How to fertilize seedlings after planting in the ground. Feeding tomatoes in open ground and greenhouses - practical experience
After planting tomato seedlings in the ground, they need to be fed. After all, this is the only way to reap a good harvest even on depleted soil. Therefore, you need to know the technology for carrying out the operation of feeding tomatoes.
When and what to feed
No matter how fertile the soil is, the procedure of frequent planting of various crops significantly depletes it. As a result, harvest volumes are significantly reduced. Fertility can be restored if you systematically fertilize the soil. Some vegetables, such as bell peppers, do not require much fertilizer. Tomatoes, on the contrary, need significant feeding.
All summer residents know that tomatoes, during the period of fruit ripening, consume many minerals from the soil in which they grow. Thanks to such minerals, vegetative mass appears - the basis of the harvest.
You need to fertilize the soil before planting tomato seedlings. For this, humus or various minerals are used. Fertilizing is extremely important now; if it is not done, then you need to fertilize the vegetables as the crop develops.
First, the vegetable must be fertilized with nitrogen substances. But it is worth remembering that it is better to underfeed tomatoes than to overdo it. The ideal option is to feed the plant in the required quantities as it grows after the planting procedure.
After such feeding, the next procedure is necessary after the appearance of color, when the vegetable requires potassium and phosphorus. The fertilization period can be easily determined by the appearance of the vegetable: its growth slows down, the leaves curl, and the color of the tomatoes changes.
Over the entire life period, the crop needs to be fed about four times. For the first time, the procedure must be carried out two weeks after planting the seedlings in open soil. During this period, fertilizer promotes the growth of the crop and its roots.
After this feeding, the next one is carried out 14 days later, and the third, foliar feeding, is carried out after the appearance of color or ovary. The last time plants are fed is during the harvest period.
Today there are many fertilizers used at different stages of vegetable development. For tomatoes, minerals and organic matter applied at the root and by foliar method are applicable.
You can feed tomatoes only in the bush area. The plant itself should not be fertilized, as this can cause rotting of the plant and a reduction in harvest volumes.
Root feeding
Tomato feeding is often carried out using organic substances, which contain microelements that promote the development of the vegetable and its high fruiting. The natural raw material for fertilizer is manure. It cannot be used raw. This fertilizer option is effective because the manure of cattle that eat hay contains a large amount of minerals and nutrients.
You can feed tomatoes with nitrogen using legumes. It is enough to plant legumes in the ground where you plan to plant tomatoes. After all, legumes perfectly saturate the soil with nitrogen, and their developed root system perfectly loosens it.
A common effective method of feeding is green manure (infusions of grass). It is easy to prepare solutions. The main thing is the herbs that serve as raw materials. You can use nettle. It needs to be crushed and placed in a container with water. Then leave the mixture to ferment, stirring it daily.
If an unpleasant odor appears, just add a few drops of valerian to neutralize it. If after 14 days of fermentation the solution becomes lighter, it means it is ready for use. It is worth noting that before use, such a solution must be diluted with a bucket of water (ratio 1 to ten). It is necessary to fertilize tomatoes with this mixture at the root.
You can also feed plants with mullein by preparing an infusion from it in the ratio of half a liter of fertilizer per bucket of water. This solution is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus. The prepared mixture is watered at the root of each bush.
Foliar feeding
Mineral fertilizers are used at various stages. The most commonly used fertilizers are potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen.
Phosphorus fertilizers consist of phosphate and superphosphate with the addition of other elements: calcium, sulfur, nitrogen.
Potash is used during fruit ripening to improve their taste. The top dressing for this group is ash, which is easily soluble in water and is perfectly absorbed into the soil. The most effective are ash from pine and birch (contains 40% mineral).
It is necessary to feed tomatoes with nitrogen very carefully, because if you exceed the dosage, you can make the open ground toxic. At the same time, the vegetable grows too quickly, and its fruits crack, change shape and taste.
If you feed plants with nitrogen in doses, the mineral will have a positive effect on the crop: it will contribute to its normal growth and development. Fertilizers of this type: urea, calcium and potassium nitrate.
Fertilizing tomatoes with urea should be done sparingly (normally half a liter per bush).
To improve the effect of fertilizing, it is worth using complex fertilizing (a combination of mineral and organic fertilizers).
