Why cut the top seedlings?

Growing vegetables in your backyard or summer cottage is a laborious task, but fascinating. Virtually every gardener has his own secrets for breeding and caring for a particular crop, for its resuscitation in unforeseen circumstances, including rooting the tops of a tomato when pulling out seedlings.

Reasons for pruning the tops

Cut off the tops of tomato seedlings for several reasons:

• seedlings outgrown, and there is a threat of a trunk fracture during transportation to the landing site;
• there are few seedlings, and in this way, from 1 bush they get 2, on the remaining plant, the role of the crown is assumed by one of the upper stepsons.
• getting shrubs smaller if the plant is tall and increase the number of brushes.

Signs of good strong seedlings

For planting in the ground is considered the most suitable stocky seedlings, having:

• strong trunk;
• thick roots;
• dimensions about 20 to 35 cm in height;
• tops of dark green color;
• 7-8 true leaves;
• age from 50 to 60 days;
• the formation of formed, but not full-blown buds is welcomed.

Stretched seedlings

But plants whose growth exceeds 45 cm are considered overgrown and the reasons for this lie in:

• inexperience gardener;
• no picking or frequent sprouting after this procedure;
• weak poor lighting;
• early sowing of seeds;
• strong watering;
• overfeeding with nitrogen fertilizers;
• the vagaries of nature, when weather conditions do not allow plants to land in the ground.

Normal way

Pruning procedure performed with overgrown seedlings:

• suspends its growth;
• strengthens fruiting;
• stimulates the growth of lateral branches;
• strengthens the root system.

There are ways of rooting seedlings:

• in water;
• earth (vermiculite, coconut substrate).

The usual method of shortening the stem is applied when the seedlings are at least 40 cm in size. In this method, the segment is produced in such a way that there are at least 3-4 leaves on the crown and on the remaining stem. Remove the lower leaves from the cut off crown, place the plant in water or a solution with a root-forming agent, remove it from the light window-sill and wait for the roots to appear. After the procedure of regrowth of the roots, which lasts about a week, the seedlings are planted in separate cups, and produce further care, as for ordinary seedlings. On the remaining stem with the trimmed crown, the stepchildren from the lateral sinuses soon begin to grow. Leave the 2 strongest to replace the tops, the rest are removed.

It is possible to reproach cut tomato tops directly into the ground due to the fact that tomatoes have aerial roots and have the ability to root in the ground, without first keeping in water. For this:

• prepare cups with fertile soil;
• make a hole in the middle of a pencil or stick;
• cut off the top of an overgrown plant;
• put in the ground without touching the place of the cut;
• slightly compress the plant from the sides to avoid the formation of air voids;
• plentifully shed with a solution of water with a root stimulator;
• clean from a sunny window in a dark place for 5-7 days;
• Further care is no different from conventional seedling care.

Chinese way

Chinese way suitable only for tall tomatoes, which, with the usual care, grow to a height of 1.5 to 2 m. When growing seedlings of tomatoes by this method, seeds are planted on the seedlings a month earlier than usual. After a month or more, the seedlings, having a height of at least 15 cm, are well spilled on the eve of the execution, then:

• cut under the root of the trunk obliquely. The sprout is held by the crown, hands are not touched to the cut. Place for several minutes in a solution of epine or another root-forming agent. At home, you can use honey and aloe juice (a few drops of juice dissolved in 200 ml of water or 1 tsp of honey dissolved in 200 ml of water);
• prepare individual containers (plastic cups);
• fill in suitable soil;
• they make a depression in a cup with a pencil or a stick, plant the cut sprout, shed the rest of the stimulator solution;
• close the top with a plastic bag or the same cup to create the greenhouse effect;
• for 3 days clean in a warm, place with diffused light;
• after the allotted time, the sprout is placed on the light;
• Further, they are grown like any seedlings, alternating watering with additional feedings, not forgetting to reduce the dose of fertilizer by 2 times.

Advantages of the method:

• from seedlings planted a month earlier, the harvest is received faster;
• seedlings are not pulled out;
• plant growth decreases, they have a more stocky stem;
• the first brushes hang near the ground, and not at a height of 60-70 cm;
• the number of brushes that mature in a season increases;
• With the help of the stress obtained at an early age, the plants yield the crop more quickly and fully.

In order for the bushes that have passed through the pruning procedure, they are more likely to start growing, after 10 days they are fed with a solution of ammonia, since it contains nitrogen in a form that is accessible to plants. To do this, dissolve in 1 l of water 10 ml of ammonia. On 1 plant pour out 1-2 tablespoons of a spoon of top dressing of the prepared solution, after watering with warm distilled water.

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Each gardener makes decisions on the timing of planting seeds, methods of growing seedlings and caring for them. But pruning tomatoes, most likely, becomes a forced action than desired and planned, and so that the seedlings do not outgrow, you just have to follow the rules of care, planting seeds, and provide plants with good lighting.