Sowing vegetables for seedlings: calculating the optimal timing

Growing seedlings requires a responsible approach, because the harvest depends on how the “seedling” period of the plant’s life goes. Maintaining the temperature regime, timely watering, providing seedlings with sufficient light – all this, without a doubt, is part of the normal development of the plant, but it is no less important to sow seeds for seedlings in time.

Heat-loving or cold-resistant?

Plants grown through seedlings are mostly heat-loving (except, perhaps, white cabbage and cauliflower, which easily tolerate light frosts). This parameter should be taken into account when planning the sowing time, since later the time of planting seedlings in the ground will depend on these characteristics of the vegetable crop.

For example, peppers and eggplants are heat-loving vegetables, which means they can be planted in the ground (even in a greenhouse) after the threat of recurrent frosts has passed. But some varieties of vegetable crops, bred by breeders specifically for northern regions, are able to withstand low temperatures, so they are planted in open ground or a greenhouse earlier than other representatives of the species.

Weather

Depending on the climatic conditions of your region, the time for sowing seeds for seedlings changes. The table below provides average data on the dates favorable for sowing vegetable crops.

The dates in the table are approximate and not strict; for a more accurate calculation of the time for sowing vegetables for seedlings, we suggest trying the countdown method, which we will discuss below.

Chto vajno uchest

To get the first vegetable harvest by a certain time, you need to correctly calculate the time when you need to sow seeds for seedlings. To do this, you will need information:

– about the duration of the growing season of vegetable crops;

– about the time required for seeds to germinate (for shoots to appear).

If you take these variables into account, then calculating the timing of sowing seeds for seedlings will not be difficult at all. Now let’s stop at each factor and consider it in more detail.

Time of germination of seeds

When calculating the time for sowing certain crops, we often forget about the need to take into account the timing of seed germination. The time of emergence and uniformity of germination depend on the storage conditions of the seeds, their preliminary treatment, and the favorable conditions created for growing seedlings. The average figures for this parameter are as follows:

Use seeds that you have collected and stored yourself or buy seeds in specialized stores to protect yourself from scammers and be sure of a good harvest.

Vehetatsyonnыy period

The time from germination to harvesting is called the growing season. The duration of this period varies among plants, moreover, it can also be different for varieties of the same species – hence the division of varieties into early, mid-season and late.

Early ripening varieties need much less time to ripen than late and mid-season varieties. As a rule, in the middle zone, plants with a longer growing season are grown using the seedling method so that they have time to produce a harvest.

Seed producers usually indicate on the packaging information about the duration of the crop’s growing season. On average, the growing season lasts:

This indicator depends on many circumstances: seed storage conditions, biological characteristics of the vegetable crop, growing conditions, etc.

How to calculate sowing time

The information in the tables above can be used to calculate the sowing date for seedlings. To do this, add the number of days needed for seed germination and 5 days (approximately) for the plant to adapt after planting in the ground to the number indicating the length of the growing season. Then subtract the resulting number from the date you plan to harvest.

For example, you want to harvest tomatoes by mid-July (let’s take 20.07). The packaging indicates that the variety you have chosen has a vegetation period of 130 days: 130+7+5=142, so you need to subtract 20 days from 142 July. It turns out that you need to sow tomato seeds for seedlings on 28 February. Of course, the dates are approximate, since a large number of factors affect the development of the plant.

When to plant seedlings in the ground

When planning the time for sowing seedlings, do not forget to take into account the conditions in which you are going to grow the plant after its “move” – will it be a greenhouse or hotbed (protected soil) or just a bed (open soil). Plants can be planted in protected soil from the beginning of May, and in open soil – not earlier than the end of May – beginning of June. You need to start from these dates when calculating the time for sowing seeds.

We suggest you familiarize yourself with the table, which indicates the optimal age of seedlings for planting in the ground.

When planting seedlings in the ground, you need to be very careful not to harm the young plant, because this is stress for the seedlings. We recommend using our advice:

Don’t overestimate your capabilities!

It is quite logical to conclude that the earlier the seeds are sown, the sooner the long-awaited harvest will ripen. But do not take everything literally and blindly follow this truth. When calculating the sowing dates, take into account your capabilities.

For example, if you sow pepper seeds for seedlings ahead of schedule (say, at the end of January), the shoots will have to be illuminated, because during this period the daylight hours are not long enough for the full development of the plant. If you do not organize additional lighting for the seedlings, they will stretch out too much and wither.

In addition, in the case of such early sowing, the grown pepper seedlings will need to be planted in the ground in the first ten days of April. In the conditions of the middle zone, this can only be done if there is a heated greenhouse, so if you do not have such opportunities, then you should not rush to sow seeds for seedlings.

After the shoots appear, provide the seedlings with proper care, and in just a few months you will enjoy a rich harvest of tasty and healthy vegetables!