May sowing of tomatoes: is there any point in wasting time or money on seedlings?

Tomato is the most important crop with many beneficial properties. When warm days come, you want to get a harvest as soon as possible in order to please yourself and your loved ones with a fresh tomato from the garden. It is for this reason that most gardeners try to start seedlings early or run to the market for ready-made ones when it’s time to plant them. But this is not at all necessary, because May is the right time to sow seeds in open ground.

How to choose sowing time

You can find many varieties on sale. They are divided into four large groups:

• hybrid (the crop ripens
• after 85 days);
• early (3 months);
• mid-season (up to 100 days);
• late (4 months).

Different yield periods require a different approach: the longer the ripening period, the later the time for planting is chosen.

Nuances that require attention

In the southern regions, it is customary to sow vegetables from the second half of April to the beginning of May.. This is explained by the fact that there are no frosts at this time. You can safely leave the plant in open ground.

The hot southern climate has another advantage: here you can combine late and early varieties, both of which grow well and produce a bountiful harvest. Moreover, even late-ripening ones can be easily grown using the seedless method..

REFERENCE.Mid-season and late-ripening tomatoes are universal; they grow well both in greenhouse conditions and in the garden, but they are demanding on a stable level of heat and light. However, new hybrid species that are resistant to climate change can be found on sale.

The situation is more complicated in more northern latitudes, where weather surprises are possible even in the last month of spring. In some cases, plants have to be covered with film to protect them from sudden cold snaps.. Many gardeners prefer the greenhouse option, it’s safer and easier, because frost can destroy seedlings, regardless of the variety.

ON A NOTE. There is an opinion that early tomatoes are preferable in this case. They adapt well to any daylight hours, and even in unfavorable weather conditions you will have time to harvest a ripe harvest.

Differences in sowing time of varieties:

• southern regions of the Russian Federation - from the last ten days of April;
• central - from the tenth of May to the beginning of June;
• northern regions - from the second ten days of May to mid-June.

ON A NOTE. If the crop is planned to be grown in a greenhouse, the specified period is shifted back by 2-3 weeks.

The main argument in favor of seedless cultivation

As a rule, seedlings begin to be prepared 1.5-2 months before planting in open ground. During this period, it experiences at least 2 shocks: hardening and a change of environment (sending from greenhouse soil to open beds). But quite often this is mixed in with:

• picking, which is practiced more often than individual sowing of seeds;
• insufficiently accurate calculation of the readiness time of seedlings that simply outgrow;
• long wait with exposed root system (typical for purchased material).

This amount of stress invariably affects the speed of development of the plant, which ultimately begins to bear fruit only 1.5-2.5 weeks earlier than those that grew from seeds directly in the open garden bed, and on the yield, which is usually less than that of the latter.

So it’s up to you to decide whether protracted games with seedlings or financial investments in it are worth the candle. But those who have returned to the seedless method of growing tomatoes “for themselves” rarely grow more than a dozen bushes on the windowsill intended for early salads; the rest of the tomato bed is formed by them immediately in the open ground.