How to make vertical flower beds. Growing seedlings on toilet paper

Proper cultivation seedlings in the spring is a guarantee of obtaining good harvest by autumn. But how to have time to plant all the planned plants quickly, with minimal cost and quality? After all, there is not enough power for everything. Earlier, according to tradition, since autumn, gardeners prepared the soil, then fiddled with it before planting - they calcined it, washed it, and so on. In addition, working with the earth is a large number of garbage and dirt. However, there is a way that will allow you to plant some seeds very quickly and at the same time keep the apartment clean. seedlings on toilet paper feels great, and the summer resident saves a lot of free time and effort by growing it in this way.

The method of growing seedlings on toilet paper has appeared among summer residents recently, but is already very popular. The fact is that he has a lot of advantages that the horticultural community did not fail to note. For example, using paper as a substrate saves a lot of time and effort. At the same time, in order to implement this technology in life, in addition to the seeds themselves, a minimum of additional materials- directly a roll of ordinary toilet paper, water, plastic bag, scissors and containers.

For the first time, paper for hygienic purposes was used in China in the 600s of our era. And after 700 years, specially created paper sheets were delivered to the court of the emperor every year: especially soft ones for the emperor himself and his family members, and harder ones for the courtiers.

In the middle of the 19th century, the first toilet paper appeared in the United States, which was cut into sheets and packed in a box. In the same century, the production of this simple but ingenious invention begins. And only at the beginning of the 20th century did the first perforated roll paper appear, which was invented in Germany.

The production of toilet paper is far from the easiest process; in the process of creation, it must acquire certain qualities:

• softness;
• the ability to break easily;
• colorlessness (absence of chemical dyes in the composition) or coloring with certain harmless and hypoallergenic dyes;
• high hygroscopicity;
• the ability to easily disintegrate into individual fibers in water.

Toilet paper contains recycled paper (grey paper) and cellulose (white paper).

On a note! As a substrate for growing seedlings, you can use not only toilet paper. Disposable paper handkerchiefs and napkins are also suitable (but not ideal) for these purposes. The main thing is that the material is soft, easily torn.

Why is paper good for gardening?

Toilet paper, due to some of its properties, is excellent for use as a substrate for growing seedlings. It is soft, does not allow the emerging roots to get entangled in itself, and makes it easy to pick. At the same time, a reasonable question about nutrients can be answered as follows: due to natural features plant seeds during germination do not need additional nutrients and useful elements obtained from the soil. For the first time, they will have enough of what was laid down during their formation and development.

Recall the structure of seeds, which was studied in biology classes at school. In the seeds, whether dicotyledonous or monocotyledonous, there are special tissues that represent a supply of nutrients - these are proteins, starch, oils. It can be endosperm, cotyledons and other tissues. Thus, it is safe to say that at the beginning of their life, small plants feed themselves, and therefore the presence of nutrients in the substrate is not at all necessary. On the contrary, some advise using a less nutritious substrate for these purposes.

Advantages and disadvantages of the "paper" method

The "paper" method of growing seedlings has a lot of advantages that gardeners did not fail to note. It is because of these advantages that the method has become so popular and continues to be actively distributed among summer residents.

The disadvantages of the methods of germinating seeds for seedlings on toilet paper include the following.

1. Some crops, for example, do not germinate very well on paper, as they require special conditions for development. For them, it is mandatory to carry out pre-sowing preparation - for example, to withstand in an ash solution.
2. Seedlings after the appearance of roots, it is important to pay a lot of attention. You must not miss the timing of planting sprouts in the ground (picks), otherwise the seedlings will die. To do this, crops should be checked every day.
3. Plants may experience a lack of light with a large planting density.

What can be planted on paper?

The technology of growing seedlings on paper is theoretically suitable for all horticultural crops - peppers, tomatoes, cabbage, onions. However, it is not always advisable to use it for heat-loving plants in order to save space. The fact is that seedlings of peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers will still have to dive into pots - after the emergence of seedlings, these crops are not yet ready to move to a greenhouse even in the southern regions of Russia. Both bulky pots and containers with seedlings will still stand on the windowsills and tables at home. This method is relevant only in certain cases - for example, if you need to germinate expired seeds.

But cold-resistant crops (for example, onion), which, after germination, are immediately planted in the ground, can and should be grown on paper.

Cooking seeds

Many seeds germinate well on paper, but there are those that will not germinate under any circumstances. These are dead grains that should be disposed of. In order to sort "live" and "non-living" seeds, they must be kept in a weak salt solution (at the rate of 30 g per 1 liter of water). All bad seeds will float to the surface - they can be collected and thrown away. The water is then drained off and the remaining seed is dried. After this procedure, it can be planted on paper.

By the way, there are different ways growing seedlings on paper. Let's take a look at the two most common ones.

We grow seedlings in Moscow

You can germinate the seeds in a way that is called "in Moscow" or the "hand-rolled" method. In order to implement this method, you will need water (preferably spring or melted water, although you can take ordinary tap water, but it should settle), a syringe or a spray bottle, the crop seeds themselves, plastic bags for breakfast, toilet paper and a plastic cup. In this case, toilet paper should be taken white or gray color- It is not recommended to use color.

Step 1. Take one plastic bag and lay it flat on the table surface.

Step 2 Start laying toilet paper in layers on the surface of the bag. In this case, first lay the paper along the top edge, then - along the bottom. And so several times. The entire surface of the package should be hidden.

Step 3 Be sure to moisten each layer with water from a spray bottle or syringe.

Step 4 Gently spread the seeds in one row along the top edge. Step back from the edge about 1 cm. Keep the distance between the seeds 1-2 cm.

Step 5 Now gently roll the "hand-rolled" into a roll. You can start turning from any edge. Try to roll the roll evenly and neatly.

Step 6 On the folded roll, write the name of the crop with a marker, and also indicate the date of sowing and the number of seeds.

Step 7 Pour some water into an empty plastic cup (about 5-10 mm).

Step 8 In a glass of water, place a roll of seeds with the bottom edge down (the one where there are no seeds).

On a note! In one glass to save space, you can put several rolls of seeds.

Step 9 Take another plastic bag and cover the cup with the roll with it. This will keep you warm.

Put the glass with rolls in a warm place. The first shoots will appear in a few days. The bag should be removed when the first "loops" of seedlings appear above the paper. At the same time, the glass is moved to a well-lit place. At first, you can not add water, but as soon as the roots of the plants reach the liquid at the bottom, you need to start adding it (water) regularly.

Video - Tomatoes using the Moscow method

Growing seedlings on paper in a bottle

Seedlings on paper can also be grown in a bottle. Using this option plastic containers, you will immediately receive both a mini-bed and. You will need seeds, water, toilet paper, a plastic bottle and scissors.

Step 1. Unwind several strips of toilet paper, fold them together and cut into small pieces with scissors.

On a note! If the toilet paper is soft and very hygroscopic, then you can skip this step and simply cut or tear the strips.

Step 2 Cut a plastic bottle into two parts so that the bottom of it remains intact, and place pieces of paper on one of the halves.

Step 3 Water the paper so that it is well drenched.

Step 4 Place the seeds on the surface of moistened toilet paper, cover them with other pieces of paper, and write the name of the culture on the surface of the bottle.

Step 5 Use the cap to close the bottle with the sown seeds.

Step 6 Place the bottle in a bag, tie it with an elastic band and put it on the floor under the battery.

Video - Seedlings in a bottle

seedling care

When the seeds are sown, it remains to properly care for them and wait for the first shoots.

Table. Conditions for seedlings when grown on toilet paper.

