How to properly soak tomato seeds before planting seedlings: rules for pre-sowing preparation and processing

The first important step in the new season is the correct choice of tomato varieties and the appropriate preparation of seeds for sowing seedlings. Experienced gardeners understand that the more attention and energy to pay to this stage, the better the germination capacity and the higher the immunity of young seedlings of tomato seedlings, and, as a result, the harvest.

Well, then we will consider how to properly carry out pre-sowing preparation and processing of tomato seeds.

Content

1 Rules and recommendations for choosing tomato seeds
- 1.1 How to pick a good tomato variety
2 Features of sizing or selection of viable tomato seeds
3 Presowing tomato seed treatment: the best preparation methods

Rules and recommendations for choosing tomato seeds

Choosing the right seeds is a special art, it depends on it whether the next season will be fruitful, or it will bring complete disappointment due to wasted time and effort.

Do not go along with the colorful advertising packaging of tomato seeds, as this is nothing more than a beautiful picture that does not guarantee 100% quality of planting material. It is best to take the time and read gardeners' reviews about producers.

There are several basic criteria to consider when choosing tomato seeds:

The packaging must contain all the necessary information (the address of the manufacturer, recommendations for cultivation agricultural technology, belonging to a variety or hybrid). The expiration date must be indicated.

Note! Tomato seeds are able to relatively quickly lose their germination (stored for no more than 4 years, then the percentage of germination drops noticeably). Therefore, you should not recruit in reserve.

It is also worth deciding what seeds you need - varietal or hybrid.

By the way! If you are planningcollect and harvest your own seed materialthen you need exactly varieties, not hybrids, since the latter are not able to maintain varietal properties (traits) in the new generation. However, it ishybrid tomatoes, usually, more resistant to disease and always bring decent and stable harvest.

Varieties or hybrids should always be selected based on your climatic zone and its features.

In addition, when choosing it is worth paying attention to the type of plant, for which it is more suitable - for open ground or a greenhouse:

determinant - tomatoes of limited growth (no higher than 1.5 meters), that is, they can be grown both in open ground and in greenhouse conditions;
superdeterminate - early maturing undersized varieties that are suitable for both open ground and greenhouse cultivation;
indeterminate - tall tomatoes (more than 1.5-2 meters), primarily intended for growing in a greenhouse, but in the southern regions it is possible to grow outdoors (with a garter to the stakes).

Video: the correct selection of tomato seeds for sowing

How to pick a good tomato variety

Note! The site already has a number of detailed review articles on the most popular and best varieties of tomatoes, having studied which you can make your choice:

Features of sizing or selection of viable tomato seeds

Initially, before preparing for sowing for seedlings, it is necessary to select viable seeds. To do this, you should first conduct a visual inspection and discard (discard) all damaged specimens, as well as those that have an uncharacteristic shade of the shell or are too small in size.

To confirm the viability of the seeds of future tomatoes, the following procedure should be carried out:

Prepare a saline solution at the rate of 5 g of salt per 100 ml of water at room temperature.
Pour tomato grains into a container with a solution and stir them periodically.
All specimens that have floated to the surface must be carefully pulled out and thrown away, since their viability is in question (most likely, they are empty, therefore they float).
Seeds that have settled to the bottom must be washed in clean water and dried. They will be used later for sowing, but first they need to be processed.

Thus, the more thoroughly the selection of tomato seeds is carried out in order to reject "empty" specimens, the better their germination will be.

Video: ways to prepare seeds for sowing

Presowing tomato seed treatment: the best preparation methods

Preparing tomato seeds before planting seedlings involves several basic methods of processing them. Moreover, their implementation should be phased in compliance with all the necessary requirements and recommendations.

Important! If you bought pelleted, granulated or glazed tomato seeds, no additional preparation is required for such seed. They are already processed and covered with a special nutritious shell. Such seeds must be sown exactly dry so as not to wash off the protective film.

Warming up

As a rule, packages with seeds in shops and garden centers are stored in less than optimal conditions, namely at rather low temperatures. Because of this, the seeds are in deep dormancy, which means that they will not sprout very willingly. Therefore, in order to accelerate their germination, it is recommended to warm them up.

The easiest way to warm tomato seeds is available to every gardener. For this, the planting material should be placedin a gauze bag and hang it near the heaters a month before the intended sowing for seedlings, while the temperature of the room (and the battery itself) should not be less than +20 .. + 23 degrees.

Disinfection: the best etching agents

To reduce the risk of contamination of future tomato seedlings with fungal or bacterial diseases, a preliminary disinfection of the seeds should be carried out.

By the way! In addition to seeds, you must disinfect the soilin which you will sow them.

For these purposes, you can use several methods, more precisely, fungicidal agents (disinfectants).

