Rules for soaking tomato seeds before planting
For the harvest to be full and healthy, it is necessary to soak the tomato seeds before planting. How to do this in order to get the desired effect, we will consider in the article.
Rules for soaking tomato seeds before planting
The benefits of soaking
It is recommended to start preparing for the summer cottage as early as possible (early spring or as early as February). Preliminary preparation of tomato seeds before planting (soaking them) is a very important procedure. This is done in order to get a high-quality harvest, increasing it several times. Also, the resulting seedlings will not be damaged by diseases.
Tatiana Orlova (Candidate of Agricultural Sciences):
The main purpose of the seed soaking technique is to obtain earlier and more friendly seedlings. This is especially true for long-stored seeds. This technique has only an indirect effect on productivity.
Preparation for soaking
First step
First you need to pay attention to the seeds themselves and carefully sort them out, separating the heavier and larger ones from the small ones, because a viable crop is guaranteed to grow from large seeds. If there are a lot of seeds, there is an effective way: you need to prepare a solution (1 tbsp. L. Salt per 1 tbsp. Water) and pour the seeds into it. Thus, the empty planting material will float, and the suitable one will remain at the bottom.
Second phase
Disinfecting seeds is easy
Before proceeding with soaking, the seeds must be thoroughly dried and disinfected. It is enough to dry it for about 2 days in the sun, you can also use a battery, having previously wrapped the planting material in some kind of cloth.
There is nothing difficult about disinfection. It is necessary to dilute a small amount of potassium permanganate in water until pinkish and place the seeds there for 15-20 minutes, or heat the water with hydrogen peroxide and do the same.
Soaking procedure
After the selection and drying procedure, the mixture is prepared directly for soaking. The water should be many times the volume of the seeds. Do not be afraid that the seeds will suffocate when they swell, because at this moment they do not need oxygen.
Tatiana Orlova (Candidate of Agricultural Sciences):
Oxygen is very much needed when soaking! There is even a kind of simple soaking - bubbling. This is passing air through water. This technique speeds up seed germination by several days. At home, you can use an aquarium aerator for bubbling.
Consider what you can soak the seeds in:
- Water. Seeds are wrapped in gauze or cotton cloth before being dipped in water. The water for soaking should be warm (about 25 ° C). Stir them periodically. There are no strict time limits, since all seeds are different. Watch for seed swelling. Once they have increased in size, they are pulled out of the liquid. It happens that in the process a brown substance is released from the seeds. In this case, it is worth changing the water. After finishing, they need to be dried and sown into the prepared soil.
- Mixtures containing bioactive elements.Now on the market there are a huge number of such solutions (humate solution, epin). Humate is a salt of humic acid. It is needed to stimulate seeds. Epin performs a similar function, accelerates growth and adapts seeds to different types of soil. The solutions are diluted in water and soaked briefly in water.
- Kornevin. It is a growth stimulant. It is important that tomato seeds can be kept in this composition for no more than 2 hours, then souring will occur. Kornevin is completely dissolved in water, mixed and the seeds are placed there. When soaking, you can use a regular napkin: the seeds are wrapped in it in the form of a book and dipped. This material keeps the seeds in their best shape.
- Germination. This method is not so popular. The seeds are wrapped in a bag, completely immersed in water and left in a warm room for 12-15 hours. During this period, roots are cut from the seeds. After that, sowing is started.
- Aloe. This recipe for soaking is often used by the people, because aloe juice primarily increases the immunity of the plant, repelling pests. Before squeezing the juice, aloe leaves are kept in the refrigerator for 5-7 days, and then mixed with water (1 to 1 ratio). The seeds wrapped in cloth are placed in the solution for a day.
Conclusion
There is nothing difficult in preparing tomatoes for planting, you just have to soak the seeds in the right way. The process should be approached carefully to ensure healthy growth and protection from disease. Soaking the seeds will help you get a rich harvest.