Petunia seeds are so small that they can be sown in open ground is throwing money away literally. The slightest flow of air, and where to look for these tiny grains? It won’t be blown away by the wind, so it will be washed away by spring rains. Or they will dig so deep into the ground that they will not have enough strength to germinate. And even if the natural elements do not destroy the seeds, it will be possible to wait for flowers with this method of cultivation only by the end of the summer season. In this case, how to grow bush petunia without incurring material and moral costs? The only one possible way getting nice flowering plants- through seedlings. There are a lot of options on how to grow a petunia at home undersized. It is better to arm yourself with the knowledge of everyone, and time and experience will show which one will become your favorite.

It takes about 90 days to obtain strong, suitable for planting petunia seedlings from seeds or from a capsule. In this case, there are several immutable rules, non-observance of which leads to a deplorable result or even to its absence. All the subtleties of planting and care should take place "like clockwork", clearly and constructively.

Seedlings in a box - the old proven way

Such garden flower, like petunia, is known to almost every gardener. And this is no coincidence, because the variety of shapes and colors of flowers can surprise everyone. Petunia flowers come in white, blue, yellow, pink, blue, red, purple flowers and their shades. Many flower growers complain that petunia is difficult to germinate. Problems often begin with the first steps: 1-2 seeds can sprout from a whole bag of seeds, or even none at all. True, sometimes there are only 5-7 seeds in that bag, but it’s still a shame. There are many ways to sow seeds, but today gardeners especially praise the method of growing flowers in a plastic bottle on toilet paper. This germination option has several advantages, is easy to perform, does not require extra Money, it is easy to use even for a beginner.

Choosing the Right Petunia Seeds

As usual, everything starts with seeds. For cultivation flower seedling petunias, it is assumed to use high quality seeds, the producers of which are well-known floricultural companies. There are nuances in the choice of seeds that relate to petunias themselves:

• ampel varieties, even with regular pinching, usually branch weakly; if you plan to plant petunias not in hanging baskets or boxes, but in the ground, choose bush varieties; and in containers, ampelous varieties should be planted more densely - this way they look more magnificent and look better;
• coated seeds are more convenient to sow than ordinary ones, but with a lack of moisture they do not germinate - the shell does not dissolve; in addition, pelleted seeds are more demanding in terms of compliance with the terms and conditions of storage; in general, more reliable are ordinary ones, although they require more patience; however, this is subjective;
• mixtures of varieties, as practice shows, rarely live up to expectations; if possible, give preference to specific varieties: at least there will be some confidence that you will get exactly the right one color scheme which you are counting on;
• buy only fresh seeds from reputable manufacturers in trusted stores: poor germination is one of the most common problems when trying to grow petunias from seeds.

Articles about growing seedlings

Petunia seeds are of two types - pure and coated. The latter have a number of advantages. The shell protects the seeds from diseases and various mechanical damage and also facilitates sowing. The advantage of unshelled seeds is only that they are less expensive and good germination can be achieved if properly sown. It is advisable to mark the crops of petunias in order to know which variety you are sowing.

When to sow petunia seeds for seedlings

The main question that interests many beginner gardeners is how to properly plant petunias for seedlings and when to start sowing. The timing of sowing depends on when you want to get flowering seedlings. IN middle lane, sowing seeds for seedlings, as a rule, is planted in late February - early March. Then at the end of May - mid-June, depending on the variety group, the plants will bloom. You can do this in January, because it is possible to illuminate the seedlings.

Benefits of using plastic bottles on toilet paper

It is very easy to get seedlings using the landless method of growing them, and it will not take much time. The main advantages of using such cultivation are:

• seedlings require very little space;
• the root system of such seedlings is stronger than that obtained through the germination of seeds in the ground;
• seed germination is also higher;
• crops grown from such seedlings bear fruit a week earlier;
• the incidence of black leg seedlings is almost impossible.

Necessary tools and ingredients for growing pitunia seedlings in plastic bottles on toilet paper

Having decided to grow petunia seedlings at home on toilet paper, you will need:

1. Plastic bags.
2. Toilet paper.
3. Cropped plastic bottle or glass.
4. Seeds.

Articles about the unusual cultivation of seedlings

Planting petunia seedlings in plastic bottles on toilet paper

To select seeds suitable for sowing, they are dipped in a solution made up of three teaspoons of salt and a liter of water. After a few minutes, the seeds remaining on the surface can be removed and discarded - they will not hatch, and the rest are suitable for planting. There are several options for sowing petunias using toilet paper and a bottle. From the old container, you can make a mini-greenhouse or cut out a convenient "glass" where the seeds will be placed.

Using all this, we sow petunia on toilet paper in two ways:

1. Sowing by direct method.
2. Sowing in a snail (twist, diaper);

Method number 1

In the lower part we arrange toilet paper folded in 3-4 layers. Spray it with water and sow petunia seeds on top. We spray again, close the "greenhouse" and send it to a warm place.

After 2-3 days, the seeds "come to life" and show their germination. We open the bottle and cover the seeds lightly with soil mixture. Spray and set again in a warm place. After another 3-4 days, we pour the soil mixture again and put it on the lightest window sill, or under a lamp for additional illumination, to prevent the seedlings from stretching. After 10 days, the seedlings are ready for picking in the traditional way.

Method number 2

For this method, you will also need a piece of dense polyethylene or oilcloth and an elastic band. Of these, we cut a ribbon 5 - 7 cm wide and long, depending on the volume of the bottle. On the cut off tape we settle the toilet paper folded in 3 - 4 layers. Spray paper with water. Stepping back from the edge of the tape by 1 - 1.5 cm, lay out the petunia seeds at a distance of 1 cm and wind them into a roll. We put an elastic band on the roll. Set the roll down plastic bottle. Once again, spray everything and close the top of the bottle. We put our crops in a warm place.

After 4 - 5 days, we unwind the crops, determine the percentage of germination and sprinkle all the seeds with a soil mixture for 1 - 2 cm. Spray with water, and rewind everything again. Now you can not fix the rubber band. We put it back in the bottom of the bottle and cover it.

If you decide to grow petunia seedlings in this way, you will need much less seeds. Each seed is under your control and supervision, which is very convenient.

Now you need to install the bottle in the brightest place, or under the lamp and carry out additional lighting.

Pitunya seedling picking

When 3-4 pairs of leaves begin to form on the sprouts, the time comes when it is best to dive the petunia after germination. This happens after about 4 weeks, on average 25 - 28 days after sowing the seeds, depending on the growing conditions and variety. Therefore, you can even roughly calculate the day when to dive a petunia.

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Currently, there are many methods for diving pitunya seedlings. In order to start diving plants, you need to prepare a large number disposable cups or peat pots. You will also need a sprayer and spatula for transplanting. The dive happens like this:

1. Fill the containers with soil and moisten it well with water.
2. Holes are made about 1.5 cm deep and 2 cm in diameter.
3. A petunia seedling is hooked with a spatula five millimeters from the stem and to a depth of 1.5 cm. They grab a seedling with soil and pull out the resulting lump of earth with roots.
4. A seedling is placed in a prepared hole in a glass, covered with soil on top, tamped with a finger from all sides.
5. The earth is gently sprinkled with water.

The picking process is completed.

Petunia seedling care after picking

When the picking of the plant has already been made, it remains only to ensure proper care which includes the following activities:

1. First of all, you need to ensure timely watering, especially in hot weather. But too much watering the seedlings is also not worth it. Otherwise, the roots may rot, and the plant will die or, at best, get sick.
2. top dressing mineral fertilizers every 10 days. It should be produced when four leaves appear on the plant. Suitable fertilizers containing nitrogen, potassium, calcium. They should be introduced first individually, and then in a complex. You can buy such fertilizers in specialized stores.
3. Security comfortable temperature(20-22 degrees) and enough light. It is better to place the seedlings near the window, on the windowsill.
4. Hardening petunias. It is produced 2-3 days after the dive. To do this, the room must be ventilated as often as possible.
5. If there are very low temperatures outside the window, then it is better to remove the seedlings away from the window. If this is not done, it may freeze.
6. Insufficient lighting and too heat contribute to the worst engraftment of petunias.

