Watering cabbage with iodine for the ovary

Fertilizing cabbage with iodine is necessary at the beginning of the season to speed up the formation of heads. Thanks to root and foliar processing, they are formed more dense. If you spray a few weeks before harvest, the shelf life will increase markedly.

Why treat cabbage with iodine

Many experienced gardeners recommend watering cabbage with iodine to set heads. This is a really effective tool, like boric acid treatment. Iodine serves as a growth stimulant. It activates the division processes, due to which heads are formed faster. However, this is not the only useful quality. Feeding with iodine provides other benefits:

1. More complete assimilation of nitrogen compounds.
2. Rapid growth, a set of green mass.
3. The tool acts as an antiseptic, it is used not only as a top dressing, but also for the prevention and destruction of pests.
4. Increasing frost resistance.
5. Increased shelf life.
6. After feeding with iodine, cabbage heads retain their marketable appearance longer.
7. Increased resistance to fungal and other diseases.

Other advantages include affordability. The tool is present in the composition of many fertilizers, which can be purchased at any store for summer residents. There are practically no deficiencies in iodine. But during processing, it is important to follow the dosage and other rules. If you apply top dressing in large quantities, it can do more harm than good.

What causes a lack of iodine in the soil

Fertilizing cabbage with iodine is carried out not only for tying heads, but also in cases where there is a deficiency of this microelement in the soil. Plants need it in small amounts. However, in case of shortage, the consequences will be very tangible:

• intracellular metabolic processes are disturbed;
• cabbage heads are lagging behind in development, they are formed unevenly;
• the color is faded, not so saturated;
• ovaries are formed for a rather long time;
• immunity is reduced. Therefore, in the absence of top dressing, cabbage often suffers from fungal, bacterial and other diseases.

For spraying use the usual pharmacy drug

In most regions of Our Country, there is a lack of iodine both in the soil and in drinking water. Therefore, it is useful to regularly feed cabbage and other crops with this trace element. It helps in the prevention of thyroid pathologies, including goiter and other hormonal disorders.

You can determine the need for iodine by the following signs:

• leaves become thinner;
• the color becomes faded;
• heads of cabbage are formed incorrectly;
• they contain cavities;
• culture often suffers from infectious diseases.

Also, top dressing should be carried out in cases where cabbage needs to be laid for long-term storage. Therefore, this technique is especially often used when growing late varieties, including for sale.

When to water cabbage with iodine

Feeding is carried out several times during the season. If the soil is deficient in iodine, it is advisable to give it up to five times according to the following schedule:

1. At the stage of growing seedlings, the drug is used as an antiseptic. In a solution of iodine (1 drop per 1 liter), the seeds are treated for 5-6 hours. This is quite enough to prevent infectious diseases.
2. The soil itself for planting seedlings can also be disinfected with the same solution. After that, it is recommended to apply a bacterial fertilizer for cabbage, for example, Rizotorfin or Azobacterin.
3. The first foliar top dressing is carried out during the formation of the ovaries, when at least 3-4 leaves have appeared. The solution is poured into a spray bottle and all seedlings are sprayed. This top dressing helps both the formation of heads and the prevention of diseases and pests.
4. After 3 or 4 weeks, the cabbage is watered under the root with a solution of iodine. This is done to strengthen immunity, accelerate growth, and activate metabolic processes.
5. Two weeks before the cabbage harvest, another foliar top dressing is carried out. This is done for quick maturation, the formation of dense and healthy heads of cabbage with good keeping quality and transportability.

Processing is carried out several times per season

Therefore, foliar and root feeding of cabbage with this microelement is recommended to be combined with nitrogen compounds, for example, urea or azophos (complex mineral fertilizer).

Rules for processing cabbage with iodine

To carry out watering cabbage with iodine for the ovary, it is necessary to prepare a solution, observing the proportions. The step by step instructions are:

1. Pour the required volume of water, for example, 2 liters.
2. Add a concentrated pharmacy solution of iodine – usually 1 drop is enough.
3. Then mix thoroughly.
4. Pour under the root or pour into a sprayer and carry out foliar top dressing.

In open ground, processing is carried out in calm weather without rain. It is advisable to do this in the early morning or late evening. The drug in diluted form is safe for both plants and humans. But during the preparation of the solution, the dosage must be carefully observed.

Even if you pour in an extra 1-2 drops, you can ruin the heads of cabbage. They acquire a “medicinal” flavor, although they are quite suitable for food. If you feed with too concentrated a solution, cabbage leaves will get a chemical burn. Such treatment will do more harm than good.

Spraying cabbage with iodine

To tie heads of cabbage, it is necessary to treat the cabbage with an iodine solution. The concentration is standard – 1 drop per 2 liters of water. This volume is enough for a small garden. You should not save liquid – it is necessary to carry out a total processing of the leaves both from the outside and from the inside.

How to water cabbage with iodine

For irrigation (root dressing), a liquid of the same concentration is used, i.e. 1 drop per 2 liters. Moreover, plants must be moistened strictly under the root, excluding contact with leaves and other ground parts.

Iodine for cabbage from pests

The drug is also used as a means of pest control. It is effective against insects and fungal infections such as:

• rot;
• powdery mildew;
• late blight;
• aphid;
• spider mite.

To do this, it is necessary to prepare a liquid that is not too concentrated – 1 drop per 1 liter or 10 drops per 10 liters (standard bucket). To prevent the plants from getting burned, it is recommended to add from 0,5 to 1 liter of milk of any fat content per 10 liters of water. The prepared solution helps to cope with aphids in the early stages of the invasion.

The last spraying is done two weeks before harvest.

Common mistakes

Iodine has shown itself to be an effective tool that is used as a fertilizer and for the prevention of fungal infections and individual pests. Spraying cabbage is quite simple to do, but in practice summer residents make some mistakes:

1. Too often the tool can not be used. An interval of at least one week is observed between treatments.
2. No more than three sprays are carried out per season.
3. Along with iodine compounds, a solution of boric acid with a concentration of 2 g per 10 liters is also used to form heads.
4. It is necessary to prepare the liquid in those volumes that can actually be used at a time. It is not stored for a long time – the very next day the solution begins to “run out of steam”, due to which its effectiveness decreases.

Conclusion

Feeding cabbage with iodine is a fairly effective measure. To better form heads, plants are processed at the beginning of the season, as well as a few weeks before harvesting. Use the drug and for the prevention of diseases and pests. But it is not recommended to use it more than 3-4 times per season. If there are too many insects, it is better to use a special insecticide.