Growing seedlings is an important stage of garden work, which begins long before work directly on the plot. The seedlings must first be sown, provided with proper care and good growing conditions. It needs to be watered and fed on time, and also planted in time, that is, planted in larger containers.
Many gardeners prefer to correlate garden work with the lunar calendar, rightly believing that this night star has an influence on plants. So it is better to pick seedlings on the most favorable days for this. Put aside other things and devote time to the seedlings, then the picking will go smoothly, and the seedlings will remain strong and healthy.
When to pluck seedlings?
Different plants occur in the spring months - and. If you follow the lunar calendar, then it is best to pick seedlings on the so-called growth days. These are different days every year, because the Moon lives according to its own calendar. How is the Lunar calendar compiled and days favorable for certain works are determined? First, the phase of the moon is taken into account. Work should not be carried out during the full moon or new moon. Certain types of gardening work are done on the waning and waxing moon.
Also, the Moon can be in certain zodiac signs at different times. Each of them also has its own element and is responsible for certain types of activities. In combination, all this allows you to determine good days for certain jobs, including diving.
You can carry out the analysis yourself, but there are specially created lunar calendars. According to them, the most favorable days for picking seedlings in 2018 are:
- in March - 12, 13, 16, 17, 21;
- in April - 9, 12-14.
Any of these days is ideal for picking seedlings.
Dive technology
It is important not only to pick seedlings on time, but also to correctly follow the technology for carrying out this operation.
- The first step is to prepare a container of suitable size, fertile soil, a small scoop and cloth gloves. Please note that seedlings should always be held only by the roots and the lower part of the stem.
- Use a small scoop to separate the stems from the soil; you can use a teaspoon or even a toothpick if the sprouts are very small. In the container where the sprouts will be transplanted, you need to make a hole, and then place the seedlings in it along with a lump of earth.
- Seedlings are picked in different ways. You can transplant the sprouts into one large container, then the distance between them should be sufficient. Ideally, seedlings should be transplanted into separate containers.
- The soil around the seedling should be compacted and moistened. Water for irrigation is used only at room temperature.
Picking seedlings is usually done twice. From the moment of the first manipulation until the second picking, two to three weeks pass - the exact period depends on the type of plants grown.
When and how to pick tomatoes in 2017. Picking tomatoes in 2017. How and when to plant tomato seedlings correctly. Picking a tomato. At what age should tomato seedlings be transplanted? All these questions begin for gardeners after sowing and sprouting of tomatoes.
Picking is a responsible matter! It is necessary to prepare in advance for this event.
- Prepare containers for seating tomato. To pick tomatoes, you can use plastic cups (if you use containers for dairy or other products, you need to rinse them thoroughly and neutralize food residues with a weak solution of potassium permanganate). It is very good to plant tomato seedlings in peat cups, then when transplanting the seedlings into the ground, you can plant them directly into them.
- Prepare soil for filling containers for picking seedlings. The main component of the soil for seedlings should be peat, manure humus or compost, and ordinary soil from the garden. If the soil on the site is loam, then it is necessary to add construction or river sand to it. To 1 bucket of the general mixture, add 4 tablespoons of ash and 2 tablespoons of complex fertilizers (if you do not have ash, then add 2-3 tablespoons of dolomite flour, and slightly increase the dose of complex fertilizers). Mix everything well.
- A day or two before transplantation (picking) water the crops well tomatoes. If you water the tomatoes immediately before picking, the soil will be very heavy and, when transplanting, it will come off along with a piece of the root system and cause damage to the roots. And if the tomato seedlings are not watered before picking, the dry soil will easily fall off the plant, and the bare, easily vulnerable roots of the tomatoes will be damaged again.
Now we need to decide when to pick tomatoes when to plant tomatoes in separate containers.
Tomatoes need to be plucked at age 7-14 days from the start of germination. By this time, their first true leaves will usually appear and young trunks will grow stronger. If you replant them earlier, it is very easy to injure the immature seedlings, since their root system will not be developed at all and the trunks will be very thin. If you delay picking, especially with thickened seedlings, the seedlings will become elongated, and their roots will intertwine with each other, difficulties will arise with the separation of individual plants, and the roots will suffer. And the elongated stems of the seedlings will have to be deepened during transplantation.
