Feeding tomatoes in a polycarbonate greenhouse

Both humans and plants require food for a comfortable existence. Tomatoes are no exception. Proper feeding of tomatoes in a greenhouse is the key to a bountiful harvest of tasty and healthy fruits.

Tomato is a plant with average nutritional needs. These needs can vary greatly on different soils. On fertile, especially chernozem soils, they will be small. On poor soils with low humus content, tomatoes need fertilizer to a greater extent.

Basic nutrients for tomatoes

Research by physiologists suggests that tomato plants consume approximately 50 different chemical elements for their vital functions. All nutrients consumed by plants can be divided into macro and microelements.

Macronutrients

Macroelements include the following substances.

• Carbon - comes to tomatoes from the air through the leaves and through the roots from compounds in the soil, an important component of the process of photosynthesis. Organic fertilizers, introduced into the soil, increase the carbon dioxide content in the near-earth layer of air, which accelerates photosynthesis and, consequently, increases the yield.
• Oxygen is involved in the respiration of tomatoes and metabolism. Lack of oxygen in the soil not only causes the death of beneficial soil microorganisms, but can also cause the death of the plant. Loosen the soil in the top layer near the tomatoes to enrich it with oxygen.
• Nitrogen is the most important element for the nutrition of tomatoes and is a component of all plant tissues. It cannot be absorbed from the air, so nitrogen must be added from outside. Nitrogen is well absorbed by tomatoes only when the soil reaction is neutral or slightly acidic. If the soil is highly acidic, it must be limed.
• Phosphorus - affects the growth and development of tomatoes, especially the root system; it is also important during the period of budding and fruit formation. Phosphorus is a sedentary element. Its salts are poorly soluble and slowly become accessible to plants. Most of the phosphorus is absorbed by tomatoes from reserves added last season.
  
  Phosphorus fertilizers must be applied annually to maintain soil fertility.
• Potassium. Tomatoes need it most during fruit formation. Helps to grow both the root system and the leaves and stem. Adding potassium will help tomatoes become resistant to various diseases and withstand any stress without loss.

Basic phosphorus-potassium fertilizers and their benefits for plants are presented in the video:

Microelements

These elements are so called because they are consumed by plants, including tomatoes, in small quantities.But for proper nutrition of tomatoes, they are needed no less, and the lack of each of them can affect not only their development, but also the harvest. The most important elements for tomatoes are the following: calcium, magnesium, boron, molybdenum, sulfur, zinc. That's why fertilizers for tomatoes in the greenhouse should include not only macro, but also microelements.

Types of fertilizing tomatoes in a greenhouse

All feeding of tomatoes in a polycarbonate greenhouse and in a film greenhouse is divided into root and foliar.

Root feeding is most effective on the waning moon, since it is at this time that all the plant juices are directed to the roots, which grow vigorously. Since the greenhouse creates its own special microclimate due to low air circulation, root feeding for tomatoes is preferable because it does not increase the air humidity in it, and this is important for the prevention of late blight.

Foliar feeding of tomatoes is carried out on the growing moon, it is at this time that the leaves are best able to absorb the substances introduced with nutrient solutions. What fertilizers does it mean? foliar feeding of tomatoes in a greenhouse? Typically, this procedure is an ambulance for tomatoes; it is designed to quickly compensate for the lack of any nutrient. It helps quickly, but unlike root feeding it does not last long.

In the video you can see how the lack of various nutrients affects tomatoes:

Caring for tomatoes in the event of a deficiency of any micro or macro element will consist of foliar feeding with a solution containing this element. Any water-soluble fertilizer that contains the substance most needed by tomatoes at the moment is suitable for feeding.

It can be like this during the fruiting period. During the growth of leaf mass and flowering, it should be even less and amount to 0.4% and 0.6%, respectively.

Foliar feeding is best done in the late afternoon, when the absorption capacity of tomato leaves is maximum.

The amount of root dressing in the greenhouse depends on several factors:

• soil fertility;
• soil type;
• amount of starting fertilizer;
• state of seedlings when planting;
• on what varieties are grown there - determinate or indeterminate, as well as on the intensity of the variety, that is, its ability to produce a large harvest.

Soil fertility and preparation in autumn

Soil fertility is an important factor for successful plant growth. If the soil is poor, a sufficient amount of organic matter will need to be added during its autumn preparation. Depending on fertility, 5 to 15 kilograms of humus or well-rotted compost per square meter of greenhouse are added to the soil.

Plants overfed with nitrogen will not only not produce a high yield, but will also become easy prey for pathogenic bacteria, of which there are many in fresh manure.

If you scattered compost or humus before digging, do not forget to spill the soil with a 0.5% solution of copper sulfate. This will not only disinfect the soil, but also enrich it with the necessary copper. In the fall, the soil is also filled with superphosphate - from 50 to 80 grams per square meter.

