How to save tomato seedlings if they are frozen?

Seedlings are frozen. The soul is on the heels of such news, and the heart is filled with anger. After all, forecasters promised that the cold weather has receded completely, and the rest of spring will please with sunny and warm weather. The seedlings grown on the windowsill or purchased on the market settled in the garden, in some places new leaves made their way.

Even a greenhouse will not save plants if the air temperature drops below -7 ° C. But do not indulge in despondency and start digging up the beds. And let sellers in the market not rejoice at unexpected profits. Frozen tomato seedlings can be reanimated in several ways.

Method one - treatment with "Epinom"

"Epin" saved many tomato seedlings in situations where the death of the plant was no longer in doubt. Russian scientists have developed a drug that strengthens the immunity of vegetable crops. Biostimulant and adaptogen, it works effectively in stressful situations. It has proven itself excellently in freezing tomato seedlings.

Advice

Biostimulants are unsafe for the human body; treatment should be done with gloves and a mask. After the end of the work, the empty ampoule is disposed of in accordance with the instructions. The working solution is stored for about two days in a dark place.

It is important to follow all recommendations for its use.

• Do not exceed the concentration of the working solution. One ampoule of "Epin" is added to five liters of water and stirred thoroughly.
• Acidify the prepared mixture. A pinch of citric acid is enough.
• You can process seedlings only in the early morning or late evening. The daily treatment will not give the desired results.
• Moisten the soil under the plants.

Method two - pour water

If the frost was minus 6-7 ° C, the tomato stems are covered with a crust of ice, and resuscitation is meaningless. Did the air temperature drop below minus 2-3 ° C? This means that you can do the dousing procedure. Lost moisture is returned to the plant, sap flow is stimulated as follows:

• you need to prepare several buckets of cold water;
• watering is necessary only before sunrise;
• carefully process each plant, drops of water should remain on the villi.

Advice

It is advisable to take water from a natural reservoir (river, lake, pond) or a well. Tap water is saturated with unnecessary impurities that will only harm a weakened plant.

The tomato seedlings are velvety to the touch, the stem is covered with many bristles. And each of them retains a drop of moisture on its surface. It is difficult to notice it with the naked eye. After pouring, the stem and leaves should not be touched.

Method three - pruning

This method is cardinal, but at the same time the most effective. Experienced gardeners always give them a chance before throwing out seedlings. Has the whole plant completely died or only its ground part, can it be saved? It is difficult to visually determine this. To answer this question, the following activities are carried out:

• with a sharp tool, you need to cut off the dead parts of tomato seedlings to the level of the soil;
• top dressing with high-quality fertilizer (urea, cow dung);
• if the seedlings are frozen in the open field, it is necessary to build a greenhouse over it.

Now it remains to wait a few days. The stepchildren will grow, which, with proper care, will give a good harvest. He will be a couple of weeks later, but in terms of performance, no less than that which would have been removed from the main seedlings of tomatoes.

Advice

Tomatoes reproduce well vegetatively. Those of them who survived the test of frost can be cut off dead roots.New roots will soon appear in a container with water, and then powerful roots will form. The plant is ready for another planting in the ground.

It is possible to revive tomato seedlings in this way under one condition - a sufficient length of the stem underground, that is, if the "deep planting" method was applied, when part of the plant is deliberately buried.

The fourth method is to hide from the sun

This method can save not badly damaged seedlings, but only slightly wilted ones. It must not be blackened or icy. It is imperative to create protection from the sun over the beds before sunrise. Time will not work against the gardener if you take care of the materials in advance.

Advice

You can use large pieces of cardboard to create the shadow. A temporary greenhouse is also good. With this method of resuscitation, additional treatment with a biostimulant will give tomato seedlings a better chance of survival.

Then the seedlings will not immediately fall under its destructive rays. It will thaw gradually. In this case, the moisture remaining on the villi does not dry out, but remains on the stem and leaves. By the evening they will take their original form.

When one of the methods does not help, the blackened tomato seedlings have not shown signs of life, you should not despair. Experienced agronomists and gardeners do not give up at the first failure, do not pick up hoes and shovels, but try all the options. Perhaps they know that at the slightest opportunity, tomato seedlings will come to life. You just need to give her this opportunity.

Is it a shame that the vagaries of the weather nullified all the work? Has the purchase of seedlings made a significant hole in the family budget? There is no time for resentment. It's time to roll up your sleeves and take action.