If we adhere to the Lunar calendar, then we choose favorable days for picking, taking into account that the age of the seedlings does not exceed two weeks.
Tomatoes tolerate picking well, so some gardeners do not wait for the tomato seedlings to stretch out, but carry out picking several times (two, or even three), as the plants grow and the container is filled with roots. This is especially true when there is not enough space on the window sills in a city apartment. First, we dive the seedlings into small cups with a capacity of 150-200 ml. Then, after 2-3 weeks, you can carry out another picking into larger containers, when the weather is already above zero and the seedlings are comfortable being on a glassed-in balcony or moving outside the city to a greenhouse. When picked from a separate cup, the plant tolerates replanting painlessly and the roots are not injured.
How to pick tomatoes?
- When picking tomatoes, it is better to use a small spatula; this will allow you to touch the seedlings less and preserve the roots. Each plant that is picked must have an earthen lump, then it will be painless for the plant and the plant will immediately begin to grow.
- Having dug up the plant with a spatula, we transfer it to a previously prepared hole moistened with water. We place the seedlings in the hole in such a way that the soil reaches the cotyledon leaves. Then lightly press the soil around the stem with your fingers and sprinkle with soil. Try to hold the seedling by the cotyledon leaves and not by the stem.
- We water the picked seedlings generously and place the tomatoes away from direct sunlight. After 2-3 days, when the seedlings have taken root, we return the seedlings to the windowsill, where there will be enough sunlight.
According to many gardeners, when picking tomato seedlings, it is necessary to pinch off the central root; some recommendations recommend pinch off 1/3 of the root. But this is a very traumatic procedure for seedlings; when picking, the plants already receive slight damage to the root system, after which they have to recover somewhat after transplantation. Therefore, I don’t recommend shortening the root, but it’s up to you to decide.
Although recently many gardeners have questioned the need to pick tomatoes. You can grow tomato seedlings without picking and still get excellent results. Just decide in advance whether you will grow tomatoes with or without picking seedlings, since sowing and caring for tomato plantings are different in these cases.
When to transplant tomato seedlings into open ground in 2017? Tomato seedlings in the Moscow region are planted in open ground in early June, and in a greenhouse in mid-May. By this time, there is usually a stable above-zero temperature outside. The soil at a depth of 10 cm should warm up to 15 0 C.
Good luck with picking tomato seedlings and high yields!
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Picking is an important procedure for tomatoes, due to which the powerful development of the root system occurs, as well as accelerated growth and ripening of fruits. Amateur gardeners prefer to plant seeds immediately in large boxes, fearing that planting is too stressful for the crops. But there are also those who do it without fail, considering it a guarantee of the future harvest.
In fact, transplanting seedlings into a separate container is done with the aim of creating a more spacious place for seedlings.
Important! If tomatoes are not given free space, they will begin to curl up and wither. Therefore, take a large container and replant them, this will have a very good effect on the future development of the plants.
So in what cases should it be done?
1. If the planting is in a common container and densely sown, and not in different, single cups. Then diving is necessary to prevent the roots from intertwining.
2. It may turn out that you have a lot of seedlings, which means you need to select the strongest seedlings and throw out the weak ones.
3. Also, in case of disease, we remove bad stems so that healthy ones do not become infected.
Many people ask, do I need to pinch the center root? To be honest, I have never done this and I consider this procedure unnecessary, since if this is done, a branched root system will begin to develop. Yes, I agree with this, let it be a plus. But there is also a minus: the soil on top may dry out and then, due to removal, the seedlings may die. And if the root were long, it would take food from below, because there is always more moisture there.
In my last article, I already wrote how and when to sow seedlings. He also told me in detail about . And now, at the request of readers, I would like to share what needs to be done after the tomatoes have sprouted.
To move on to transplanting, I would like to describe in more detail what to do when sprouts appear.
As soon as the first shoots appear, you must take the container in which you planted it out of the bag and expose it to the light. After all, if there is little light, high soil moisture, and high temperature, then all of the above processes will lead to the fact that our seedlings will begin to stretch out. In simple terms, we can say this: in a normal plant, the stem cells are horizontal, while in an elongated plant, the cells are vertical, which leads to thinness and weakening of the seedlings.
