The main goal of any tomato grower is a rich harvest with large and juicy fruits. To achieve great results, you need to take good care of the plantings, including feeding them properly. For the active growth of plants and the ripening of vegetables, various useful substances are often used. It is important to use them on a schedule and in precise dosages.
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Rules for feeding tomatoes
Random and haphazard fertilization will not only not help the development of plants, but can also harm them. Of course, even an experienced summer resident will not name the exact dates up to the date and time, but some feeding rules still exist.
Important! Chaotic fertilization leads to a shortage of some nutrients.
The following parameters are taken into account:
- growing method - in a greenhouse or open field;
- growth phase.
Some rules for the introduction of nutrients, depending on the growth phase of tomatoes:
- When grown by seedlings. Seedlings are usually transferred to the ground in May, when the air temperature is already consistently high. The soil must be prepared 1-2 weeks before that: fertilize with mixtures with phosphorus and nitrogen. The optimal dose is 40 grams per square meter (the volume must be halved if fertilizing has already been applied before).
- When transplanting into open soil. A small amount of potassium must be added at this stage.
- 2 weeks after planting. Other substances necessary for plant growth should be used: calcium, an additional dose of potassium, magnesium in any form (sulfate, nitrate).
Important! Please note that magnesium nitrate contains nitrogen.
If the seedlings do not adapt well to the new conditions, feeding can be done earlier. These useful elements are used in small dosages. A little later, you need to add another portion of the same fertilizers.
- At the stage of active growth, tomatoes need phosphorus for the correct formation of the root system.
- During flowering, fertilizing will take 2 or even 3 times. Top dressing should contain sufficient amounts of phosphorus and potassium. Fallen flowers and a decrease in yield indicate a deficiency of these elements. At this moment, the plant does not need nitrogen, in extreme cases it can be added in the very minimum dosage.
- Ovary formation phase. In this case, you also need to use potassium and phosphorus 2-3 times. Nitrogen should not be used at all. The recommended complex remedy is any organic matter.
- During fruiting. At this point, tomatoes need iodine, boron, potassium, manganese.
Important! All feeding should be stopped 14 days before harvest.
Extraordinary feeding
Sometimes it happens that fertilizers are applied on time and in optimal dosages, but the bushes still do not have enough nutrition. In this case, additional contributions are made by adding missing elements.
The opposite situation also happens: the plants develop well - then the next scheduled fertilization can be skipped. The only exception is seedlings in separate containers. Even if the tomatoes grow well, useful elements are in any case added strictly according to the scheme, since the soil is depleted faster.
Important! If necessary, it is possible to make additional dressings, but less than the recommended amount is not allowed.
Plant processing methods are also a very important parameter. The spraying method is used no more than twice a season, in other cases, the nutrients are brought under the roots. Sometimes it happens that tomatoes do not respond to foliar feeding, so fertilizers must be re-sealed into the root-accessible layer of soil.
The difference is also that for root and foliar applications, formulations of different concentrations are used. For processing through the surface of the leaves, solutions with a low content of nutrients are used, which saves fertilizers.
Advice. In autumn, the soil can be treated with a solution of tomato tops, then in the next season the plants will grow better.
Correctly selected nutrients and a well-designed feeding schedule are the key to a rich tomato harvest.
Do you know how to properly feed tomatoes in order to get a good harvest?
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