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Cow manure is an environmentally friendly, natural and quite affordable fertilizer for feeding various crops, including tomatoes. It is used fresh, laid in compost. The most commonly used liquid organic fertilizer for tomatoes is mullein infusion. Top dressing of tomatoes with mullein allows you to accelerate the growth of plants, increase productivity. The composition of the mullein includes high concentration nitrogen and some other trace elements necessary for plants. You can replace the mullein in the garden with horse or rabbit manure. These animal feces also contain a rich microelement complex, and their use as a fertilizer has a beneficial effect on plants.
Benefits of cow dung
Pork manure is probably more accessible to the farmer, however, it is significantly inferior in quality to cattle excrement, which contains a balanced amount of all nutrients necessary for plants. So, the composition of fresh cow fertilizer includes potassium (0,59%), nitrogen (0,5%), calcium (0,4%), phosphorus (0,23%), as well as a huge amount of organic matter (20,3 %). In addition to the above trace elements, mullein contains magnesium, manganese, boron and other trace elements. This combination of minerals allows you to nourish tomatoes without saturating vegetables with nitrates.
The concentration of nutrients largely depends on the age of the cow and its nutrition. For example, adult cattle manure contains 15% more of all micronutrients.
Types of mullein and how to use it
No one has yet been able to grow tomatoes on “lean” land, and it can be flavored with nitrogen and other essential minerals and organic matter using cow dung. The method of use largely depends on the quality of the raw materials and the conditions of the cattle.
fresh manure
Fresh cow dung contains a large amount of ammonia nitrogen, which, if it gets on the roots of tomatoes, can burn them. That is why fresh mullein without special preparation is not used immediately before planting tomatoes or for fertilizing them during the growing process. It is used more often to increase the nutritional value of the soil during autumn digging. In this case, the substance will have time to decompose during the winter and in the spring will not cause any harm to the tomatoes, but at the same time it will become a stimulator for the growth of tomatoes and an increase in the yield of vegetables.
The amount can be changed at the discretion of the farmer depending on the level of existing fertility.
Litter
In the case when the cow is kept in conditions using bedding, when cleaning the barn, the owner receives a mixture of manure with hay or straw. Such manure, when rotting, contains a lot of potassium and phosphorus. If the gardener wants to get a fertilizer with a high nitrogen content, then it is better to use peat as a bedding.
Bedding manure is also used when digging the soil in the fall or laid in compost for overheating.
Bedless
If bedding is not used in the cowshed, then the manure will not contain a lot of straw and hay. In its composition it will be possible to find an increased amount of ammonia nitrogen and a minimum of potassium and phosphorus. Such manure is well suited for making mullein infusion.
rotted manure
A feature of rotted manure is the fact that during storage it loses water, and the harmful, aggressive nitrogen in it decomposes. The overheating of the substance, as a rule, takes place when it is laid in compost.
After composting, humus is used to introduce into the soil during digging or to prepare an infusion. In the first case, rotted manure is introduced into the soil in the fall in the amount of 9-11 kg / m2. You can prepare an infusion for root dressing of tomatoes by adding 1 kg of the product to 5 liters of water.
Fertilizers on sale
Cow dung in liquid concentrated form and in the form of granules can be found in agricultural stores. It is produced on an industrial scale. Use fertilizer for tomatoes should be in accordance with the instructions.
Cooking infusion
Most often, liquid mullein infusion is used to feed tomatoes. Even fresh manure or slurry is suitable for its preparation. When dissolved in water and infused for several days, ammonia nitrogen decomposes in these substances and becomes a safe growth activator for plants.
You can prepare an infusion of mullein by adding manure to water. The ratio of substances should be 1:5. After thorough mixing, the solution is infused for 2 weeks. After the allotted time, the mullein is diluted with water again in a ratio of 1: 2 and used to water the tomatoes under the root.
You can see the process of preparing mullein in the video:
Mullein should be used when observing symptoms of nitrogen deficiency, slow growth of tomatoes and in the early stages of the growing season to increase the green mass of the plant. For regular feeding of tomatoes during flowering and fruiting, it is recommended to use mullein with the addition of minerals.
Mullein tincture with additional minerals
During flowering and fruiting, tomatoes need fertilizer with a high content of potassium and phosphorus. With a sufficient amount of these minerals in the soil, tomatoes will abundantly form ovaries, increasing crop yields. The taste of vegetables will also be high.
Phosphorus and potassium can also be added to the soil when using mullein with the addition of certain substances. For example, for 10 liters of concentrated mullein, you can add 500 g of wood ash or 100 g of superphosphate. Such a mixture will become a complex top dressing for tomatoes.
