How and what is the best way to feed tomato seedlings at home?

So you decided that this fall you will definitely enjoy your own grown tomatoes, but the seedlings that you germinated so anxiously do not want to grow stronger and grow. Don't panic: we will tell you how to feed tomato seedlings so that there are plump stems, green leaves and a high yield.

Essential minerals for tomato seedlings

Of course, you could just buy a universal fertilizer in the store and water it with a vitamin composition, but if you really want to make friends with tomatoes, you should find out what exactly they like.

• Nitrogen. This mineral is especially important during the period of active plant growth for a rapid green mass gain now and yield after. When there is not enough nitrogen, the lower leaves of the sprout turn yellow.
• Potassium. During the flowering period and after the first ovary, tomatoes require a lot of potassium. Lack of it in seedlings can be diagnosed by wrinkled, unfolded leaves.
• Phosphorus. The roots and ovaries of a young plant are formed precisely due to phosphorus. It also aids in the absorption of other minerals that are equally important. The lack of an element manifests itself when leaves and stems turn purple.

Advice

If you want to supplement root dressing with foliar fertilizers at home - please! For example, 2-3 sprays with 1 gram solution boric acid per liter of water after 10 days will contribute to fruit set. But it will not work to replace root feeding with foliar feeding: the plant receives all the most important elements precisely through the roots when you water them.

Seedling feeding scheme

Before the seedling has its first true leaves, there is no special point in feeding it: the cotyledon leaves and the root provide the plant with everything it needs for the first small steps in development. But after the pick, you can already think about how you will increase the yield.

• The first feeding of tomato seedlings occurs about a week after the pick and consists mainly of nitrogen, because a young plant needs to gain weight in order to be strong and productive.
• After 2-3 weeks, the grown seedlings are fertilized with a complex fertilizing to stimulate growth and strengthen.
• Already grown seedlings will need a lot of potassium for growth and development, so after another 3 weeks, you can feed the tomatoes a little with fertilizer with a high potassium content.

It should be noted that overdoing it with fertilizers is even worse than not using them at all, because any medicine in large doses can become poison and bring the opposite of the expected result.

By the way

Clear watering pattern with top dressing for tomatoes at home does not exist, and preferences differ from grower to gardener. Someone thinks that feeding tomato seedlings is needed only if the plant shows a sign of a lack of minerals, others think that it is correct to feed not so much the seedlings after a pick as adult flowering and even fruiting plants, and someone is insured by adding a little more feeding before the pick.

The best folk remedies for tomato seedlings

Most of the factory complex fertilizers are of good quality, and it is difficult to say which one is better, but the credit of trust in folk grandmother's remedies is still very high, because these recipes have been tested for decades, and it is not at all difficult to prepare such products at home.

• Spray the seedlings with a solution of 2 ml of iodine per 1 liter of milk.This is necessary to get rid of pests and strengthen the seedling.
• After pouring, fertilize the seedlings with strained infused bird droppings solution in water.
• Sprinkle the soil with ash or pour the seedlings with a mixture of water and ash, infused for about a day.
• Banana peels or eggshells steeped in water for 2-3 days will be an excellent concentrate for enriching the water you water your seedlings with.
• An infusion of fresh cut grass will also give the tomatoes a boost.
• Often used for feeding and weak yeast solution, which is then watered plants.

If you want to collect the perfect mixture of trace elements, turn your attention to the following substances:

• urea;
• potassium nitrate;
• calcium nitrate;
• superphosphate;
• potassium salt;
• ammonium nitrate;
• potassium sulfate.

Use 1-2 grams of these minerals per liter of water for enrichment.

Things that are more important than feeding

Even if you bought the best fertilizers, found proven folk remedies and applied them correctly, growing tomato seedlings at home requires taking into account a much larger number of nuances.

If your seedlings are weak, check which of these points you have neglected.

• You did not warm up or soak the seeds in a solution of potassium permanganate before sowing.
• You didn’t pick or didn’t plant the sprouts far enough: there is little space for the plants, and they cannot fully grow and develop.
• The seedlings do not receive enough light, which is the first reason for the seedlings pulling out and the foliage being pale.
• You do not observe the temperature regime of the house, which is 25-28˚С before the first shoots appear, 14-16˚С immediately after and 18-20˚С until planting in the ground.
• Tomatoes receive insufficient or, conversely, too abundant watering, drying out or decaying.
• During the pick, you damaged the root system, and the plant needs time to recover.

Take care of the conditions in which the seedlings grow, feed them with mineral fertilizers, do not forget about foliar feeding - and then by autumn you will be able to harvest an impressive harvest of ripe juicy tomatoes that you have grown with your own hands.