Back in early spring, in March, we planted tomato seeds for seedlings. After trying numerous varieties over more than 30 years, we've developed our favorites. And every year we grow tomatoes from our own seeds. The first variety, for open ground and plastic greenhouses, we call "Bushy." It's similar to the Rio Grande variety and very productive. The second is a versatile variety. It grows well in any conditions. This variety is called "Black Cherry." It's easy to grow and very tasty.
So, in March, we planted the seeds, first in one container. When the leaves appeared, we transplanted them into individual cups. We fed them twice with a general-purpose seedling fertilizer.
Around mid-April the seedlings looked like this.
In May, we went to our dacha. On the most favorable day for planting this year (May 10th), we planted Black Cherry in the greenhouse.
I will describe the step-by-step process:
- In early April, we added compost, superphosphate, potassium sulfate, and ash to the soil dug over in the fall. We then dug over the soil again and leveled it.
- Then, when planting, we dug holes, quite deep. We placed humus mixed with ash underneath, covered it all with soil, placed the tomatoes in them, and covered them up, compacting them slightly. Once everything was planted, we set up drip irrigation.
A week later we decided to plant it in open soil, covering it with lutrasil.
The bed was prepared in the same way as in the greenhouse. This time, however, we laid black plastic sheeting with holes punched into it for the planting holes.
Planting was no different from greenhouse planting. We also set up drip irrigation and provided a shelter.
