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To grow high yields, timely application of fertilizers for tomatoes is important. They will provide seedlings with nutrition and will speed up her height and fruit formation. In order for fertilizing tomatoes to be effective, it must be done correctly, in compliance with the timing and amount of minerals.
The composition and frequency of use of fertilizers depend on several factors - the type of soil, the place where the tomatoes are grown, and the condition of the seedlings.
Soil preparation
The soil for tomatoes should be prepared in the fall. When digging, add manure, humus, phosphorus and potash fertilizers. If the soil is loamy, you need to add peat or sawdust. Acidic ones are limed.
The table shows the proportions that should be observed when applying fertilizers to tomatoes:
№ | Name | Depth | Proportions |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Humus | 20-25 cm | 5 kg/sq. m |
2 | Bird droppings | 20-25 cm | 5 kg/sq. m |
3 | Compost | 20-25 cm | 5 kg/sq. m |
4 | Peat | 20-25 cm | 5 kg/sq. m |
5 | Potassium salt | 20-25 cm | 5 kg/sq. m |
6 | Superphosphate | 20-25 cm | 5 kg/sq. m |
Microelements necessary for tomatoes
Seedlings must receive all minerals in sufficient quantities. By its appearance, you can determine the deficiency of one or another element:
- in case of shortage nitrogen growth slows down, bushes wither, and tomato leaves become paler;
- fast-growing lush bushes indicate an excess of nitrogen and the need to reduce it;
- when there is a deficiency of phosphorus, the leaves become purple, and when there is an excess, they fall off;
- if there is too much phosphorus in the soil, and nitrogen and potassium not enough, the tomato leaves begin to curl.
Plants obtain the main amounts of essential minerals through the root system, so they are added to the soil. The composition and amount of fertilizers vary depending on the growth stage of the tomatoes, soil fertility and weather. For example, if the summer is cool and there are few sunny days, you need to increase the potassium content in the tomato fertilizer.
Fertilizers
All known fertilizers for tomatoes are divided into two large groups. TO mineral include inorganic substances.
They have such advantages as:
- availability;
- getting a quick effect;
- cheapness;
- ease of transportation.
The most commonly used nitrogen fertilizer for tomatoes is urea. It is applied when plants are starved of nitrogen, up to 20 g per hole. It is better to choose from potassium potassium sulfate, since tomatoes react negatively to the presence of chlorine. If there is a deficiency of potassium, its sulfate salt will be an excellent fertilizer for tomatoes. The mineral substance superphosphate is the best fertilizer for all types of soil.
Organic fertilizers are represented by manure, peat, compost, green fertilizers in the form of herbs.With the help of manure, microelements and nutrients are introduced into the soil, and the plant mass contains potassium compounds, calcium, magnesium. Organic fertilizers promote healthy tomato growth.
Types of fertilizing
Tomato feeding is done in two ways. Root - involves watering the bushes at the root with fertilizers dissolved in water.
At foliar feeding of tomatoes The leaves and stems are sprayed with a nutrient solution. The concentration of the solution for treating bushes should be much less. This method saturates seedlings with microelements faster and saves fertilizer. Spraying is carried out in small doses, but often. It is not advisable to use chlorinated water. Many summer residents prefer to collect rainwater.
Feeding seedlings before planting in the ground
The first feeding of tomatoes is recommended after two leaves appear. Water the seedlings with a diluted urea solution.
After 7-8 days, the tomatoes are fed a second time - this time with bird droppings. The litter is kept half and half with water for two days, and before use it is diluted 10 times. After such feeding, the seedlings will grow well.
Before planting tomatoes, 5-6 days before, you can feed them again with the solution ash.
Feeding scheme
Tomatoes require nutrition and after planting in the ground, there should be three or four of them per season. You need to start after the seedlings have adapted to new conditions - after about a week or two.
First feeding
To strengthen the roots and form ovaries, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are needed.It is better not to overuse ammonium nitrate, otherwise nitrogen will ensure rapid growth of seedlings and lush greenery, but at the same time the number of ovaries will decrease.
Many gardeners, instead of mineral fertilizers, prefer to use folk remedies for feeding tomatoes:
- One of the best are ash fertilizers - ash contains almost all the microelements beneficial for tomatoes;
- Until the fruits set, organic feeding of tomatoes with bird droppings and manure is also useful;
- Herbal infusions will be an excellent liquid fertilizer - an infusion of young nettle has an especially good effect, since potassium, nitrogen and iron accumulate in its leaves.
What fertilizers are needed for tomatoes is up to each gardener to decide for himself.
To disinfect the soil, seedlings should be watered with a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate.
Folk remedies for feeding
An excellent growth stimulator for tomatoes is an infusion of eggshells. It is prepared simply, like all folk remedies. The crushed shells of three eggs are poured into three liters of water and infused until the smell of hydrogen sulfide appears. The solution is diluted and used to water the seedlings.
It is useful to feed tomatoes with yeast. Thanks to them:
- the soil under tomatoes is enriched with beneficial microflora;
- the root system becomes more powerful;
- seedlings become hardier and resist diseases well.