To prevent this from happening, you need to do the following:
1. Place the container with tomatoes in a bright place. If you plant plants in March, there will be enough light. But as always happens, the windows may not face the sunny side or the weather is cloudy outside for many days, then you need to illuminate the seedlings with a fluorescent lamp or a special lighting device. Daylight hours for tomatoes should be 10 - 12 hours.
By the way, to prevent the seedlings from being bent in one direction, you sometimes need to turn the container in different directions.
2. Maintain the temperature at night 10 – 12°, and during the day 13 – 15°C for 4 days. On the fifth day, you need to raise it during the day to 23 - 25°, at night 10 - 15°C. This can be done using a window-mounted greenhouse, that is, take a film and protect the window from room temperature, and adjust the degrees using an open window. This is considered the best way.
3. Watering the plants during this period should be done as the soil dries, trying not to get it on the leaves of the plants. Although they are moisture-loving, they still need to be watered only to the very root. This can be done carefully using a thin neck of a watering can or a small enema.
Never allow the soil to dry out, but also do not flood the soil, as this leads to strong elongation of the stem, poor development of the root system and various diseases.
4. As is known, from seedling germination to picking, the duration is about 20 days. Even at this age, the plant is in great need of phosphorus. When its concentration in the soil is very low, you need to introduce it yourself. Otherwise, the tomatoes will grow slowly and a reddish tint will appear on the leaves. Fertilizer can be made using ash and adding it to the soil.
I hope I explained everything quite clearly and in detail, then let’s move on to the next chapter.
When to pick (transplant) tomatoes according to the lunar calendar 2019?
Gardeners love to calculate favorable days when they need to replant the plant. The best time is when the moon is waxing. Then the juice moves from the root to the top to the leaves, the plants take root better and grow in the future. And when it decreases, it is better to refrain from replanting, but if it is really necessary, then there is nothing wrong with that.
You cannot replant during the new moon and full moon, as well as the day before and after them.
How do you know when a month is waxing or waning? There is no difficulty, you just need to place a stick at the ends of the moon and if you get the letter “r”, then it is growing, and the letter “u”, then it is decreasing.
So on what days can you transplant and on what days can you not? I suggest looking at the table.
| Moon phase/Month | March | April | May | June | July |
| Waxing Crescent | From 7 to 20 | From 6 to 18 | From 6 to 18 | From 4 to 16 | From 3 to 16 |
| Descending | From 1 to 5, from 22 to 31 | From 1 to 4, from 20 to 30 | From 1 to 4, from 20 to 31 | 1, 2, from 18 to 30 | 1, from 18 to 31 |
| Not recommended | 3, 4, 30, 31 | 1, 27, 28 | 24, 25 | 20, 21, 22, 30 | From 1 to 4, from 15 to 19 |
| No new moon or full moon | 6, 21 | 5, 19 | 5, 19 | 3, 17 | 2, 17 |
How and when to plant tomato seedlings correctly
The best time to transplant seedlings is when two true leaves appear. Approximate period after germination is from 10 to 20 days. The main thing is not to confuse them, because the first couple of leaves are cotyledons, only after them do the real ones begin to grow.
Important! You should stick to this time, otherwise delaying will lead to the roots intertwining between neighboring seedlings. Also, you should not replant them earlier because the roots are still young and may die.
The whole process has its own characteristics, but how to do it correctly and not damage young seedlings?
1. Before transplanting, you need to prepare the seedlings. The day before, you need to water the soil so that you can easily remove the seedling with a lump of earth without damaging the root system. You can also water it with epin, it boosts the immune system and promotes better rooting.
2. You need to find a suitable container, it can be a 0.5 liter glass or, as in our case, a small pot.
If you have homemade pots, be sure to make holes in the bottom to drain excess water.
3. Next, fill the container with soil. We immediately moisten it, and lightly sprinkle wood ash on top in order to feed the soil with potassium and phosphorus. The soil should be the same as the one you planted in initially.
4. Using a planting peg, we make indentations.
5. It is better to remove the seedling from the box using a teaspoon, only with the reverse side. This must be done carefully without damaging the root.
6. As soon as they are planted in pots, the soil needs to be compacted a little and watered.
Now that all the seedlings have been transplanted, let's look at what to do next.
How to care for seedlings after diving at home?
After transplanting and trimming the central root, you need to make sure that the tomatoes are ready for harsh environmental conditions. To do this you need to properly care for them.
Watering:
Like almost all plants, tomatoes are nourished from the root, and then water with nutrients rises through the stem cells to the top. It enters all organs and evaporates in the leaves, but the elements themselves remain. If after planting we watered once a week, then as it grows this volume increases, and before planting in the ground it is already done almost every day.
It should be watered when the soil begins to dry out, but this must be done so that the earthen ball with roots is wet. Heavy overwatering is also bad, as it impedes the supply of oxygen and the seedlings begin to develop poorly, which leads to disease. Water for irrigation should be 22 – 24°C.
If you have tap water, then it is better to let it sit for at least one day.
Feeding:
In order for plants to develop well, they need good nutrition. The soil must have enough nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and other macro and micro elements. If there are enough of them, the tomatoes will give excellent results in the future. But if the soil does not contain such nutrition, then you need to feed it with mineral fertilizers. In approximately 10 – 12 days.
- Water – 10 liters;
- Ammonium nitrate 10 – 15 g;
- Superphosphate – 35 g;
- Potassium sulfate 10 – 15 g.
It may seem to you that fertilizing is not enough, then you can do it again, after 10 - 15 days, with the same fertilizers in the same proportions. You can also provide nutrition using water from the aquarium (there is a lot of nitrogen) and ash (phosphorus and potassium). It is mixed and, until the ash settles, immediately watered.
Temperature and light for plants:
In order for seedlings to develop correctly, light and temperature conditions must be observed. Otherwise it will stretch out.
To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to monitor the air temperature during the day, 21 - 24°, and at night, 14 - 17°. You can regulate it with the help of vents or by taking it out onto the balcony, if, of course, the air temperature there is normal. The length of the day for plants should be 11 – 12 hours. And the most important thing is that the windows face south. Sometimes the weather is cloudy for a long time, then the seedlings need to be illuminated with special lamps.
Hardening:
As soon as you decide to plant seedlings in a permanent place (on the street or in a greenhouse), it will no longer be possible to regulate the temperature. It can jump from 30 to 0°C, so it needs to be prepared for outdoor conditions.
10 - 15 days before landing at the site, it is necessary to reduce the air temperature to 14 - 16 °, and then gradually lower it. And when there are 6 days left, be sure to take it out onto the street, balcony, loggia. It depends where you live: in a private house or in an apartment. They do this first for 2 - 3 hours, then for half a day and gradually take it out for the whole day.
The most important thing in this matter is to ensure that there is no freezing.
Thanks to this, the stem will thicken, root development will improve, and the leaves will acquire a greener hue. So, if you harden the seedlings well, they will easily withstand unpleasant weather conditions and quickly take root.
How to pick tomatoes in a diaper
I came across this video on the Internet. I liked the method because it doesn’t take up much space on the windowsill. And most importantly, the whole process is very fast. I think you will like this method, if so, leave a review in the comments.
So I finished this informative article. It seems that he described everything clearly: how to care for seedlings, pick them and much more interesting things.
Picking young tomato seedlings - transplanting their young shoots from boxes or small pots where the seeds were sown into a box filled with fresh soil mixture. But this process is not a simple mechanical transfer of seedlings into a large container. In this article we will tell you what picking is and why it is needed. How and when to pick tomatoes according to the lunar calendar for 2018 and at what stage of seedling development to do this.
When and how best to pick tomatoes in 2018
The problem of how to pick tomatoes appears after sowing the seeds of the crop for seedlings. The crop is a fast-growing one, and it is worth preparing for intermediate transplants long before the first tomato seedlings appear. Summer residents need to stock up on separate containers, soil and patience.
The approximate time frame for planting tomato seedlings is 2-3 weeks after sowing the seeds. At this time, the plants begin to develop their first true leaves. If the plants are weak, the deadlines are shifted by a week or two so as not to injure the already fragile root system.
The second picking is recommended for tall and medium-sized varieties of tomatoes. It is carried out 3-4 weeks after the first. Tomatoes do not need a third pick. The exception is when the seedlings are stretched.
The lunar calendar for summer residents for 2018 provides for the timing of when to pick tomatoes in almost every month:
- but it is advisable to plant the March seedlings from March 20 to March 26.
If it was not possible to transplant tomatoes during the specified periods, you can start diving on any other day, except for new moons and full moons. It is believed that, being in these cycles, the moon negatively affects the growth of vegetable crops. You can get more detailed information in expanded form if you read the lunar sowing calendar of the gardener and gardener.
Another piece of advice from experienced gardeners is that you shouldn’t replant seedlings en masse, since you need to pick tomatoes when the seedlings are completely ready for the procedure. When replanting for the first time, you need to choose the strongest plants, and leave the weak ones for growing in an old container.
The next picking of tomatoes should begin at the moment when plant growth slows down. If the plants don't produce new leaves within a week, it needs more space and nutrients.
The benefits of picking tomato seedlings
The essence of the process is to transplant plants from smaller containers to larger ones filled with a new substrate containing useful substances. At the first stages, the seedlings do not interfere with each other. They can exist nearby as long as there are enough trace elements in the soil. But over time, the strongest plants suppress the weaker ones. Both of them begin to develop incorrectly. Therefore they need to be transplanted.
How to pick tomato seedlings
If you did everything correctly in advance: sowed the seeds, took into account the requirements for lighting, watering, temperature changes during the day or night, then it’s time to pick.
To avoid damage to the roots, it is necessary to carefully pick the seedlings. The transplant is carried out together with a clod of earth. This method is also called transshipment, in which the roots remain intact.
The seedlings are removed from their original place of growth and, together with a clod of earth, planted one at a time in separate containers.
The process consists of the following steps:
- Preparing seedlings. Seedlings should be watered abundantly several hours before transplanting. This will soften the soil and minimize damage to the root system;
- Preparation of soil and containers. The best option is 0.5 liter plastic cups. Pour soil into cups and make 5 cm indentations. Pour water into the hole;
- Transfer to a new container. Carefully remove the seedlings and lower them into the recess in a new cup. It should be lowered to the cotyledon leaves. The soil around the plant is compacted;
- After transplantation, plants need to acclimatize to the new location. The glasses are placed in a shaded place for a day; sunlight is not advisable after picking.
Caring for tomato seedlings after picking
In order for the seedlings to take root well and develop, it is necessary to provide them with optimal conditions:
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Light for growing tomatoes after diving
For tomatoes, the daylight hours should be about 10 hours. Therefore, lamps are installed above the seedlings at a height of 50 cm, which are turned on as needed. Additional light must be provided in February and March. In April there is enough natural light.
Direct sunlight can cause burns to the leaves, so when necessary, shade them with newspapers. From time to time, the vessels are turned over so that the tomatoes do not grow with a slope in one direction.
Temperature for growing tomatoes after diving
Correct temperature indicators have a beneficial effect on the development of seedlings. During the day it should be 18˚C, in the evening 15˚C. After a few weeks, lower the temperature to harden the tomatoes. Before planting in a permanent place, you should take them outside in the shade for a while.
Seedlings do not tolerate drafts. When ventilating the room, make sure that cold air does not enter it.
Watering a tomato after diving
Watering is carried out as the top layer of soil dries out. It is necessary to moisturize moderately. To remove the remaining moisture, you can put drainage in the pot. They also make holes in the bottom.
Loosening a tomato after diving
Loosening will provide oxygen access to the roots, which will accelerate the growth of tomatoes. It is advisable to carry out this procedure 2 times a week.
Feeding tomatoes after diving
In addition, tomato seedlings need feeding. They are carried out once every two weeks after the soil is moistened. For feeding, use complex fertilizers or prepare your own solution from 10 liters of water, 12 g of potassium sulfate, 35 g of superphosphate and 4 g of urea.
Is it possible to do without picking tomato seedlings?
Many gardeners prefer to grow tomato seedlings without further picking. But for this, at the initial stage of sowing, it is necessary to plant 2-3 seeds in each separate container, which is not always possible due to lack of space on the windowsills.
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After germination of the seedlings, it is necessary to leave the most promising seedling and remove the rest. As the plants grow, it is necessary to add soil so that the root system develops. If tomato seedlings are grown without picking, then the container must be selected so that it ultimately allows the growing root system of already grown seedlings.
Timely and correct picking promotes better development of tomatoes and increases their yield. However, some gardeners prefer to grow tomatoes immediately in separate 0.5 liter cups without transplanting into other containers. With proper picking, weak specimens are rejected, and promising seedlings are planted in separate pots for subsequent development.
In February - March, experienced gardeners strive not to miss the deadlines for planting seeds for seedlings: strong, healthy seedlings are the key to a bountiful harvest! In the middle zone, tomatoes, like peppers and eggplants, are best grown in seedlings due to the climate. And picking is sometimes simply necessary for the development of plants.
The picking procedure as a stimulator of seedling development
There are different opinions regarding the picking procedure as such: some consider it an obligatory stage of growing seedlings, others prefer to do without it. Picking itself is the transplantation of young tomato seedlings into larger separate containers for:
- slowing down plant growth if the seedlings begin to stretch;
- improving the development of the root system and, accordingly, the plant itself in the future.
The growth slowdown occurs due to injury to the roots, which occurs with any transplantation; this is a great stress for the seedling. In addition, some gardeners specifically pinch the root of a seedling by 1/3 when picking for this very purpose, expecting to get vigorous root growth later.
How the root is pinched when diving
Thus, by the time the seedlings are transplanted to a permanent place, the result should be strong, healthy, not elongated tomato plants, which will quickly begin to grow further.
Terms and conditions for picking
For tender tomato bushes, picking is akin to surgery. After this, they “sick” for some time and come to their senses. For different varieties of tomatoes, the procedure is carried out once or twice during the period of seedling growth. Once - for low- and medium-growing varieties, twice - for tall-growing varieties. The seedlings are transplanted a second time when the previous container becomes too tight for the roots.
It makes sense to start replanting when the plant already has two true leaves (not to be confused with the cotyledon leaves, which are the very first to appear when seeds germinate). This is approximately the 10th day after germination, but it is possible to carry out the procedure 2 days earlier or later.
We begin the transplant
For a successful pick, you should prepare in advance:
- individual cups of at least 8–10 cm in diameter, with a hole in the bottom for better release of excess water when watering;
- a small spatula or stick for easy removal of seedlings;
- priming.
The young seedling is planted together with a clod of earth in order to damage the root system as little as possible. It must be watered in advance so that the soil is moist during replanting.
We pour earth into a new container to about a third of its height, carefully remove the plant along with a lump of earth with a spatula from the cramped container and lower it into the desired one. Add the required amount of soil. The seedling must be buried down to the cotyledon leaves. We carefully compact the soil around the stem, water it and place it where there is light and no direct sunlight until the seedlings take root. Afterwards you can put it in a warm sunny place.
We deepen each bush to the cotyledon leaves.
In the future, watering should be done as the soil dries out, so as not to cause harm.
Checking the lunar calendar 2018
Many gardeners and gardeners are guided by the lunar calendar for any manipulation with plants: planting seeds, planting seedlings, watering and fertilizing, even checking weeding with it! I must admit, this has its own meaning. For example, what does the lunar calendar recommend regarding picking tomato seedlings in March 2018?
It is fair to note that before seedlings are planted, they must be grown. For each region of our country, the timing of both seed planting and, accordingly, picking will differ depending on the climate. For example, in the Krasnodar Territory, both sowing seeds and planting in open ground or a greenhouse can be done 2–3 weeks earlier than in the Moscow region, where night frosts can return in May, and 2–3 weeks later in more northern regions. areas.
According to the calendar for 2018, favorable days for diving in March: from the 5th to the 7th inclusive, the 15th, 20th, 21st, 24th and 25th. Thus, you can calculate the time of planting tomatoes so that by the right time the seedlings already have 2 true leaves. For areas located to the north, where the landing took place later, it is advisable to carry out the dive as early as April. The best days for this are April 16–18 and April 24–27.
Video: picking up tomato seedlings in the phase of 1–2 true leaves
When there is an intention to take an action, it makes sense to collect as much information as possible about how to do it correctly and what the consequences will be. It's the same with picking. With the right approach to its implementation, accuracy and respect for plants, such a procedure should have a positive result both in the present and in the future. And it would be useful to look at the lunar calendar.
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