Preparation of seeds for sowing

The process of seed preparation depends on the specific culture, but usually the preparation of seeds for sowing is divided into several stages: calibration, disinfection, soaking, germination, vernalization or hardening, treatment with stimulants, microfertilizers and hormonal preparations.

Preparation of seeds for seeding begins with calibrating - you need to choose the best quality for sowingseeds and sort them by size, because seeds of the same size give uniform shoots. Large seeds are sorted using a sieve with apertures 2.5 mm in diameter or magnifying glasses. The average is immersed in a 3-5% solution of common salt or ammonium nitrate, mixed and allowed to settle. After a while, the solution, together with the seeds that have floated up, is drained, and the settled seeds are washed and dried. For sorting small seeds an electrified stick is used - it attracts frail and empty seeds.

Preparation of seeds for sowing continues disinfection. At home, you can use for thesepurposes 1% solution of potassium permanganate, marigold infusion, garlic solution, aloe juice. For some seeds, warming up in hot water is suitable, for example, the seeds of the cucumber need to be heated for two hours at a temperature of 50-60 ° C, and for cabbage seeds, 20 minutes will suffice. You can use dry etching with the help of special pesticides (it is very important to observe the safety rules!)

To improve the germination and increase the number of fertile female flowers, the seeds of courgettes, pumpkin, cucumber, etc., can be warm up. Dry seeds are heated at a temperature of 60 ° C (in a drying cabinet, thermostat, etc.) or folded in paper bags and heated on a battery for 1-2 months at a temperature of 20-25 ° C.

Disinfecting their seeds usually soaked - so the seeds will sprout faster. For soaking it is best to use melt water. First you need to fill the seeds with half water, and when they swell, top up the rest. Seeds of beet, parsley, onion, tomato, carrots soaked for two days, and seeds of cabbage, cucumber, melon, watermelon, radish, lettuce, zucchini will last 8-12 hours. Peas and beans are soaked for two hours.

Soaked seeds germinate at a temperature of 15-20 ° C, a thin layer of spilling them on fabric or paper. The preparation of seeds for sowing after germination consists in their vernalization or hardening. When vernalization seeds are buried in the snow, put in a refrigerator (temperature - 0 ° C) or transferred to a glacier. The duration of vernalization for different cultures is different:

• 
  for beets - 10-12 days
• 
  for onions, carrots, parsley - 15-20 days
• 
  for cabbage - 17-22 days

Immediately after vernalization, the seeds are sown in the soil. Some gardeners during vernalization shift the seeds with sand - this improves aeration and prevents rotting. This technique is called sanding. After grit, the seeds are sown in the soil together with the sand.

Seeds of heat-loving crops (tomatoes, cucumbers) are tempered instead of vernalized - hardening improves sprouting resistance to lowtemperatures and increases yield. One of the simplest ways to harden seeds is to freeze them for several days (1-3) in the refrigerator at a temperature of -1 ... 3 ° C.

Before sowing, you can to process seeds with stimulants and microfertilizers - A ready mix of trace elements (you can buy it in the store) according to the instructions or an extract from the ashes. Ready mix usually contains baking soda, manganesepotassium, zinc sulphate, boric acid, copper sulfate, ammonium molybdate, methylene blue. For processing, it is necessary to heat the water to 20-25 ° C, pour in the required amount of the mixture and soak the grain for 12-24 hours.

Seeds of tomato, lettuce, radish, onion can be soaked in 0.1% solution nicotinic acid. You can also withstand the seeds in extraction from ash for 4-6 hours. To prepare the extract, pour 10-20 g of ash with a liter of water, hold for 1-2 days, and pour the seeds with the resulting infusion.

For seed treatment with hormonal drugs you need to prepare a hormonal extract. To do this, take 50 g of green leaves of early-growing and wintering plants (adoxes, levies, ferns, vivipants), chop and pour 40-70% solution of alcohol and put in the refrigerator. To soak the seeds, the resulting extract is added to water (10 g per liter of water).