Long before the opening of the next summer cottage season, the main concern of gardeners is growing seedlings of various crops. The windowsills of their apartments are filled with all kinds of containers with seedlings: boxes, boxes, pots, homemade and commercial containers. Seedling care is not difficult, but if you treat it without proper attention and without observing certain rules, then you will not have to rely on a bountiful harvest.
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The further development of plants, and hence the quality of the crop, will depend on how strong and healthy the grown seedlings will be by the time they are transplanted into open ground.
For seedlings of any crops, it is required to correctly select the composition of the soil, regularly water it and feed the crop necessary for this or that culture. Well, and most importantly, to provide her with the necessary temperature regime and sufficient lighting. Heat and light - they often become the main problem, since at the beginning of spring in apartments they may not be enough for plants. As a result, they grow frail, pale, stretch out to the side of the window, because of which the stems of the sprouts become thinner and fragile. It is unlikely that it will be possible to grow a healthy plant from them.
You can get out of the situation by purchasing a special phytolamp in the store. But she still needs to be able to use it, and when choosing to understand the required technical characteristics: spectrum, color, lamp shape and diode power, radiator area. In addition, the purchase of such a lamp will require certain financial costs.
However, there is an alternative option - simpler and more original, moreover, which does not require any expenses. This is the use of the so-called "solar" box for seedlings, which everyone can make on their own using the materials at hand available in every home. With its help, plants will receive the heat and sunlight they need in sufficient volume without using electricity.
To make a "solar" box capable of storing the energy of the sun, you will need scissors or stationery cutter, stapler and tape, and from materials: foil and an unnecessary cardboard box (for example, from under shoes).
Sequence of work
- If a cardboard box with top-closure flaps is selected, these must be cut with scissors or a cutter. From a container with a removable lid, you just need to remove it (it is no longer required). Next, one of the two wide side walls of the box is completely cut along the fold lines.
- The entire inner surface of the workpiece is covered with foil. This is the secret of the "solar" technology. Such a box with seedlings, placed on the window, will be able to catch not only direct sunlight, but also obliquely falling rays, illuminating only the side walls. However, reflecting from them, the sunlight will just fall on the seedlings placed inside the box. Thus, it will receive an order of magnitude more light and heat than when grown in ordinary containers.
- The foil must be firmly attached to the sides of the box, which can be done with a stapler or tape. To make the "sunny" box look aesthetically pleasing, the edges of the foil that extend beyond its walls are cut with scissors or simply folded neatly. And their outer surface, facing the room, can be pasted over with bright clippings from gardening magazines. Some gardeners - supporters of feng shui, believe that plants grown in a "solar" box in this way will be "programmed" for active development, abundant flowering and a rich harvest.
Containers with seedlings are placed in a "solar" box so that they do not come into contact with its walls and do not reduce the area of their reflective plane. The box itself is placed on the windowsill of a well-lit window. Here, with its help, the seedlings will receive maximum light and heat.
Do you know how to make a "sunny" seedling box?
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