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Growing a decent crop of tomatoes without the use of fertilizing and fertilizers is almost impossible. Plants constantly need nutrients and as they grow, they deplete the soil. As a result, the moment comes when the tomatoes begin to “starve”, showing a symptom of a lack of any trace element. Complex fertilizer for tomatoes will help prevent “starvation” and make up for the deficiency of substances. On the shelves of stores you can see a lot of such fertilizers. Most of them have a similar composition and can be applied at a certain stage of cultivation.
minerals for tomatoes
Mineral fertilizers are one substance or several substances mixed in certain concentrations. They can be divided into potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen, complex.
Among all phosphate fertilizers, simple and double superphosphate are most often used. This fertilizer for tomatoes is a powder or granules of gray (white) color. Their peculiarity lies in the fact that they are poorly soluble in water, and before using them, it is recommended to infuse them in water for a day to obtain an extract. Phosphorus fertilizers are used to create mineral mixtures as one of the ingredients or as an independent top dressing when observing symptoms characteristic of a lack of phosphorus.
Nitrogen fertilizers for tomatoes are more often used in the early stages of cultivation, when it is necessary to accelerate the growth of the plant. Such fertilizers include saltpeter (ammonium, potassium, sodium), urea, and ammonium sulfate. In addition to the main substance, these nitrogen fertilizers may contain some other minerals in a small amount.
Potassium is a very important trace element that helps tomatoes develop their root system and supply nutrients from the root to the leaves and fruits. With enough potassium, the crop will taste good. Among potash fertilizers for tomatoes, it is recommended to use potassium magnesia or potassium sulfate. Potassium chloride should not be used as a fertilizer, because tomatoes react negatively to chlorine.
In addition to the above fertilizers, you can find magnesium, calcium, sodium, boron and other preparations with one, the main mineral.
Thus, knowing simple mineral fertilizers, it is quite easy to prepare top dressings on your own, combining various substances. Using only one type of mineral, you can compensate for the lack of the corresponding substance.
Feeding schedule using simple minerals
Mineral top dressings can be used repeatedly throughout the cultivation of tomatoes. So, during soil preparation, you can use urea. The substance is scattered over the surface of the soil before digging in the amount of 20 g / m2.
To feed tomato seedlings, you can also use a hand-made mineral complex. To prepare it, you need to dissolve ammonium nitrate (20 g) in a bucket of clean water. The resulting liquid should be watered or sprayed with tomato seedlings.
Before planting in the ground, young plants need to be fed with potassium and phosphorus, which will allow them to take root better. To do this, add potassium sulfate and superphosphate to a bucket of water (15-25 g of each substance).
After planting in the ground, tomatoes can be fertilized with a nutrient mixture: for 10 liters of water, 35-40 g of superphosphate (double), 20 g of potassium sulfate and 15 g of urea. Such a mineral complex saturates tomatoes with nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and other minerals, as a result of which the plants develop harmoniously, abundantly form ovaries and abundantly bear fruits of good-tasting vegetables.
An alternative to such a complex can be a liquid fertilizer obtained by adding 80 g of simple superphosphate, 5-10 g of ammonium nitrate and potassium sulfate in the amount of 30 g to a bucket of water. Fertilizer can be used in greenhouses and on open ground repeatedly, with an interval of several weeks. After feeding with such a complex, tomatoes will have high viability and resistance to diseases and cold.
Foliar top dressing of a tomato can be carried out using boric acid. A solution of this substance will fertilize the plants and protect them from pests. Dissolve acid for spraying at the rate of 10 g per 10 liters.
By combining simple, one-component fertilizers, the amount of minerals in the top dressing can be adjusted depending on the fertility of the soil and the condition of the tomatoes. It should also be noted that the cost of such fertilizers will be lower than the cost of similar ready-made, complex mineral supplements.
Complex mineral fertilizers
For those farmers who do not want to combine minerals on their own, complex mineral fertilizers are offered. They contain all the necessary substances for the growth of tomatoes at a certain stage of vegetation. The advantage of complex fertilizers is efficiency and ease of use.
Soil improvement
You can use nutritious top dressing for tomatoes even at the stage of soil preparation. To do this, fertilizers are added to the substrate in which the seedlings will grow and to the hole, at the place of permanent cultivation:
Master NPK-17.6.18
This complex mineral fertilizer for tomatoes contains a significant amount of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. Fertilizer is great for saturating the soil with nutrients. Complex top dressing makes plants stress-resistant, accelerates their growth, promotes normal, harmonious development of roots. Fertilizer “Master” is applied to the soil at the rate of 100-150 g per 1 m2.
Kristallon
Under the name “Crystallon” you can find a number of water-soluble complex mineral fertilizers. It is recommended to add “Special Crystal 18:18:18” in dry form to the soil for growing tomatoes. It contains potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen in equal proportions. In the future, fertilizers from the Crystallon series can also be used to feed tomatoes.
The above types of complex fertilizers can replace manure and ammonium nitrate, urea when digging the soil. They should be applied to the soil in the spring before planting. Also, top dressing showed high efficiency when added to the soil for growing tomato seedlings.
Seed Growth Activators
In prepared, fertile soil, no less prepared seeds should be planted. To do this, they are pickled, hardened, soaked in growth stimulants. For pickling, as a rule, planting material is soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate or aloe juice, hardening is carried out using variable temperature technology.
It is possible to accelerate seed germination, increase the percentage of germination and make tomato shoots stronger with the help of growth stimulants. Of the most famous drugs, often used:
Zircon
This growth stimulator is based on natural, vegetable hydroxycinnamic acids. For the production of fertilizer, extracts from echinacea are used. The drug is sold in ampoules with a volume of 1 ml, as well as in plastic bottles with a volume of up to 20 liters.
