Content
Growing tomato seedlings in recent years has become an urgent need for many from a simple hobby, because, on the one hand, you cannot always find seedlings of the exact variety of tomato you want to grow on the market, and on the other hand, its quality often leaves much to be desired.
But growing good strong tomato seedlings is not an easy task, especially in urban apartments. Very often, especially novice gardeners are faced with the fact that the seedlings grow thin, frail, and strongly stretch. What to do? And many come to the decision that it is necessary to feed her, and begin to do this often and in disproportionate quantities. But feeding tomato seedlings is a very delicate matter, and it is easier to harm here than to help. Before you do something, you need to figure out when, how and what is the best way to feed tomato seedlings, and whether it should be done at all.
When feeding is not needed
If you have planted tomato seeds in self-made soil according to a proven recipe or in specialized purchased soil of good quality from a reliable manufacturer, then most likely there is no need to think about how to feed tomato seedlings until they are planted in the soil of a greenhouse or on a garden bed. It is quite enough for the good growth of those nutrients that were laid in the soil. Especially if, when picking, you changed the soil to a more nutritious one, and even added a spoonful of some kind of organic fertilizer to each individual pot.
In most cases, it is because of the violation of the conditions for keeping the seedlings that their appearance is far from perfect. What exactly influences the growth and development of tomato seedlings the most?
There are three main factors that most gardeners, of course, know about, but for some reason they act on the basis of their purely human ideas about what is better and what is worse, and not from what plants really need, in this case, tomato seedlings ...
Sunshine comes first. Or at least artificial light. But there must be a lot or a lot of it.
In the future, tomato seedlings simply need a night's rest, otherwise there will really be problems with chlorosis on the leaves. Without a sufficient amount of light, the seedlings will be thin and elongated, and fertilizers are unlikely to help, except that special means, such as immunostimulants (Epin, Zircon), which help plants to survive adverse conditions.
In second place is temperature. The most common mistake, especially for novice gardeners, is that they continue to keep tomato seedlings after sprouting at the same fairly high temperature as when the seeds germinate. And if there is still little light, then such seedlings will never look thick and strong.
The secret to good root formation and further rapid development is to lower temperature of the content of tomato seedlings immediately after germination by 5-6 degrees during the day, and 8-10 degrees at night.The difference between day and night temperatures is also very desirable. This regime must be maintained for several weeks, before the first pick of tomato seedlings. In principle, there will be nothing wrong if this period falls on sunny weather, when the temperature cannot be lowered on a sunny window during the day. Sunlight will redeem it all. And at night in this case, the more desirable is the cool content of the seedlings.
The third factor is soil moisture or watering. Here, the most common mistake is overflowing tomato seedlings in the first days, weeks and even months of her life. Not only that, it is overflow that is the most common cause of seedling death from the so-called black leg. If she still managed to survive, but the overflow continues, the leaves may begin to turn yellow.
And inexperienced gardeners may decide that the seedlings are starving and start feeding them urgently. Watering tomatoes is necessary only when the top layer of the earth is thoroughly dry.
It should also be noted that fertilizer for tomato seedlings is not needed until the first true leaves open, and this usually coincides with the first pick.
Symptoms of starving tomato seedlings
Before figuring out what types of fertilizers exist for feeding tomato seedlings, as well as when and how they should be used, you need to pay attention to the appearance of the plants. Usually, the state of the leaves and stems already suggests what tomatoes need (or not need) in the first place.
- If the seedlings look dull, and the lower leaves turn yellow and begin to fall off, there is a lack of nitrogen. It is this element that the plant can independently transfer from less needed areas (lower leaves) to more needed ones (upper leaves), in which intensive growth takes place.
But it is with nitrogen feeding that it is also very important not to overdo it. Indeed, in the best case, the seedlings will look great with thick stems and fat and beautiful leaves, but they will bear very little fruit, and it is better not to count on a large harvest. And in the worst case, seedlings overfed with nitrogen, planted in the ground, will be attacked by many diseases and may even die, since overfeeding with nitrogen greatly weakens the immunity of plants. By the way, the symptoms of a strong nitrogen overfeeding at the seedling stage are twisting of young leaves and their fragility. - Disadvantage phosphorus familiar, perhaps to many. Seedlings become purple, especially on the underside of the leaves, on stems or leaf veins. A purple hue is also a known sign that tomato roots are cold. But these are all links in the same chain, because of the cold, the roots cannot assimilate phosphorus.
- Lack of potassium is rare in seedlings before planting in the ground, but it manifests itself in the fact that the upper leaves become curly or wrinkled, and on the lower leaves along the edges, starting from the tips of the leaves, a light stripe appears, which then turns black and the leaf dries up.
- A lack of iron (chlorosis) can occur just among those gardeners who believe that the more light, the better, and for a long time they light up the seedlings around the clock. Namely at night, in the dark, the accumulated nutrients are processed and assimilated. Chlorosis manifests itself as yellowing, or rather whitening of the leaf, while the veins remain green. Usually starts from the top leaves.
- The lack of magnesium also manifests itself in chlorosis, but unlike the signs with a lack of iron, the color of the leaves from yellow becomes darker, reddish or purple. The veins also remain green. The difference is that chlorosis with a lack of magnesium begins with the lower leaves.
- Boron deficiency can begin to manifest itself at the flowering stage, while the fruits are poorly tied, the ovaries fall off.
- Lack of calcium also rarely manifests itself on seedlings, it leads already at the stage of fruit formation to the appearance of tomatoes with apical rot (gray or brown top). Often it is the excessive doses of nitrogen that lead to a lack of calcium, since they impede its absorption.
The lack of other trace elements is practically not found on seedlings and can occur only in developed fruiting tomatoes.
Fertilizers: which to use and when
Asking the question “How to feed tomato seedlings so that they are plump and strong?”, All the above factors must be taken into account. If the condition of the seedlings still bothers you, then you need to understand that several types of fertilizers are used to feed tomatoes, which will be discussed below.
Mineral fertilizers
Mineral fertilizers are one, two, three compound or complex, that is, they contain all three main macronutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and many microelements.
If you do not know how to feed tomato seedlings, but you definitely want to do this, then it is best to use complex fertilizers. They have everything that tomatoes need, and there is no need to think about additional feeding. Complex fertilizers are of three types: liquid, granules and water-soluble powder or granules.
Fertilizers of the first type are the most convenient to use, but often the most expensive. The most popular among gardeners are Effekton, Uniflor Rost, Gumi Kuznetsova, Agricola and Ideal. Some (Effekton, Gumi Kuznetsova) also contain humic acids, which increase plant immunity and have a beneficial effect on root growth.
Water-soluble granules or powder dissolves quite easily in water, and this ready-made solution is used for glaze seedlings. The most popular fertilizers of this type are Kemira-Lux, Mortar, Strong.
Conventional granules are used for transplanting seedlings or preparing potting soil. They are mixed with the soil to planting tomatoes and their action is usually more prolonged than that of similar liquid fertilizers. The most famous fertilizers of this type are Universal and Senior Tomato. If you want to use these fertilizers as an additional feeding, this can be done by mixing them with water, but it is necessary to take into account that they dissolve for a long time, several hours.
When choosing a specific fertilizer, keep in mind that the most optimal ratio of the main macronutrients in a complex fertilizer for tomato seedlings should be approximately as follows: 25% nitrogen, 35% phosphorus and 40% potassium.
If it turns out that the seedlings lack a certain element, then it is imperative to use a one-component fertilizer for feeding tomatoes.
With a lack of nitrogen, a solution of urea or ammonium nitrate is used. Dilute two grams in 5 liters of water.
To replenish the phosphorus deficiency, a superphosphate solution is used. Dissolve 16 grams in 5 liters of water.
In case of a lack of potassium, a solution of potassium sulfate is used: 6 grams per 5 liters of water.
To replenish phosphorus and potassium, it is very effective to use a solution of wood ash. For its preparation, 5 tablespoons of pre-sifted ash are dissolved in 5 liters of water. Insist 3-5 days.
Organic fertilizers
The main types of organic fertilizers include the following:
- Manure;
- Bird droppings;
- Humus;
- Compost;
- Sawdust;
- Peat;
- Biohumus.
The overwhelming majority of these types of fertilizers are mainly intended for growing mature plants in the greenhouse and open field.Only Biohumus is ideal for feeding seedlings, which, moreover, is often sold packaged in liquid form, therefore it is most convenient for use.
Folk remedies for feeding tomato seedlings
Are you thinking about how to feed tomato seedlings? Why, for this you can use the simplest means that any housewife has at the disposal, and many simply throw them away thoughtlessly, not knowing what benefit they can bring.
For example, banana peel is a real source of the very potassium that tomatoes need most from macronutrients. To prepare a valuable top dressing for your tomato seedlings, you need to place the peel from several bananas in a three-liter jar of warm water, leave for 3 days, strain and water the plants with the resulting liquid once a week.
Eggshells are an excellent source of calcium and some trace minerals. The shell of 3-4 eggs must be crushed, then soaked in 3 liters of warm water. Cap loosely and place in the dark for 3 days. When the solution becomes cloudy and an unpleasant odor appears (hydrogen sulfide is released), they can be poured over tomato seedlings.
Lovers coffee will certainly appreciate the feeding of seedlings with coffee grounds. It is usually mixed with soil when transplanting seedlings into new containers. The coffee grounds play the role of a baking powder, and also enrich the soil with microelements.
Infusion of onion peels plays the role of more remedy for pests than top dressing. Nevertheless, soak 10 g of husk in 1 liter of water and leave for 5 days. This solution can be used to water seedlings.
The use of iodine helps to accelerate the ripening of fruits, and is also a good preventive measure against late blight. You can use a pure iodine solution - dissolve 3 ml of an ordinary alcoholic solution of iodine in 10 liters of water. But it will be more effective to use an iodine solution in conjunction with serum. To do this, 1 liter of whey is mixed with 9 liters of water, 20 drops of iodine are added to the resulting solution, and mixed well. It is good to spray with this solution both seedlings and adult tomato bushes in the open field.
Finally, as a growth stimulant for seedlings, ordinary yeast... Both fresh and dry will do. To do this, dissolve 100 g of fresh yeast well in 10 liters of water and immediately pour the seedlings with the resulting liquid. There is a slightly different way of using dry yeast. Mix one bag with 2 tablespoons of sugar, add a little warm water, stir, and dissolve the resulting mixture in 10 liters of water.
General recommendations for feeding tomato seedlings
Now you know how you can fertilize tomato seedlings and you can choose the fertilizer that is most convenient for you. It remains to tell when and how best to feed.
Tomatoes should have a few true leaves by this time. At this point, it is best to use a complex fertilizer containing the main elements in approximately equal doses. In the future, if there are no obvious signs of starvation, which were discussed above, it is better to feed it a little, but more often. For example, once a week water the seedlings 1/2 dose of any complex fertilizer recommended in the instructions. You will definitely not harm with such top dressing, and the tomatoes will receive everything they need.
It must be understood that seedlings can only be fed on wet ground, in order to avoid burns to the root system. Therefore, on the day of feeding, tomatoes must be watered several hours before the procedure. If the soil is moist, no pre-watering is required.
The morning hours are ideal for both watering and feeding seedlings, so that on sunny days you do not get burned from drops on the leaves, and on cloudy days the plants will have time to absorb moisture before the onset of a cold night.
Thus, if you combine the creation of an enabling environment for growth and development of seedlings tomatoes with her dressing, you will certainly get a rich harvest of tasty and healthy tomatoes.
