Growing tomatoes in open ground or in greenhouses is very popular in personal plots. To obtain a plentiful harvest, various dressings are used, including folk remedies, one of which is the nutrition of tomatoes with iodine, which is a vital trace element.
Useful properties of iodine
The trace element iodine for tomatoes is vital. In the natural environment, it is found in floodplain, chernozemic lands. Podzolic and gray earth soils lack this substance. Using iodine as a top dressing of tomatoes, allowable dosages should be observed, since the need for plants in it is small. Proper introduction of iodine will fully reveal all its useful properties:
- strong and healthy seedlings will grow;
- more ovaries appear;
- early tomato harvest;
- nitrogen metabolism in plants improves;
- the risk of root rot and mosaic damage is reduced.
It turns out that iodine is able to replace nitrogen substances, so many vegetable growers use an iodine solution instead of saltpeter.
When is it necessary to treat tomatoes with iodine?
Signs by which you can determine the deficiency of this substance:
- profuse defeat of tomato bushes by root rot, brown spotting, late blight, mosaic;
- sluggish, pale foliage and thin stems in seedlings or adult bushes;
- bushes that are well developed in appearance do not bear fruit or mature slowly.
There is no clear or obvious sign by which it is safe to say that the plant is deficient in iodine. With the advent of the first leaves, you need to carefully monitor the bush in order to provide assistance in a timely manner.
Fertilizing and watering tomatoes
The most effective is considered to be top dressing carried out during watering the plant. However, you need to know some of the subtleties of spraying tomatoes with iodine, which it is advisable to adhere to:
- Do not water the seedlings planted in a permanent place during the first week.
- They do not water in cool weather, since in this case there is a high risk of damage to tomato seedlings and adult bushes with fungal diseases and late blight.
- Water the plant with warm water strictly under the root, water should not fall on the leaves in the early morning or evening.
Watering tomatoes with iodine is carried out no more than twice a month. A cloudy day when the air temperature is above 18 degrees is the most optimal time for this manipulation. As a result of such feeding, tomatoes receive additional nutrition, protection against bacterial and fungal diseases.
Iodine Feeding Methods
Vegetable growers recommend the following methods of feeding, which include iodine:
- Foliar. This method is alternated with root dressing. Five drops of iodine tincture, pour a glass of milk into a liter bucket of warm water. Add the resulting solution to a spray with a nozzle that sprays with fine mist, and spray the tomatoes with iodine, i.e. treat the aerial part of the plant. The best time is in the early morning or after sunset.
- Root This method gives a good effect when feeding seedlings. A strong and healthy root system nourishes the plant better. After the appearance of the second pair of leaves, the first top dressing is carried out. For three liters of warm water, only one drop of iodine is needed. Before top dressing, the soil is moistened with ordinary water, and then the prepared solution is irrigated. The second treatment of tomatoes with iodine is carried out during the setting of brushes. Three drops of iodine tincture are added to nine liters of water. At least one liter of solution is poured under the root of each tomato bush. The procedure is carried out to the stage of flowering plants. Fertilize the third time during the period of active fruit formation. The solution is prepared in the following way: 500 g of ash are diluted in a ten-liter bucket filled with boiling water, cooled, and the same amount of water is added. Next, add no more than 5 ml of iodine tincture and about 10 g of boric acid to the solution. The finished mixture is left to infuse for a day, then diluted with warm water in a ratio of 1:10 and watered the tomatoes under the root.
Use of iodine mixed with other substances
In order to quickly root and develop seedlings planted in a permanent place, top dressing is carried out. Eight drops of iodine are added to a liter of milk and each young seedling is watered under the root. To enrich the earth with organic substances, it is fertilized with a mixture of whey or milk with the addition of iodine. No more than 15 drops of iodine tincture are added to one liter of dairy product. The mixture is diluted with water and irrigated tomatoes.
To increase the endurance and resistance of tomato bushes to pests and diseases, the active growth of leaves and stems, early ripening of large fruits, iodine with boric acid is used for tomatoes. Top dressing is carried out three times a season: during the formation of buds, during flowering, during the formation of fruits. The interval between manipulations should be at least 10 days to achieve maximum effect. 10 g of boric acid and 10 drops of iodine are dissolved in a ten-liter bucket, everything is mixed and poured into a spray bottle. The solution is sprayed with tomato bushes.
What are the benefits of whey and iodine in growing cucumbers and tomatoes?
Any novice vegetable grower wants to grow a good crop of tomatoes and cucumbers, and simple means will help to realize this dream - this is whey and iodine. For cucumbers and tomatoes, they are the most faithful and proven substances that can increase productivity. Cucumbers and tomatoes are grown by almost all summer residents in their plots.
Due to the widespread use of vegetables in cooking, cosmetology and medicine, there are many folk ways to increase their productivity, protect against pests and diseases. One of the effective ways to deal with fungal infections affecting vegetable crops is a mixture of serum and iodine. For tomatoes and cucumbers, the combination of these components in top dressing also contributes to an increase in plant nutrition with beneficial substances.
The fight against late blight
Iodine helps to cope successfully with such misfortune as late blight, which affects tomato bushes. With a solution prepared from 10 liters of water, 1 liter of whey and 15 drops of iodine, tomatoes are abundantly sprayed in the evening. For the purpose of prevention, the spraying of tomatoes with serum with iodine is carried out every 14 days.
Features of the processing of cucumbers
Cucumbers, like tomatoes, need additional food containing iodine. The trace element affects cucumbers as follows:
- the plant is rejuvenated;
- leaves do not turn yellow;
- productivity increases;
- culture growth is increasing.
Processing is carried out at the beginning of flowering. Composition of the mixture: 10 liters of water, 10 ml of brilliant green, 2 liters of whey, a pinch of urea and a few drops of iodine. The following recipe will help cope with late blight: 40 drops of iodine, 20 ml of peroxide, 1 liter of dairy product is diluted in 10 liters of warm water.
Processing cucumbers with a preventive purpose helps to increase productivity. Lactose, which is part of dairy products, does not allow pests to multiply, nourishes the plant and enriches the soil with valuable substances. The only drawback is that if cucumbers are already affected by pests, then this treatment will not help and other means are required.
How to deal with powdery mildew?
Signs of tomato infection:
- yellowish spots formed on tomato leaves, which increase in size quite quickly;
- white powder coating on leaves, stems and peduncles.
You should begin to fight the disease as soon as the first symptoms appear, otherwise there will be no tomato harvest. A mixture prepared at home will help get rid of spots, which includes iodine. This is one of the most effective ways to get a quick and positive result. In nine liters of water, 10 drops of iodine and 1 liter of milk are diluted. Ready solution is sprayed with all affected bushes. The following recipe will help to cope with a raid: 10 drops of iodine, 20 g of laundry soap, 1 liter of sour milk is dissolved in 10 liters of water.
Precautionary measures
- When using iodine for tomatoes as top dressings, the dosage should be strictly observed, otherwise you can burn the leaves of plants.
- Excess dressing containing boric acid and iodine, contributes to the deformation of the hands of tomato and fruit.
- The use of iodine in an enclosed space requires caution, it is a volatile substance, and inhaling it in large quantities is dangerous to humans.
Summer residents who use iodine for tomatoes, in the autumn collect a generous and tasty harvest. This very simple remedy not only favorably affects tomatoes, but also repels insects in greenhouses.