Important! After dressing (disinfection), whatever product you use, the treated seeds must be rinsed.

The most common is to soak tomato seeds in a solution. potassium permanganate.

Presowing disinfection tomato seeds in a solution of potassium permanganate is carried out as follows:

Tomato seeds are poured into a multilayer gauze bandage and tied in a pouch.

You can just pour the seeds into the water. The only thing - then it is difficult to get them, although you can simply strain through a sieve.

Dissolve crystals of potassium permanganate in warm water until a dark pink hue is obtained (at the rate of 1 mg per 100 ml of water).
A bag with planting material is immersed in the prepared solution for 20-30 minutes.
At the end of the procedure, the tomato grains are washed under clean water (it is possible from the tap, but it is better to be settled or filtered).

Note! Yes, the method is popular, everyone knows and advises about it, but as practice and experiments show, there is no potassium permanganate dressing ... in the sense that the efficiency is close to zero.

Another no less, and possibly more popular (there are many videos about it on the Internet) disinfection method is soaking tomato seeds in hydrogen peroxide.

It is recommended to pickle tomato seeds in a hydrogen peroxide solution as follows:

Take a 3% peroxide solution.
Pour the seeds into a multi-layered gauze bag.
Dip in the prepared solution for 30 minutes.
After the time has elapsed, rinse under clean water.

However!Scientific tests show that hydrogen peroxide is another completely ineffective and "bloated" method of disinfection, like potassium permanganate.

Another one, but already a really effective way to disinfect tomato seeds, is their etching in solution sfir trees ("Brilliant Green")... So, you need to take 1 ml of 1% pharmaceutical solution and dissolve in 100 ml of water. Then soak the seeds in this solution for 30 minutes so that they have time to thoroughly paint over with brilliant green.

To prevent development black leg and other fungal diseases in tomato seedlings, for pre-sowing disinfection, biologists and experienced gardeners recommend usingFitosporin (according to instructions).

Video: protecting tomatoes from black leg and late blight - disinfecting seeds in Fitosporin

However, there is an opinion that "Fitosporin" is not a drug for etching, but for colonization of roots and soil with antagonistic microflora (hay bacillus).Therefore, first it is best to pickle the seeds in some other means, wait until they hatch, and only then, when sowing, spill "Fitosporin".

One of the most effective methods of dressing tomato seeds is to soak them in chlorhexidine... Take 0.05% pharmaceutical solution and, without diluting, soak the seeds in it for 30 minutes. Then be sure to rinse under clean water.

If you try to use natural remedies, in other words, consider yourself a follower organic farming, then your choice is an infusion of crushed garlic and a 50% solution of aloe juice.

Garlic infusion done like this: crush 2-3 cloves, pour 100 ml of water and let it brew for a day (24 hours). Etch for 30 minutes.

Concerning aloe juice, then it should be mixed in equal proportions with water: to get 100 ml of solution, you need to take 50 ml of aloe juice and 50 ml of water and place the seeds in the solution for 30 minutes.

Important! In the case of using special preparations, always follow the instructions, not "from memory"!

Video: preparation of tomato seeds for planting - the results of disinfection in solutions of various dressing agents

Soaking in growth stimulants

To stimulate internal biological processes in seeds, they should be soaked in special growth stimulants. This will help to increase the vigor of seed germination, increase the rate and percentage of germination.

Note!Soaking tomato seeds in growth stimulants should be carried out immediately after their disinfection.

There are several main ways (means) for the procedure.

By the way! There is also a very simple procedure soaking seeds in ordinary water, in other words, softening the shell (the seeds should swell), which will accelerate their germination.

Specialized drugs (growth regulators) for processing tomato seeds are:

"Epin" - is used to increase the energy of seed germination and germination. To soak, dissolve 0.05 ml of the drug in 100 ml of water and soak the seeds (10 grams) for 2-4 hours.
"Zircon"- also used to improve seed germination. For soaking, dilute 0.025 ml of the drug in 100 ml of water, which is enough to process 10 g of inoculum (hold for 2-4 hours).

Alternative! In addition, seeds can be soaked in growth promoters such as “Energen"And"NV-101".

You can also prepare such a solution for disinfection, awakening and stimulating seed growth: take 1/2 part of the tablet nicotinic acid (1 tablet - 50 mg), 1/2 tablet succinic acid (1 tablet - 0.5 g), 1/4 tablet ascorbic acid and 1/2 tablet glycineand then dissolve them in 500 ml of water.

Video: how to increase seed germination - an easy way

Gardeners who like to use oldfolk remedies, including for stimulating tomato seed treatment, can use the following recipes:

To soak in infusion wood ash, you need to take 1 tbsp. l. ash and pour it with 500 ml of warm water. Let it brew for at least 2 days (48 hours), stirring occasionally the resulting mixture. Then soak the seedswrapped in a gauze bag, for 3-5 hours.

For processing, prepare honey solution in the following proportion: 1 teaspoon of honey in 1 glass (200-250 ml) of water at room temperature. The seeds are poured into a saucer and poured with honey water. Processing is carried out within 4-5 hours.

Important!Soaking tomato seeds in growth stimulants should be carried out immediately after their disinfection. Further, the treated seeds should be sown immediately into the ground.

Advice! In these solutions, you can not just soak the seeds, but even better to germinate them. More on this excellent seedbed preparation method will be discussed later.

Germination

If you want to significantly accelerate the germination of tomato seeds, it is recommended to pre-germinate them.

You need to germinate tomato seeds in this way:

Note! You need to germinate correctly: if you just immerse the seeds in water, then no effect will follow, because oxygen is required to awaken them.

Pour out seed in moistened multilayer gauze, or better yet, use cloth rag (they can grow into cheesecloth with roots);

Advice! It is even more convenient to germinate in cotton pads: place the seeds on the lower disc, cover with the upper one. Pre-wet the discs!

Then put on a saucer (or in another container), and cover the top with a plastic bag (cling film) so that the moisture does not evaporate longer;

Important! A cloth, gauze, cotton pads should be constantly wet, but not in a puddle of water.

Place the container of soaked seeds in a warm place, such as a kitchen cabinet.

Optimum temperature for germination of tomato seeds - + 24 .. + 28 degrees.

When the seeds hatch and germinate, and this usually takes 2-3 days, immediately sow into the ground.

It is logical that only germinated seeds should be planted.

Hardening

The purpose of its conduct is to develop heat-loving crops (tomatoes also include) resistance to possible temperature changes, which are very characteristic of cold regions with a harsh climate.

This procedure is optional, but highly recommended.

Hardening tomato seeds before sowing seedlings is carried out as follows:

Important! Before hardening the seeds, they can be disinfected and soaked in one of the growth stimulants... In this case, the seeds should be only wet or swollen, but never germinated, maximum - slightly hatched.

place the seeds in a moistened cloth in a container and close it, for example, tie a bag, but not completely, so that oxygen is available inside (so that they remain moist);
put the container with seeds in the refrigerator under the freezer, in other words, on the top shelf (where the temperature is + 2-4 degrees).

Note! The container with seeds is left in the refrigerator only overnight, and during the day it must be taken out and left on the table (in room conditions);

repeat the contrasting content for 4-5 days, and then immediately sow the seeds into the ground.

Video: hardening seeds according to the rules

Idea! Alternatively, hardening can be done in a slightly different way. Soak the seeds in cold water (+ 2-4 degrees), after a while (2-4 hours) drain and put in warm water until they hatch. When the seeds hatch a little, pour cold water again for several hours, and then sow into the ground.

Advice! Instead of regular water, you can use special (previously named) solutions to disinfect and stimulate growth.

Bubbling

Those summer residents who have an aquarium compressor can bubble seeds.

The purpose of this procedure is to flush out essential oils and other growth inhibitors found in any seed (especially umbrella crops - celery, dill, carrots, parsley) and slow down their swelling and germination. Simply put, it is an effective way to accelerate the germination of tomato seeds and more.

Diagram of the simplest device for bubbling seeds:

The bubbling of tomato seeds is carried out as follows:

pour the seeds into a container (for example, a glass vessel or jar);

If you want to bubble several crops at once, then, of course, different seeds need to be wrapped in different bags (fabric or gauze) so that they do not mix.

fill them with warm water (40-50 degrees);

By the way! You can add one of the growth stimulants (Zircon, Epin, honey, ash) to the water.

lower the compressor hose to the bottom and turn on the oxygen supply;
the duration of the procedure for bubbling tomato seeds is from 12 to 18 hours;
at the end of the procedure, strain the seeds, dry them (so that it is convenient to sow) and sow in the ground.

Important!It is not necessary to use all the procedures for treating tomato seeds at once before sowing them for seedlings, since not all of them are combined. As a rule, the standard scheme is as follows: rejection (especially self-collected seeds), heating (optional), disinfection (mandatory), soaking and germination in growth stimulants, or soaking and hardening (used less often). But bubbling is more exotic (especially if you do not have an aquarium compressor).

Gardeners do not always have enough time to carry out all the necessary procedures, but pre-sowing preparation and processing of tomato seeds is a very important stage on the way to obtaining healthy seedlings, and therefore a decent harvest.

By the way! After all the procedures for the preparation and treatment of seeds are completed, you can proceed to direct sowing of tomatoes for seedlings.

Video: we process and sow tomato seeds