Top dressing of tomatoes in a polycarbonate greenhouse

Both humans and plants need food for a comfortable existence. Tomatoes are no exception. Proper feeding of tomatoes in the greenhouse is the key to a bountiful harvest of tasty and healthy fruits.

The tomato belongs to plants with average nutritional requirements. On different soils, these needs can be very different. On fertile, especially chernozem soils, they will be small. On poor soils with a low humus content, tomatoes need fertilizers to a greater extent.

The main nutrients of tomatoes

Physiological studies show that tomato plants consume about 50 different chemical elements for their vital functions. All nutrients consumed by plants can be divided into macro and micronutrients.

Macronutrients

Macronutrients include the following substances.

• Carbon - comes to tomatoes from the air through the leaves and through the roots from compounds in the soil, an important component of the photosynthesis process. Organic fertilizers, introduced into the soil, increase the content of carbon dioxide in the near-earth layer of the air, which accelerates photosynthesis, and, consequently, increases the yield.
• Oxygen - participates in the respiration of tomatoes, in the metabolism. The lack of oxygen in the soil not only causes the death of beneficial soil microorganisms, but can also cause the death of the plant. Loosen the top layer of the soil near the tomatoes to enrich it with oxygen.
• Nitrogen - the most important element for the nutrition of tomatoes, is a constituent of all plant tissues. It cannot be absorbed from the air, therefore, the introduction of nitrogen from the outside is required. Nitrogen is well absorbed by tomatoes only with a neutral or slightly acidic soil reaction. If the soil has a high acidity, liming is necessary.
• Phosphorus - affects the growth and development of tomatoes, especially the root system, it is also important during the period of budding and fruit formation. Phosphorus is an inactive element. Its salts dissolve poorly and slowly pass into a state accessible to plants. Most of the phosphorus is assimilated by tomatoes from the stocks brought in last season.
  
  Phosphate fertilizers need to be applied annually to maintain soil fertility.
• Potassium. It is most needed by tomatoes during the period of fruit formation. Helps grow both the root system and the leaves and stem. The addition of potassium will help tomatoes become resistant to various diseases, endure any stress without loss.

The main phosphate-potassium fertilizers and their benefits for plants are presented in the video:

Trace elements

These elements are so named because they are consumed in small quantities by plants, including tomatoes. But for proper nutrition of tomatoes, they are needed no less and the lack of each of them can affect not only their development, but also the harvest. The most important elements for tomatoes are the following: calcium, magnesium, boron, molybdenum, sulfur, zinc. therefore fertilizer for tomatoes in the greenhouse should include not only macro, but also microelements.

Types of feeding tomatoes in the greenhouse

All top dressing of tomatoes in a polycarbonate greenhouse and in a film greenhouse are divided into root and foliar.

Root dressing is most effective on a waning moon, since it is at this time that all plant juices are directed to the roots, which grow vigorously.Since the greenhouse creates its own special microclimate due to low air circulation, root dressings for tomatoes are preferable, since they do not increase the humidity in the air, and this is important for the prevention of late blight.

Foliar dressing of tomatoes is carried out on the growing moon, it is at this time that the leaves are best able to assimilate the substances introduced with nutrient solutions. What fertilizers does it mean foliar feeding of tomatoes in the greenhouse? Usually, such a procedure is an ambulance for tomatoes, it is designed to quickly compensate for the lack of any nutrient. It helps quickly, but unlike root feeding, it does not last long.

The video shows how the lack of different nutrients affects tomatoes:

Caring for tomatoes in case of a lack of any micro or macronutrient will consist of foliar feeding with a solution containing this element. For feeding, any water-soluble fertilizer is suitable, which contains the substance most needed by tomatoes at the moment.

Such it can be during the fruiting period. During the growth of leaf mass and flowering, it should be even less and amount to 0.4% and 0.6%, respectively.

Foliar dressing is best done in the late afternoon, when the absorption capacity of tomato leaves is at its maximum.

The amount of root dressing in the greenhouse depends on several factors:

• soil fertility;
• type of soil;
• the amount of starting fertilizer;
• the state of the seedlings when disembarking;
• on what varieties are grown there - determinant or indeterminate, as well as on the intensity of the variety, that is, its ability to produce a large yield.

Fertility of the soil and its preparation in the fall

Soil fertility is an important factor for the successful vegetation of plants. If the soil is poor, a sufficient amount of organic matter will be required during its autumn preparation. Depending on the fertility, 5 to 15 kilograms of humus or well-rotted compost are introduced into the soil per square meter of the greenhouse.

Plants overfed with nitrogen will not only not give a high yield, but will also become easy prey for pathogenic bacteria, of which there are many in fresh manure.

If you scattered compost or humus before digging, do not forget to spill the soil with a 0.5% solution of copper sulfate. This will not only disinfect the soil, but also enrich it with the necessary copper. Since autumn, the soil is also filled with superphosphate - from 50 to 80 grams per square meter.

