5 rules for caring for tomatoes in a greenhouse for a rich harvest

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rules for caring for tomatoes in a greenhouse

Indoor tomatoes have a number of unfavorable conditions: high humidity, poor lighting, lack of natural air movement. Getting the tomatoes in a greenhouse through the entire growing season and getting the most out of your tomato plants involves simple steps in the first weeks after planting.

Fertilizing tomatoes in a greenhouse

With every ton of tomatoes from the soil, you change 4.5 kg of potassium, 3.3 kg of nitrogen, 1.3 kg of phosphorus. In addition, plants consume a certain amount of other macro- and micronutrients.

Interestingly, at different periods of its development, the need for one or another disease develops. So, during the period of sharp growth and a set of vegetative mass, nitrogen and iron are needed, potassium is usually not enough to stimulate budding, during flowering and fruit set, nutrition is mainly phosphorus with the participation of boron.

To get a large crop of tomatoes, it is important to feed seedlings with potash fertilizer in the first week after planting. Potassium fills the stems with nutrients, improves metabolism in the leaf plate, strengthens the immunity of plants, provides nutrients, so that they will be more in demand and sugar.

Wood ash contains a whole population complex and is rich in potassium. To prepare the ash solution, about 1 tbsp. l. wood ash per 1 liter of water. Mixtures are best prepared immediately in large volumes and let it brew for several days. So Kali will go into a more accessible form and quickly absorbed by the tomatoes. Under one root of seedlings, you need to pour 0.5 liters of ash top dressing.

In the same period, it is possible to carry out foliar top dressing with microelements – iodine, manganese and boron. To do this, per liter of milk or whey (used as an adhesive and a source of lactic acid flora), you need to add natural ingredients:

  • 1 g potassium permanganate;
  • 5 g of boric acid;
  • 60 drops of iodine.

The prepared stock solution is poured into 10 liters of settled tap water or, even better, rain water, and sprayed over the leaf on a cloudy day.

Consequence control

The main problem of greenhouses is high humidity. Relative dust in a greenhouse can be 90% or higher, leading to a range of problems:

  • development of fungal and viral diseases;
  • softening plant tissues
  • reduction of transpiration (respiration) and slowing down of oxygen concentration;
  • Reduced foreign investment
  • pollen aggregation and formation of barren flowers;
  • Sharp fall of autumn.

The optimum humidity for tomatoes is 60-65%. This is a rather narrow corridor, and the water vapor pressure in the given parameters is difficult to find. Therefore, an ordinary thermohygrometer will be a good investment for the future harvest.

To reduce the relative humidity, ventilate the greenhouse more often. In early spring, you can increase the heating temperature and temporarily reduce watering. For tomatoes, a slight drying of the soil is even useful, and excess moisture can ruin almost the entire crop.

At the same time, the greenhouse needs atmospheric conditions, and irregular watering can manifest itself in a low frequency of environmental and air factors, which is also detrimental to plants. Refreshing watering on the leaf will help to quickly raise the humidity of the air to 60%.

Stem tie

Depending on the growth and growth of the stem, tomato growth falls into three categories:

  • short (determinant);
  • medium height;
  • tall (indefinite).

You need to tie up the tomatoes when the plants reach a height of 30-40 cm. You can tie the short and medium-sized varieties to pegs, and the tall and professional varieties with unlimited growth (can reach 50 m) tie to twine. Fasten the lower end of the string under the bottom leaf with a free knot, wrap the stem under each internode, and tie the upper end of the thread without tension to the greenhouse crossbars.

tomato stem garter
tomato stem garter

If you miss the time of the garter, the stems are bent, lie down, the causes of the appearance of the earth disappear, the likelihood of late blight, an increase in the formation of stepchildren, and crops are detected.

Tomato pinching

Tomatoes are prone to strong stem branching. In the axil of each leaf there is an effective branch – stepson.  If their needs are not removed, the plant grows a large vegetative mass with noticeable fruit.

In pinching tomatoes, the great value of magnification is important: in undersized tomatoes, all stepchildren are removed to the brush, and then bushes of vegetation are left. Medium-sized ones can be grown in two, three stems, remove the rest of the answers, tall stepchildren are completely, that is, in one stem with the removal of 100% of stepchildren.

It is best to remove stepchildren weekly when they are no more than 3 cm in advance, while leaving a small stump. Breaking the escape completely will leave an open gate for use on the spot, plus a new branch will appear on this one very soon.

Regular watering of tomatoes in a greenhouse

The first time after planting seedlings, soil moisture is especially important in order to build up the root mass. When planting, about 4 liters of water is poured into each hole. The next watering is combined with ash top dressing, it is better to do this a week after the landing.

Further care consists in regular watering every 10-14 days, depending on weather conditions. During flowering, the need for moisture increases, and towards the end of fruiting, on the contrary, it decreases.

Water temperature should be at least 20 degrees, cold water causes shock in plants, nutrients dissolve in it worse.

Irrigation technique can be different – drip irrigation, spot watering from a watering can or hose, but certainly under the root and in the morning.

The steps for caring for tomatoes in a greenhouse are simple yet effective. Their complex application is important – miss one of the points, and the effectiveness of the rest will decrease significantly.

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