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Everyone who grows tomatoes in the garden wants to get in gratitude for their labors a lot of delicious vegetables. However, on the way to getting the harvest, the gardener can face many troubles and problems. One of them is low soil fertility and lack of microelements for plant development. The situation of "starvation" can be corrected with the help of various dressings and fertilizers. So, for feeding tomatoes, farmers often use calcium nitrate.
What is calcium nitrate
Saltpeter is widely available to farmers. Its application has been established on an industrial scale for feeding various agricultural plants. Fertilizer is a nitric acid salt based mineral. There are several types of nitrate: ammonium, sodium, barium, potassium and calcium. By the way, barium nitrate, unlike all other types, is not used in agriculture.
That is why, when applying fertilizer, it is necessary to observe the timing and dosage of use. This will eliminate the accumulation of the substance in plants and fruits, prevent the negative effects of the substance.
When top dressing tomato in everyday life, ammonia and potash saltpeter, emphasizing that it is these substances that are most important for plant growth and fruiting. However, not many people know that calcium also important for tomatoes. It allows for better absorption of other substances contained in the soil. Without calcium, feeding tomatoes can be meaningless, since the transportation and absorption of trace elements will be impaired.
Calcium nitrate, or as it is also called calcium nitrate, calcium nitrate, contains 19% calcium and 13% nitrogen. Fertilizer is used to feed tomatoes at various stages of cultivation, from growing tomato seedlings to harvesting.
Fertilizer is in the form of granules, crystals of white or gray color. They are odorless and quickly caked when the storage regime is violated. In a humid environment, calcium nitrate exhibits hygroscopicity. The fertilizer is highly soluble in water; when used, it does not oxidize the soil. Nitrate can be used for feeding tomatoes on any type of soil.
The effect of the substance on plants
Calcium nitrate is a unique fertilizer because it contains calcium in a water-soluble form. It allows you to easily and quickly assimilate the second mineral of fat - nitrogen. It is this combination of calcium and nitrogen that allows tomatoes to grow lush and healthy.
It should be noted that nitrogen is responsible for the growth and development of plants, but calcium itself plays an equally important role in the process of plant vegetation. It helps the roots absorb nutrients and moisture from the soil. In the absence of calcium, the roots of tomatoes simply cease to perform their function and rot. In the process of reducing the concentration of calcium in the soil, the transport of substances from the root to the leaves is disturbed, as a result of which one can observe the wilting of old and drying out of young leaves. With a lack of calcium, dry edges and brown spots appear on the leaf plates of tomato.
A sufficient amount of calcium nitrate in the soil has a number of positive effects:
- accelerates seed germination;
- makes plants more resistant to diseases and pests;
- makes tomatoes resistant to low temperatures;
- improves the taste of vegetables and increases productivity.
Thus, it is possible to restore the lack of calcium in the soil and activate the growth of tomatoes, to make the harvest tasty and abundant with the help of calcium nitrate.
Top dressing of seedlings
The properties of calcium nitrate are especially valuable. for tomato seedlings, after all, it is young plants that need active growth of green mass and successful, early rooting. Nitrogen-calcium dressing is used after 2-3 true leaves appear on the plant. The substance is used in dissolved form for root feeding and spraying of leaves.
It is necessary to spray the leaves of tomato seedlings with a solution prepared according to the recipe: 2 g of calcium nitrate per 1 liter of water. The spraying procedure can be repeated many times, with a frequency of 10-15 days. Such a measure will allow tomato seedlings not only to develop better, but also protect them from black leg, fungus.
Calcium nitrate for feeding tomato seedlings under the root it is rational to use in combination with other mineral trace elements and nutrients. So, fertilizer is often used, prepared by adding 20 g of calcium nitrate to a bucket of water. Urea in the amount of 10 g and wood ash in the amount of 100 g are used as additional components in the solution. This mixture is complex, since it contains all the substances necessary for tomatoes, including potassium and phosphorus. You should use the nutrient mixture in the process of growing tomato seedlings twice: when 2 leaves appear and after 10 days after the pick seedlings.
Application after planting tomatoes
In the process of preparing the soil for planting tomato seedlings, you can use calcium nitrate. This substance is introduced into the soil during spring digging or during the formation of holes. Fertilizer consumption is 20 g per plant. Nitrate can be added to the soil dry.
It is necessary to fertilize tomatoes in open and protected ground with calcium nitrate after 8-10 days from the day of planting of seedlings. The substance is introduced by spraying. For this, a 1% solution is prepared by adding 10 g of fertilizer to a liter of water. Excessive concentration has a negative effect on young plants. To carry out such foliar top dressing tomato recommended regularly every 2 weeks. During the period of active formation of ovaries, such foliar feeding of tomatoes is not used.
In the process of ovary formation and ripening of vegetables, calcium nitrate is used as an additional component in complex fertilizer. For example, many gardeners for feeding tomatoes use a solution obtained by adding 500 ml of mullein and 20 g of calcium nitrate to a bucket of water. After stirring, the solution is used to water the plants. Such fertilization significantly improves the composition of the soil, making the structure of heavy soil more acceptable to plants. At the same time, tomato roots receive more oxygen, the growth of green mass is accelerated, and the process of root formation is improved.
Feeding adult plants with calcium must be carried out periodically, since as tomatoes grow, they absorb substances, depleting the soil. Also, during the growing season, tomatoes may show signs of calcium deficiency. In this case, root feeding is used to restore plants: 10 g of calcium nitrate per bucket of water. Watering is carried out on the basis of 500 ml for each plant.
Drip irrigation of plants with a solution of calcium nitrate under the root is a convenient and affordable method of fertilizing tomato plantings of large areas.
Top rot
This disease quite often affects tomatoes in the open field, but sometimes it also occurs in a greenhouse environment. The disease manifests itself on immature, green tomatoes. Small, watery, brown specks form on the tops of these fruits during formation and ripening. Over time, they begin to grow and cover more and more areas on the surface of the tomato. The color of the affected parts changes, becoming light brown. The tomato skin dries out and resembles a dense film.
One of the causes of apical rot is a lack of calcium. The situation can be corrected by applying any type of feeding with the addition of calcium nitrate.
You can learn more about the disease and methods of dealing with it from the video:
Storage rules
Saltpeter with calcium is widely available to the general consumer. It can be found on the shelves of agricultural stores in sealed bags weighing from 0.5 to 2 kg. When there is no need to use all the fertilizer at once, then you need to take care of the correct storage of the substance, given its hygroscopicity, caking, explosion and fire hazard.
Store calcium nitrate in sealed plastic bags in a room with moderate humidity. Place bags with the substance away from sources of open fire. When working with calcium nitrate, you should take care of personal protective equipment.
Calcium nitrate is an affordable, inexpensive, and most importantly, an effective means of feeding tomatoes. It can be used at all stages of plant vegetation, starting from the moment 2 true leaves appear. The substance is used for feeding tomatoes in the greenhouse and in the open field. With the help of fertilization, young plants take root well after transplanting, successfully and quickly build up green mass, and form many tasty fruits. However, to obtain such a result, the rules and norms for the introduction of the substance should be strictly observed in order not to burn the plants and get not only tasty, but also healthy vegetables without nitrates.