You can also feed tomato seedlings with mullein with the addition of various minerals. For example, for the first feeding of tomato seedlings, mullein diluted with water 1:20 is used, with the addition of a spoonful of nitrophoska and half a teaspoon of boric acid. After planting seedlings in the ground, it is recommended to use mullein in the same concentration with the addition of 1 tablespoon of potassium sulfate.
Thus, cow dung is a valuable, environmentally friendly fertilizer that can be repeatedly used to feed tomatoes at different stages of cultivation. Fresh mullein is perfect for laying in the ground during autumn digging or for creating compost. If there is no time to wait for the mullein to naturally rot, then you can make an infusion from it, which will be deprived of ammonia nitrogen during the fermentation process and will become an excellent, safe fertilizer for tomatoes.
Horse manure for tomatoes
A feature of horse excrement is rapid overheating, in which manure releases heat, warming the roots of plants. They also contain a significant amount of nitrogen, up to 0,8%, which is higher than that of cow or pig excrement. The amount of potassium and phosphorus in horse manure is also high: 0,8% and 0,7%, respectively. Calcium, necessary for better absorption of minerals, is contained in this fertilizer in an amount of 0,35%.
The introduction of horse manure into the soil improves its microelement composition, saturates the soil with carbon dioxide, and activates the vital processes of microorganisms existing in the soil. Heavy soils, flavored with such fertilizer, become light, crumbly.
It is better to introduce horse manure into the soil in the fall during digging. Application rate is 5-6 kg/m2.
Horse manure can be used to improve soil fertility in a greenhouse and to heat plants in a confined space. Horse manure is sometimes referred to as biofuel for heating greenhouses. To feed the tomatoes with manure, in the greenhouse, it is necessary to remove the top layer of soil 30 cm thick. A small amount (3-5 cm) of this organic fertilizer should be placed on the resulting surface. On top of it, it is necessary to again pour a layer of fertile earth. This will saturate the soil with nutrients at the level of the roots of the plant and replace the depleted soil with “fresh” material.
Root top dressing of tomatoes using horse manure can be carried out several times during the entire growing period. At the same time, tomatoes will receive not only the necessary amount of nitrogen, but also a lot of additional minerals.
To feed tomatoes, an infusion is prepared from horse manure. 500 g of fertilizer is added to a bucket of water, and after mixing, the solution is infused for a week.
Fresh horse manure can also be put into compost for overdrying. Subsequently, it can be used in dry form for feeding tomatoes. To do this, a shallow groove should be made around the perimeter of the root circle. It is necessary to sprinkle a small amount of rotted horse fertilizer into it, cover it with a thin layer of earth and water it. Thus, the tomatoes will receive all the necessary trace elements.
Horse manure can be used to create warm beds. Manure laid in the thickness of a high ridge will nourish and warm the roots of tomatoes. This technology of growing crops is relevant for the northern regions.
Rabbit manure
Rabbit manure as a fertilizer is also valuable for various crops. It contains nitrogen and potassium in the amount of 0,6%, phosphorus and calcium in the amount of 3-4% and magnesium in the amount of 0,7%. Fertilizer is applied to the soil for tomatoes in the amount of 3-4 kg / m2 during the autumn digging of the soil. Fertilizer is well suited for various types of soil. Heavy soils mixed with rabbit manure become lighter and more airy. However, to obtain such an effect, it is recommended to increase the rate of fertilizer application during digging by 2 times.
You can also feed tomatoes under the root with rabbit manure. For this substance should be diluted with water in a ratio of 1:15. Tomatoes should be watered in the grooves around the perimeter of the root circle. So, young roots will best absorb all the necessary substances.
When laying rabbit manure in compost, you can mix it with foliage, straw, grass, food waste. When laying for the summer, such a compost heap must be shaken 2 times to prevent fire. The rotted rabbit manure can be used in dry form for feeding tomatoes, sprinkling the tree trunk of the plant.
The technology for the accelerated creation of rabbit compost can be found in the video:
When using any type of manure, it must be remembered that it contains weed seeds, pest larvae, and harmful microorganisms. They can be removed by visual inspection and elimination, sifting through a sieve, watering with potassium permanganate. These measures are relevant when using fresh and rotted manure. When using fertilizer diluted with water for root dressing of tomatoes, it should be remembered that nutrients are absorbed better with a large amount of water, therefore, plants should be watered abundantly before fertilizing.
Conclusion
Manure is an excellent fertilizer for feeding tomatoes. It can be used as compost or infusion. In the process of fermentation, harmful microflora and ammonia nitrogen disappear in it, which means that the substance can only benefit tomatoes, accelerating their growth and increasing yields. Having decided to feed the tomatoes with minerals, you should also not give up organic matter, because by adding some additional minerals to the manure infusion, you can make it a source of potassium, or, for example, phosphorus. In turn, such mineral-organic top dressing will not only accelerate the growth of tomatoes, increase yields, but also make the fruits especially tasty, sugary, and most importantly, healthy.