Complex fertilizer for tomatoes
The complex solution consists of a large number of useful and mineral substances that have a positive effect on tomatoes. One of the options for preparing such top dressing involves nettles and dandelions as raw materials.
There is no need to observe the ratios; it is enough to simply fill a third of the barrel (200 l) with raw materials and add manure to the mixture. Then fill everything with water, cover with cellophane and leave for 10 days. Then remove the top of the solution and pour “Gumat +7” into it. After all the steps, dilute the finished mixture in the proportion: liter to ten. 3.5 liters of ready-made fertilizer is used for each plant.
Summer residents often use iodine as a raw material for fertilizing, which accelerates the formation of fruits, enlarges them and disinfects open ground. The solution is prepared from a ratio of 4 drops of iodine per bucket of water. Two liters of solution should be poured onto each bush. You can also use milk or whey with iodine. A liter of the prepared mixture is enough for each individual.
Video “First feeding of tomatoes after planting”
Guide to proper feeding
Tomatoes are a capricious vegetable, so you need to feed them correctly. Any mistake can result in a reduction in the quantity or quality of the harvest. Therefore, preparing the solution is a process that requires special attention.
It is worth feeding the culture in the correct proportion. Any “excesses” can lead to damage to the fruit.
After planting the seedlings, it is necessary to alternate the fertilizing procedure with watering. Minerals should be used only after watering vegetables.
The process of “feeding” plants is multifaceted and is used at different stages of vegetable development: after planting, color formation and ovaries. By following all the rules, you can get excellent vegetables in a short time.
Video “Feeding tomatoes during flowering”
The video talks about how and what to feed tomatoes during their flowering period.
Feeding tomatoes is something that gardeners are not completely sure about. How often to feed tomatoes? What to feed: organic, mineral water or alternate? When to water at the roots, and when to spray? There are a lot of questions, and each gardener solves them in his own way: there is no universal scheme or schedule for fertilizing tomatoes.
The good news is that there are a lot of recipes for nutrient mixtures that can be used to feed tomatoes. And you will definitely find the most convenient, most suitable, most profitable option for you. And we will try to help you.
We all know that a plant’s need for a particular substance depends on the stage of its development. And feeding should be done taking into account this need, otherwise it can only cause harm.
Therefore, we divide all options for fertilizing for tomatoes into two groups: fertilizing immediately after planting in the ground and fertilizing during the period of flowering and fruit set.
You can carry out only two feedings per season - one at the beginning of each of the above development stages. You can feed tomatoes regularly, once every two weeks. The feeding schedule depends on you, on the condition of the soil in your area, on the air temperature outside the window, on the quality of the seedlings, etc. and so on. However, we strongly recommend following the “principle of stages” and giving your plants exactly what they need at the moment. This means that before flowering begins, you can feed with any fertilizer from both the first and second groups, and with the appearance of the first buds, you can use feeding recipes exclusively from the second group.
At the end of May - beginning of June, that is, 2-3 weeks after planting tomato seedlings in the ground, you can carry out the first feeding of tomatoes. The seedlings have already taken root and begun to grow - it’s time to help the plants gain strength and turn into a full-fledged bush. At this stage, nitrogen fertilizers (in small quantities) can be used in combination with potassium and phosphorus.
Option 1. For 10 liters of water, 0.5 liters of liquid mullein, 1 tablespoon of nitrophoska.
Option 2. For 10 liters of water: 0.5 liters of chicken manure, 1 tablespoon of superphosphate, 1 teaspoon of potassium sulfate.
Option 3. For 10 liters of water, 2 liters of nettle or comfrey.
Option 4. For 10 liters of water, 1 tablespoon of nitrophoska.
Option 5. For 10 liters of water, 50 grams of ash, 30 grams of superphosphate, 0.3 grams of boric acid, 0.3 grams of manganese sulfate, 1 liter of mullein.
Option 6. For a 200 liter barrel: 1 bucket of mullein, 2 shovels of ash, 2 kilograms of yeast, 3 liters of whey, 4-5 buckets of nettles. Leave for a week.
Option 7. For 10 liters of water 1 tbsp. a spoonful of nitrophoska, 0.5 liters of mullein, 0.5 teaspoons of manganese sulfate, 0.5 teaspoons of boric acid.
0.5 liters of ready-made fertilizer is poured under each bush.
