Content
It's no secret that you can get a good harvest of tomatoes at any time of the year only in a greenhouse. Thus, the most favorable conditions for these delicate plants can be created. But even when growing tomatoes in greenhouse conditions, you must 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 bountiful harvest.
Benefits of growing tomatoes in a greenhouse
Many will agree that in the open field you can get a good harvest 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. Another advantage is that it is much easier to care for the crop in the greenhouse.
It will still take some effort to grow beautiful and delicious tomatoes. First of all, you need to make the greenhouse itself. The best material today is polycarbonate. Tomatoes feel very comfortable in such a greenhouse.
You should also create the necessary conditions for growing tomatoes. In principle, the care of these plants in the open field and in greenhouse conditions is not very different. The advantage of the greenhouse can be considered that it is easier to maintain the required temperature regime in it. Tomatoes thrive best in 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 the tomatoes. Due to the lack of light, the plants become lethargic and are greatly delayed in growth. The first sign of poor lighting is sprouting.
Requirements for greenhouse tomatoes
No matter how comfortable the greenhouse is, for normal growth and fruiting, tomatoes need the following conditions:
- The soil should be saturated with calcium. This element is responsible for flowering and also prevents the appearance black spots on tomatoes... To introduce this trace element 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 complex fertilizer "Azofoska" is often used.
- The soil in the greenhouse should not be too wet or dry. For good growth of tomatoes, moist, loose soil is necessary. Light clay and sandy loam 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, peat or sawdust should be added to the clay soil for fertilization, and only peat should be added to the sandy soil.
Tomato care
The first processing of tomatoes in a greenhouse takes place 2 weeks after planting. To do this, use a mullein solution. To prepare a formula, you must mix:
- 1 tablespoon of nitrophosphate;
- 0.5 l mullein;
- 10 liters of water.
Tomatoes are watered with this mixture at the rate of a liter of liquid per 1 bush. The next feeding is carried out no earlier than 10 days later. For the preparation of solutions, you can use potassium sulfate and ready-made combined mixtures of trace elements. 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 case, you need to know when to stop, since too much moisture can poorly display on the state 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 the tomatoes no more than 1 time in 5 days. Many people make the mistake of over-watering tomato seedlings 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 tomato growth. Before flowering, seedlings need about 5 liters of water per 1 m2... When the tomatoes start to bloom, they will need a lot more liquid. At this time, the volumes are increased to 10 liters. The best results can be achieved by watering the tomatoes in the morning, or at least in the evening. It is also necessary to maintain the correct temperature regime 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. Sharp jumps at night should not be allowed. During this time, the normal temperature is around 16-18 ° C. This temperature regime is acceptable for tomatoes until they begin to bloom.
After the tomatoes start flowering, the temperature in the greenhouse should rise significantly and be at least 25–30 ° C. Jumps up to 16 ° C are allowed at night. 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 caring for 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, all the lower leaves should be removed. 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 appearance, every spring the soil in the greenhouse should be changed to a new one.
Pest control of tomatoes
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 directed at ripe fruits, but precisely at green and unripe ones. Catching these pests "hot" can be difficult, as they go out to feed mainly at night. The full name of this insect is the caterpillar of the garden scoop. It is large enough and can spoil a lot of the crop. Very small caterpillars eat only leaves, but as they grow older, they switch to tomato fruits.
If you see holes of various shapes on tomatoes, rest assured that caterpillars have been here. To get rid of annoying insects, special insecticides are used. It can also be biological products. Treating your bushes with these treatments 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 begin the fight at the first signs of defeat. To get rid of whitefly, tomatoes are sprayed with Confidor solution. To fight slugs, you need to loosen the soil in the tomato garden, and then sprinkle it with hot pepper. For 1 square meter, you 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 with 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 in the greenhouse itself, in the soil and in plant debris. Therefore, gardeners use various methods to prevent signs of disease in tomatoes.
To play it safe and be sure of getting a harvest, it is better to plant not one, but several varieties of tomatoes in one greenhouse. Each variety reacts differently to pathogens. It is also impossible to guess exactly which variety of tomatoes will be the best to bear fruit this year. 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 don't change the soil in your greenhouse every year, it is important to remember that tomatoes should not be planted after crops such as peppers, potatoes, and eggplant. They all belong to the nightshade family. And it is possible to plant such crops in the same soil only after 3 or 4 years.
To ensure that tomato seedlings receive enough light and air, they must be planted at a distance of about 50 cm. When caring for the plants, it is also necessary to observe hygiene of hands and equipment. This should be done in order not to spread the pathogens. First of all, you need to wash your hands thoroughly before working with plants and directly during caring for them. Also, do not forget about the cleanliness of the inventory. All shovels, hoes and hoses must be clean. If a new plant is planted in the greenhouse, then before that it must be processed. Observing 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 high moisture content of the soil that is the best breeding ground for fungal diseases. These include black leg, late blight, septoria and anthracnose.
Prevention against late blight is carried out even at the seedling stage. This disease has recently become widespread. Many cultures suffer from it, and even the most powerful 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 fungal population.
The fact is that a disease like late blight unites at least 50 different fungi. It is also called mold and brown rot. Late blight spreads due to low temperature and increased humidity. It is the water that carries the spores of the 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 measure late blight for spraying tomato seedlings, you can use the following substances:
- kefir;
- copper sulfate;
- Bordeaux liquid;
- infusion of garlic.
To prepare a kefir solution, you must mix 5 liters of water with 0.5 liters of kefir. This mixture should be sprayed on the bushes every 7 days.
To spray a tomato in a greenhouse with an infusion of garlic, you need to combine in one container:
- 1 cup 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, since the seedlings from them will be sluggish and quickly die. If the infection occurs later, then the root system and fruits most often suffer. To prevent the appearance 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 determine exactly whether this disease is bacterial or fungal. Appears blackleg 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, the plant dies as a result. To combat blackleg, use a pink manganese solution. You can also use purchased drugs, such as "Fitosporin", "Baktofit" and "Fitolavin".
Fungi also provoke the appearance of a disease such as septoria... It is manifested by the appearance of dirty white spots on the leaves. If treatment is not started on 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 fruits, the general condition of the bushes will not allow them to grow a good harvest.
To combat septoria, it is necessary to treat the bushes with fungicides 2 times a month. You need to be very careful when using these tools. They are effective in fighting disease, but they 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 the yield of tomatoes or even destroy the plants. Also, the quality and appearance of the fruit suffers 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 the tomato, as well as the fruits, are lignified. Because of this, the taste and appearance of the fruit deteriorates. The fight against this pathogen should be started immediately. To do this, it is necessary to carry out several stages of processing bushes:
- Insecticide treatment during planting of 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 enhance immunity. For this, organic and mineral fertilizers are used.
The next dangerous enemy of tomatoes is black bacterial spot... This disease can appear at various stages of tomato growth. The entire plant is covered with watery spots. Over time, these spots only grow and acquire a black color. To protect the 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 remove all remnants of last year's crops in the fall and spring and weeds... Antibiotics can help prevent black spot.You can spray the plants with a pharmaiod solution or Bordeaux mixture.
Wet rot bacteria are carried by insects... Infestation can be determined by pest bites. Watery spots appear on these fruits and the skin cracks, causing the tomatoes to rot. By carrying out the general prevention of tomatoes from fungi and viruses, you can protect your crop. Additionally, 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.
Spraying tomatoes for viral infections
Viral diseases are no less dangerous for tomatoes than fungal and bacterial ones. Viral infections may not appear immediately, making them harder to fight. The most common viral diseases are:
- aspermia or seedlessness;
- mosaic of tomatoes;
- internal necrosis;
- streak or streak.
The appearance of such diseases can provoke poor ventilation of the greenhouse, high soil moisture, and incorrect feeding regime. Viruses can remain in last year's plants or in seed for seedlings.
Noticing signs of 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
When planting tomatoes on their plot, all gardeners expect only the most generous harvest. But, it is important to remember that without proper care it is simply not feasible. Tomatoes respond well to the introduction of mineral and organic substances. Also, do not forget about the prevention of all kinds of diseases. Plants will certainly thank you for what you have done with beautiful and tasty fruits.