The recipe for making yeast solution is simple. You can use baker's yeast in briquettes, but packets of dry yeast will also work.Dissolve 2.5 teaspoons of the dry product in a bucket of warm water, add a spoon or two of sugar and leave for a day. Each bush is watered at the root.
Yeast fertilizer for tomatoes goes well with ash or herbal infusion, but it should not be carried out more than twice during the summer - the first time, approximately 14-15 days after planting the seedlings, and the second time before flowering begins.
Herbal fertilizer for tomatoes is also easy to prepare. All the weeded grass from the beds, a small amount of nettles are placed in a barrel or other spacious container and filled with water. To speed up fermentation, add a little sugar or old jam to the mixture - about two tablespoons per bucket of water. The barrel is then covered with a lid or an old bag until the end of fermentation.
Period of ovary formation
The timing of the second feeding of tomatoes is associated with the beginning of fruit formation. At this time, you can use an iodine solution - four drops per bucket of water. Iodine will increase the resistance of tomatoes to fungal diseases, and also accelerate the formation of fruits.
You can prepare a complex fertilizer for tomatoes according to the following recipe:
- Pour 8 cups of wood ash with boiling water in a volume of five liters and stir;
- After cooling the solution, add ten grams of dry boric acid to it;
- pour ten drops of iodine and leave for 24 hours.
Before use, you need to dilute ten times and water the tomato bushes.
Complex feeding
According to the tomato feeding scheme, the next treatment is carried out after a break of two weeks. A mixture is prepared for it, which contains all the necessary substances:
- two-thirds of the crushed mass of nettle and dandelion with the addition of manure is placed in a large container;
- the container is filled with water and covered with film;
- the mixture must ferment for ten days.
Before feeding tomatoes, take one liter of concentrate per bucket of water. Watering is done at the root - three liters per bush. To speed up the ripening and improve the keeping quality of tomatoes, you can feed the tomatoes with comfrey infusion at the end of July.
Foliar sprays
If the seedlings have a weak, thin stem, a small number of small leaves and do not bloom well, foliar feeding of tomatoes will help:
- yellowness of the leaves due to a lack of nitrogen can be removed with a diluted solution of ammonia;
- during the formation of ovaries seedlings are treated with superphosphate solution;
- iodine solution with added milk;
- boric acid;
- a weak solution of potassium permanganate;
- a solution of calcium nitrate will help against rot on the tops of bushes and against mites;
- Tomato seedlings are simply transformed by regularly spraying the leaves with a weak solution hydrogen peroxide in water, as their cells are filled with atomic oxygen;
- solution effectively fights late blight copper sulfate;
- if there is a lack of potassium, a three-day infusion of banana peels can be used as a fertilizer for tomatoes;
- An infusion or decoction is an excellent remedy against diseases onion peel.
As a top dressing for tomatoes, many gardeners prepare a product from several components - boric acid, copper sulfate, magnesia, potassium permanganate and laundry soap shavings dissolved in water.This comprehensive foliar feeding will enrich the tomatoes with essential minerals, strengthen the leaves and ovaries, while simultaneously disinfecting them from pathogenic microflora. To protect the leaves from burns, you need to dilute it.
Proper feeding
When fertilizing tomatoes, you must follow certain rules so as not to harm the bushes and get a greater effect from the treatment:
- the solution should not be too cold or hot, sudden temperature changes should be avoided;
- each new remedy is first tested on one plant;
- we must remember that tomatoes do not like excess organic matter;
- Tomato feeding should be done in the evening;
- You cannot root feed tomatoes on dry soil; you must first water the bushes with just water, otherwise they may get burned;
- Tomato leaves can also get burned if liquid fertilizer gets on them.
Fertilizers for tomatoes in greenhouses
In greenhouses, initial feeding Tomato transplantation should be done 15-20 days after transplanting. Liquid fertilizer is prepared by dissolving 25 g of urea and 15 g of potassium sulfate in a volume of 10 liters of water. Watering consumption is one liter per bush.
The second time the tomato bushes are fed, when they are massive flowering. Tomato feeding is necessary for the appearance of strong ovaries at the next stage. A tablespoon of potassium fertilizer and half a liter of bird droppings and manure are consumed per bucket of solution. Each bush should receive up to one and a half liters of liquid. If there is a lack of organic matter, you can add a tablespoon of nitrophoska. To prevent the occurrence of blossom end rot on tomatoes, they should be sprayed with calcium nitrate - a tablespoon per bucket.
When the ovaries are formed, the tomatoes are fed with a solution of ash (2 l), boric acid (10 g) in a bucket of hot water. For better dissolution, the liquid is infused for a day. Up to one liter of solution is consumed for each bush.
Once again, fertilizer for tomatoes is used during mass fruiting to improve the taste of the fruit and accelerate their ripening. For watering, take a tablespoon of liquid sodium humate with two tablespoons of superphosphate onto a bucket.
The timing of feeding tomatoes can be adjusted depending on the climate, soil composition, and the condition of the seedlings. Each gardener decides for himself, based on his experience, which feeding scheme to choose. It is important to provide tomatoes with all the necessary substances to get a rich and tasty harvest.