Feeding tomatoes during budding, flowering and fruit set
As soon as buds and flowers appear on the tomatoes, the “potassium-phosphorus” era begins. Our tomatoes now need nothing more than phosphorus and, especially, potassium.
Option 1. For 10 liters of water, half a liter jar of ash.
Option 2. For 10 liters of water: 1 tablespoon of superphosphate, 1 teaspoon of potassium sulfate.
Option 3. For 10 liters of water, 2 tablespoons of wood ash and 1 tablespoon of superphosphate.
Option 4. For 10 liters of water, 1 tablespoon of nitrophoska, 1 teaspoon of dry potassium humate powder.
Option 5. For 10 liters of water, 10 grams of potassium nitrate, 25 grams of magnesium sulfate.
Option 6. For 10 liters of water, 10-15 grams of potassium monophosphate (KH2PO4).
Option 7. For 10 liters of water, 10 grams of potassium magnesium (potassium magnesium sulfate K2SO4 + MgSO4).
Option 8. For 2.5 liters of warm water, 100 grams of pressed yeast diluted in warm water and half a glass of sugar. Mix everything, cover the container with gauze and place in a warm place. Shake occasionally. When fermentation ends (in about a week), for feeding, 1 glass of the mixture is diluted in 10 liters of water along with a half-liter jar of ash.
Under each bush you need to pour 0.5-1 liter of nutrient mixture.
To attract pollinating insects to flowering tomatoes and improve fruit set, you can spray the plants with a mixture of boric acid and sugar. One liter of boiling water will require 100 grams of sugar and 2 grams of boric acid. Mix everything thoroughly and cool the solution to room temperature.
If it is hot and the flowers fall off because of it, it is recommended to spray with a solution of boric acid at the rate of 5 grams per 10 liters of water.
And one more thing: from mid-July, all feeding of tomatoes must be stopped, as well as heavy watering. During this period, any additional nutrition and moisture contribute to the growth of green mass, and, on the contrary, the ripening of fruits is delayed.
We wish you success and great harvests!
Hello, dear gardeners! Today we will think about how you can increase the yield of everyone’s favorite tomatoes. From “survival materials” we can create fertilizers that will cost us practically nothing, and the effect will be amazing. And the fruits will turn out delicious! So, no chemical industry; we can handle it ourselves.
Available fertilizers
To grow a full-bodied crop, tomatoes must absorb a large variety of nutrients. Many generations of farmers made do with folk remedies, successfully producing the necessary products at home.
Tomatoes are a nutritionally demanding vegetable crop, but all its needs can be met by using exclusively natural fertilizers. They are very diverse.
Already at the very beginning of the season, the question arises: how to fertilize tomatoes after planting them in the ground? How to feed them throughout the summer?Not all gardeners have the opportunity to use manure.
But everyone has some weeds in their garden, grass outside the fence, and food waste. It is easy to get whey, yeast, and boric acid. And when we learn to use all this wealth wisely, the result is guaranteed.
General rules and terms
There are many possibilities, but the plants themselves will tell you what exactly and when exactly to fertilize the tomato beds.A garden crop such as tomatoes is intensively saturated with phosphorus and potassium throughout the season. These substances, in combination with microelements, participate in the formation of the underground part of the plant, are beneficial during flowering and fruit formation, and increase resistance to disease. Therefore, we add wood ash (in reasonable doses) without fear.
But in matters of supplying nitrogen nutrition, you should be more careful and careful. A lot of this element is required in the initial stages, when the bushes build up a powerful green mass. Tall, large-fruited varieties should be fed more often and more abundantly, especially in a greenhouse. Overdoing it is also dangerous. You need to carefully monitor the “pets”: if the bushes are to the detriment of the ovaries, if the fruits crack, these are signals of excessive doses.
First two weeks
If each root of the seedlings was grown in a separate container, the bushes take root quickly, and after 5-7 days the tops begin to grow (see photo)
The injured root system takes a little longer to take root - 10-12 days. You need to take a closer look at the plantings from a week ago.
With abundant pre-planting filling of the holes, additional feeding may not be required until the stage of filling the first fruits. If the tomatoes have begun to grow, but not very actively, fertilizing watering is needed.
The purple color of leaves and stems is a signal of phosphorus deficiency. The roots stop absorbing it due to severe cold or heat. You can feed the plants through the foliage by performing foliar feeding by spraying with an infusion of ash.
Wood ash
Such a natural and very affordable fertilizer as wood ash contains about 25% calcium, a lot of potassium (more than 10%), as well as phosphorus compounds and small doses of other useful elements. Ash is of particular value in areas with acidic soils, where there is a lack of calcium and potassium.
The ash makes an excellent fertilizer infusion; beneficial compounds dissolve easily and become convenient for plants to absorb.
A liter jar of dry ash is poured into a small container of water and boiled for 40 minutes, then the broth is diluted with ten liters of water. This solution can be watered or sprayed on tomato bushes every 7-10 days.
Boric acid
The boron element helps vegetable crops form high-quality ovaries and increases the sugar content of tomato fruits.
10 grams of powdered boric acid must be dissolved in very hot water, then added with cool water to the volume of a standard bucket. The fertilizer is ready. A small amount can be poured under the root; The main method of application is spraying on buds, ovaries and foliage 2-3 times a month.
Organic instant solutions
- Ash and – mineral compounds. Organic substances also contain calcium, potassium, phosphorus, microelements, but they also contain large quantities of nitrogen and beneficial microorganisms.
- Fresh or slightly rotted manure (preferably horse or cow) is diluted in water in a ratio of 1:10 and the tomatoes are watered 2-3 times in the first two months of the growing season. A solution of bird droppings is made in the same way, only the concentration should be ten times weaker - 1:20.
- Healthy . 30 grams of raw store-bought or fresh hop yeast are dissolved in a bucket of warm water (preferably rain) and watered at the roots of the plants 2-3 times during the summer.
- We combine half a liter of natural whey with ten liters of water and water the tomato bushes by sprinkling - this is both feeding and prevention of fungal and bacterial diseases.
Herbal infusion
The fermented infusion of the herb has unique nutritional and healing properties. After watering or spraying with this solution, tomatoes become stronger and bear fruit more abundantly.
You can feed this complex fertilizer regularly, once every one to two weeks (according to needs).
It is better to prepare the drug in a plastic or enamel container, without contact with metal. All this should happen with the onset of stable warm weather (the grasses will grow).
The dishes are half filled with weeded weeds () and mowed grass, and filled with water (rain, river or lake). The contents need to be covered with a lid or a rag; the fermentation process will occur in any conditions, it would be warm.
For one to two weeks, the liquid bubbles, plant fibers decompose, and the smell of fermentation appears. Then the foam settles. The fertilizer is ripe. A liter jar of such liquid is diluted in ten liters of water; Pour a liter of solution under each tomato root.
Complex infusions
If possible and if desired, the herbal infusion can be enriched by adding manure, a little humus, beer and kvass, yeast, whey, old jam, small food waste, and ash along with the grass. All this will transfer its life-giving substances to the tomatoes.
It’s not without reason that they say: the earth is like a plate, what you put in it is what you take out. So, no chemical industry; we can handle it ourselves.
Happy harvest and see you soon!
Sincerely, Andrey
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The question of how to feed tomatoes after planting in the ground is natural, since this plant with a powerful root system is a crop that is demanding on soil fertility and quality of nutrition. High yields of tomatoes are obtained by providing the plant with organic and mineral fertilizers.
To characterize the growth of plants, two basic concepts are used: “need” and “demandingness”. The need is characterized by the general removal of mineral nutrition elements from the soil during the entire growing season.
Tomato is an average carryover crop that extracts approximately 400 kg of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium per hectare of soil.
According to the second parameter, it also belongs to the demanding “middle peasants” who need large doses of the most important fertilizers.
Its lack causes depletion of leaves, yellowing and drying out on the lower tiers. The veins of the leaves become bluish-red, the flesh of the fruit becomes tasteless and woody, and the fruits themselves become small. Without nitrogen, the plant is doomed to disease.
But most of all, a tomato needs phosphorus. A complete supply of this element to a tomato contributes to the formation of good ovaries, a strong root system, and normalization of photosynthesis. If you feed tomatoes with phosphorus fertilizers, the harvest will delight you with full-fledged fruits with excellent taste.
Fibrous, thin lignified stems, reddish-purple leaves, twisted and small fruits - this is what a tomato bush becomes when there is a lack of phosphorus. A deficiency of the element delays the flowering of the cluster, the fruits become smaller, and their ripening is delayed.
Its tasks are to activate enzymes, increase the resistance of tomatoes to diseases, and improve the supply of water to cells. The supply of nitrogen to the plant and the increase in protein depend on it.
If the soil under the tomatoes is left without potassium fertilizing, the tomato leaves turn wrinkled and lifeless. Spots form on young leaves, giving them a bronze tint. The spots along the edges merge into a solid line and then turn brown. The stems become thinner, the fruits lag behind in development, ripening unevenly and slowly.
In addition to basic fertilizing, tomatoes will need microelements: calcium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, boron, manganese, copper, zinc, molybdenum. But deficiency and excess of organic and mineral nutrition are equally unsafe for tomatoes, as well as the principle “I feed with what I have.”
Interchangeability of base fertilizers
Nothing else can replace nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and microelements for a plant. When discussing the interchangeability of fertilizers, they talk about their types that contain the same components, differing from each other only quantitatively. Tomatoes need to be fed based on conversion indicators (i.e. quantitative recalculation of the component).
Interchangeability of basic fertilizers:
Fertilizer | Basic basis | Quantity | Quantitatively equal |
Ammonium nitrate | 0.75 kg urea; 1.7 kg ammonium sulfate; 2.6 kg of nitrophoska. |
||
Potassium chloride | Potassium oxide | 1 kg | 1.35 kg of 40% potassium salt; 1.8 kg of 30% potassium salt; 1.1 kg of potassium sulfate; 4.5 kg of nitrophoska; 0.9-1 kg of potash; 2 kg of potassium magnesia; 8 kg of pine firewood ash; 4 kg of birch firewood ash; 17 kg of spruce firewood ash. |
Simple superphosphate granules | 0.4 kg double superphosphate; 1.8 kg nitrophoska |
Tomato, which is demanding on soil fertility, grows well in areas filled with organic fertilizers:
- manure;
- slurry;
- peat;
- humus;
- chicken droppings;
- compost.
When the land is manured, you only need to add phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. But for tomatoes that are hypersensitive to chloride compounds, it is preferable to use potassium sulfate.
Feeding tomatoes in a greenhouse
What fertilizers are required for greenhouse tomatoes? The choice depends on the growing method. It is possible to plant seeds directly into the ground or initially plant them in boxes and cups, followed by picking in the phase of the first true leaf. Without picking, you can grow seedlings in peat tablets with auxiliary additives of mineral fertilizers and growth stimulants, ensuring their successful development.
If the soil mixture is properly supplied with nutrients, tomato seedlings do not require fertilizing. If there is a shortage of them, use 1-2 additional fertilizing:
- 10 days after the picking, mix in 10 liters of water:
- ammonium nitrate - 15 g;
- potassium sulfate - 20 g;
- superphosphate - 40 g.
- 10-12 days after the date of the first feeding or 5-7 before planting in the same proportions.
The seedlings are transferred directly into the greenhouse soil at the age of 50-60 days when there are seven to eight leaves and the first flower cluster is budding. When planting tomatoes, it is better to prepare the soil in the fall, adding 1 sq. m 2-6 kg of manure, 1-3 kg of compost, 10-15 g of potassium chloride, 50-70 g of superphosphate, or add everything in the spring in the same proportions, but without calcium chloride.
After planting, tomatoes, even with a closed root system (from cups, pots, cubes), take root in a new place within 8-12 days. Therefore, during this period it is better not to touch them, creating gentle conditions, covering them from the bright sun, watering them infrequently, but abundantly, because they love dry air and moist soil. Adult planted tomato seedlings, after they have grown stronger, are fed three times with mineral elements or organic fertilizers.
Doses of fertilizers (in g per 10 liters of water) by growing period:
Organic matter is used in the form of an aqueous solution of mullein in a ratio of 1:8-10 or bird droppings in a ratio of 1:15-20. It is best to feed tomatoes with microelements, including ready-made ones, in soluble tablets and granules using a foliar (non-root) feeding method, using a sprayer or a regular watering can.
Feeding with aqueous solutions of manganese sulfate (1 g per 1 liter of water), ammonium molybdate (0.2-0.3 g per 1 liter), boric acid (0.5 g per 1 liter) strengthens the bush, makes the stem, leaves, promotes the development of ovaries. Do not water for some time after spraying so that the microelements are well absorbed into the leaves and stems of the plants.
If the tomatoes were grown by direct planting in the ground and were not planted, they are simply thinned out, covering the moisture in the free areas with peat or humus mulch.
