Tomato is an agricultural vegetable plant native to South America. The climate of the Urals is not the most friendly for this greenhouse culture: the summer is relatively cold, and there are no more than 80 days without frost. This means that growing tomatoes in the open field in the Urals is a rather difficult process. Due to the harsh climate, it is not possible to get a good harvest every year.

What about the residents of the Ural regions, because tomato is one of the most common fruits, known for its nutritional and dietary properties. Tomatoes are eaten in any way possible, they are used to prepare tomato paste, juice, ketchup and sauces. Cultivation in a greenhouse will solve the problem. How and when to plant tomatoes in a greenhouse in the Urals?

The choice of varieties for planting

The yield directly depends on the selected tomato variety

One of the important steps for an amateur gardener is the choice of tomato varieties, because the yield will directly depend on this. Both tall and short varieties are worth considering, the best of which are:

  • Bovine heart is the most common variety among the Urals and Siberians. This is a mid-season tomato, bushes grow from 2 m and more. Formed from one or two sturdy stems, but no more. These tomatoes are famous for their increased yield. Subject to all the rules of agricultural technology, you can collect up to 10 kg from 1 m².
  • Goldfish is a medium late tomato variety. Also requires stem formation. The shape of the bush is elongated. It is a high-density, heart-shaped yellow tomato. The weight of one fruit is up to 100 g.
  • Siberian early maturing tomato is a low-growing early-maturing variety. The height of the stems ranges from 30 to 70 cm.The fruit is round or round-flat, slightly ribbed, ripens weighing up to 100 g.
  • Moldavian early tomato is one of the most delicious and productive varieties. With proper preparation of seedlings and planting, the yield is up to 15 kg from 1 m2... Most are harvested before early August. Bushes up to 60 cm high, flat-round fruits, ripen up to 100 g in weight.

What day to plant seedlings in the greenhouse

The sowing calendar will help in choosing the sowing date

After choosing a variety, it is important to decide on the date when to plant tomatoes in a greenhouse in the Urals. In this region, it is customary to plant seedlings in a greenhouse at the end of the May holidays. Ideal around May 10-15. Seeds germinate within 5 days, seedling growth is about 60 days, so they are sown in the first decade of March.

The lunar calendar will tell you how favorable the selected days will be for sowing.

Why the lunar calendar is so important

The moon affects the life of many living organisms, and vegetable crops are no exception. The young, growing moon favors the growth of the stems, so it is necessary to plant tomato seeds at this particular time. Ideal can be considered March 4 and 5, April 8, 12 and 13. Are you planning to plant seeds at the end of April? The best days will be the 26th, 27th and 28th.

Note! If you need to plant ready-made seedlings in a greenhouse, you should also be guided by the lunar calendar. For the Ural climate, the ideal numbers are May 24 and 25 and June 2, 7 and 11.

Planting seeds

Having decided on the date, you need to decide how to plant tomatoes. The most convenient is growing tomatoes with a pick.To begin with, it is worth soaking the seeds by wrapping them in a damp cloth to check the germination. The sowing container is filled with fertile soil, into which the planting material is then laid out. The sowing depth should not exceed 1 cm. Then watered, covered with a film, placed in a warm place. It is necessary that the soil remains moist before emergence.

Important! To avoid waterlogging, drainage holes are made in advance at the bottom of the container.

When the seeds have sprouted, remove the film and place the container in a place with sufficient daylight. The seedlings should be carefully monitored and, if necessary, use additional artificial lighting.

Pick a tomato in March

Pick tomato

After 2 weeks, after the seedlings have sprouted, you can start picking. Please note that seedlings dive only if they gave 2 full leaves.

Before the procedure, the container with seedlings is watered abundantly, giving the soil more softness. Seedlings are transplanted into molds half filled with soil, with a volume of at least 0.5 liters. You need to act carefully so as not to damage the roots. The soil is filled up to the cotyledons, again watered abundantly and placed in a place illuminated by daylight. After the picking, the seedlings should not be watered for 5-7 days in order to give the opportunity to form as many new roots as possible.

Seedling care after picking

Proper care, adherence to all the necessary rules is a guarantee that the seedlings will grow strong and healthy. Here are the main ones:

  • Regular watering. Watering should be done in moderation, no more than once every few days. The soil should not be waterlogged, so molds with drainage holes are used.
  • Do not immediately fill the molds with soil around the edge. Better gradually as the stem grows. This will stimulate the appearance of new roots.
  • The correct temperature regime will prevent the seedlings from pulling out. Care must be taken that the temperature is not too high.
  • Tempering strengthens not only the human body, but also plants. Tomatoes stop watering a week before the procedure. Hardening of seedlings should begin on sunny days, taking them out to a balcony or veranda at above-zero temperatures. Every day, the hardening time is increased by 2-3 hours. Before planting, about a week in advance, the seedlings are placed in a greenhouse.

Landing in open ground

Planting a tomato in open ground

When to plant tomatoes in the Urals in open ground? Not earlier than when the air warms up to 12 ° С at night, and up to 25 ° С during the day. In the south of the region, this weather occurs around mid-May, and even then not always, but in the north - in mid-June.

Note! To understand that the seedlings are ready for planting in open ground, you can make sure that there are at least 6 leaves on it. The height of the bushes should not exceed 30 cm, optimally - 20-25 cm. The stems should be strong and the leaves should be green.

When to plant seedlings in the greenhouse

In the presence of heating, seedlings are planted in a greenhouse in the Urals at the end of April. Landing in a cold greenhouse is carried out in early May. There should not be below 20 ° C during the day and 10 ° C at night. The soil temperature at a depth of 10 cm should be at least 12 ° C.

Important! Be sure to take into account the age of the seedlings. It is advisable to plant plants that are 50-60 days old. The seedlings must have at least 8 leaves and 2 inflorescences.

Planting seedlings in a greenhouse

If the greenhouse is covered with polyethylene, it is better to cover it with a double layer of film with a small gap of about 3-4 cm between them.It is also worth replacing the top layer monthly, otherwise it will deform.

Planting stages:

  • Soil preparation. The soil is dug up half a bayonet, then it should be treated with organic fertilizers. Many summer residents usually use humus and ash. Further planting of seedlings depends on the variety of tomato. A tall species is planted in 2 rows, the distance between which is 70-80 cm. They make holes (about 50 cm from each other) 5-10 cm deep. Then they are watered with warm water. They use parallel and chess patterns.The passage width should be 90-100 cm.
  • The landing itself. Carefully, so as not to damage the roots, the seedlings are removed from the molds, dipped into the holes, tied to the top of the greenhouse and watered. The next watering is carried out in a week.

Note! What to do if tomato seedlings are overgrown? You need to cut off all the lateral leaves to the top and bury the stem. One crown should remain above the ground.

Greenhouse

Care rules that everyone should know

Proper care is a set of measures that include watering, shaping the stem, garter and top dressing, and regular harvesting. It is this approach that determines the yield, what vegetables will be on the table in the cold winter, grown by hand.

  • Top dressing. Most gardeners use organic fertilizers. The most common are herbal infusions. It is very easy to make: the crushed herb is diluted with water and infused warm. Tomatoes are also sprinkled with ashes at a rate of 1 teaspoon per well.
  • Watering. It should always be abundant, but not frequent. In warm weather, no more than 7 liters per bush once a week. The water should be warm and preferably well-kept.
  • Garter. In polycarbonate greenhouses, a wire is pulled along the top, to which the tomatoes are tied so that the branches do not break.
  • Correct docking. One of the common methods is to form a bush into one stem. All stepsons are cut off and only inflorescences are left.

Tomatoes ripen by mid-July, and harvest takes place until September. The later it begins, the greater the likelihood of a fungal disease of the fruit. Ripe tomatoes are harvested or at the initial stage of redness. Green tomatoes are harvested in September to avoid disease damage.

Growing tomatoes in the Urals is a simple process, but with its own nuances. When to plant tomatoes in the Urals !? This process is not much different from planting tomatoes in the Middle Lane. In any case, culture requires attention. And, if everything is done correctly, as described above, the harvest will not be long in coming.