Content
It's no secret that you can only get a good tomato harvest at any time of the year in a greenhouse. In this way, you can create the most favorable conditions for these delicate plants. But even when growing tomatoes in greenhouse conditions, it is necessary to adhere to the basic rules of care, as well as regularly feed the tomatoes. Now we will learn how to process tomatoes in a greenhouse to get a generous harvest.
Advantages of growing tomatoes in a greenhouse
Many will agree that you can get a good harvest of tomatoes in open ground. This culture is undemanding to care and conditions. But in order to get a more generous harvest, many gardeners prefer to grow tomatoes in greenhouses and greenhouses. Undoubtedly, in such conditions the tomatoes will feel much better than in the garden. Another advantage is that it is much easier to care for this crop in a greenhouse.
Still, it will be necessary to make some efforts to grow beautiful and tasty tomatoes. First of all, you need to make the greenhouse itself. The best material today is polycarbonate.In such a greenhouse, tomatoes feel very comfortable.
You should also create the necessary conditions for growing tomatoes. In principle, caring for these plants in open ground and in greenhouse conditions is not much different. The advantage of a greenhouse is that it is easier to maintain the required temperature regime. Tomatoes do best at temperatures between 22°C and 25°C. Thanks to this temperature regime, an earlier harvest can be achieved. It is also very important to provide good lighting for the tomatoes. Due to lack of light, plants become lethargic and are severely stunted in growth. The first sign of poor lighting is stretching of sprouts.
Requirements for greenhouse tomatoes
No matter how comfortable the greenhouse is, for normal growth and fruiting, tomatoes need the following conditions:
- The soil must be saturated with calcium. This element is responsible for flowering and also prevents the appearance black spots on tomatoes. To add this microelement to the soil, use a solution of calcium nitrate.
- Tomatoes simply need elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium. To saturate the soil with these nutrients, complex fertilizer “Azofoska” is often used.
- The soil in the greenhouse should not be too wet or dry. Tomatoes require moist, loose soil for good growth. Light clay and sandy loam soil is ideal. It retains moisture well and prevents the soil from drying out. In order to create suitable conditions for tomatoes, if necessary, you should add peat or sawdust for fertilizer to clay soil, and only peat to sandy soil.
Tomato care
The first treatment of tomatoes in the greenhouse takes place 2 weeks after planting. To do this, use a solution of mullein. To prepare the nutritional mixture you need to mix:
- 1 tablespoon of nitrophoska;
- 0.5 l mullein;
- 10 liters of water.
Tomatoes are watered with this mixture at the rate of a liter of liquid per plant. The next feeding is carried out no earlier than 10 days later. To prepare solutions, you can use potassium sulfate and ready-made combined mixtures of microelements. The amount of ingredients is measured according to the instructions.
Caring for tomatoes involves not only regular feeding, but also timely watering of seedlings. In this matter, you need to know when to stop, since too much moisture can have a bad effect on the condition of the plants. Stagnation of water in the soil will contribute to the appearance of fungal diseases and rot. Experienced gardeners have noticed that it is necessary to water tomatoes no more than once every 5 days. Many people make the mistake of watering tomato seedlings too often after planting them in greenhouse soil.
First of all, they must get used to the new place and take root well.
You should also consider the growth stages of tomatoes. Before flowering, seedlings need about 5 liters of water per 1 m2. When tomatoes begin to bloom, they will need a lot more liquid. At this time, the volumes are increased to 10 liters. Better results can be achieved if you water the tomatoes in the morning, or at least in the evening.It is also necessary to maintain the correct temperature in the greenhouse. In warm weather, the air temperature in the greenhouse should be at least 20 °C, and in cloudy weather no more than 19 °C. Sudden jumps should not be allowed at night. At this time the normal temperature is around 16–18 °C. This temperature regime is acceptable for tomatoes until they begin to bloom.
After the tomatoes begin to bloom, the temperature in the greenhouse should increase significantly and be at least 25–30 °C. At night, peaks up to 16 °C are allowed. The next change in temperature occurs after the first fruits begin to ripen. During this period, tomatoes need about 17 °C. This temperature is perfect for tomatoes to ripen.
An equally important stage in caring for tomatoes is pinching. It will not be possible to carry out this procedure one-time, since young stepsons will appear during the entire growing season.
4 weeks before the end of the growing season, you will need to remove the tops of the plants. And immediately after the tomatoes begin to turn red, all lower leaves should be removed. Such procedures are also carried out in the morning. It is also important to remember that pathogens of various diseases may remain in last year’s soil. To prevent their occurrence, the soil in the greenhouse should be changed to a new one every spring.
Treating tomatoes against pests
Most often, tomato seedlings suffer from caterpillars. These insects eat not only the leaves of various plants, but also the fruits of tomatoes. Moreover, their gaze is fixed not on ripe fruits, but on green and unripe ones.It can be difficult to catch these pests in the act, since they come out to feed mainly at night. The full name of this insect is the moth caterpillar. It is quite large in size and can ruin a lot of the harvest. Very small caterpillars eat only leaves, but as they become older, they switch to tomato fruits.
If you see holes of various shapes on tomatoes, rest assured that caterpillars have been here. To get rid of annoying insects, special insecticides are used. These may also be biological drugs. Treating bushes with such products will best protect your crop.
No less common pests of tomatoes are slugs, whiteflies and spider mites. All of them are very dangerous, as they can completely destroy the tomato crop. To prevent this from happening, you should immediately begin the fight at the first signs of defeat. To get rid of whiteflies, tomatoes are sprayed with Confidor solution. To combat slugs, you need to loosen the soil in the tomato bed and then sprinkle it with ground hot pepper. For 1 square meter you will need a teaspoon of pepper. And in order to get rid of spider mites, tomato bushes should be treated with Karbofos. An infusion made from garlic, liquid soap and dandelion leaves is also suitable.
Disease Prevention
It is almost impossible to completely get rid of pest larvae, bacteria and fungal spores. They can remain in the greenhouse itself, in the soil and in plant debris.Therefore, gardeners use various methods to prevent the appearance of signs of disease in tomatoes.
To play it safe and be sure of getting a harvest, it is better to plant not one, but several varieties of tomatoes in one greenhouse. Each variety reacts differently to pathogens. It is also impossible to accurately guess which variety of tomatoes will bear fruit best this year. In this case, even if one of the varieties gets sick, it will be easier to fight the disease than if all the tomatoes get sick.
Unless you change the soil in your greenhouse every year, it is important to remember that tomatoes should not be planted after crops such as peppers, potatoes and eggplants. All of them belong to the nightshade family. But such crops can be planted in the same soil only after 3 or 4 years.
To ensure that tomato seedlings receive enough light and air, they must be planted at a distance of about 50 cm. When caring for plants, it is also necessary to maintain hand and equipment hygiene. This should be done to avoid spreading pathogens. First of all, you need to thoroughly wash your hands before working with plants and directly while caring for them. Also, do not forget about the cleanliness of equipment. All shovels, hoes and hoses must be clean. If a new plant is planted in a greenhouse, it must be treated before doing so. By following these simple rules, you can protect tomato seedlings from diseases and pests.
Without enough sunlight, seedlings will become lethargic and weakened. Namely, it is to such plants that all pests first invade.
Treating tomatoes against fungal diseases
For fungi to appear in a greenhouse, it is enough to simply disturb the normal level of humidity. It is high soil moisture that is the best environment for the proliferation of fungal diseases. These include blackleg, late blight, septoria and anthracnose.
Prevention against late blight is carried out at the seedling stage. This disease has recently become widespread. Many cultures suffer from it, and even the most powerful substances cannot always get rid of it once and for all. Experts say that such a strong spread of this disease occurred due to changes in the fungal population.
The fact is that a disease such as late blight unites at least 50 different fungi. It is also called mold and brown rot. Phytophthora spreads due to low temperatures and increased humidity levels. It is water that carries fungal spores that cause the disease. The first warning sign for gardeners may be the appearance of condensation on the walls. This means that the greenhouse needs to be ventilated more often.
As a preventive measure late blight The following substances can be used to spray tomato seedlings:
- kefir;
- copper sulfate;
- Bordeaux mixture;
- garlic infusion.
To prepare a kefir solution, you need to mix 5 liters of water with 0.5 liters of kefir. The bushes need to be sprayed with this mixture every 7 days.
To spray tomatoes in a greenhouse with garlic infusion, you need to combine in one container:
- 1 cup ground garlic;
- 5 liters of water;
- 0.5 grams of potassium permanganate diluted in hot water.
To prevent the disease, you can use only one specific method or alternate several methods. Modern varieties have higher resistance to late blight. But it should be remembered that absolutely any tomatoes can be susceptible to this disease.
Another common fungus that attacks tomato seedlings is anthracnose. Very often the seeds are already infected with this disease. They are easy to identify, since the seedlings from them will be lethargic and die quickly. If infection occurs later, then most often the root system and fruits suffer. To prevent the onset of the disease, seeds for seedlings must be soaked in “Immunocytophyte”.
Blackleg, which very often affects tomato seedlings, can occur due to bacteria and fungi. Therefore, it is impossible to accurately determine whether the disease is bacterial or fungal. Appears blackleg due to high humidity in the greenhouse. First of all, weakened and lethargic plants suffer from the disease. The disease appears on the root system of tomatoes. First they darken, and then they begin to rot. Of course, as a result the plant dies. To combat blackleg, use a pink solution of manganese. You can also use purchased drugs, such as Fitosporin, Baktofit and Fitolavin.
Fungi also provoke the appearance of diseases such as septoria. It is manifested by the appearance of dirty white spots on the leaves. If treatment is not started in time, the spots may spread to the entire surface of the leaf. In the future, the leaves will simply dry out and fall off.Although this disease does not affect the fruits, the general condition of the bushes will not allow them to grow a good harvest.
To combat septoria, it is necessary to treat the bushes with fungicides 2 times a month. You need to be very careful when using these products. They are effective in fighting diseases, but can harm human health. So when using, be sure to protect the skin and mucous membranes.
Fighting bacterial diseases
There are a lot of bacteria that cause various diseases of tomatoes. These diseases can significantly reduce the yield of tomatoes or even destroy the plants. The quality and appearance of the fruit also suffers from diseases. The most dangerous bacterial disease is stolbur of tomatoes. First of all, it appears on the leaves and tops of plants, they curl and turn pale. The tomato trunk, as well as the fruits, become lignified. Because of this, the taste and appearance of the fruit deteriorate. The fight against this pathogen should begin immediately. To do this, it is necessary to carry out several stages of processing the bushes:
- Treatment with insecticides when planting seedlings in the ground.
- When the bushes begin to bloom, you need to spray the plants with antibiotics.
- During the formation of ovaries, fertilizers should be added to increase immunity. For this purpose, organic and mineral fertilizers are used.
The next dangerous enemy of tomatoes is black bacterial spot. This disease can appear at different periods of tomato growth. The entire plant becomes covered with watery spots. Over time, these spots only increase in size and become black in color. To protect seedlings from this disease, prevention should be carried out in a timely manner.To do this, it is necessary to regularly disinfect the greenhouse, as well as in the fall and spring to remove all remnants of last year’s crops and weed. Black spotting can be prevented with antibiotics. You can spray the plants with a solution of farmiod or Bordeaux mixture.
Bacteria that cause wet rot are carried by insects. You can determine the infestation by looking at the pest bites. These fruits develop watery spots and the skin cracks, causing the tomatoes to rot. By carrying out general prevention of tomatoes against fungi and viruses, you can protect your crop. Additionally, it is recommended to use microbiological substances. Such drugs as “Binoram”, “Alirin”, “Gaupsin” are perfect.
Microbiological preparations are completely safe for the human body. They contain microorganisms that help plants produce natural toxins that kill pests.
Spraying tomatoes for viral infections
Viral diseases are no less dangerous for tomatoes than fungal and bacterial ones. Viral infections may not appear immediately, making them more difficult to fight. The most common viral diseases are:
- aspermia or seedlessness;
- mosaic of tomatoes;
- internal necrosis;
- banded spotting or streak.
The appearance of such diseases can be caused by poor ventilation of the greenhouse, increased soil moisture, and improper feeding regime. Viruses can remain in last year's plants or in seed for seedlings.
Having noticed signs of certain diseases, it is necessary to increase the air temperature in the greenhouse and, if necessary, improve the lighting. Then the spread of the disease will slow down significantly.
Conclusion
When planting tomatoes on their plot, all gardeners expect only the most generous harvest. But it is important to remember that without proper care this is simply not feasible. Tomatoes respond well to the addition of mineral and organic substances. Also, do not forget about the prevention of all kinds of diseases. Plants will certainly thank you for your work with beautiful and tasty fruits.