Potash and nitrogen fertilizers it is better to apply in the spring, when preparing the soil for planting seedlings.

They can be brought in in autumn only to polycarbonate greenhouses, there is no snow in them in winter. You will need 40 grams of potassium salt per square meter. It is better if potassium is sulfate, since tomatoes do not like the chlorine contained in potassium chloride.

Soil type and adjustment

Caring for tomatoes includes preparing the soil that is optimal for their development. The soil is most suitable for growing tomatoes, must meet the following conditions:

• contain enough, but not excessively organic components;
• keep moisture well;
• easy to get saturated with air;
• the soil must have optimal acidity.

If tomatoes are planted after crops for which a lot of organic matter was introduced, one should refrain from introducing it in the fall.Sandy loam or loamy soils are best suited for growing tomatoes. Sandy soils dry out very quickly, so clay is added to them to increase its moisture content. Clay soils are poorly saturated with air, so sand will have to be added to them.

Tomatoes are tolerant of the acidity of the soil and grow well at its value from 5.5 to 7.5, but they are most comfortable at a pH of 5.6 to 6.0. If the soil does not meet these requirements, it should be limed. Liming should be carried out in the fall.

Lime removes nitrogen from organic matter, because when humus or manure and lime are mixed, ammonia is formed, which simply evaporates into the air.

Top dressing of tomatoes when planting seedlings

Caring for tomatoes in a greenhouse begins with preparing planting holes for tomatoes.

Fertilizers for tomatoes in a greenhouse when planting seedlings are an indispensable element for the proper development of plants. A handful of humus and two tablespoons of ash are added to the planting holes. Building up the root system of the seedlings will provide the phosphate fertilizer added in the fall.

Tips from experienced gardeners:

• it is good to add ground eggshell to the hole when planting - a source of calcium;
• sometimes one small raw fish is added to the holes - a source of phosphorus and trace elements available to plants - this is how the ancient Indians did; in the video you can see more about this exotic fertilization method:
   
• The bread crusts are insisted in water for a week and poured over the wells with a diluted solution, thereby the soil is enriched with nitrogen, and the air with carbon dioxide.

Seedling condition during planting and feeding

Weak seedlings will require additional feeding during the initial period after planting. This is nitrogen - for growing leaf mass and phosphorus - for rapid root growth. Humic fertilizers will also help tomatoes in this, when they are used, the roots grow much faster. Foliar top dressing with these fertilizers will be most effective.

Intensity of dressings for different varieties of tomatoes

Determinant varieties of tomatoes require less nutrition for their development than indeterminate varieties, since they are smaller in size. Intensive varieties for the formation of a large yield require intensive feeding. For varieties with low yields, their number should be less.

What kind mineral fertilizers for tomatoes are the best? There is no exact answer to this question. The best fertilizer will be the one that the tomatoes need most at the moment.

Proper care of tomatoes in a greenhouse is impossible without mineral fertilizing. In order not to get confused and not to miss anything, it is best to draw up a schedule or feeding scheme. The most suitable fertilizer for tomatoes should have a percentage ratio: nitrogen-10, phosphorus-5, potassium-20. It must be water-soluble and contain a set of trace elements necessary for tomatoes. There are many types of such fertilizers. For example, "Solution", "Harvest", "For tomatoes", "Sudarushka".

Each gardener himself makes the choice of the fertilizer that is available to him.

Advice from experienced gardeners: the first feeding of greenhouse tomatoes is done when the tomatoes on the lower brush become the size of an average plum.

Schedule of root dressing of tomatoes in the greenhouse

Typically, tomatoes are planted in the greenhouse with the first blooming brush. Usually, seedlings are planted in early May. Therefore, the first root feeding coincides with the first ten days of June. If the seedlings are weak, the first feeding should be done with a foliar solution of nitrogen fertilizer to build up a leaf mass with the addition of humate for better root growth. Further feeding should be carried out once a decade, ending in the first decade of August. It is easy to calculate that you will need 7 root dressings.

The most obvious way is to put all the dressings in a table.

Two additional dressings with calcium nitrate are necessary for the prevention of tomato apical rot. When added to solution calcium nitrate we reduce the rate of solution by 10 grams. Humate is compatible with complex fertilizer, so it can be added to a bucket of solution rather than diluted with water.

It is carried out after feeding, spilling the entire garden well.

In July and August, spill all the soil in the garden with water and fertilizer, and not just under the bushes, since the root system is growing by that time.

You can also take care of tomatoes by feeding tomatoes in a greenhouse with folk remedies. A very good means of increasing the yield and immunity of tomatoes is green fertilizer. How to prepare and apply it, you can watch the video:

Proper care of tomatoes and top dressing made on time are guaranteed to provide the gardener with a large harvest of tasty and healthy fruits.

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