Content
Every gardener is interested in growing a quality and environmentally friendly crop from crops such as tomatoes. In view of this, you need to stock up on everything you need to fertilize the beds in advance, in the so-called off-season. This article will talk about the many different means used for micronutrient fertilization, feeding and treating tomatoes from diseases and pests.
Microfertilizer epin
In order to plant healthy and strong tomato seedlings, you should decontaminate and saturate the seeds with useful substances. You can soak tomato seeds in Epin, Zircon or Humate.
The brand name of a plant-based product that is a natural adaptogen and a growth stimulant for tomatoes is called Epin. Thanks to its effect, tomatoes are easier to adapt to changes in humidity, temperatures and lack of light, as well as waterlogging and drought. If a process tomato seeds with Epin's solution, the seedlings will appear faster. In addition, micronutrient fertilization increases the resistance of tomato sprouts to various diseases.
Soak
As a rule, Epin is found on the free market in small packages - 1 ml. The tomato fertilizer is stored in the cold and in the dark, for example, in the refrigerator. So, after Epin is taken out of the refrigerator, you need to warm it up at room temperature for half an hour or hold it in your hands for 2-3 minutes. So, the sediment will dissolve and the liquid for processing tomatoes will become transparent. Shake the contents of the fertilizer in the ampoule and add 2 drops of the product to 0.5 glass of water. This solution needs to be treated with tomato seeds.
Soaking time 12-24 hours. It is important to stir the tomato seeds periodically. Then the solution must be drained, and the treated planting material must be dried and put on germination or sown.
The use of succinic acid
Succinic acid is a component of many growth-promoting drugs. They are used for spraying tomato seedlings and adult plants. The beneficial effect of succinic acid is manifested in an increase in tomato flowering and yield.
Treatment with fertilizer diluted in a proportion of 1 g per bucket of water will help to increase the amount of tomato ovary. Each tomato bush should be sprayed with this solution. The procedure should be repeated every 7-10 days during the period of the greatest activity of bud formation on tomato bushes. Three treatments are enough. Spraying tomatoes fertilizer containing succinic acid will also improve the plant's resistance to bacteria, diseases and insects. The quality and quantity of fruits largely depends on the formation of chlorophyll in the tomato leaves. It neutralizes the action of nitric acid if there is too much of it. Succinic acid does not have a negative effect on the body, and therefore is a safe type of fertilizer for tomatoes. In addition, an overdose of the drug is not terrible, since tomato bushes absorb only the amount that they need. And yet, precautions are important because, if it gets into the eyes or stomach, succinic acid will provoke inflammatory processes.
Instructions for use
To make the necessary fertilizer from succinic acid for tomatoes, you should follow the instructions, which you can read in this subsection. This tomato fertilizer is sold in crystalline powder or tablets. If you purchased succinic acid in tablets, then before preparing a solution for processing tomatoes, they must be crushed. So, for cooking fertilizer for tomato you will need water and acid. There are 2 ways to prepare the solution:
- For 1 liter of water, 1 g of fertilizer for a tomato is used, while the concentration of the powder can be increased or decreased, depending on the required intensity of influence on the tomatoes.
- To prepare a less concentrated solution, 1% succinic acid should be made, and then diluted with water in the required proportion.
Processing tomatoes with brilliant green
Another tool widely used for fertilizing and processing tomatoes is brilliant green. It has an antiseptic effect on tomato bushes and soil, due to its copper content.
Treating tomatoes with brilliant green may include lubricating tomato wounds that form accidentally or with small pruning. By dissolving 40 drops of brilliant green in a bucket of water and spraying tomato bushes, you can get rid of late blight. In order not to measure the brilliant green drop by drop at every need to fertilize the tomatoes, the bottle can be diluted in a liter of water, and then a little (by eye) added to the water for spraying or fertilizing. If you water the tomato beds with a weak solution of brilliant green, then you can get rid of the slugs.
Ammonia as a tomato treatment
The ammonia contains 82% nitrogen and there are no ballast substances, which is why the solution from it is actively used in fertilizing plants, including tomatoes. Essentially, ammonia is an aqueous solution of ammonia.
Nitrogen is very important for the full growth and development of tomatoes in much the same way as bread is for people. It is worth noting that all plants greedily absorb nitrates, but this does not apply to ammonia. This means that it is impossible to overfeed tomatoes or other crops with ammonia. For the formation of nitrates from organic matter, which is usually not available in the garden in the required amount, an active soil biocenosis is required, while there is enough air to break down ammonia. This means that ammonia is more useful as a fertilizer for tomatoes and other cultivated plants than organic matter. The number of microorganisms on the intensively used plot of land is reduced, which makes the soil less fertile. Soil reclamation or fertilization can be done in different ways. The most famous for every summer resident is the introduction of humus. However, in this situation, the soil will be saturated with the amount of trace elements it needs only after a few years, which will have a bad effect on tomato cultivation. To speed up this process, you can fertilize it with a solution of ammonia and water.
When an acidic reaction occurs, it is necessary to liming the soil.
Ammonia Fertilizer Recipes
The dosage of fertilizer for tomatoes can be different, depending on the method of application. Following are the recipes:
- 50 ml of ammonia per bucket of water - for spraying garden plants;
- 3 tbsp. l. on a bucket of water - for watering at the root;
- 1 tsp for 1 liter of water - for watering seedlings;
- 1 tbsp. l.25% ammonia per 1 liter of water - with signs of nitrogen starvation, such a concentrate is used for emergency watering.
Spraying and watering methods
Ammonia is a volatile substance, so you need to water the tomatoes with a solution of ammonia from a watering can. It is best to water the tomatoes in the morning after dawn, at sunset or in cloudy weather at any time of the day. It is important that the watering of tomatoes is carried out with a nozzle that gives visible splashes, otherwise the ammonia will simply disappear and will not get into the soil, which means that it will not be fertilized.
Fertilizer "Athlete"
This type of fertilization helps the plants to endure the dive more easily, helps to accelerate the development of the root system and the growth of seedlings. Manufacturers recommend handling the following crops by the athlete:
- tomatoes;
- eggplant;
- cucumbers;
- cabbage and others.
How to apply
In the case of the "Athlete" fertilizer, everything is extremely simple. It must be diluted according to the instructions on the package. This fertilizer can be sprayed onto the green part of tomatoes or applied to the soil. It is recommended to add "Athlete" to tomato seedlings grown in a greenhouse. Such conditions lead to the fact that the seedlings of tomatoes, and other crops, stretch up, without having time to develop the leaves, root system and trunk properly. After the active substances of the fertilizer enter the tomato cells, the growth of the seedlings slows down. As a result, there is a redistribution of trace elements entering the cells of tomatoes through the root system.
As a result, the root system of tomatoes is strengthened, the stem becomes thicker, and the leaves grow in size. All this contributes to the development of a healthy tomato bush, which in turn leads to an increase in fertility.
If you decide to apply fertilizer under the root of tomatoes, then you need to do this once, after 3-4 adult leaves appear on the seedlings. When processing tomatoes from a spray bottle, the procedure should be repeated 3-4 times. Usually 1 ampoule is diluted in 1 liter of water. The interval between spraying tomatoes with Athlete fertilizer should be 5–8 days. If, after the third treatment, tomato seedlings were not planted in open ground, then after a week after the last spraying, the procedure should be repeated a fourth time.
Iron chelate
It is worth noting that this fertilizer, like the Athlete, is absolutely harmless to the human body. Iron chelate is used for prophylactic purposes and to combat chlorosis or iron deficiency in the soil on which tomatoes and other crops grow.
There are several signs of iron deficiency in tomatoes:
- the quality and quantity of the crop is deteriorating;
- new shoots are stunted;
- young leaves are yellow-white, and old ones are light green;
- stunting;
- premature leaf fall;
- buds and ovaries are small.
Iron chelate helps to increase the amount of chlorophyll in tomato leaves. As a result, the process of photosynthesis in tomatoes is improved. In addition, the iron content in fruits increases. Metabolic processes in tomato bushes are restored. The assimilation of nutrients by plants is normalized.