Feeding tomatoes in open ground
For the open cultivation of tomatoes in the country, many varieties of various economic purposes have been zoned, but when planting tomatoes in personal plots, early ripening varieties are usually selected. The quantity and content of nutrients are directly related here to the cultivation and fertility of the soil.
Organic fertilizers - semi-rotted manure, humus, compost - are usually applied for planting on insufficiently fertile lands. The main types of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium fertilizers or their combination in the form of nitrophoska and ammophos are used. In combination with mineral elements, organic matter is added in half doses. It is effective for plants to add similar mixtures to each planting hole: 300-350 g of humus with 7-10 g of superphosphate.
If mineral fertilizers were not used when preparing the soil in autumn or spring, it is necessary to feed the tomatoes after planting in the ground several times during the growing season of the bushes. Various sources recommend doing this every 2-3 weeks. But on fertile lands, two feedings are quite enough, when the bush has up to six true leaves, and during the period of fruit formation.
How to feed tomatoes after planting in the garden? Traditionally, 15-20 g of superphosphate is added to a bucket of mullein or bird droppings solution. This amount is enough for 10-12 plants.
Further fertilizing is carried out with dry mineral fertilizers per square meter:
- 10-15 g ammonium nitrate;
- 20-30 g of superphosphate;
- 5-10 g of potassium salt.
Organic fertilizers are convenient to apply into furrows. When watering, they gradually saturate the soil with the necessary elements.
When tomatoes begin to bloom, foliar feeding is carried out:
- 0.01 -0.5% boric acid solution (0.1-0.5 g per 1 l);
- 0.001-0.02% molybdenum ammonium solution (0.01-0.2 g per 1 l);
- 0.03-0.05% solution of manganese sulfate or zinc sulfate (0.3-0.5 g per 1 l).
For every square meter of area, 0.1 liters of solution is used. The most suitable time for such “feeding” is evening or simply cloudy (not rainy) weather. Once on the leaves, nutrients are quickly absorbed by plants and contribute to accelerated growth and high-quality harvest. You can combine such fertilizing with spraying tomatoes with substances that prevent the development of bacterial diseases.
Caring for tomatoes after planting (video)
Feeding with herbal infusions
The experience of summer residents suggested how to fertilize tomatoes along with traditional fertilizers. There are many recipes, and they all have a right to exist, although perhaps science has not studied the effects of infusions on the plant. There are options for infusing one shovel of compost in 20 liters of water for a week. Many people insist on bird droppings for essential fermentation. When using fermented manure, it is diluted in a ratio of 1:10 and watered at the roots of the tomatoes.
After planting, tomatoes usually look pale green and sickly. After two weeks, when they can already be fed, using nettle infusion will be very effective. To prepare it, finely chop half a bucket of nettles without flowers and roots and pour in 10 liters of water (preferably warm). For a larger capacity, the proportion simply increases.
The container is closed with a lid, exposed to the sun, and the nettle, filled with water, ferments from a week to 10 days. The liquid ready for feeding becomes lighter. You can add wood ash to it. The solution is filtered, diluted in a ratio of 1:10 and watered over the tomatoes. They very quickly acquire strength and a dark green color.
Since the smell of the infusion is very unpleasant, in order not to strain it, the nettles are put in a canvas bag (not gauze) and after fermentation they are taken out of the infusion. This is the best recipe, but it is possible to use weeds, rotted hay, and compost.
Tomatoes are responsive to care. Therefore, they choose effective liquid fertilizers or microelements in instant granules and tablets. The main thing is that everything is in moderation and beneficial.
Feeding tomatoes with yeast (video)
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When growing tomatoes, the main task for the gardener is to obtain high-quality seedlings. However, in order to get good tomato bushes from seedlings, they still need to provide the necessary care, and in particular, regular feeding. Therefore, below we will talk about how to feed tomatoes after planting in the ground, when to do it and how.
Types of feeding tomatoes
Good growth of tomato bushes does not depend on how much tomato fertilizer you give. The main thing is that the plant really needs them, and they are introduced at the right time. But there is one more aspect - how exactly to apply fertilizers, since feeding tomatoes can be done both at the root and directly on the bush.