To soak tomato seeds, prepare a solution by adding 1 drop of the substance to 300 ml of water. The duration of treatment of planting material with the resulting substance should be 2-4 hours. Soaking is recommended immediately before sowing grains in the ground.
Humate
On sale you can find “Potassium-sodium humate”. This substance is used to treat tomato seeds before sowing. The growth activator may be in the form of a powder or liquid. A solution of “Humate” is prepared by adding 0,5 g of fertilizer per liter of water. The duration of soaking seeds is 12-14 hours.
Epin
A biological product that stimulates early seed germination and makes young tomatoes resistant to low temperatures, replanting, lack of sunlight, drought and excessive moisture.
“Epin” is used for soaking seeds. To do this, prepare a solution: 2 drops of the substance per 100 ml of water. Soak the tomato seeds for 6-8 hours. Based on observations, farmers claim that the treatment of tomato seeds with “Epin” increases the yield of vegetables by 10-15%. The drug can also be used to spray the leaves of tomato seedlings.
Thus, all of the listed growth stimulants can increase the percentage of germination of tomato seeds, make plants viable and healthy, endow them with resistance to diseases, pests, and weather adversity. Treatment of tomato seeds with growth stimulants can significantly increase the yield of vegetables.
More information about the use of growth stimulants can be found in the video:
Seedling fertilizer
Tomato seedlings are extremely demanding on the composition of the soil and the presence of various minerals in it. It is necessary to feed young plants several times from the moment the first leaves appear to planting in the ground. Tomatoes at this time are fertilized with mineral complexes with nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus:
Nitroammophoska
This fertilizer is the most common and affordable. It is used to feed various vegetable crops at various stages of cultivation.
“Nitroammophoska” is available in several grades that differ in the concentration of basic minerals: grade A contains potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus in equal proportions (16%), grade B contains more nitrogen (22%) and an equal amount of potassium and phosphorus (11%) .
Tomato seedlings should be fed with “Nitroammopho grade A”. To do this, a matchbox of fertilizer is added to a bucket of water and mixed. After dissolution, the mixture is used for watering seedlings under the root.
Mighty
“Krepysh” is a complex mineral fertilizer specially designed for feeding seedlings. It contains 17% nitrogen, 22% potassium and 8% phosphorus. It contains absolutely no chlorine. You can use top dressing during the preparation of the nutrient substrate by adding granules to the soil. It is also effective to use fertilizer for watering tomato seedlings under the root. You can prepare top dressing by adding 2 small spoons of the substance to a bucket of water. When using Krepysh fertilizer in liquid form, add 100 ml of top dressing to a bucket of water.
Top dressing accelerates the growth of tomato seedlings, makes it more viable, resistant to various stresses and weather troubles. You can water the tomatoes with fertilizer with the appearance of the first leaf. Use top dressing for tomatoes should be regularly 1 time per week. After planting in the soil, tomatoes can also be fed with such a mineral complex once every 1 weeks.
In addition to the above fertilizers, Kemira Combi, Agricolla and some others can be used for tomato seedlings. These complex fertilizers for tomatoes are the most affordable and effective. Their use will allow plants to get the necessary amount of nitrogen for accelerated harmonious growth of green mass, as well as potassium and phosphorus, which will allow young plants to build up a developed root system.
Minerals for regular feeding
After planting seedlings, a particularly important period begins when tomatoes need a lot of micronutrients for abundant flowering and fruit formation. Potassium and phosphorus are especially important for them, while nitrogen should be introduced in small quantities. So, after planting tomato seedlings in the ground, you can use the following, the best complex fertilizers:
Kemira Lux
This name hides one of the best fertilizers for tomatoes. It contains over 20% phosphorus, 27% potassium and 16% nitrogen. It also contains iron, boron, copper, zinc and other minerals.
Use “Kemira Lux” for watering tomatoes should be after dissolving 20 g (one tablespoon) of the substance in a bucket of water. Top dressing is recommended to water tomatoes 1 time per week.
Mortar
The mineral complex is represented by two brands: A and B. More often, Mortar A is used to feed tomatoes. It contains 10% nitrogen, 5% soluble phosphorus and 20% potassium, as well as a complex of some additional minerals.
You can use “Mortar” for feeding tomatoes at the root and spraying. For top dressing under the root, 10-25 g of the substance is dissolved in a bucket of water. For spraying, the fertilizer rate is 25 g per 10 liters. You can fertilize tomatoes with Mortar regularly, once a week.
“BioMaster Red Giant”
Mineral complex fertilizer can be used to feed tomatoes from the moment they are planted in the ground until the end of fruiting. It contains 12% nitrogen, 14% phosphorus and 16% potassium, as well as other minerals in a small amount.
Regular use of the Red Giant fertilizer significantly increases yields, makes tomatoes more adaptable to bad weather conditions, high humidity, and drought. Plants under the influence of a balanced mineral complex develop harmoniously and grow rapidly.
Conclusion
Minerals allow tomatoes to evenly grow roots and green mass. Potassium and phosphorus are not contained in organic matter in the amount that is necessary, therefore, growing tomatoes without mineral fertilizers is almost impossible. For tomatoes in a greenhouse and in open areas of the soil, one-component substances can be selected that need to be mixed together or added to organic infusions. Mineral complexes are fully able to satisfy the needs of tomatoes. What fertilizers to choose, only the gardener decides, but we have given a list of the most popular, affordable and effective mineral supplements.