I can't think of many things more depressing to be really excited to do something just to see all your efforts to come to nothing. Happened to us all, sport, hobby or any area of life, and it sucks.
In the garden I remember clearly have experience in more than one occasion, and I'd like to pass on some of the things I've learned so that you can benefit from my mistakes. In particular I want to talk about transplanting tomato seedlings.
In principle the little suckers to fall into the Earth seems easy and actual procedure is dig a hole, drop them in, water thoroughly, Pat yourself on the back, not too difficult for any mammal with opposable thumbs.
However, and is a big "However", there are 5 things that I found over time that can ruin your crop shortly before, and none of them have to do with the transplant procedure itself at all. I call them the 5 stages to transplant seedlings and here they are ...
1) Prepare your soil equals bad soil poor plants or those dead. Many evils that shall befall your harvest can be traced to problems with your soil. Small fruit, no fruit, leaf, root diseases, all of these diseases can occur and once you have planted your crop it is too late, you will be playing catch-up all season ... If you are lucky.
So take the time to properly prepare your soil before you think about planting, the care taken here will really pay off. Learn about nutrition, soil, soil temperature, principles of crop rotation, moisture and humidity requirements for your plants. These principles are important to understand why their use gives better results.
2) do you plant your seedlings until the frosts are over don't get anxious! Certain plants must be in the ground, but you want to be a bed of seed not a tomb. Frost kill plants of tomatoes and requires only one night ill before you visit your new nursery. Then ensure that the temperatures are solidly in the 1950s at least before the transplant.
Here a little patience can pay very fruitfully later (pun intended), but if you need to be "Annie impatient" then learn at least to cover and protect plants well.
3) Them to acclimatise before transplanting harden them up! (Not exactly as I would normally say this, but we don't want to offend the Lord, do) A couple of weeks before transplant them, take them out again in their containers, for a short period of exposure to the Sun. Keep it brief at first, a couple of hours at most and try for a cloudy day. Then bring them back inside.
More than two weeks you can slowly increase the time spent outside until they are in full sun throughout the day. The process is actually called "hardening off" (but I like my way of saying it). If you have always grown herbs from seed, then you'll be familiar with all this.
4) Give each new space enough to plant when you transplant the seedlings will be small ... but grow ... a lot! And we must, therefore, their space. First timers often underestimate how much room each tomato plant needs as it matures and the result is crowded, miserable, weak plants struggling desperately to take nutrients available. Save them and yourself, pain and plant them properly in the first place ... about two feet apart is good for plants picketed.
Also while I am on this subject, plant them where they get enough sun during the day. Let's get those rays in tanning them for 8 hours for at least 10 is preferable. (We'll take care of shading fruit by using the foliage of plants wisely.)
5) apply a layer of mulch a couple of weeks after planting the seedling again with a layer of 3 inches of mulch. While not much of a deal-breaker as the other points in this article, it is still a vital step if you want the best out of your tomato garden. Mulch helps regulate moisture loss and makes your job much easier by irrigation. Considering the fact that poor irrigation practices are a serious problem in tomato growing you can see how this would be useful.
At a glance If you're new to gardening, or tomatoes (or even an old hand with dodgy practices) will follow the five steps listed above, surely will make your gardening experience easier and more enjoyable, and more importantlyYou will see the best results. At the end of the day that is what we are all looking for.
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