Many gardeners when growing seedlings are faced with such an unpleasant phenomenon as the "black leg" - fungal disease from which they suffer stem cuttings. Moreover, this is a "childish" disease, older plants are practically not affected by it. Affected seedlings have to be pulled out, and this can be very disappointing, especially if the seeds are expensive. However, there is a great way to avoid such a nuisance, and it is suitable for almost all types of horticultural crops - sow seeds not in the soil, but on toilet paper.

Growing seeds on toilet paper: step by step description

What else is good about this method - it is ideal for those who constantly live in an apartment, and with the advent of heat, they “move” to the dacha or plant a small garden on the balcony. The fact is that when using toilet paper for sprouting, you do not have to clutter up the house with pots and boxes, saving space is obvious. In addition, most seeds need moist air to germinate, and since they usually have to be sown at the height of heating season, ensuring the required humidity regime can be a problem. But if you germinate seeds on toilet paper in plastic containers, the microclimate issue is resolved by itself.

And now in more detail.

In addition to toilet paper, you will need polyethylene (you can use film, you can use bags), plastic cups or containers (for example, from under cakes) and a spray bottle.

1. We prepare the base - cut the polyethylene into strips about 10 cm wide.
2. We lay a layer of toilet paper on a polyethylene base.
3. Wet the paper thoroughly.
4. At a distance of about 1-1.5 cm from the edge of the toilet paper, lay out the seeds, leaving gaps between them of 3-4 cm.
5. We lay another layer of toilet paper on top of the seeds and moisten it thoroughly with a spray bottle.
6. Lay another plastic strip on top of the toilet paper layer.
7. We turn it into a roll (make sure that the layers, if possible, do not move relative to each other) and fasten it with a thread or elastic band.
8. Thus, we sow all the seeds that we need in several rolls. Be sure to attach a label with the name of the crop to each roll.
9. We place the rolls in a plastic container (seeds up), pour a little water into it (about 2-3 cm), close the lid and leave it in a lighted place, for example, on a windowsill.
10. Do not forget to add water to the container as needed.

After the shoots appear, it is advisable to feed them. The time of the first picking comes with the appearance of the 2nd-3rd true leaf. In this case, you do not need to separate the roots from the toilet paper - just unfold the roll and cut the seedlings right along with the paper, and then move them to the prepared container. So you do not damage the still fragile plant.

Growing seedlings in plastic bottles on toilet paper

A plastic bottle, if cut in half across (leave the bottom), can be used as a container, that is, put a roll of polyethylene and toilet paper with seeds in it. At the same time, you need to make sure that the roll does not unwind, that is, it must “sit” tightly enough in a plastic bottle.

However, there is an easier way to sow seeds on toilet paper using a plastic bottle. It needs to be cut in half lengthwise, lined with several layers of toilet paper, moisten them well, put seeds on paper and wrap half of the bottle with polyethylene. Such a mini-greenhouse is placed on the sunny side.

What is good about this method is that you do not need to water the seedlings, since your own microclimate is created inside the bottle, with a fairly high humidity.

Growing petunias on toilet paper: way

Petunia is a very capricious plant. Without sufficient experience, few people manage to grow viable seedlings from seeds, and most of our compatriots buy mature plants for their balconies and flower beds. However, there is a method by which you can successfully grow petunia seedlings even in an apartment.

You need to take a plastic container with a lid, lay toilet paper or a paper napkin on the bottom, moisten it abundantly and put the seeds directly on the paper. Sprinkle the seeds from above with water from a spray bottle, cover the container with a lid and place in a well-lit, warm place.

Make sure that the napkin does not dry out, and the shoots will not keep you waiting. On the 3-4th day after spitting, the sprouts must be carefully transplanted into peat tablets where they continue to grow.

Growing seedlings on toilet paper is a very simple, economical and effective way. However, remember that plants need your care even after you transplant seedlings to permanent place. Treat them with love and they can't help but respond to it active growth, beautiful flowering or high yield.