Most experienced vegetable growers know that it is recommended to fertilize the soil when planting tomato seedlings. Some people doubt whether feeding is necessary. This procedure must be carried out in order to grow healthy bushes in the future.
Also, regular fertilizing will increase the amount of harvest and provide good protection against various diseases.Before growing tomatoes, you need to figure out how to feed tomato seedlings.
Start of feeding
Before feeding tomato seedlings after planting, you should find out when to do it. Many novice vegetable growers do not know when to start feeding seedlings. To understand this, you need to understand in advance the timing of fertilizer application.
The first feeding of tomato seedlings should be carried out after the first seedlings have germinated. Also, many experts advise applying fertilizers to tomatoes if it is not possible to create suitable growing conditions.
The first feeding of tomatoes is carried out to protect them from diseases. If the vegetable grower does not want to feed the tomato seedlings for the first time, then in the future they may suffer from late blight.
After about a week, feeding the tomato seedlings is carried out a second time. To do this, you can use a complex fertilizer for tomatoes, consisting of organic substances. Many gardeners use Agricol, which contains nutrients that young tomato bushes need. All subsequent fertilizers for tomatoes are carried out after 10-20 days.
The amount of fertilizing when growing tomatoes directly depends on the conditions in which they grow. There are only two mandatory procedures:
- The first feeding of tomatoes is carried out during the formation of bushes a few weeks after transplantation;
- the second is performed 2 weeks after the first.
Signs of nutritional deficiencies
Before you start figuring out what to feed tomatoes and how to properly feed seedlings, you need to familiarize yourself with the main symptoms of starvation of young seedlings. To do this, it is recommended to regularly pay attention to the thick stems and leaves of tomatoes.This will help you understand what fertilizers are needed for tomatoes.
Nitrogen deficiency
With a serious nitrogen deficiency, pale tomato seedlings grow with yellow leaves at the bottom of the bush. This element is very important for grown tomatoes, since with its help the bush develops and grows faster.
Every vegetable grower should know how to fertilize tomatoes with nitrogen. You need to apply this fertilizer to the soil very carefully so as not to overdo it. By adding plenty of nitrogen, thin seedlings will look better. Its stems will become much thicker and its leaves more beautiful.
However, such a bush will bear fruit very poorly. In some cases, the use of nitrogen fertilizer for tomato seedlings negatively affects its health. Young bushes often begin to get sick and die over time. Therefore, before feeding tomatoes, you need to figure out in advance how to properly feed seedlings and decide on the optimal dosage.
If tomatoes are overfed with nitrogen, their leaves will begin to curl and become more fragile.
Phosphorus deficiency
Many people do not know what fertilizers to feed purple tomato seedlings. Tomato bushes turn this color due to a lack of phosphorus. First, the color changes on the lower leaves and gradually spreads to the remaining leaves. Some believe that weak seedlings turn purple because they are cold. However, low temperature and lack of phosphorus are interrelated, since in cold conditions the roots are not able to absorb this substance.
Therefore, before applying fertilizing, it is recommended to make sure that the temperature is not too low.
Potassium deficiency
Before fertilizing tomato seedlings with potassium, you need to familiarize yourself with the symptoms of its deficiency.First, the leaves in the upper part of the bushes begin to change. They shrink and become curly. Over time, symptoms begin to appear on the lower leaves, which gradually darken and dry out.
Iron deficiency
Quite often this problem occurs in plants that are planted under bright light. Growing tomatoes under constant light can interfere with the processing and absorption of some nutritional components. It is because of this that iron deficiency appears over time. This leads to the fact that tomato seedlings gradually turn yellow, starting from the upper leaves. After the first signs appear, components containing a lot of iron are added to the tomato fertilizer.
Magnesium deficiency
The preparations used to feed tomato seedlings must contain magnesium, since its deficiency can negatively affect the health of the bushes. The leaves below begin to gradually darken. Some of them take on a purple or reddish tint.
Calcium deficiency
Most fertilizers for tomato seedlings contain a lot of calcium, so deficiency of this component is not so common. Its deficiency is not always clearly evident on the bushes. Most often, the first signs appear during the formation of fruits. Their tops are gradually covered with brown or gray rot.
Organic fertilizers
Before feeding tomatoes, you need to figure out what fertilizers to apply for spring and autumn feeding. Quite often minerals are used for this. This supplement consists of natural ingredients that contain iron, nitrogen, magnesium phosphorus and many other useful elements. After familiarizing yourself with various fertilizers, you can determine what is best to feed the seedlings.
Manure
Many vegetable growers prefer to feed tomatoes with manure after planting. It is not recommended to use it fresh, as it may contain a large number of harmful bacteria that will harm the bushes. It is better to use manure that has settled for 1-2 years. This product is ideal for enriching most soils.
When tomato seedlings are fed with settled manure for the first time, about 10 kg of the substance is added per square meter of the area where they are planted. This fertilizer is also used in liquid form for tomato seedlings. To do this, add 2-5 kg of manure to 10 liters of water and mix thoroughly. You need to prepare the mixture for tomato seedlings several weeks before using it.
Manure is known to have an unpleasant odor, which many people do not like. To get rid of it, it is recommended to add 300 g of silica or 550 g of superphosphate to the barrel of fertilizer.
Peat
Not everyone knows what to feed tomato seedlings to help them grow better. To do this, you can use peat fertilizer, which tomatoes love.
