How to grow marigolds from seeds: tips

How to grow marigolds from seed? Such a question is often asked novice gardeners. Because the experienced do not bother at all. They throw seeds into the ground, they will pour it, and everything in them grows, blossoms and spikes. Of course, they are cunning.

Any plant, even the most unpretentious, requires at least some kind of care. And if you want really good returns, you will have to jump around the flower.

Marigolds are not very capricious, but they also need their own approach. In principle, from seeds they are grown by the classical method, which includes:

• soil preparation
• preparation and layout of seeds
• picking and growing seedlings
• landing on a permanent place
• care

There are many points, but in fact everything is very simple and practically carefree. Follow the instructions carefully and you will have the most beautiful marigolds in the area.

Soil preparation

As with any seedling, a separate soil mixture is needed for marigold seeds. It should be loose, lean and at the same time nutritious. This substrate is perfect: 1 part of well-ripened humus, peat and clean sand. All this is thoroughly mixed to obtain a uniform medium-sized lumps.

The next step is decontamination. What to do if the black leg completely does not care about the marigold phytoncides. She perfectly mows the little shoots on the vine. Therefore, we do not give her the slightest chance. First, leave the soil in the cold for 2 days. Then we bring in the house and we give to thaw. Then we thoroughly wet the whole earth with a strong solution of potassium permanganate, preferably hot. After 4 hours, place in the oven until completely dry at 110-115 ° C.

All these manipulations will not only destroy the causative agents of diseases and fungi, but also kill the larvae of pests. Therefore, this item can not be neglected.

Council It is necessary to disinfect not only self-prepared land, but also purchased from the store. There may also be larvae, pathogenic bacteria and spores.

Seed preparation and layout

Since the seeds of marigolds are thin and fragile, they cannot be soaked for a long time, rinsed heavily, and in general actively shed. But without pre-processing can not do. What to do? There is an exit.

They take a saucer, put on it a rag of cotton cloth, a cotton pad or a piece of cotton wool. Then carefully spread the seeds. Then they gently pour in a warm, strong solution of potassium permanganate so that it soaks the substrate from below. So the seeds will remain on it and not be lumped.

After 5 minutes, they are shifted to another saucer with the same substrate. Only now instead of potassium permanganate pour pure warm water. You can add to it a drop of any biostimulant. Leave for 2.5-3 hours. That's it, marigold seeds are ready for planting.

Our mothers and grandmothers didn’t solve the problem correctly - how to grow marigolds from seeds. Remember, they sowed them very thickly, almost completely covering the bottom of the bed with seeds. Flowers, of course, sprouted, grew and even bloomed. But why such overspending of planting material? After all, from each tiny stripes will grow an independent plant.

For example, now there are very beautiful varieties. In the bag they are usually not more than 10 pieces.You must admit that you don’t really dwell on the beds. Therefore, this work with soaking was necessary. Now let's do the layout.

Prepare a shallow, wide container about 10 cm high. Put some claydite or large pieces of eggshell on the bottom. This will be drainage. Then from above spread the prepared soil mixture, a layer of about 6-7 cm. Then gently lay out the soaked marigold seeds and sprinkle with a thin layer of earth. About 1.5-2 cm. No longer needed.

Now you have to water landing. It is impossible to make a cure, water will wash away the seeds. Spoon long and uncomfortable to scoop. The best option is to spray it with a spray bottle. Just do not overdo it. The soil should be slightly wet, but not wet.

Now you need to cover the container with glass, a piece of transparent plastic or thick film. And put on germination in a warm dark place. For example, on the kitchen cabinet. The temperature should be approximately 20-22 ° C.

After 5 days, the first shoots will appear. After that, the shelter should be removed, and the container should be transferred to a bright place with a temperature not higher than 18 ° C. The remaining seeds gradually grow. And if you leave the vessel warm until all shoots appear, the latter will still be pecked, and the first ones will already fall from overheating.

Where to find a place in the house with a low temperature, if the heating is very hot? On the windowsill. Only containers with shoots need to be protected with a thick film from heat, and the batteries themselves should be covered with a thick towel or blanket.

Council Be careful with fencing, do not overcool the tender roots of shoots!

Picking and growing seedlings

You can not dive marigolds, but then by the time of landing they are likely to stretch. Even if each seed is planted separately in advance, the sprout will still reach for the light. Therefore, we dive necessarily. In addition, additional roots will appear on the buried stalk.

This should be done when at least two true leaves are clearly visible. Gently undermine the sprout with the soil and plant it in a prepared cup of soil. We try to deepen the seedlings to the very cotyledon leaves. But, it is desirable that these leaves do not touch the ground. It is not recommended to compact the ground even with your fingers so that the plant can breathe.

Again we moisten from a spray that water has got to roots.Next we wait for the seedlings to grow, so that it can be planted in a permanent place.

During this time, closely monitor the soil moisture. Spray if necessary. Once fed with a solution of any mineral fertilizer. Approximately in phase 4-5 of these leaves.

Council Planting of marigolds in open ground is planted only in case of firm confidence that the return frost has already passed. These unpretentious flowers are absolutely not hardy. The plant dies already at 0 ° C.

Landing on a permanent place

Marigolds prefer light fertile land and love a lot of light. Although quite well grow in partial shade. Depending on the variety and type, the distance between plants should be from 15 to 50 cm. They try to plant seedlings without damaging the root system. The method of transshipment is optimal. So the flowers quickly adapt and begin to grow actively.

Care

Marigolds are very unpretentious flowers. They tolerate a short-term drought, but respond with gratitude to timely watering. By the way, the plants are not afraid of sprinkling, you can safely water them from above, right on the leaves.

But it is not recommended to overdo it with top dressings.With an abundance of fertilizers, these flowers begin to become impudent and increase the green mass to the open. In this case, the buds are not in a hurry to release. Therefore, we must wait for the appearance of several buds, pamper the plant with any mineral fertilizer and that's it. Organic add undesirable, otherwise you can never wait for flowering.

The exceptions are poor lean soils. In this case, it is necessary to feed the plants a little.

Weeding and loosening are absolutely standard - as needed. Remove weeds and at the same time loosen the soil around. When properly seated, hilling is not required. Garter is also not needed.

The only thing you can do is shape the plant slightly. For a spherical shape, it is required to pinch the tops of the shoots, and for the columnar shape, to remove the lower stepsons. But more often marigolds do not touch, allowing them to grow wherever they like. This only adds to their charms.

Pests. Due to the specific and strong flavor, almost all pests bypass the marigolds side. But sometimes, when there is a dry hot weather for a long time, a spider mite can live on flowers. Dispose of it with any suitable insecticide.Folk remedies using strong-smelling herbs will not save, because the marigolds themselves are from this category. Humidifying the air around the bushes in the hot period helps to avoid this scourge.

Waterlogging lures slugs and snails. A few jars or bowls of bleach or whiteness solve this problem. Pests quickly retreat from marigold landings.

Disease. Marigolds themselves almost never get sick, and their aroma rescues the planting of a number of growing plants from fungal and viral diseases. The only ailment that smells bushes in the teeth is gray rot. But it manifests itself rarely, most often when the weather is cool and rainy.

This sore is not treated. We'll have to pull the diseased plants from the root, take out of the site and burn. And this should be done as quickly as possible, until the infection has spread to neighboring bushes.

Useful recommendations

1. Instead of germinating marigold seeds in a pot of soil, you can try sprouting them on paper. For this purpose, 10-12 layers of the simplest toilet paper are put into a low wide container. Moisturize it and lay out the seeds. Cover, clean in heat.Further actions are identical to the "earthen" landings. Naturally, such marigolds will have to dive 100%. There are no nutrients for sprouts in paper.
2. When planting in a seedless way immediately into the ground, shoots appear after about 10-12 days. If you are not interested in very early flowering, then you can not bother with seedlings.
3. In some gardeners, marigolds grow like weeds. And multiply by self-seeding. Smart people try not to miss them. Phytoncides secreted by flowers perfectly repel most pests, and the root system disinfects the soil.
4. To activate the emergence of new buds, it is necessary to timely pick off the old flowers. Then marigolds will delight you with flowering until frost.
5. It is not necessary to grow marigolds only in the open field. With good care, they grow beautifully in pots or pots on window sills, and can be a worthy decoration of a balcony or a winter garden.
6. By the way, in order to prolong the flowering of your favorite plant, you can transplant it directly with a clod of earth into a suitable container. Then it will only be necessary to bring it into the house and find a suitable well-lit place.This should be done before the onset of frost, otherwise then the flower can not be saved.
7. In order not to buy marigold seeds for each season, you can collect them yourself. All you need is to collect inflorescences faded after flowering and dry them. After that, the seeds are very easily separated from the box. They remain viable for up to 4 years. From one such box you can grow a whole flowerbed!

How to grow marigolds from seed? Not so difficult. All you need is to grow strong seedlings and then plant them in the ground. Now you can wait for flowering to admire the work of your hands.

Video: A new tricky way to grow marigolds