Contents
It’s no secret that you can get a good tomato crop at any time of the year only in a greenhouse. Thus, it is possible to create the most favorable conditions for these delicate plants. But even when growing tomatoes in greenhouse conditions, it is necessary to adhere to the basic rules of care, as well as regularly feed the tomatoes. Now we will learn how to process tomatoes in a greenhouse in order to get a generous harvest.
Benefits of growing tomatoes in a greenhouse
Many will agree that in the open field you can get a good crop of tomatoes. This culture is undemanding to care and conditions. But in order to get a more generous harvest, many gardeners prefer to grow tomatoes in greenhouses and greenhouses. Undoubtedly, in such conditions, tomatoes will feel much better than in the garden. The advantage is also that it is much easier to care for this crop in a greenhouse.
Still, it will take some effort to grow beautiful and tasty tomatoes. First of all, you need to make the greenhouse itself. The best material today is polycarbonate. In such a greenhouse, tomatoes feel very comfortable.
You should also create the necessary conditions for growing tomatoes. In principle, the care of these plants in open ground and in greenhouse conditions is not much different. The advantage of the greenhouse can be considered that it is easier to maintain the required temperature conditions in it. Tomatoes do best at temperatures between 22°C and 25°C. Thanks to this temperature regime, an earlier harvest can be achieved. It is also very important to create good lighting for tomatoes. Due to the lack of light, the plants become lethargic and severely stunted in growth. The first sign of poor lighting is the pulling of sprouts.
Requirements for greenhouse tomatoes
No matter how comfortable the greenhouse is, the following conditions are necessary for normal growth and fruiting of tomatoes:
- The soil must be saturated with calcium. This element is responsible for flowering and also prevents black spots on tomatoes. To introduce this microelement into the soil, a solution of calcium nitrate is used.
- Tomatoes simply need elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium. To saturate the soil with these nutrients, the Azofoska complex fertilizer is often used.
- The soil in the greenhouse should not be too wet or dry. For good growth of tomatoes, moist, loose soil is needed. Light clay and sandy loamy soil is perfect. It retains moisture well and does not allow the soil to dry out. In order to create suitable conditions for tomatoes, if necessary, add peat or sawdust for fertilizer to the clay soil, and only peat to the sandy soil.
Care of tomatoes
The first processing of tomatoes in the greenhouse takes place 2 weeks after planting. To do this, use a solution of mullein. To prepare the nutrient mixture, you need to mix:
- 1 tablespoon of nitrophoska;
- 0,5 l cow’s milk;
- 10 L of water.
This mixture is poured over tomatoes at the rate of a liter of liquid per 1 bush. The next top dressing is carried out no earlier than 10 days later. For the preparation of solutions, potassium sulfate and ready-made combined mixtures of trace elements can be used. The amount of ingredients is measured according to the instructions.
Caring for tomatoes involves not only regular feeding, but also timely watering of seedlings. In this matter, it is necessary to know the measure, since too much moisture can be badly displayed on the condition of the plants. Stagnation of water in the soil will contribute to the appearance of fungal diseases and rot. Experienced gardeners have noticed that it is necessary to water tomatoes no more than 1 time in 5 days. Many people make the mistake of watering tomato seedlings too often after planting in greenhouse soil.
First of all, they must get used to the new place and take root well.
You should also consider the stages of growth of tomatoes. Before flowering, seedlings need about 5 liters of water per 1 m2. When the tomatoes begin to bloom, they will need a lot more liquid. At this time, the volumes increase to 10 liters. Best results can be achieved if the tomatoes are watered in the morning, or at least in the evening. It is also necessary to maintain the correct temperature in the greenhouse. In warm weather, the air temperature in the greenhouse should be at least 20 ° C, and in cloudy weather no more than 19 ° C. Do not allow sudden jumps at night. At this time, the normal temperature is around 16-18 °C. This temperature regime is acceptable for tomatoes until they begin to bloom.
After the flowering of tomatoes begins, the temperature in the greenhouse should rise significantly and be at least 25-30 ° C. At night, jumps up to 16 ° C are allowed. The next change in temperature occurs after the first fruits begin to ripen. During this period, about 17 ° C is enough for tomatoes. This temperature is great for ripening tomatoes.
An equally important stage in the care of tomatoes is pinching. It will not be possible to carry out this procedure once, since young stepchildren will appear during the entire growing season.