Before feeding tomatoes with peat, you need to familiarize yourself with its features. This substance does not contain a large number of elements, but it improves the physiological properties of the soil and increases the amount of humus. Soil fertilized with peat becomes lighter and more porous.
Feeding for seedlings can be made from different peat. It differs in the degree of its decomposition and can be:
- Lowland. Consists of completely decomposed plants. Many gardeners use it when creating composts to feed the soil. It is recommended for use when growing exotic plants and vegetables.
- Horse.It consists of parts of plants that have poorly decomposed. Most often, high-moor peat is used for mulching the soil, and not for fertilizing.
- Transition. It is in an intermediate state between lowland and highland. It is used during the preparation of composts, which include manure, ash, bird droppings and mineral fertilizers.
If peat will be used to mulch the soil, then before use it must be spread out in the sun and dried. Before being used as fertilizer, peat is placed in a compost heap in the spring and rots over several months. To improve the fertile properties of the soil, two buckets of peat are consumed per square meter of land. At the same time, it should be added to the soil not in the spring, but in the fall.
Bird droppings
Many people, when they think about what kind of fertilizer can be used to feed tomato seedlings, think about bird droppings. It is a good fertilizer that is used quite often.
Before feeding tomato seedlings with manure, you need to familiarize yourself with the peculiarities of preparing fertilizers. To do everything correctly, it is recommended to observe the following proportions:
- no more than 0.2 kg of dry manure is consumed per square meter of soil;
- About 0.5 kg of raw manure is consumed per square meter of soil.
The above standards are average and depend on the manufacturer. When using store-bought bird droppings, you must strictly follow the instructions.
Compost
If a person does not know how to fertilize tomatoes, then we can recommend compost. It contains various organic fertilizers that tomato seedlings need so much. Quite often it is used as the first feeding of seedlings.
When preparing compost, wood sawdust, leaves, peat and shavings are placed in several layers at the bottom of the container. To increase the value of the fertilizer, you can add several kilograms of potassium salt and superphosphate. The mixture is then moistened and mixed every day. You can only use compost that has been infused for 5-10 months.
There are two main types of compost:
- From manure. To prepare this fertilizer for tomatoes, you need to mix manure with peat and soil in a ratio of 5:1:1. Then the mixture is filled with water and left to infuse for 5-7 months.
- From plants. To create such compost, fallen leaves, weeds and any other grass are used. All components are mixed with soil, filled with water and covered with a lid. The mixture is used only a year after preparation.
Bone flour
Quite often it is used during a lack of phosphorus or calcium. About three kilograms of flour are consumed per square meter of soil. You can also prepare an aqueous solution from it, which is most often used in the spring. To do this, one kilogram of the substance is filled with 10-15 liters of hot water. Then the mixture is thoroughly mixed and infused for a week. After this, the solution is diluted again with water in a ratio of 1:10 and filtered with gauze. Fertilizer is applied during the day to tomatoes once a month.
Use of drugs
Having figured out when to feed the seedlings, you can begin to choose the appropriate fertilizer. Not everyone knows how to feed tomato seedlings so that the bushes have plump stems. Quite often special preparations are used for this.
Crystalon
Many vegetable growers use crystallon in the spring.This complex fertilizer includes phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen. This drug is sold in solution and dry form. The first option is very convenient to use when fertilizing large seedlings. For younger seedlings it is better to use dry crystallon.
Emerald
If young tomato bushes begin to turn yellow from insufficient nutrients, then it is recommended to use Emerald. It was developed to enhance seedling nutrition and remove yellowness. The main elements of the drug are magnesium and nitrogen. Emerald can be applied to the plant using a sprayer or used as root feeding.
Fertica
The drug is very popular among many gardeners. It contains potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen and many other useful microelements. Fetricia is quite a strong remedy, so before use it must be diluted with water according to the instructions. A properly prepared solution has a pale pinkish color.
Folk remedies
Many vegetable growers use folk remedies when fertilizing seedlings in the spring. There are several most common folk methods of feeding tomatoes.
Yeast
Many people make their own yeast fertilizers. You can do this in two ways:
- Add a tablespoon of sugar and a packet of yeast to a glass of heated water. Then the mixture is stirred and 15 liters of water are added to it. One liter of yeast is consumed per plant bush.
- A small jar is filled halfway with bread and water. After this, 100 g of fresh yeast is added to the mixture. To obtain high-quality fertilizer, the solution must be infused for one week. After this, it is filtered with gauze and diluted with 5-10 liters of water.To feed one adult bush you will need two liters of yeast mixture, and for a young bush - half a liter.
Mullein
This solution is recommended to be used in parallel with other folk remedies. Preparing mullein fertilizer is not that difficult. To do this, pour half a bucket of manure with boiled water, cover with a lid and leave to infuse in a warm room for about a week. Then the mixture is stirred and diluted with 15 liters of water. During feeding, no more than a liter of mixture is consumed per bush.
Nettle
This remedy is prepared from young nettle leaves. To prepare the solution, nettle is poured with water and infused for two weeks. Before use, the infusion is diluted with 5 liters of water. About two liters of nettle liquid are consumed per bush.
Conclusion
To grow tomato seedlings at home, you need to familiarize yourself with the features of its fertilizer. The feeding scheme for tomatoes is quite simple, so anyone can handle fertilizing seedlings. To do this, just carefully study when and what to feed tomato seedlings.
