How to properly soak tomato seeds before planting?

Information on how to soak tomato seeds before planting can be useful for those summer residents who want to get guaranteed seedlings in a short time.

Presowing preparation allows:

• select only high-quality seed,
• to decontaminate it,
• accelerate the germination process,
• grow strong and high quality seedlings.

To carry out the processing correctly, you need to know its technology.

Do I need to soak tomato seeds before planting?

It is not necessary to soak tomato seeds before sowing, especially if there is confidence in their quality.

• When buying seed from a large garden center, you can usually protect yourself from buying dry, old, spoiled seeds.
• Using your own planting material, it is better to play it safe and carry out the pickling procedure, especially if the tomatoes were sick with fungal diseases in the previous season. The same goes for tomato seeds bought from hands or taken from neighbors in the country.

Experienced gardeners confirm that after soaking tomatoes on the eve of planting, the crop yield increases by a third. This is due to the acceleration of growth processes and a decrease in the incidence of plant diseases. In addition, seedlings in this case will be friendly.

Do I need to soak processed tomato seeds?

Large producers carry out all the necessary processing of the planting material before selling it and provide the right conditions for its storage. Experts do not recommend soaking the seeds of foreign companies and hybrids, but for all others, such a procedure will be useful.

In the case of pre-treatment of seed material, information about this is placed on the package. However, the lack of appropriate labeling is often found in imported seeds. In appearance, such seeds will differ: their shell looks smoother and has an unusual color (red, blue, yellow, green). The addition of colorant warns the buyer that the seeds are pickled.

When should you soak tomato seeds according to the lunar calendar?

Gardeners try to use every opportunity to get high-quality tomato seedlings and a good harvest in the future. The lunar calendar can help them in this. The phases of the moon affect all living things, including plants.

When calculating the timing of planting, taking into account favorable days, you need to remember that for a greenhouse, seedlings are sown 2 weeks earlier than for planting in open ground.

The sowing date is the moment when the planting material is soaked. Indeed, in seeds that have fallen into a humid environment, life immediately awakens, and growth processes are activated.

In some areas, tomatoes are already planted at the end of January to get vegetables to your table early. Tomato seedlings are ready for planting in the ground on the 63-65th day from the moment of sowing. If necessary, the sowing dates are adjusted depending on the current weather conditions.

According to the lunar calendar in 2020, work with tomato seeds will be favorable on the following dates:

• January 22 - sizing and soaking;
• January 28 and 29 - preparation and sowing;
• February 1, 2, 3 - germination, sowing;
• February 6, 7 - sowing work;
• February 19, 20 - soaking;
• February 28, 29 - sowing work;
• 4, 5 and 6 March - sowing operations;
• March 27, 28 - sowing work.

Sowing according to the lunar calendar is timed to the periods of the growing moon. At this time, the plant juices rush upward, promoting rapid growth. Seeds can be soaked in the waning phase of the night star.

In what can you soak tomato seeds before sowing?

Pre-processing of planting material pursues several goals at once. The gardener may skip one of the preparation stages as unnecessary.

The seeds are soaked in order to:

• etching;
• awakening;
• strengthening immunity.

Let's say you bought disinfected seeds, but you want to get seedlings faster. In this case, you can not pickle the seed, but go directly to the activation of growth processes.

Disinfection procedure

Seed dressing is a disinfection to remove bacteria, viruses, fungal spores. If the seeds look healthy and do not arouse suspicion, it is better to skip this step, as harm may be done instead of benefit.

For disinfection use:

• Potassium permanganate. The seeds are soaked in potassium permanganate, preparing a pale pink solution. The procedure takes no more than 20-30 minutes.
• Hydrogen peroxide. The drug is bought at a pharmacy. It has a 3% concentration, and before use, it must be additionally diluted with water (1 tablespoon of peroxide per 2 tablespoons of water). Previously, the seeds are placed in warm water for half an hour to swell. Soaking in hydrogen peroxide is carried out for 3-4 hours.
• Fungicide. Usually, the seed is soaked in Fitosporin: 3-4 drops of the drug are added to 200 ml of water. Soaking time in solution is 2.5–3 hours. The tool not only kills fungal spores, but also increases the stamina of seedlings in the future.