4 weeks before the end of the growing season, you will need to remove the tops of the plants. And immediately after the tomatoes begin to turn red, you should remove all the lower leaves. Such procedures are also carried out in the morning. It is also important to remember that pathogens of various diseases may remain in last year’s soil. To prevent their occurrence, every spring the soil in the greenhouse should be changed to a new one.
Processing tomatoes from pests
Most often, tomato seedlings suffer from caterpillars. These insects eat not only the leaves of various plants, but also the fruits of tomatoes. Moreover, their gaze is not fixed on ripe fruits, but on green and unripe ones. It can be difficult to catch these pests “on the hot” as they come out to feed mainly at night. The full name of this insect is the garden scoop caterpillar. It is large enough and can ruin a lot of crops. Very small caterpillars eat only leaves, but as they become older, they also switch to tomato fruits.
If you see holes of various shapes on tomatoes, be sure that caterpillars have been here. To get rid of annoying insects, use special insecticides. It can also be biological drugs. Treating bushes with such products will best protect your crop.
No less common pests of tomatoes are slugs, whiteflies and spider mites. All of them are very dangerous, as they can completely destroy the tomato crop. To prevent this from happening, you should immediately start fighting at the first sign of defeat. To get rid of the whitefly, the tomatoes are sprayed with a solution of “Confidor”. To combat slugs, it is necessary to loosen the soil in the garden with tomatoes, and then sprinkle it with bitter ground pepper. For 1 square meter you will need a teaspoon of pepper. And in order to get rid of the spider mite, tomato bushes should be treated with Karbofos. An infusion made from garlic, liquid soap and dandelion leaves is also suitable.
Disease Prevention
It is almost impossible to completely get rid of pest larvae, bacteria and fungal spores. They can remain on the greenhouse itself, in the soil and in plant debris. Therefore, gardeners use various methods to prevent the appearance of signs of disease in tomatoes.
To play it safe and be sure of getting a crop, it is better to plant not one, but several varieties of tomato in one greenhouse. Each variety reacts differently to pathogens. It is also impossible to guess exactly which variety of tomatoes this year will best bear fruit. In this case, even if one of the varieties gets sick, it will be easier to fight the disease than if all the tomatoes were sick.
If you do not change the soil in your greenhouse every year, then it is important to remember that tomatoes should not be planted after crops such as peppers, potatoes and eggplant. All of them belong to the nightshade family. And planting such crops in the same soil is possible only after 3 or 4 years.
In order for tomato seedlings to receive enough light and air, they must be planted at a distance of about 50 cm. When caring for plants, it is also necessary to observe hand and equipment hygiene. This should be done in order not to carry pathogens. First of all, it is necessary to wash your hands thoroughly before working with plants and directly during their care. Also, do not forget about the cleanliness of the inventory. All shovels, choppers and hoses must be clean. If some new plant is planted in the greenhouse, then before that it is necessary to carry out its processing. By following these simple rules, you can protect tomato seedlings from diseases and pests.
Without enough sunlight, seedlings will become lethargic and weakened. Namely, all pests are introduced to such plants in the first place.
Treatment of tomatoes from fungal diseases
In order for fungi to appear in the greenhouse, it is enough just to disturb the normal level of humidity. It is the increased soil moisture that is the best environment for the reproduction of fungal diseases. These include black leg, late blight, septoria and anthracnose.
Prevention from phytophthora is carried out at the seedling stage. This disease has recently become widespread. Many cultures suffer from it, and even the strongest substances cannot always get rid of it once and for all. Experts say that such a strong spread of this disease was due to changes in the population of fungi.
The fact is that such a disease as phytophthora combines at least 50 different fungi. It is also called mold and brown rot. Phytophthora spreads due to low temperature and increased humidity levels. It is water that carries the spores of fungi that provoke the disease. The first alarm signal for gardeners may be the appearance of condensation on the walls. This means that you need to ventilate the greenhouse more often.
As a preventive Phytophthora For spraying tomato seedlings, you can use the following substances:
- kefir;
- copper sulfate;
- Bordeaux liquid;
- infusion of garlic.
To prepare a kefir solution, mix 5 liters of water with 0,5 liters of kefir. This mixture should be sprayed with bushes every 7 days.
To spray a tomato in a greenhouse with an infusion of garlic, you need to combine in one container:
- 1 glass of ground garlic;
- 5 liters of water;
- 0,5 grams of potassium permanganate diluted in hot water.
