Everyone loves sweet juicy tomatoes. But how to grow such tomatoes on your site? The taste of tomato pulp directly depends on the ideal ratio of sugars and acids. A rainy or, conversely, dry summer can spoil the taste of the harvest: tomatoes will be sour. To prevent this from happening, you can activate the sugar content with the help of competent feeding.
I recommend reading: What fertilizers do experienced gardeners scatter in the snow in March
What affects sweetness
The sweet taste is provided by the dry matter content of glucose and fructose. The concentration of acids is equally important. Those who love sugar tomatoes should choose the appropriate varieties, because in many ways the taste depends on the characteristics of the species. In addition, external factors influence the taste: weather conditions, the level of acidity of the soil, the intensity of watering, etc. A properly selected fertilizer will allow you to harvest a delicious harvest of fruits. To a greater extent, tomatoes need feeding during budding, after the appearance of ovaries and when the fruits are poured. Of course, it will not work to achieve a higher sugar content than is typical for a particular variety. However, fertilization can reveal the full potential of the vegetable. The greatest sweetness is typical for small, mid-ripening and late-ripening, as well as pink varieties.
Important elements of dressing
The ideal fertilizer is selected based on the needs of a particular plant. For excellent taste characteristics, tomatoes need potassium and phosphorus. But the amount of nitrogen, on the contrary, should be reduced, since it gives excess acid and wateriness. It is also worth protecting tomatoes from chlorine-based fertilizers.
To get sweet fruits, top dressing is applied every fourteen days. For a more successful result, it is better to combine the foliar and sub-root methods.
Mineral fertilizers
The most popular mineral fertilizers that show a good effect:
- Superphosphate. The universal fertilizer is produced most often in the form of granules and contains a minimum amount of nitrogen. The prepared solution is watered and sprayed with the leaves of tomato bushes.
- Potassium nitrate actively stimulates the growth of fruits and protects the culture from common diseases. An important feature of this fertilizer: about a month before harvesting, feeding is stopped.
- Potassium sulfate is successfully used throughout the garden season.
- Potassium monophosphate, which contains both essential elements. Fertilizer can be used for both seedlings and adult bushes. Top dressing is available in two formats: granules and powder. More often they give preference to a granular composition due to better dissolution in water.
- Diammofoska is an excellent ready-made complex of essential nutrients. Complex fertilizer includes potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen. The granular form dissolves easily in water. The composition is introduced in the spring directly into the planting holes, which then need to be watered generously.
- Preparations of the humate group. Such fertilizers are used in powder or liquid form. Humates are very useful, but when applying it is important to strictly follow the instructions so as not to harm the plants. Root feeding with humates has a beneficial effect not only on the culture, but also on the soil.
Organic
From an extensive list of organics, wood ash is considered the most favorable substance for a tomato crop. It contains potassium, calcium and magnesium necessary for the taste of tomatoes. To prepare the irrigation composition, the ash is poured with boiling water and infused for a day. The prepared solution is poured over tomato bushes under the root. The action should be repeated three times, maintaining two-week intervals between waterings.
Nitrogen should be used only until the ovaries are formed, in the future, its amount is minimized.
Green infusion is no less effective. For this, the herb of nettle or dandelion is crushed. The crushed mass is placed in a special container, filling it to the middle. The remaining space is filled with water and covered with a lid. The mixture is left to infuse for at least a week, stirring thoroughly daily. The finished infusion is diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 5 and watering is carried out.
Do you know how to feed tomatoes to make them taste sweet?
Original articleand many other materials, you can find on ourwebsite.
Read also: Three ways to cleanse the garden from infection and restore its fertility