How to pick tomatoes without harming the seedlings

Now the seedlings have grown up, the tomatoes have already produced a pair of real leaves and have begun to grow out of their “children’s”. So, it's time to think about how to pick tomatoes no harm to seedlings. The purpose of the picking is to transplant the strongest and most promising seedlings into more comfortable conditions and to cull the weak and sick ones.

When a plant just hatches and sprouts, its root system is poorly developed and the seedling requires 10 times less space than adult seedlings. But as it develops, the plant needs to provide optimal conditions for the formation and development of both a full-fledged root system and a decent above-ground part.

Some features of picking tomatoes
They talk quite often about what the pots should be for transplanting tomato seedlings and what the soil should be like. I would like to note that compliance with the temperature regime during picking may be somewhat important. A plant grown in a room or even on a balcony has a temperature corresponding to the ambient temperature (18-25 degrees). The temperature of human fingers is approximately 35 degrees. If you handle a small plant with bare hands, it experiences temperature shock. The sensations are the same if the plants are comparable to those received by a person who was suddenly splashed with a bucket of 45 degree water. Of course, you won’t be scalded to the point of blisters, but it will be very unpleasant and it will take a long time to recover. The same thing happens with the plant.Therefore, when deciding how to pick tomatoes, you should also think about the comfort of the seedlings. You need to wear gloves when handling the plant., best in rags, and preferably for leaves. They recover faster than the stem and its “edge”.

And it’s best not to touch the delicate plant with your hands at all, but take the seedling by the lump of root soil. This method will also keep the roots intact. To do this, you can use a teaspoon or a knife.