Potassium and nitrogen fertilizers It is better to apply in the spring, when preparing the soil for planting seedlings.

They can only be brought into polycarbonate greenhouses in the fall; there is no snow in them in winter. You will need 40 grams of potassium salt per square meter. It is better if the potassium is sulfate, since tomatoes do not like the chlorine contained in potassium chloride.

Soil type and adjustment

Caring for tomatoes includes preparing soil that is optimal for their development. The soil is most suitable for growing tomatoes, must meet the following conditions:

• contain sufficient, but not excessive, organic components;
• good moisture retention;
• easy to get enough air;
• the soil must have optimal acidity.

If tomatoes are planted after crops for which a lot of organic matter was added, you should refrain from adding it in the fall. Sandy or loamy soils are best suited for growing tomatoes. Sandy soils dry out very quickly, so clay is added to them to increase its moisture holding capacity. Clay soils are poorly saturated with air, so sand will have to be added to them.

Tomatoes are tolerant of soil acidity and grow well at a pH value of 5.5 to 7.5, but they are most comfortable at a pH of 5.6 to 6.0. If the soil does not meet these requirements, it should be limed. Liming should be done in the fall.

Lime removes nitrogen from organic matter, since when humus or manure and lime are mixed, ammonia is formed, which simply evaporates into the air.

Feeding tomatoes when planting seedlings

Caring for tomatoes in a greenhouse begins with preparing planting holes for tomatoes.

Fertilizers for tomatoes in a greenhouse when planting seedlings are an essential element for the proper development of plants. A handful of humus and two tablespoons of ash are added to the planting holes. The growth of the root system of seedlings will be ensured by phosphorus fertilizer added in the fall.

Advice from experienced gardeners:

• When planting, it is good to add ground eggshells to the hole - a source of calcium;
• sometimes one small raw fish is added to the holes - a source of phosphorus and microelements available to plants - this is what the ancient Indians did; In the video you can see more about this exotic method of fertilization:
   
• Leave bread crusts in water for a week and water the holes with a diluted solution, thereby enriching the soil with nitrogen and the air with carbon dioxide.

Condition of seedlings when planting and feeding

Weak seedlings will require care in the form of additional fertilizing in the initial period after planting. This is nitrogen - for increasing leaf mass and phosphorus - for rapid root growth. Humic fertilizers will also help tomatoes with this; when used, the roots grow much faster. Foliar feeding with these fertilizers will be most effective.

Intensity of fertilizing for different varieties of tomatoes

Determinate tomato varieties require less nutrition for their development than indeterminate varieties, since they are smaller in size. Intensive varieties also require intensive fertilizing to form a large harvest. For varieties with low yields, their quantity should be less.

Which mineral fertilizers for tomatoes are the best? There is no exact answer to this question. The best fertilizer will be the one that the tomatoes need most at the moment.

Proper care of tomatoes in a greenhouse is impossible without mineral supplements. In order not to get confused and not miss anything, it is best to draw up a schedule or feeding schedule. The most suitable fertilizer for tomatoes should have the percentage ratio: nitrogen-10, phosphorus-5, potassium-20. It must be water-soluble and contain a set of microelements necessary for tomatoes. There are many types of such fertilizers. For example, “Solution”, “Harvest”, “For tomatoes”, “Sudarushka”.

Each gardener makes his own choice of the fertilizer that is available to him.

Advice from experienced gardeners: the first feeding of greenhouse tomatoes is done when the tomatoes on the bottom cluster become the size of an average plum.

Schedule for root feeding of tomatoes in a greenhouse

As a rule, tomatoes are planted in a greenhouse with the first flowering cluster. Typically, seedlings are planted in early May. Consequently, the first root feeding coincides with the first ten days of June. If the seedlings are weak, the first fertilizing should be done with a foliar solution of nitrogen fertilizer to increase the leaf mass with the addition of humate for better root growth. Further fertilizing should be carried out once a decade, ending in the first ten days of August. It is easy to calculate that 7 root feedings will be needed.

The best way is to summarize all the feedings in a table.

Two feedings of calcium nitrate are necessary to prevent blossom end rot of tomatoes. When added to solution calcium nitrate reduce the mortar rate by 10 grams. Humate is compatible with complex fertilizer, so it can not be diluted with water separately, but added to a bucket with mortar.

It is carried out after fertilizing, thoroughly watering the entire bed.

In July and August, water and fertilize all the soil in the garden bed, not just under the bushes, since the root system is growing by then.

You can also care for tomatoes by using folk remedies to fertilize tomatoes in a greenhouse. A very good way to increase the yield and immunity of tomatoes is green fertilizer. You can watch the video to see how to prepare and use it:

Proper care of tomatoes and timely fertilizing are guaranteed to provide the gardener with a large harvest of tasty and healthy fruits.

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