What to do if tomato seedlings bloom at home?

While doing growing tomato seedlingsWe want to have a strong, healthy plant by the time we plant it in the ground, but the results aren't always satisfying. A seedling with certain flaws requires more attention and special care, which disrupts our plans. Knowing the root of the problem allows us to avoid it rather than fix it. This also applies to tomato seedlings that bloom at home long before planting.

Conditions for growing healthy seedlings

Growing good, healthy seedlings is entirely possible if you familiarize yourself with the growing conditions in advance. It's important to remember that these requirements must be met in a comprehensive manner—only then will you achieve the desired results.

Prerequisites:

• take into account the characteristics of the selected variety (early, mid-season, late);
• full preparation of seeds (calibration, heating, disinfection, soaking, hardening);
• preparation of nutritious and loose soil and its disinfection;
• good lighting, preventing seedlings from stretching;
• the correct temperature regime (during the day – up to 20 °C, at night – 10-15 °C until the first leaves appear, then no higher than 22 °C during the daytime);
• hardening procedures;
• no drafts;
• compliance with watering standards and regime (warm, settled water, moderate watering without over-watering);
• timely application of fertilizers;
• picking on time (there should be 2-3 leaves on the stem).

Familiarizing yourself with the rules for all stages and following them correctly will help you grow strong, healthy seedlings. From the experience of gardeners, we can highlight several points that are useful for everyone to know:

• the stem will not stretch if you remove the two lower leaves when the plant has five leaves;
• use only liquid fertilizers;
• ensure adequate lighting by installing additional lighting;
• if there are no flower buds in the first ten days of April, it is necessary to cut the stem just above the second true leaf - two stems will grow in this place;
• sow seeds on time.

Why do seedlings bloom earlier?

There are several reasons for early flowering. By familiarizing yourself with them in advance, you can easily avoid premature blooming.

Incorrect calculation of deadlines

Correctly timing the sowing process plays a major role in seedling development. The date for planting seeds in the soil can be easily determined by subtracting 45-60 days (the seedlings' growth time) from the expected transplant date, plus the time allotted for soaking and germination (6-10).

If you sow earlier, it may happen that the seedlings will be ready, but the soil in the garden has not yet warmed up, and as a result the seedlings will outgrow and become depleted. It will take much longer for them to adapt, and this will impact crop yields.

What healthy seedlings look like:

• the stem is strong, dense, height from 20 to 35 cm;
• the presence of 1-2 buds (this is normal);
• leaves (8-10) are green, without damage.

Violation of conditions of detention

Weak, elongated seedlings have difficulty adapting to a new location; their leaves are often small and pale, and their flowers drop due to a lack of nutrients. The plant has to expend more energy forming new buds, and as a result, fruiting will begin much later than expected.

Violation of the conditions (described above) leads to excessive growth of the trunk, the formation of small leaves and flowers, which affects further growth and development.

Careful attention should be paid to transplanting. Delaying transplanting can cause the seedlings to become overcrowded, ventilation is impaired, humidity levels increase, which promotes infection, nutrients are depleted, and they receive insufficient light. All of this affects the quality of the seedlings.

Measures to prevent stretching and early flowering

It happens that spring is late, all deadlines are violated, therefore, to prevent pulling out seedlings It is recommended to carry out certain procedures.

Leaf pruning

The method of shock treatment of seedlings has proven itself to be effective.

What to do:

• transplant into small containers (5 cm in diameter) at the 3-4 leaf stage;
• after adaptation (about 10 days) active growth begins;
• pruning (shortening) of 1-2 lower leaves is carried out when the leaves of neighboring plants close together.

Pruning for a few days halts growth while simultaneously improving ventilation and lighting. This prevents the plant from becoming overgrown, buds from forming prematurely, and the stem strengthens.

Transplanting seedlings several times

It's a known fact that replanting any plant slows growth. This tendency is also used in growing tomato seedlings to prevent them from stretching, preventing premature flower formation when seeds are sown prematurely, or when growing conditions are improper (high temperatures, insufficient light).

The first transplant is carried out when there are 3-4 leaves in small containers (5 cm in diameter), the next one is in a larger container (10 cm in diameter) when the stem height is 15-20 cm. At the time planting in the ground The plant has a well-developed root system and is quickly establishing itself. The presence of flowers and ovaries does not interfere with its adaptation.

Trimming the stem

Pruning is done 18-20 days before planting the seedlings. Long stems should be cut at the sixth leaf, and the cut tip should be placed in a cup filled with 2-3 cm of water. Roots will appear quickly, and the seedlings can be planted in soil, keeping a distance of at least 10 cm.

Stepchildren will grow on the cut stem within a week. When they reach 5 cm in length, remove all but the top two. After three weeks, the seedlings are ready for transplanting into the garden bed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi4NQpi_zN0

Tips and recommendations

Nikolay Sergeevich, Krasnodar

— If the seedlings have become stretched, which rarely happens to me, but does happen, I arrange the stems in a spiral around the diameter of the pot, cover with soil, and water. This encourages new roots to form, and the plant grows strong and short.

Andrey Petrovich, Minsk

"We've been having some weird weather lately, and it's not always possible to plant seedlings on time. I plant some seedlings earlier, some later—some always arrive at the right time. I trim the tops of the overgrown ones and put them in water. If the weather is right, I plant the trimmed plant in the garden earlier, and I replant the tops later, when good roots have formed."

Maria Stepanovna, Omsk

"My seedlings often grew thin and weak because I couldn't provide adequate lighting. Following friends' advice, I started transplanting them differently. Before transplanting, I don't water the tomatoes for a few days to prevent the fragile, thin stems from breaking, and I pinch off the roots. I bury the stems, not the roots, twisting them into a spiral. I fill them with soil up to the leaves. I transplant them directly into a larger container so I don't have to disturb them later. I add soil regularly. The plants grow strong and take root well. Flowers, if they form, don't fall off and produce ovaries."

In conclusion, it can be concluded that planting flowering tomato seedlings is entirely possible without removing flowers and buds, provided the necessary care and comfortable conditions for adaptation are provided: cloudy weather or shade in hot weather, and do not allow the soil to dry out.