Application
Iron chelate as a fertilizer is used both for root feeding and for spraying tomato bushes. To prepare a solution for root treatment of tomatoes, you will need 25 ml of iron chelate in 5 liters of water. Consumption is 4–5 liters per 1 hectare of land planted with tomatoes.
For spraying, you need 25 ml of the product per 10 liters of water. Sick tomato bushes are sprayed 4 times, and for preventive purposes, the procedure is repeated twice. 2-3 weeks should elapse between tomato treatments.
Folk remedies for late blight. Garlic infusion
Smart gardeners also resort to folk remedies in the fight against tomato diseases.So, an excellent remedy in the fight against late blight is an infusion of garlic. It should be noted that the causative agent of this disease is oomycete fungi, which are microscopic in size. The causative agent of the disease can enter the tomato beds at any time of the growing season. Moreover, signs of the disease on tomato bushes may not appear immediately.
The main symptom of late blight is the appearance of spots on the leaves and stems of the tomato. Over time, these spots darken and harden. Late blight affects the whole bush, including the root system and fruits. This is a dangerous disease, as it can ruin the entire tomato crop.
Preventive measures
Oomycete spores are activated at high humidity, primarily penetrating into tomato leaves. It is as a preventive measure that experienced gardeners recommend timely airing the greenhouse, thinning the tomato bushes and removing the lower leaves. Tomatoes should be planted on the sunny side of the garden, as dampness and cold provoke the growth of fungi. If possible, tomatoes should be planted in a new place every year. The fact is that the fungus can overwinter on the site and become more active in the summer season.
Gardeners use different mixtures to combat late blight on tomatoes. So, a decoction or infusion of nettle, tansy, mullein infusion, a solution of salt and potassium permanganate, yeast, calcium chloride, milk, iodine and tinder fungus are often used. It should be noted that garlic has the strongest antifungal effect. It contains phytoncides that suppress the reproduction of spores of oomycetes, pathogens of phytophthora on tomatoes.
Making garlic mixtures
To prepare a medicine for late blight for tomatoes, you need to purchase all the necessary ingredients. There are several recipes that you can use to prepare the medicinal mixture:
- Grind 200 g of garlic in a blender. Then add 1 tbsp to the mixture. l. mustard powder, 1 tbsp. l. red hot pepper and pour all this with 2 liters of water. Leave the mixture for a day, let it infuse. After that, the composition must be filtered and diluted in a bucket of water. 2 weeks after planting tomato seedlings in open ground, they need to be treated with garlic infusion. The procedure is repeated every 10 days. By treating tomatoes with this potion, you will also protect the plants from pests such as aphids, ticks, scoops and whites.
- Make 1.5 cups of garlic gruel, mix it with 2 g of potassium permanganate and pour it all over with a bucket of hot water. Process tomatoes with this mixture every 10 days.
- If you did not make the garlic composition in time and the first signs of the disease have already appeared on the tomatoes, then chop 200 g of garlic into a gruel and pour 4 liters of water into it. Let the solution sit for half an hour, then strain and pour into a spray bottle. Process all tomato fruits with this composition.
- To prepare this infusion, grind 0.5 kg of garlic, which will need to be filled with 3 liters of water. Cover the container and leave in a dark place for 5 days. After this time, the concentrate must be diluted in a bucket of water and added to it 50 g, previously grated, laundry soap. With the addition of this ingredient, the adhesion of the product to the leaves and stems of tomatoes is improved. Thus, tomato tops treated with garlic infusion will not infect oomycetes for a longer time and repeated spraying can be carried out after 3 weeks.
- If you are short on time, grind 150 g of garlic, stir this gruel in a bucket of water, strain it and generously spray all the tomato bushes.
Using one of these recipes, you can save your tomato planting from the fatal late blight.
Conclusion
So, with a competent approach to gardening, even a novice summer resident will be able to grow a bountiful harvest of tomatoes and other vegetable crops. We also invite you to watch a video on the topic of caring for tomatoes:
