When are cherry tomatoes planted? Plus cultivation techniques!

Cherry tomatoes, also known as cherry tomatoes, have a delicious taste, a large market demand, and a relatively wide planting area. So, when are cherry tomatoes planted? What are the cultivation techniques for cherry tomatoes?Let's take a look together!

1. Planting time for cherry tomatoes

1. Planting time for spring tomatoes

The suitable seedling age for open-field spring tomato cultivation is 50—70 days, that is, sowing should be carried out 50—70 days before transplanting. For example, in the Shenyang area at 41 degrees north latitude, spring-crop tomatoes are sown and raised in protected areas in February, and transplanted in the open field after the late frost in early May.

Spring tomatoes are generally transplanted immediately after the local late frost period, when the soil temperature at a depth of 5—10 cm in the plow layer stably passes 12°C. For example, the average late frost period in the Shenyang area over the years is May 2, and the suitable transplanting period is generally May 6—10. In the Yangtze River basin, it is generally around Qingming; in North China, around Guyu; and in Northeast China, generally around Lixia. With windbreaks, plastic film mulching, and leeward, sunny, high, dry sandy land, transplanting can be done earlier. Transplanting should also be determined according to weather conditions. In case of cloudy, rainy, or windy weather, transplanting should be appropriately delayed. During the suitable transplanting period, transplanting should be done as early as possible. Shaanxi tomatoes are mainly planted according to the marketing time, with two main seasons a year. One is delayed cultivation after autumn, starting seedling raising after July or August, so that they can be marketed successively from November. The other is early spring cultivation, with seedling raising in November or December and marketing in May or June.

2. Planting time for the autumn-winter crop

The autumn-winter crop is generally sown and raised from mid-to-late July to early-to-mid August, and transplanted from mid-to-late August to early September. Film is put on from mid-to-late September to early October, and harvesting is from late November to early February of the following year.

3. Planting time for the winter-spring crop

The winter-spring crop is sown from early November to early December, transplanted from mid-to-late January to early February of the following year, and harvested from early-to-mid March to June.

4. Planting time for the overwintering crop

The overwintering crop belongs to single-crop cultivation. It is generally raised from mid-to-late September to early October, transplanted in November, and harvested starting in January of the following year.

2. Cultivation techniques for cherry tomatoes

1. Seedbed preparation

The seedling bed should be selected in a plot where solanaceous vegetables have not been planted. Choose fertile garden soil and mix in 40%—50% decomposed organic fertilizer. For every 3 m of nutrient soil, mix in 1 kg of superphosphate and 5—10 kg of plant ash. After mixing, sieve it and spread it on the seedling bed. For early spring seedling raising, the seedbed should be set up in a greenhouse, and if the temperature is too low, electric heating wires should be laid. For summer seedling raising, the seedbed should be set up in a cool, ventilated place. There is a lot of rain in summer, so the seedling bed should have rain-sheltering facilities, and there should be drainage ditches at the ends of the bed.

2. Seed treatment

Cherry tomato diseases are mostly spread by bacteria carried on seeds, so seeds should be disinfected before sowing. To prevent viral diseases, trisodium phosphate is often used for disinfection in production. The method is: first moisten the seeds with clean water, wrap them well with gauze, soak them in a 10% trisodium phosphate solution for 15—20 minutes, and take out the seed packet. Wrap it well with a wet towel and place it at 28°C to promote germination. During germination, rinse the seeds once a day. After about 3—4 days, when 1/2 of the seeds have sprouted, they can be sown.

Cultivating strong seedlings: The seedbed must be selected as a plot with high, dry terrain and good drainage, and rainproof and shade facilities should be added. 3 days to 4 days before sowing, soak the seeds in 10% trisodium phosphate for 20 minutes, wash them clean, and then promote germination at room temperature. After the seeds germinate, sow at 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.

3. Sowing and post-sowing management

Water the seedling bed first. When sowing in early spring, the amount of water can be appropriately smaller. When sowing in summer, the seedling bed should be fully irrigated. After the water seeps down, sow evenly, then cover with 1 cm of sieved soil. Use 3—5 g of seed per sq m of seedling bed, and 6—8 sq m of seedling bed is needed per mu of transplanting area.

In North China, sowing is generally from mid-to-late July to early August. Before sowing, water the seedling plot thoroughly. After the water seeps down, sow in holes, with 3 seeds per hole, cover with 1 cm of soil, and keep the soil moist. After emergence, keep only 1 seedling per hole and pull out all the rest. After about 20 days, when the seedlings are 15 cm-20 cm tall and have 3-4 true leaves, they can be transplanted.

4. Seedling management

For early spring seedling raising, attention should be paid to heat preservation. Before emergence, the seedbed soil temperature should be controlled at 25—30°C. For summer seedling raising, rain should be prevented and the temperature lowered. After most seeds emerge, the temperature should be lowered in time, controlled at 20°C during the day and l2—15°C at night. When the seedlings grow 2 true leaves, divide the seedlings.

5. Seedling division

In early spring, as the temperature gradually rises, the seedling division bed generally does not need heating wires laid. Early spring seedling division should be carried out on a sunny morning, using the method of planting in dark water: first open a trench, then water, and after the water seeps down, place the seedlings and cover with soil. After covering, no muddy water should be visible on the surface. Plant spacing and row spacing are 10×10 cm. Summer seedling division is carried out in the evening or on cloudy days, with the same method as early spring seedling division. Plant spacing and row spacing are 10×10 cm. After planting, irrigate, shade the plot, and remove the covering after the seedlings recover. The temperature of the seedling division bed before recovery is 25-28°C during the day and l5—18°C at night; after recovery, 20—25°C during the day and 13—l5°C at night. Do not water in early spring; water the seedling division bed frequently in summer. Transplant when the seedlings grow to 8 true leaves.