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Every gardener is interested in growing a quality and environmentally friendly crop from cultivated plants such as tomatoes. In view of this, it is necessary to stock up on everything necessary for fertilizing the beds in advance, during the so-called off-season period. This article will talk about the many different means used for microfertilizer, top dressing and treatment of tomatoes from diseases and pests.
Microfertilizer epin
In order to plant healthy and strong tomato seedlings, it is necessary to disinfect and saturate the seeds with useful substances. You can soak tomato seeds in Epin, Zircon or Gumate.
The brand name of the herbal product, which is a natural adaptogen and tomato growth stimulator, is called Epin. Thanks to its effect, tomatoes adapt more easily to changes in humidity, temperature and lack of light, as well as to waterlogging and drought. If you treat the tomato seeds with Epin’s solution, then shoots will appear faster. In addition, microfertilizer increases the resistance of tomato sprouts to various diseases.
Zamachivanie
As a rule, Epin is found in free sale 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, it must be warmed up at room temperature for half an hour or held in hands for 2-3 minutes. So, the sediment will dissolve and the tomato processing liquid will become transparent. Shake the contents of the fertilizer ampoule and add 2 drops to 0,5 cup 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 part of many growth-stimulating 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.
Fertilizer diluted in a ratio of 1 g per bucket of water will help increase the number of tomato ovaries. Spray each tomato bush 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 with a fertilizer containing succinic acid will also improve the plant’s resistance to bacteria, disease, and insects. The quality and quantity of fruits largely depends on the formation of chlorophyll in 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 tomato fertilizer. 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, once in 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 as a crystalline powder or tablets. If you purchased succinic acid in tablets, then before preparing a solution for processing tomatoes, they must be crushed. So, to prepare fertilizer for a tomato, you 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 exposure to tomatoes.
- To prepare a less concentrated solution, 1% succinic acid should be made, and then diluted with water in the required proportion.
Green tomato processing
Another tool widely used for fertilizing and processing tomatoes is brilliant green. It has an antiseptic effect on tomato bushes and soil, due to the content of copper in it.
Processing tomatoes with brilliant green may include lubricating the wounds of tomatoes, which are formed by accident or with small pruning. By dissolving 40 drops of brilliant green in a bucket of water and spraying tomato bushes, you can rid them of phytophthora. In order not to measure brilliant green drop by drop with each need to fertilize tomatoes, the vial can be diluted in a liter of water, and then added a little (by eye) 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 means for processing tomatoes
Ammonia contains 82% nitrogen and no ballast substances, which is why a solution from it is actively used in plant fertilizer, including tomatoes. In fact, 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 avidly absorb nitrates, but this does not apply to ammonia. And 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 right amount, an active soil biocenosis is required, while there is enough air to break down ammonia. And this means that ammonia is more useful as a fertilizer for tomatoes and other cultivated plants than organic matter. The number of microorganisms on a heavily used plot of land is reduced, due to which the soil becomes less fertile. Soil reclamation or fertilization can be carried out by different methods. The most famous for every summer resident is the introduction of humus. However, in this scenario, the soil will be saturated with the amount of microelements it needs only after a few years, which will have a bad effect on growing tomatoes. 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 carry out liming of the soil.
Ammonia Fertilizer Recipes
Dosages of fertilizer for tomatoes can be different, depending on the method of application. Below are the recipes:
- 50 ml of ammonia per bucket of water – for spraying garden plants;
- 3 art. l. on a bucket of water – for watering under the root;
- 1 tsp per 1 liter of water – for watering seedlings;
- 1 st. l. 25% ammonia per 1 liter of water – with signs of nitrogen starvation, such a concentrate is used for emergency irrigation.
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 tomatoes in the morning after dawn, at sunset or on cloudy days at any time of the day. It is important that the watering of the tomatoes is carried out with a nozzle that gives visible splashes, otherwise the ammonia will simply disappear and not fall into the soil, which means that its fertilization will not occur.
Fertilizer “Athlete”
This type of fertilizer helps plants to endure diving more easily, helps to accelerate the development of the root system and the growth of seedlings. Manufacturers recommend that athletes process the following cultures:
- tomatoes;
- eggplants;
- 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 sprinkled on the green part of tomatoes or applied to the soil. “Athlete” is recommended to be applied to tomato seedlings grown in a greenhouse. Such conditions lead to the fact that the seedlings of tomatoes, and other crops, stretch upwards, without having time to develop the leaves, root system and trunk properly. After the active substances of the fertilizer enter the cells of tomatoes, the growth of seedlings slows down. As a result, there is a redistribution of microelements entering the cells of tomatoes through the root system.
As a result, the tomato root system is strengthened, the stem becomes thicker, and the leaves increase 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 fertilize under the root of tomatoes, then you need to do this once, after the appearance of 3-4 adult leaves on the seedlings. When processing tomatoes from a spray gun, 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 Athlete, is absolutely harmless to the human body. Iron chelate is used for preventive 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;
- growth retardation;
- premature fall of leaves;
- 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 improves. In addition, the content of iron in fruits increases. Metabolic processes in tomato bushes are restored. The absorption of nutrients by plants is normalized.
Application
Iron chelate as a fertilizer is used both for root dressing and for spraying tomato bushes. To prepare a solution for root treatment of tomatoes, you will need 25 ml of iron chelate per 5 liters of water. Consumption is – 4-5 liters per 1 acre of land planted with tomatoes.
For spraying, you will need 25 ml of the drug per 10 liters of water. Sick tomato bushes are sprayed 4 times, and for preventive purposes, the procedure is repeated twice. Between treatments of tomatoes should pass 2-3 weeks.
Folk remedies for late blight. Garlic infusion
Smart gardeners also resort to folk remedies in the fight against tomato diseases. So, an excellent tool in the fight against late blight is an infusion of garlic. It should be noted that the causative agent of this disease are oomycete fungi, which have microscopic dimensions. The causative agent of the disease can get on the beds of tomatoes at any time during the growing season. Moreover, the 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 a 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 destroy the entire crop of tomatoes.
preventive measures
Oomycete spores are activated at high humidity, first of all penetrating the leaves of tomatoes. It is as a preventive measure that experienced gardeners recommend airing the greenhouse in a timely manner, thinning out 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 reproduction of fungi. If possible, then 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 is worth noting that garlic has the strongest antifungal effect. It contains phytoncides that inhibit the reproduction of oomycete spores, phytophthora pathogens on tomatoes.
Preparation of garlic mixtures
To prepare a cure for late blight 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. l. mustard powder, 1 tbsp. l. red hot pepper and fill it all 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 drug, you will also protect plants from pests such as aphids, mites, 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. Treat the tomatoes with this mixture every 10 days.
- If you didn’t make the garlic composition in time and the first signs of the disease on the tomatoes have already appeared, then chop 200 g of garlic into a pulp and pour 4 liters of water into it. Leave the solution for half an hour, and then strain it and pour it into a spray bottle. Treat all the fruits of tomatoes with this composition.
- To prepare this infusion, grind 0,5 kg of garlic, which will need to be poured into 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 add 50 g of laundry soap, previously grated, to it. With the addition of this ingredient, the adhesion of the product to the leaves and stems of tomatoes improves. Thus, the tops of tomatoes treated with garlic infusion will not infect oomycetes for a longer time and repeated spraying can be carried out after 3 weeks.
- If you have little time, then chop 150 g of garlic, stir this gruel in a bucket of water, strain it and spray all the tomato bushes abundantly.
Using one of these recipes, you can save your tomato plantings from the destructive 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 suggest you watch a video on the topic of caring for tomatoes:
