Good afternoon, my reader. After processing tomatoes, especially pinching and thinning, a lot of greenery remains. During the season, these procedures are constantly repeated. Don't throw away the tops. It will certainly come in handy. Tomato greens perfectly repel harmful insects and serve as an excellent fertilizer.
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Use to prevent parasites
The plant contains the poisonous compound solanine, which is effective against many pests. The foliage protects against:
- aphids;
- Colorado potato beetle;
- garden ants;
- spider mite.
Foliage, shoots and stems are suitable for preparing the liquid. Collect 4 kg of greens, chop it. Pour boiling water over or boil in 10 liters of water for half an hour. Cool, strain, dilute with water in a ratio of 1: 4. Add 40 g of liquid soap.
There is a lot of liquid, so it can be stored in a tightly closed container in a cool place throughout the season.
Spray the resulting solution on garden crops as a prophylaxis or already infected plants every seven days. The procedure is best done before or after flowering.
You can prepare the same decoction from dried tomato greens.
In addition, fresh herbs have a scent that many insects dislike. Therefore, fresh tomato leaves can be laid out in the garden bed where the soil flea has settled. It can be a ridge of radishes, turnips, or radishes. Place the herbs between the cabbage heads. When it dries up, it will mix with the soil, thereby fertilizing it. Double effect of haulm that could rot in the compost pit.
As a nutritional supplement
The tops are crushed and dried. During the season, there will be a lot of it, gradually dry it and put it in rag bags. In the fall, add the accumulated to the soil. The soil will receive high-quality trace elements.
If left until spring, then add it when planting tomatoes and peppers. Together with wood ash, they serve as excellent nutrition for young seedlings.
You can prepare a liquid fertilizer. The bucket is filled with herbs for 2/3 of the volume and filled with water. Then the container is tightly covered with a film, the infusion is left to ferment for up to 10 days. 1 liter of the finished infusion is diluted in 10 liters of water and the top dressing is poured under the root.
The tops can be burned. And the resulting ash will also be an excellent fertilizer for the plants in your garden. Ash is brought in in spring and autumn, it is advisable to do this before digging the soil. During the season, it can be used regularly before watering the plants.
The tops are also used as compost. But there is one "but". Such compost takes 3 years to prepare, and it needs to be “fed” regularly. The tops are laid in a separate hole in layers: a layer of tops, a layer of soil, etc. The resulting "cake" is covered with foil and stirred every 2 weeks. Sometimes it needs to be watered with a watering can. You can add chicken droppings and urea there.
Prepare the mulch
The leaves and stems of tomatoes make excellent mulch. Chop the greens using a special machine or chop them finely with an ax. Place the resulting mass around the trunk circle of trees and shrubs. This method is effective in combating rodents, the smell of tomatoes scares away uninvited guests, and they prefer to stay away.
Also, this mulch can be laid out in the beds between plantings. It overheats and nourishes the soil.
Do you use tomato tops?
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