Content
Undoubtedly, some of the most popular vegetables are tomatoes and peppers. They have excellent taste, they contain many vitamins and beneficial microelements. In addition, tomatoes or peppers can be grown in any climate zone. The variety of varieties and hybrids is such that it is simply impossible to count them. In addition to those included in the state register, there are many varieties of peppers and tomatoes of the so-called folk selection. Often they are in no way inferior to varieties bred by experienced specialists. Everyone who has even a piece of land grows tomatoes and peppers. Feeding tomato and pepper seedlings with folk remedies is of interest to many; our article is dedicated to this.
Conditions required for successful cultivation of peppers and tomatoes
Tomatoes and peppers belong to the same family - Solanaceae. They originate from the hot, dry regions of Central and South America.Their requirements for growing conditions are largely similar, but there are significant differences. Let's take a closer look at this. After all, in order to grow a healthy plant, you need to know its needs.
Temperature
Here both cultures have similar preferences. Tomatoes and peppers love warm weather without sudden temperature fluctuations throughout the day. They do not like heat above 35-36 degrees, long-term cold temperatures below 12-16 degrees, although they can tolerate a short-term drop in temperature without pain.
Seedlings need to be kept warm, because at low temperatures their development is suspended and the absorption of nutrients is reduced.
Lighting
Tomatoes need long daylight hours of at least 12 hours; they do not like cloudy weather. Seedlings need additional lighting, because their development occurs at a time of year when daylight hours are short and the weather does not indulge in sunny days.
Pepper is a short-day plant; it needs light no more than 8 hours a day. But seedlings also need additional lighting. Subsequently, we will plant the pepper in the ground so that it receives sunlight only for part of the day, otherwise we will not get a full harvest.
Watering, air humidity
Peppers and tomatoes really don’t like overwatering or cold water. Moreover, pepper is a real sissy in this sense - watering water with a temperature below 20 degrees can cause problems. Tomatoes, if watered unevenly, will produce a crop with cracked fruits. Moreover, tomatoes do not tolerate high air humidity - it promotes the development of late blight.
Feeding and fertilizers
Tomatoes and peppers do not tolerate much fertilizer from the soil, and peppers are potassium lovers, and tomatoes are phosphorus lovers.Both plants do not like fresh manure and high doses of nitrogen.
Priming
Tomatoes and peppers prefer loose, air- and water-permeable soil, moderately fertile, with a neutral reaction. Tomatoes can grow in slightly acidic soil. Both plants cannot tolerate dense loams or acidic soils.
Picking, depth, planting density
This is where the characteristics of peppers and tomatoes are fully demonstrated. Tomatoes like:
- Frequent transplants - if the roots are damaged, they quickly recover and grow even more;
- In-depth planting - part of the tomato stem, buried in the ground, becomes overgrown with adventitious roots, increasing the plant’s feeding area;
- Free planting - plants should be well blown by the wind, this prevents the development of late blight.
Now let's look at what peppers DO NOT like:
- Frequent transplants - damaged roots take a very long time to recover, the plant’s development stops;
- Deep planting - part of the stem that is underground may rot and the plant will die;
- Free planting - for fruits to ripen successfully, they must be in light shade, which is facilitated by a slightly thickened planting.
Feeding pepper and tomato seedlings with folk remedies
On store shelves we see many preparations intended for feeding peppers and tomatoes. But more and more people, especially if they grow vegetables only for themselves, are trying to feed them with folk remedies. One can argue for a long time about the dangers and benefits of mineral fertilizers, but there is no doubt that adequate nutrition for seedlings can be provided without the use of chemicals. The main disadvantage of non-traditional (perhaps it would be more correct to call them alternative) fertilizers is their lack of instructions.Let's figure it out together.
The importance of fertilizers
Whatever we feed vegetable seedlings - folk remedies or mineral fertilizers, their nutrition must be balanced. They must receive a certain amount of nutrients in adjusted proportions. Simply feeding vegetables with natural fertilizer is not enough - you need to know what nutrients it contains and whether it is suitable for seedlings.
- Nitrogen is vital for plants; it is involved in photosynthesis; with its help, peppers and tomatoes increase their green mass.
- Plants need phosphorus for flowering and fruiting. Its deficiency causes the ovary to fall off. If there is not enough of it in the means used for fertilizing, we will not get a full harvest.
- Potassium is necessary for the development of the root system. If there is not enough potassium, the peppers or tomatoes will simply die.
The advantages of natural fertilizers include the fact that almost all of them contain microelements, they often cost nothing, and are well absorbed by seedlings. The disadvantages are that we can never know exactly the dosage of the main elements.
The basic principles of feeding seedlings with folk remedies are the same as when feeding with mineral fertilizers:
- It is better to give seedlings a smaller dose of fertilizer than to exceed it.
- Fertilizing is carried out only on moist soil.
- The seedlings are fed in the morning.
- Liquid fertilizing should have a temperature of 22-25 degrees.
Signs of battery shortage:
- The leaves lighten starting from the lower ones, turgor remains - lack of nitrogen.
- The seedlings take on a purple hue - a lack of phosphorus.
- The leaves dry out starting from the edge - potassium starvation.
- The leaves begin to turn yellow between the veins - a lack of iron.
- The leaves wither even with sufficient watering - perhaps a copper deficiency.
Ash
The most common folk fertilizer is ash. It is recommended to use it at all stages of plant life. It contains all the nutrients the plant needs, although in varying concentrations. Ash is remarkable because it nourishes seedlings and protects them from diseases. For example, dusting the soil with wood ash is used when overflowing, the first signs of blackleg.
They can become a real disaster and destroy the seedlings. It is enough to thickly powder the above-ground parts of tomatoes or peppers with wood ash 3-4 times in the morning after watering, and leave until the next watering. Make sure that the ash remains on the plant for no more than 4 days - otherwise we will overfeed the plant. For northern regions, or if growing conditions allow watering peppers or tomatoes every few days, a single dusting may be sufficient.
Let’s immediately make a reservation that wood ash itself is suitable for feeding seedlings. People often ask whether the ash remaining after cooking kebabs or barbecues is suitable for fertilizing plants. The answer is yes, if you did not use gasoline or other aggressive chemicals when lighting the fire.
It is remarkable that the ash of different plants contains different doses of chemical elements. If possible, when feeding pepper or tomato seedlings, consider this:
- Deciduous tree ash contains a lot of calcium.
- The ash of coniferous trees contains a lot of phosphorus.
- The ash of grapevines or herbaceous plants is a record holder for potassium content.
- Peat ash contains a lot of lime and little potassium; often (but not always) such ash contains a lot of iron.
- The best ash is obtained by burning birch chips, dried stems of Jerusalem artichoke, and sunflower.
It is better to give ash in the form of an extract - pour a glass of ash with 8 liters of boiling water, leave for a day, then strain.
Natural stimulants
Before planting, soak pepper or tomato seeds well in the following natural stimulants:
- Aloe juice is an excellent natural stimulant. The aloe leaf is cut off, wrapped in gauze, and placed on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for 2 weeks or in the freezer for 2 days. Then squeeze out the juice (it should not come into contact with metal), dilute it 1:1 with water, and soak the seeds for a day.
- Ash infusion. Pepper and tomato seeds are soaked for 6 hours in an ash extract prepared as described above.
- Dry mushrooms. Pour boiling water over dried mushrooms and let cool. Soak the seeds in the solution for 6 hours.
- Honey. Dissolve one teaspoon of honey in a glass of warm water, pour in the seeds for 6 hours so that they are just wetted.
- Potato juice. Peel a few tubers and place them in the freezer for 2-3 days. Squeeze the juice and soak the pepper seeds or tomato for 8 hours.
Fertilizers that can be applied to the soil
Some products can be added to the soil before sowing peppers or tomatoes for seedlings - they improve the soil structure and feed the seedlings.
Sleepy coffee grounds. If you love good coffee, don’t throw away your coffee. In addition to being a great scrub, it makes a good soil additive.
Ash.Apply a small amount of ash to the soil when sowing seeds - it will not only serve as fertilizing, but will also protect against many diseases.
Fertilizers applied with irrigation
Feed using folk remedies, pepper or tomato seedlings begin when two true leaves appear, and are completed no later than two days before transplanting into the ground. Watering with infusions enriched with beneficial elements is done every 10-14 days. It is important here not to overfeed the plant.
If you are not confident in yourself, it is better to use mineral fertilizers. The most important assistant here can only be experience.
In addition to wood ash, you can feed pepper or tomato seedlings with the following self-prepared preparations:
- Banana peels are an invaluable source of potassium. Simply put the skins of four bananas in a three-liter jar and fill with warm water. After 3 days, the infusion is ready.
- Eggshell. Lightly crush the shells of 3-4 eggs, place them in a three-liter jar, and fill with warm water. After a few days, you can water the seedlings with the infusion.
We offer you to watch a short video about feeding tomato and pepper seedlings with folk remedies:
What folk remedies should you not feed seedlings?
There are a lot of excellent fertilizers that need to be used in open ground, but they are not suitable for pepper or tomato seedlings:
- Any humus, green fertilizers, herbal teas are not suitable for seedlings due to excess nitrogen.
- Yeast - firstly, it decomposes potassium, and, secondly, it contains a lot of nitrogen, stimulates growth, and we don’t need peppers or tomatoes to stretch out.
- Dried tea contains tannins.When used in open ground for adult peppers or tomatoes, their effect is not so noticeable, but the development of seedlings can be greatly retarded by dormant tea.
It should be noted that experienced gardeners successfully use the “forbidden” fertilizers listed above when growing seedlings. But they do this very carefully, knowledgeably, often guided by intuition. With the experience gained, you may also use them.
Say goodbye to the seedlings in advance and experiment. This way, you will gain invaluable experience, and the harvest will not be damaged. Perhaps the best seedlings will be in this box.
Good luck to you!
