How to feed tomatoes after planting in the ground
Content:
A tomato is a vegetable with excellent taste, without which it is impossible to imagine a festive and everyday table. Juice, lettuce, obtained from fresh tomatoes, as well as preservation, preparations for borscht are very nutritious and very useful. And in this regard, it is necessary to take care of the harvest in advance, and for this purpose it is important to provide the plants with proper care in a timely manner and understand how to feed tomatoes in the open field correctly.
What is the need for fertilizers?
The need for tomatoes after planting in the soil in nutrients can be understood by the appearance of the plants.
The first signs of a nutritional deficiency are:
- in case of shortage nitrogen the lowest leaves of the culture become pale yellow, curl and wither;
- a lack of phosphorus - poor growth in planted seedlings;
- if the tomatoes are not enough potassium, then only the grown leaves will grow small, with wrinkles, and will curl down;
- with a lack calcium the growth of plants stops, the top may die, the root system suffers;
- flaw gland affects the color of the plant: it turns yellow from the stem to the tips of the leaves and its growth slows down;
- in case of shortage zinc brown-gray spots begin to appear on the leaves and stems.
When and with what to feed tomatoes?
If the lack of essential substances is noticeable on young tomato seedlings, then this means that you need to feed.
A very common question is when should you start feeding the plants? Most farmers think almost the same:
First addition of fertilizers permissible 15-21 days after planting seedlings in the soil, when the period of rapid plant growth begins. This is about fourteen days after sowing.
Which fertilizer is right for the first application?
In order to correctly select fertilizers for tomatoes, you need to know the composition and their types. All dressings are divided into 2 types
1) mineral - includes nutrients - chemicals;
2) organic - fertilizing of natural origin - this is manure, peat, sawdust.
Mineral dressing
Mineral dressings help the plant grow properly after it has been strengthened in the soil, and are used when there is a lack of chemical elements in the soil.
Many gardeners do not recognize mineral fertilizing as full-scale nutrition for the culture; they use them in the form of an "ambulance", in urgent cases.
Others, on the contrary, often and with pleasure use them to feed vegetables.
The most common mineral dressings:
Potash - helps to develop the root system and increases plant resistance;
Nitrogen (they usually include urea, saltpeter). This type of dressing promotes the growth of young plants, in this regard, it is recommended to use it only after planting seedlings in open ground;
Phosphate (superphosphate) - act on metabolism, are the main source of energy.
Potassium sulfate (potassium sulphate) - a supplement of natural origin, which contains approximately 50% potassium. There is a certain rate of addition - 20 grams per 1 sq.m of planted tomato seedlings.
Important! When working with potash dressings, gloves must be used to protect hands and special glasses must be worn.
Urea (urea) is a mineral supplement with a huge amount of nitrogen.It is produced in the form of light, predominantly white granules. In order to add plants in the form of fertilizers, 4-5 grams of urea per 1 square meter of sowing is used. It is added by scattering on the ground, mainly closer to the roots.
Ammonium nitrate - is made in the form of white granules, with a nitrogen content of about 30%. To prepare top dressing, 10 grams of saltpeter are used, dissolved in 5 liters of ordinary water. It is added with a watering can or a ladle only at the root of the plant itself.
Superphosphate - fertilizer in the form of granules, which contains about 30% phosphorus. To fertilize the tomato, you need to add about 50 grams per 1 sq.m.
Attention! To determine the amount of fertilizer added, it is enough to apply a 5 gram teaspoon.
The addition of mineral dressings for the purpose of fertilizing the plants planted in the soil is more expedient to carry out collectively. Most often, already prepared dry mixtures containing potassium, nitrogen, phosphorus and other nutrients are used. In order to add, you need to apply 30-40 grams of such fertilizer per 1 sq. M. crops.
Organic fertilizers in spring
In addition to mineral dressings, tomatoes can be fertilized with such dressings as manure, ash, chicken droppings.
These fertilizers are of natural origin and are considered environmentally friendly.
Manure - one of the most popular types of fertilizers. Prepare the solution immediately before adding. To this end, 1 bucket of plain water is added to 1 bucket of manure and left for a week to infuse, then 1 liter of the resulting infusion is poured with 1 bucket of water. The finished infusion is added at the rate of 1 liter per 1 tomato plant.
Attention! Do not use fresh manure for fertilization. It is permissible to use its infusion or humus that has stood over the winter.
Ash - an excellent remedy for replenishing the lack of nutrients. It is permissible to prepare a solution from ash in this way:
- a container of 50 liters or even more filled with water is taken;
- for the next 10 liters, 0.5 liters of wood ash is taken;
- the mixture must be thoroughly mixed.
Ash fertilizer can now be used. For each root, add 0.5 liters of infusion.
Chicken droppings - top dressing containing all the required trace elements. To use it, you need to prepare a solution at the rate of 1 part of litter to 10 liters of water. The finished solution is thoroughly mixed and added in a ratio of about 1 liter per plant.
How to properly feed tomatoes
For fertilization planted in the soil of seedlings, you can use the following:
root - when the addition of fertilizers is made directly to the root of the plant, for the purpose of nutrition and further transfer along the entire length of the plant;
foliar - performed by spraying tomatoes with solutions with the necessary elements.
Foliar dressing is often used to improve the immunity of a crop and to obtain the most rapid effect from the use of fertilizers, rather than when they are added to the root.
It is sprayed early in the morning or in the evening to prevent leaf burns.
Rules for processing in the garden in spring
The most important feature when feeding various plants is the phasing. Root fertilization is carried out only when in reality there is a need for nutrients from the plant.
Adding fertilizer involves enriching the soil with nutrients.
If the plant does not receive them, then microbes and pest bacteria can consume them, which, as a rule, leads to negative consequences for tomatoes.
In this regard, the main thing is not to overdo it with nutrition. It is better to underfeed crops than overfeed.
Root top dressing is performed on a pre-moistened soil so that the top dressing does not burn them when it gets to the roots of tomatoes.Such feeding is performed only after the final strengthening of the plant, usually after 2-3 weeks of planting.
Root fertilization in open soil will not bring the desired result if the soil and air are not warmed up by 15 ° C.
The main feature of foliar fertilizers is the ability to use it immediately after planting the plant in the soil. It makes it possible to significantly save fertilizers, since their consumption is low, but at the same time the effect of use increases.
Plants fertilized with foliar dressing, as a rule, begin to bloom earlier in 2-3 weeks than those fertilized at the root.
Before fertilizing plants, you should check the composition on one of the crops, since there are situations in which the leaves and stems simply die due to improperly selected fertilizer and processing with it.
What top dressing is needed in May and early summer
It should be noted that from each type of fertilizer the culture can receive the necessary trace elements, and yet it is most optimal to feed the tomatoes with complex ones (they include several useful elements at once in the required proportions).
For example, such:
Nitroammofoska... It contains most of the main components necessary for the development of tomatoes and the increase of their fruiting. For use, a solution is prepared for 50 grams of top dressing and 10 liters of ordinary water, 200-250 grams are added for each plant. Cannot be used in conjunction with bird droppings or manure.
Kemira - no less common type of complex dressings containing a whole set of nutrients. For use, it is necessary to dilute 20 g in 10 liters of water and add no more than 0.5 liters of solution to each root of all plants.
Humate... This fertilizer is of natural origin, which is obtained from the remains of greenery and peat. Excellent for feeding and near roots. Usually used in the last days of May and the beginning of the summer month - June.
To feed the tomatoes with organic matter, it is more expedient to use a mixture of fresh manure or chicken droppings. Such dressings also contain a huge amount of useful elements that contribute to the development of seedlings.
How to feed tomatoes - video
Growing tomatoes is a complex process. Special care should be taken when the plants planted in the soil are strengthening. You need to know how to feed tomatoes, what nutrients they need in order not to harm.