Preparation of tomato nursery inside net house

Key points

• Tomato cultivation in glasshouse/greenhouse
• Raising of seedling
• Preparation of growing media
• Germination of seeds
• Preparation of tomato seedling beds

Also read: Growing Tomato, Brinjal and Chilli in Low Temperature

Steps in preparation of tomato nursery inside net house

• Preparation of growing media
• Making seedbeds
• Sowing seeds
• Hardening of seedlings

What is the seed rate of tomato for 1000 square meter?

20 g seed is required to plant 1000 square meter of greenhouse area.

How to raise seedlings?

Tomato seedlings should be raised in seedling trays. Keep these trays inside a net house or polyhouse.

How to prepare growing media?

Take vermicompost and sand in a ratio of 1:1. You can also use well decomposed cocopeat. Cocopeat should be rich in nutrients. Always sterilize cocopeat before using it as growing media.

Which seedling tray is best for growing tomato seedlings?

Seedling trays containing 98 cells made of polypropylene material are best for growing tomato seedlings. These trays should have drainage holes to avoid soggy soil.

How to sterilize seedling trays?

Drench the seedling trays using copper oxychloride solution. For this dissolve 3 g of copper oxychloride in one liter of water.

Tomato seedlings and seed germination

How to sow tomato seeds?

Follow these steps:

• Treatment of seeds: Use 0.2 g of Captaf for 100 g of seeds. Caftaf contains captan 50% WP.

• Making holes for seeds: Make a shallow depression of 5 mm depth in each cell.

• Sowing seeds: Drop one seed in each cell.

• Covering seeds: Cover the seeds with a thin layer of the above growing medium.

• Watering: Water it lightly with a rose can. If the commercial cocopeat having adequate moisture is used, no irrigation is required until seeds germinate.

Then, stake the trays one above the other and cover with plastic sheet to create necessary warmth and humidity for fast and better germination.

Germination of seeds

• Seeds germinate in 3 to 4 days after sowing.
• Shift the trays to a net house or a polyhouse immediately after germination. Place the trays on the raised bed.
• Water the trays twice a day to maintain appropriate moisture.

How to apply trace elements?

Don’t forget to drench the seedlings with 0 2% (19:19:19 plus) trace elements at 15 days after germination.

How to control thrips?

Spray acephate on seedling to prevent the infection by thrips. For this, dissolve 0.75 g acephate in one liter of water.

How to harden plants?

Harden the seedlings by exposing them gradually to sunlight and by reducing the frequency of watering.

When will be seedlings ready for transplanting?

The seedling will be ready for planting 20-25 days after sowing.

How to prepare growing beds?

Plough or dug the soil of the beds to make it loose. Break the clods to bring the soil to a fine tilth. Prepare 100 cm long and 15 cm high beds. Leave 50 cm space between the beds for working place.

Use well-decomposed locally available organic manure at the rate of one bamboo basket per square meter of the bed. Mix it thoroughly, and level the beds. You can mix up to 25% sand in heavy soil to facilitate proper aeration in the root zone.

How to disinfect growing beds?

• Drench the beds using 4% formaldehyde for per square meter bed area.
• Cover the beds with a 400 gauge polythene sheet.
• Close the ventilators.
• Remove the polythene cover four days after formaldehyde treatment.
• Rake the soil surface to remove the trapped formaldehyde.
• Don’t forget to wear mask, gloves, and apron to avoid direct body contact with formaldehyde.

How to install drip line?

Place one inline drip lateral at the center of the bed. Inline drip lateral should have an emitting point for every 30 cm interval with a discharge of 2 liter of water per hour. Run the drip system to check each emitting point for uniform discharge of water.

How to install mulch?

• Use polythene film of 100 micron or 400 gauge. Width is 1.2 m.
• Diameter of a hole is 5 cm.
• Recommended spacing for making hole is 60×45 cm
• Cover the planting beds with the mulch film by securing the edges of the sheet and burying into the soil.