Growing tomatoes in a summer cottage is no surprise, but every gardener has a few tricks in store for how to grow a culture more efficiently. Proper watering of tomatoes is considered one of the most important points. Here you can use traditional methods of irrigation or give free rein to imagination and come up with the most convenient and rational method.
Please put your likes and subscribe to the channel "About Fasenda". This will allow us to publish more interesting garden articles.
Using plastic bottles
I accidentally spied on a non-standard way of watering tomatoes from a neighbor when I went to visit her, and was simply amazed at how easy, convenient and effective it was.
In the greenhouse where the tomatoes grew, a plastic bottle of water was installed under each bush, and the liquid gradually entered the soil, saturating the roots with moisture as needed.
What are the advantages of this irrigation method
Despite its simplicity, this method is very beneficial to use. The main advantages are the following parameters:
- There is no need to spend money on various irrigation systems and materials. There are plastic bottles in every household, and it is not difficult to make a comfortable device for watering tomatoes out of them.
- The next important nuance is a serious saving of both water resources and the time allotted for irrigation, and fertilizing mixtures that enter the soil from the bottle, without getting into the extra area.
- The greatest protection of the culture from various diseases caused by viruses and bacteria. The fact is that with this method of irrigation, the aerial part of the tomato does not become waterlogged, which means that there are no suitable conditions for the development of pathogens.
How to prepare a bottle and install on site
When arranging a bottle irrigation system, you can use containers with a volume of 1.5-2 liters, but I prefer to take larger specimens. This allows you to forget about watering for a long time, because it will be carried out autonomously for a long time.
When the container is selected, it should be thoroughly cleaned of the remnants of the previous liquid. Then you need to make several small holes in the lid. You can use a thick sewing needle or awl for this purpose. Enough 2-4 holes, which are about 2 mm in diameter. To make it easier to pierce the plastic, it is recommended to heat the tip of the tool over an open fire.
One important point to consider: how many holes should be made on the lid of such a watering can depends on the type of soil where it will be applied. If the soil is sandy, then 2 holes are enough, for clayey it is better to make 4 or even 5.
When the holes are made, the next step begins. The bottom of the bottle must be completely cut off, shortening the length of the container by almost a third. After that, the device can be considered ready.
Now is the time to place the container upside down in the ground. It is best to do this immediately after the bushes are planted in the ground. But if this is not possible, then you can make up for lost time within 2 more weeks from the moment of planting, until the soil hardened at the roots.
There should be at least 20 cm between the tomato stem and a kind of watering can. At this distance, it is necessary to prepare a hole 15 cm deep. Dig it as carefully as possible so as not to harm the fragile roots of the plant. The neck of the bottle is later inserted into this depression at an angle of 45 degrees and well tamped with earth.
Irrigation combined with feeding
Such a simple irrigation technique only needs the owner of the site to add clean water to the container on time. She will do the rest herself.
But, in addition to watering, using the bottle method, you can also fertilize plants. For this, various dressings are added to the water, which saturate the plantings with all the necessary trace elements. It turns out not only conveniently, but also economically, because nutrients are not scattered on the root soil and other excess areas, but get to the plant as a whole.
Considering all the advantages of this irrigation method, then it can be used for irrigating other plantations, not just tomatoes. This will allow you to carve out time to do what you love in the country.
Original articleand many other materials, you can find on ourwebsite.
Please put your likes and subscribe to the channel "About Fasenda". This will allow us to publish more interesting garden articles.
Read more:Greenhouse cover that protects against frost in spring