To prevent the disease, you can use only one specific method or alternate several methods. Modern varieties have a higher resistance to late blight. But it should be remembered that absolutely any tomatoes can be susceptible to this disease.
Another common fungus that affects tomato seedlings is anthracnose. Very often the seeds are already infected with this disease. They are easy to identify, as seedlings from them will be lethargic and die quickly. If the infection occurs later, then the root system and fruits most often suffer. To prevent the onset of the disease, seeds for seedlings must be soaked in Immunocytophyte.
Blackleg, which very often affects tomato seedlings, can occur due to bacteria and fungi. Therefore, it is impossible to accurately determine whether this disease is bacterial or fungal. A black leg appears due to high humidity in the greenhouse. First of all, weakened and sluggish plants suffer from the disease. The disease manifests itself on the root system of tomatoes. At first they darken, and then they begin to rot. Of course, as a result, the plant dies. To combat the black leg, a pink solution of manganese is used. You can also use purchased drugs, such as Fitosporin, Baktofit and Fitolavin.
Fungi also provoke the appearance of diseases such as septoria. It is manifested by the appearance of dirty white spots on the leaves. If treatment is not started in time, the spots can spread to the entire surface of the leaf. In the future, the leaves will simply dry out and fall off. Although this disease does not affect the fruit, the general condition of the bushes will not allow you to grow a good crop.
To combat septoria, it is necessary to treat the bushes with fungicides 2 times a month. When using these tools, you need to be very careful. They are effective in fighting diseases, but can harm human health. So when using, be sure to protect the skin and mucous membranes.
Fight against bacterial diseases
There are a lot of bacteria that provoke various diseases of tomatoes. These diseases can significantly reduce tomato yields or even kill plants. Also, the quality and appearance of the fruit suffer from diseases. The most dangerous bacterial disease is tomato stolbur. First of all, it appears on the leaves and tops of plants, they curl and turn pale. The trunk of a tomato, as well as the fruits, are woody. Because of this, the taste and appearance of the fruit deteriorate. The fight against this pathogen should begin immediately. To do this, it is necessary to carry out several stages of processing bushes:
- Treatment with insecticides during planting seedlings in the ground.
- When the bushes begin to bloom, you need to spray the plants with antibiotics.
- During the formation of ovaries, fertilizers should be applied to increase immunity. For this, organic and mineral fertilizers are used.
The next dangerous enemy of tomatoes is black bacterial spot. This disease can appear in a variety of periods of tomato growth. The whole plant is covered with watery spots. Over time, these spots only increase and become black in color. To protect seedlings from this disease, prevention should be carried out in a timely manner. To do this, it is necessary to regularly disinfect the greenhouse, as well as in the fall and spring to remove all the remnants of last year’s crops and weeds. Antibiotics can help prevent black spotting. You can spray the plants with a solution of farmiod or Bordeaux mixture.
Bacteria that cause soft rot are carried by insects. You can determine the infection by the places of pest bites. Water spots appear on these fruits, and the skin cracks, which causes the tomatoes to rot. By carrying out general prevention of tomatoes from fungi and viruses, you can protect your crop. In addition, it is advised to use microbiological substances. Such drugs as “Binoram”, “Alirin”, “Gaupsin” are perfect.
Microbiological preparations are completely safe for the human body. They contain microorganisms that help plants produce natural toxins that kill pests.
Viral diseases are no less dangerous for tomatoes than fungal and bacterial ones. Viral infections may not appear immediately, so it will be more difficult to deal with them. The most common viral infections are:
- aspermia or seedlessness;
- mosaic of tomatoes;
- internal necrosis;
- banded spotting or streak.
The appearance of such diseases can be provoked by poor ventilation of the greenhouse, increased soil moisture, and improper feeding regimen. Viruses may remain in last year’s plants or seed for seedlings.
Having noticed signs of the manifestation of certain diseases, it is necessary to increase the air temperature in the greenhouse and, if necessary, improve the illumination. Then the spread of the disease will slow down significantly.
Conclusion
Planting tomatoes on their plot, all gardeners expect only the most generous harvest. But, it is important to remember that without proper care, this is simply not feasible. Tomatoes respond well to the introduction of mineral and organic substances. Also, do not forget about the prevention of various diseases. Plants will certainly thank you for what you have done with beautiful and tasty fruits.
