Everyone who grows tomatoes on their plot knows about the benefits of fertilizing. Strong vegetables can resist diseases and parasite attacks. In order not to use a lot of chemicals, they are replaced with softer natural ingredients. Experienced gardeners find folk recipes very useful when caring for tomatoes. One of these proven methods is feeding tomatoes iodine. It, like any element, is very useful. But the dose of its use must still be maintained. Otherwise, excessive feeding of tomatoes with iodine will lead to an overdose. It is important to remember that in small doses, iodine is harmless to humans and plants. Its effect on plants has many positive aspects.
Usually, garden crops need the amount of element contained in the soil. Therefore, it is impossible to find special preparations containing it. Why then do summer residents actively use iodine to feed tomatoes? This crop needs additional nutrition and is very responsive to fertilizing. Iodine solutions improve the growth of seedlings and help save plantings from a formidable enemy - late blight.
Iodine is usually used for tomatoes as a fertilizer. It has been noted that its beneficial effect on plants is very extensive:
- nitrogen metabolism in plants improves;
- seedlings watered with a solution grow stronger and healthier;
- a large amount is formed ovaries;
- mature plants produce larger and tastier fruits;
- the risk of mosaic disease and root rot is reduced;
- the harvest ripens ahead of schedule.
Feed the tomatoes the medication must be administered correctly. The need of plants for this element is very small. You need to know the signs of how iodine deficiency manifests itself in tomatoes. And if these are not noticed, then fertilizing must be strictly dosed and a time interval between them must be observed. It turns out that it is able to replace nitrogen components. Gardeners successfully replace saltpeter with iodine solutions. You can feed tomatoes with a solution of a medicinal product according to a schedule, but sometimes plants need such an additive. When is it necessary to fertilize tomatoes with iodine? How can a gardener determine that a plant is deficient in an element?
The main symptom will be external manifestations:
- Reduced yield. For example, you planted a proven tomato variety in its usual conditions. When you notice a decrease in the number of ovaries or the size of the fruits, then feeding tomatoes with iodine is necessary.
- Delay in the onset of fruiting phase in an adult plant. If you do not feed them during this period, the harvest will be low and the fruits will be small.
- Weak immunity of tomato seedlings. If seedlings grow poorly, get sick, or are affected by diseases, iodine is needed.
- When tomatoes are affected by mosaic, root rot, brown spot or late blight, spray with iodine solution is used.
- The appearance of characteristic signs of iodine deficiency in tomatoes - thin stems, pale and limp leaves - also signals the need for feeding.
Tomatoes are known to be able to absorb compounds iodine from the surrounding atmosphere.But how much element is needed for the good development of the bush? Tomatoes do not have the most obvious characteristic sign of iodine deficiency, so you need to carefully monitor the plants from the first days of life. This will help you notice in time that it’s time to feed the tomatoes with iodine. It is best to carry out pre-sowing treatment of tomatoes.
How to feed tomatoes with iodine
There are two ways to effectively feed a tomato – root and foliar. The effectiveness of fertilizing increases when alternating these methods. Experienced gardeners feed tomatoes at a certain stage of development.
Root feeding
The root method of application is very good when the root system is strong and well supplies nutrients to the plant. Works best for seedlings.
The first fertilizing with iodine is carried out when the second pair of leaves appears on the seedlings. The leaf area is still very small to absorb beneficial components, so it is better to introduce them through the root system.
A nutrient solution for feeding tomatoes is prepared in the ratio of 1 drop of the drug per 3 liters of warm water.
Pre-water the soil around the stems, and then moisten the soil with a solution. Even a one-time feeding of tomatoes with iodine gives noticeable results. If you water adult tomatoes again during the fruiting period, they will reward you with a good harvest of large fruits.
The plants are fertilized a second time in the tassel tying phase. In this case, 3 drops of iodine per bucket of clean water will be enough.
For tall plants, one liter of solution is needed for each bush; for short plants, 0.7 liters is enough.
It is advisable to carry out the third root feeding of tomatoes during the fruiting period.
This time, at the same time as iodine, the tomatoes are fed with boric acid. Heat five liters of water until hot and dissolve 3 liters of wood ash (sifted) in it. Cover the container and leave the ash for one hour. Then dilute to a volume of 10 liters with warm water and add 10 ml of medical iodine and 10 g of pharmaceutical boric acid. Stir and leave for a day. To fertilize tomatoes, one liter of this infusion is diluted in 10 liters of warm water and the bushes are watered at the root. Feeding tomatoes with boric acid with iodine will strengthen the resistance of plants at the time of fruiting.
Foliar feeding
The foliar method is alternated with root feeding of tomatoes. For ten square meters of area, 1.5 liters of composition are consumed. The spray solution is prepared with milk. It is prepared from 250 ml milk (low-fat), 5 drops of medical iodine and 1 liter of water.
Spray tomatoes in the morning or evening, when there is no bright sun. Use a hand sprayer or a sprayer with a nozzle that sprays liquid into a fine mist.
And don’t get too carried away with feeding tomatoes with iodine and boric acid. An excess of elements will lead to deformation of the fruits and clusters of the plant.
A very interesting method of combating late blight tomato in the greenhouse. Gardeners hang open jars of iodine throughout the area. This disinfects the room well, however, you cannot stay in the greenhouse for a long time. Iodine is a volatile element, and its overdose is dangerous for humans.
Another proven fertilizer for tomatoes is whey.You just need to take whey when souring milk, and not from making cottage cheese. Tomatoes are sprayed with serum diluted in water (1:10) very often, which is tedious for some gardeners. You can reduce the number of sprays to one per week.
Reviews
Thus, it should be noted that timely feeding of tomatoes with iodine can significantly improve the yield and taste of the fruit, and reduce the incidence of plant diseases.
Reviews from gardeners who use iodine fertilizing are very optimistic:
