Tomato seeds need the bright red part of the spectrum of the sun's rays to germinate. The botanists therefore count them among the light germs. With a beam of light, however, only part of the germination conditions are met. You can find out what else is included here.
Pre-treatment increases germination
The cultivation of tomato plants behind glass begins at the end of February/beginning of March. The self-harvested or purchased seeds are not naturally ready to germinate. After a simple pre-treatment, the mood for germs will improve immensely:
- Soak the tomato seeds in lukewarm chamomile tea for half a day
- Diluted garlic juice in a ratio of 1:10 also works
This process not only promotes the willingness to germinate, but also strengthens the resistance to infestation with mold spores.
Light alone will not germinate tomato seeds
If the seed pots (€16.68) are filled with nutrient-poor substrate, sow the prepared seeds 3 centimeters apart. The seed may be covered with soil or sand by a maximum of 0.5 centimetres. From this point on, the following factors should complement each other so that the tomato seeds germinate quickly:
- in the semi-shady location, enough light penetrates the seeds so that they reach the light red spectral range
- there is a constant temperature of 18 to 24 degrees Celsius
- the seed is kept slightly moist
Sowing should not be done in direct sunlight. The tender seeds would spoil in a short time. Normal daylight is perfectly sufficient to encourage the light germs to become active. Under ideal conditions, the germination period is between 10 and 14 days. Prick out as soon as the first true pair of leaves has developed.
tips and tricks
Since light germs are always at risk of being washed away by the irrigation water, clever hobby gardeners use the following trick. Instead of watering the seed from above, they apply the water from below. For this purpose, the growing pots come up to half in water. Due to the capillary effect, the substrate absorbs moisture. As soon as the seed soil is moist to the surface, the pots are returned to the indoor greenhouse.