in picking is the fragility and airiness of the plants. Thin stems are easy to break with an awkward movement of the hand, and with general sowing, intertwined roots can be difficult. Therefore, you need to do everything carefully, holding the seedlings on the leaves, and not by the stem. Otherwise, this process is quite simple and consists of the following:

1. Prepare the container. These can be juice or dairy tetrapacks, disposable glasses, or cut plastic bottles. It is imperative to make drainage holes on the bottom, otherwise the roots will quickly rot.
2. Fill it with nutritious soil.
3. If tomatoes are dived from a common container, they must be taken out carefully, in piles, and only then separated by the piece. Make a depression in the cups with a pencil, place a bush there and squeeze it slightly with earth.
4. When picking separately-growing seedlings, they are transplanted by the transfer method. To do this, the plant, along with a lump of earth, is taken out of the old container and placed in a new one, adding soil.

It is worth noting that the tomato seedlings are deepened to the same height as before. An exception is the case if the plants are overgrown - then they are covered with soil until the leaves (cotyledons). Tomatoes are among those crops that form side roots well.

Often, when picking seedlings, pinch the central root. This technique allows you to suspend the growth of the aboveground part of the bushes and avoid their overgrowth, especially if it is still far away from the planting on the garden.

Picking tomato seedlings step by step - video