After applying the dressing agents, the treated seeds must be washed in clean water and slightly dried or immediately soaked in stimulants. Drying is used to make sowing more convenient.

Awakening and strengthening of immunity

Quality tomato seeds do not need any additional awakening procedures. It has been experimentally proven that it makes no sense to soak the planting material of this culture for this purpose. If the seeds are not expired and stored in optimal conditions, they will sprout at the same rate whether they are soaked or not.

However, if it is planned to sow old, overdried seeds of the desired variety, then awakening is necessary.

You can revive old seeds with:

• Growth stimulants. Soak the seeds in Epin or Zircon for 18 hours, and then put them between several layers of moistened tissue for germination. The stimulating solution is prepared in accordance with the instructions for the selected drug.
• Aloe. This plant has regenerating and stimulating properties. The planting material is soaked in aloe juice, half diluted with clean water. Soaking should be done within 24 hours. To obtain juice, take the lowest leaves of the flower, place them in a plastic bag and put them in the refrigerator for 10-14 days.
• Nutrient solution. To prepare it, take a weak tea avar and add 2-3 drops of liquid nitrogen fertilizer to it. You need to keep the seeds in this composition until they hatch. An important condition in this case is an increased temperature. A container with planting material must be placed on a battery or placed under a lamp. The seeds should not be completely covered with water.

To begin with, the seeds need to be soaked in plain water for 2 hours so that they are saturated with moisture. If this rule is not followed, they may simply "burn out" in the stimulating solution, absorbing too much of it. All stimulants at the same time make the seedlings stronger, healthier, and well resistant to adverse factors.

How many hours to soak tomato seeds before planting?

The answer to the question of how to properly soak and for how many hours to leave tomato seeds in the solution depends on what exactly the soaking is in.

• For the purpose of disinfection, the seeds should not be left in the dressing agent for a long time, otherwise their death is likely. Disinfecting solutions of even weak concentration are used no longer than 3-4 hours.
• Another thing is stimulating compounds. It takes them a long time to awaken the seeds. In this case, the exposure lasts from 12 to 24 hours. It would be nice to pre-calibrate the seeds by putting them in a saline solution (1 teaspoon of salt in a glass of water). After 5-10 minutes, quality material will sink to the bottom, and pacifiers will remain floating on the surface.
• You can also soak tomato planting material in plain water before planting. It is better if it is melted or rainy. The water temperature should be slightly warmer than room temperature (+ 30–40 ° C). Usually, the seeds swell for 18 hours. They can then be used to plant or germinate.

How long does it take for soaked tomato seeds to germinate?

For the purpose of germination, the seeds are left in a humid environment for several days before sowing until the rudiments of the roots hatch. Without this procedure, 3-year-old seeds will hatch only after a week, and fresher ones after 4 days.

You can germinate seeds by placing them in a bowl with a damp cloth. They are also covered on top. Some people use cotton pads for this procedure. During germination, the moisture of the matter is controlled, adding a little water to the saucer if necessary. The seeds should remain only half covered with moisture, because immediately after waking up they need oxygen, otherwise they will not be able to get seedlings.

Keep the container with seeds in a warm place with a temperature of + 25-30 ° C.

Newbies are often interested in how long it takes for soaked tomato seeds to germinate. The process can take several days, but if all conditions are met, usually 1-2 days are enough.

There is definitely a benefit in using a procedure such as soaking the seeds, especially if not very fresh material of questionable quality is taken for planting. Germination gives an even greater guarantee of fast germination. In this case, handling the seed requires care so that fragile shoots are not damaged.