Foliar feeding
Feeding tomatoes after planting in the ground should not only be root feeding, as many gardeners believe. And first of all, this is due to the high efficiency of foliar spraying of tomato bushes, which is influenced by the following factors:
- When foliar spraying is used, much less mineral and organic fertilizers are consumed, since they are distributed directly over the plant.
- Tomato bushes receive much more nutrition because they absorb nutrients through the leaves, whereas with root feeding, some of the fertilizer is simply washed off with water and does not reach the roots.
- With foliar spraying, nutrients are supplied very quickly, so this method of feeding plants is ideal when emergency resuscitation is necessary. Also, a similar factor makes foliar feeding ideal for newly planted tomato seedlings, the root system of which is just beginning to take root, but the plant is in great need of additional fertilizers.
Do not use chlorinated water from the tap, otherwise cloudy stains will remain on the plants. For nutrient solutions ideal to use rainwater, although settled water will do just as well.
This type of feeding involves applying fertilizers to the soil directly at the site where the root system of tomato bushes develops. After all, it is from the soil that tomatoes receive nutrients, and if it is rich in them, the plant will grow well.
When applying root nutrition, you also need to know what tomatoes like when growing, and what minerals they need to produce a large number of fruits.
In addition, for faster “delivery” of fertilizer to the roots during such waterings, it is important to loosen the soil, and after that also cover it with mulch. Thanks to this, soil moisture will be retained longer, and the plant will better absorb fertilizers.
Important! Both types of tomato fertilizers can be used for plants planted in open ground and for greenhouse tomatoes. At the same time, in the first half of the growing season it is worth alternating root and foliar feeding, and in the second half, when the first fruits are already appearing on the bushes, it is better to focus only on the root one.
When do you need to fertilize tomatoes: how to fertilize the plant after planting in the ground?
The feeding schedule for tomatoes is not too strict, but it is still important to adhere to it for two reasons. Firstly, if you fertilize very often, the plant may simply burn out from the oversaturation of the soil with minerals. And secondly, if fertilizers are applied very rarely, plants may lack nutrients.
First feeding
To understand how to fertilize tomatoes immediately after planting in the ground, it is important to know what the plant needs. In the first stages of growth, these are, of course, nutrients for the development of the bush, as well as for resisting diseases.
Therefore, already one week after planting the seedlings, it can be treated foliarly by spraying it with a spray bottle. a solution of whey (1 liter), iodine (10 drops) and water (9 liters).
The first feeding of tomatoes after planting in the ground can be root feeding, but in this case it should be carried out only after 3 weeks from the moment of planting the seedlings. For such feeding it is worth preparing the following solution:
- 1 tbsp. l. “Ideal” fertilizers (buy it in liquid form);
- 1 tbsp. l. nitrophoska;
- 10 liters of water.
Did you know? Tomatoes are very useful during a diet, because in addition to vitamins, they also replenish the body with fiber, on which the stomach spends a lot of energy during processing.
Second feeding
The second feeding of tomatoes after planting in the ground is carried out at a time when flowering is already appearing on the tomato bushes and the second cluster is blooming. During this period, the plant especially needs additional nutrients, since after flowering the first ovaries will begin to form, which should be strong and healthy.
Therefore, it is better to carry out root feeding by preparing for it solution from:
- 1 tbsp. l. the drug "Agricol-Vegeta";
- 1 tbsp. l. superphosphate;
- 1 tsp. potassium sulfate (can be replaced with potassium chloride in the same volume);
- 10 liters of water.
Third feeding
Usually there is a short break between the second and third feedings, especially if the second was carried out in the form of foliar spraying. It is worth carrying out the third fertilizing at the moment when the third flower cluster has already blossomed on the bushes. Also prepare for such feeding special composition, which includes:
- 1 tbsp. l. liquid “Sodium Humate” (it can be replaced with “Ideal” fertilizer in a similar amount);
- 1 tbsp. l. nitrophoska;
- 10 liters of water.
Did you know?Both tomato bushes and fruits are very sensitive to low temperatures. Therefore, it is important to plant the bush in open ground only when the soil warms up to at least +10°C. Tomatoes should also be stored in a cool, but not cold, place, so the refrigerator is not suitable for this purpose.
Fourth feeding
The fourth feeding of tomato bushes is usually the last, although if the condition of the bushes is poor, they can be fed a fifth time. It is carried out approximately three weeks after the third feeding and involves adding tomato bushes using a solution of:
