Content
Everyone who grows tomatoes in their garden wants to get V thanks for your efforts, lots of delicious vegetables. However, on the way to getting a harvest, a gardener may encounter many troubles and problems. One of them is low soil fertility and lack of microelements for plant development. The situation of “starvation” can be corrected with the help of various fertilizing and fertilizers. Thus, farmers often use calcium nitrate to feed tomatoes.
What is calcium nitrate
Saltpeter is widely available to farmers. Its use has been established on an industrial scale for feeding various agricultural plants. Fertilizer is a mineral based on a salt of nitric acid. There are several types of nitrate: ammonium, sodium, barium, potassium and calcium. By the way, barium nitrate, unlike all other types, is not used in agriculture.
That is why when applying fertilizer it is necessary to observe the timing and dosage of use. This will prevent the accumulation of the substance in plants and fruits and prevent the negative effects of the substance.
At fertilizing tomatoes in everyday life they often use ammonia and potassium saltpeter, emphasizing that these substances are most important for plant growth and fruiting. However, not many people know that calcium also important for tomatoes. It allows other substances contained in the soil to be better absorbed. Without calcium, feeding tomatoes may be pointless, since the transport and absorption of microelements will be impaired.
Calcium nitrate, or as it is also called calcium nitrate, calcium nitrate, contains 19% calcium and 13% nitrogen. Fertilizer is used to feed tomatoes at various stages of cultivation, from growing tomato seedlings to harvesting.
The fertilizer comes in the form of granules, white or gray crystals. They are odorless and quickly cake if storage conditions are violated. In a humid environment, calcium nitrate exhibits hygroscopicity. The fertilizer is highly soluble in water and does not oxidize the soil when used. Saltpeter can be used to feed tomatoes on any type of soil.
Effect of the substance on plants
Calcium nitrate is a unique fertilizer because it contains calcium in a water-soluble form. It allows the second fat mineral – nitrogen – to be easily and quickly absorbed. It is this combination of calcium and nitrogen that allows tomatoes to grow lush and healthy.
It is worth noting that nitrogen is responsible for the growth and development of plants, but calcium itself plays an equally important role in the process of plant vegetation. With its help, roots absorb nutrients and moisture from the soil. In the absence of calcium, tomato roots simply cease to perform their function and rot.In the process of reducing the concentration of calcium in the soil, the transport of substances from the root to the leaves is disrupted, as a result of which one can observe the withering of old and drying out of young leaves. With a lack of calcium, dry edges and brown spots appear on tomato leaf blades.
A sufficient amount of calcium nitrate in the soil has a number of positive effects:
- accelerates seed germination;
- makes plants more resistant to diseases and pests;
- gives tomatoes resistance to low temperatures;
- improves the taste of vegetables and increases yield.
Thus, it is possible to restore the lack of calcium in the soil and activate the growth of tomatoes, making the harvest tasty and plentiful with the help of calcium nitrate.
Feeding seedlings
The properties of calcium nitrate are especially valuable for tomato seedlings, because it is young plants that need active growth of green mass and successful, rapid rooting. Use nitrogen-calcium fertilizing after 2-3 true leaves appear on the plant. The substance is used in dissolved form for root feeding and spraying of leaves.
It is necessary to spray the leaves of tomato seedlings with a solution prepared according to the recipe: 2 g of calcium nitrate per 1 liter of water. The spraying procedure can be repeated many times, every 10-15 days. This measure will not only allow tomato seedlings to develop better, but will also protect them from blackleg and fungus.
Calcium nitrate for feeding tomato seedlings It is rational to use the root in combination with other mineral trace elements and nutrients. Thus, a fertilizer prepared by adding 20 g of calcium nitrate to a bucket of water is often used.Urea in the amount of 10 g and wood ash in the amount of 100 g are used as additional components in the solution. This mixture is complex because it contains all the substances necessary for tomatoes, including potassium and phosphorus. The nutrient mixture should be used twice in the process of growing tomato seedlings: when 2 leaves appear and after 10 days after the pick seedlings.
Application after planting tomatoes
In the process of preparing the soil for planting tomato seedlings, you can use calcium nitrate. This substance is added to the soil during spring digging or when forming holes. Fertilizer consumption is 20 g per plant. Saltpeter can be added to the soil in dry form.
It is necessary to fertilize tomatoes in open and protected ground with calcium nitrate 8-10 days from the day of planting the seedlings. The substance is applied by spraying. To do this, prepare a 1% solution by adding 10 g of fertilizer to a liter of water. Exceeding the concentration has a negative effect on young plants. Carry out such foliar feeding of tomatoes It is recommended regularly every 2 weeks. During the period of active formation of ovaries, such foliar feeding of tomatoes is not used.
During the formation of ovaries and ripening of vegetables, calcium nitrate is used as an additional component in a complex fertilizer.For example, many gardeners use a solution obtained by adding 500 ml of mullein and 20 g of calcium nitrate to a bucket of water to feed tomatoes. After mixing, the solution is used to water the plants. This fertilizer significantly improves the soil composition and makes the structure of heavy soil more acceptable for plants. At the same time, the roots of tomatoes receive more oxygen, the growth of green mass accelerates, and the process of root formation improves.
Feeding adult plants with calcium must be done periodically, since as tomatoes grow, they absorb substances, depleting the soil. Also, during the growing season, tomatoes may show signs of calcium deficiency. In this case, root feeding is used to restore plants: 10 g of calcium nitrate per bucket of water. Watering is carried out based on the calculation of 500 ml for each plant.
Drip watering of plants with a solution of calcium nitrate at the root is a convenient and affordable method of fertilizing large areas of tomato plantings.
Apical rot
This disease quite often affects tomatoes in open ground, but sometimes occurs in greenhouse environments. The disease appears on unripe, green tomatoes. Small watery, brown spots form on the tops of such fruits during formation and ripening. Over time, they begin to grow and cover increasingly larger areas on the surface of the tomato. The color of the affected parts changes, becoming light brown. The tomato skin dries out and resembles a thick film.
One of the causes of blossom end rot is calcium deficiency. The situation can be corrected by using any type of fertilizing with the addition of calcium nitrate.
You can learn more about the disease and methods of combating it from the video:
Storage rules
Calcium nitrate is widely available to the average consumer. It can be found on the shelves of agricultural stores in sealed bags weighing from 0.5 to 2 kg. When there is no need to use all the fertilizer at once, you need to take care of the correct storage of the substance, taking into account its hygroscopicity, caking, explosion and fire hazard.
Calcium nitrate should be stored in sealed plastic bags in a room with moderate humidity. Packages with the substance must be placed away from sources of open flame. When working with calcium nitrate, you should take care of personal protective equipment.
Calcium nitrate is an accessible, inexpensive, and most importantly, effective means of feeding tomatoes. It can be used at all stages of plant growth, starting from the appearance of 2 true leaves. The substance is used to feed tomatoes in greenhouses and in open ground. With the help of fertilizer, young plants take root well after transplantation, successfully and quickly increase green mass, and produce many tasty fruits. However, to obtain such a result, you must strictly follow the rules and regulations for adding the substance in order not to burn the plants and get not only tasty, but also healthy vegetables without nitrates.
