How to feed tomato seedlings with yeast
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If any gardener can cope with the cultivation of dill and onions, then not everyone takes up tomatoes, since the cultivation of this crop requires certain knowledge and skills. You need to take care of growing seedlings in advance, so proper feeding of tomato seedlings is simply necessary.
To create suitable conditions for seedlings, and then for adult plants, you need to know when and how to fertilize tomatoes in order to get a rich harvest of juicy fruits. This is not an easy task, but it can be done. In this article, we will talk about a rather unusual fertilizer that you can buy not in a garden center, but in a grocery store, we will talk about baker's yeast.
Fertilizing tomato seedlings with yeast: what is the use
Perhaps you have never heard before that yeast can be used to fertilize vegetables and are now very surprised. Yeast is a single-celled fungus, and oddly enough, this product contains a lot of nutrients that tomatoes need during their growth: important amino acids, organic iron, various trace elements, as well as proteins and minerals.
As a result, we get an extremely inexpensive complex very nutritious fertilizer, while completely organic, therefore, does not violate the ecological purity of the crop. So if you are a beginner in gardening, then do not worry, because feeding tomato seedlings with yeast is extremely beneficial for plants.
Feeding tomato seedlings with yeast - what are the pros and cons
The fact that yeast is a useful fertilizer does not mean that it can be used constantly throughout the season. The secret is just to carry out the required amount of dressings at a certain time, strictly observing the concentration of the product.
How it works? Like all fungi, yeast begins to multiply actively in warmth and dampness. In the process of reproduction, all the necessary substances are released and enter the soil, increasing its nutritional value.
There are many benefits to feeding tomato seedlings that you cook with yeast. It is absolutely safe for both plants and you. It significantly accelerates growth (remember the expression "grows like leaps and bounds"?), Helps plants to grow healthy foliage, at the same time strengthens the roots and helps to increase the immunity of the crop.
But speaking about the advantages of this fertilizer, one cannot but mention certain "pitfalls". Firstly, if the dosage is not observed, then an excess amount of nitrogen will enter the soil, which will negatively affect both the quality of the soil and the growth of tomatoes. Secondly, in the process of fermentation, less calcium becomes in the ground, which means that the level of acidity of the soil may change.
Therefore, when fertilizing tomatoes with a yeast composition, do not forget to replenish the calcium level, for example, adding wood ash.
Healthy Tomato Seedling - Top Feeding: 6 Essential Yeast-Based Recipes for Growth
Experienced gardeners will tell you many recipes for making yeast-based fertilizers using other ingredients. We will discuss only a few in this article and start with the simplest.
1. According to this recipe, you can make a composition for the primary feeding and carry it out ten days after the pick. Dissolve 100 grams of yeast in 10 liters of warm water, dilute the resulting solution in a 1: 5 ratio in a day and water the seedlings.
It is very important to remember that yeast only works in a warm environment, so water, soil and air temperatures should always be warm enough. These are the rules for all yeast-based recipes. At cold temperatures, the yeast will not harm the plants, the fungus will simply not multiply, and accordingly there will be no benefit for the tomatoes.
2. Yeast with sugar.
If you are wondering what foods can be added to yeast to make fertilization more effective, then most experienced gardeners will recommend carbohydrates, or rather sugar, to you.
This is one of the most beloved recipes by the people: you need to dissolve 10 grams of dry yeast in a glass of water (do not forget that the water must be warm), add 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar and leave for two hours. Then dissolve the resulting mixture in 10 liters of water and process the tomato bushes with this solution.
You will see the result in 2-3 days, the foliage will become brighter, the plants will look much better.
3. Yeast with wood ash.
By mixing yeast with ash, we get a very good complex fertilizer that enriches the soil with nitrogen, potassium and calcium. The presence of calcium in the composition of the fertilizer does not increase the level of soil acidity.
In order to prepare top dressing, you will need a kilogram of raw yeast, five liters of water, 2 kilograms of wood ash and a pound of granulated sugar. The water should be heated to 30 degrees and all the ingredients should be dissolved in it, the solution should be infused for three hours in a warm place, then diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10 and the tomatoes should be poured under the root.
4. Yeast, nettles and hops.
The yeast-based fertilizer contains not only food products, but also green plants. You can experiment with different herbs, but for now I will tell you the recipe for feeding with the addition of nettle and hops.
For cooking, you need a barrel with a capacity of about 200 liters. 5 buckets of chopped nettles and hops are placed in the barrel (the ratio is not important, you can put more nettles than hops), 2 kilograms of raw yeast and a bucket of mullein.
Then the barrel must be filled to the brim with water and left to infuse in the sun, sometimes stir. After 14 days, the fertilizer will be ready and you can water the tomatoes (no need to dilute it), using one liter of top dressing per bush.
5. Yeast with milk.
Another recipe for preparing top dressing from food products, following which you will quickly and simply prepare a nutritious food dressing for tomatoes: 200 grams of raw yeast must be kneaded and completely dissolved in a liter of warm milk. Then insist for two hours and then dilute with ten liters of warm water. Water the tomatoes at the rate of half a liter of fertilizer per bush.
6. Yeast with chicken droppings.
Poultry manure is an excellent fertilizer in itself, and when combined with yeast, will provide the most benefits. It will take time to prepare this fertilizer, but trust me, it will be worth it. It is done in two stages.
First, you need to put the infusion to ferment: mix well 5 liters of chicken manure with five liters of water and leave for a week. Based on this infusion, we will make a solution that will require 50 liters of water. Dissolve 50 g of dry yeast and a glass of granulated sugar in 10 liters of water heated to 30 degrees.
Wait a while, and when the fermentation process begins, add two and a half kilograms of ash and chicken manure infusion to the solution. Pour the resulting solution into the remaining water (the liquid should be warm), and water the tomatoes (1 liter per plant).
Experienced gardeners consider this recipe a super top dressing and advise using it before the tomatoes bloom. Starting to prepare fertilizer according to a particular recipe, read it carefully and pay attention to which yeast you need to take for making: dry or fresh.
This is an important detail and determines the end result - whether the feeding will make sense or not.
Fertilizing tomato seedlings: fertilization methods
There are two ways to feed plants with nutrients - root and foliar. Experienced summer residents are familiar with these methods, but for novice gardeners, this information will be extremely useful. Each of these methods has its own characteristics.
Root dressing is the main method of fertilizing, pouring the nutrient solution under the root, you enrich the soil, and the plants, using the root system, receive all the nutrients necessary for proper development.
This is not difficult to do, but you still need to follow certain rules and observe certain deadlines. You can feed the seedlings for the first time after the appearance of real leaves, then after a pick. The third time after transplanting to a permanent place in a greenhouse or open ground, and finally, the last time - before the tomatoes bloom.
It is extremely important to prepare a prescription top dressing, to calculate the dosage correctly. Young seedlings should be fertilized with half of the intended dose, and for older plants (after transplanting to a permanent place and during bud formation), fertilize using the full dosage.
The result of yeast feeding can usually be seen after about three days, so much time is required for the product to decompose in moist and warm soil and release all useful compounds, trace elements, amino acids and other nutrients.
Foliar dressing is carried out to enhance the effect of the root and help weakened or newly transplanted plants to adapt, it is carried out by spraying with a nutrient solution of tomato greens.
If you don't have a spray bottle at hand, you can simply water the foliage. To do this, you need to prepare a less concentrated composition than for root feeding and spray the tomatoes at the beginning of the growing season. Tomatoes growing in a greenhouse can be processed at any time of the day, and it is better to spray plants on the street in the evening.
If you notice how well the tomatoes respond to yeast feeding, they start to grow better, then of course you will want to feed them more often, in the hope of a rich harvest. But you should never forget that a sense of proportion is one of the most important in any business.
During the summer season, tomatoes can be fed with yeast no more than four times: twice seedlings and twice adult bushes, regardless of whether you choose root or foliar feeding.
Reviews of gardeners
Summer residents have been using yeast-based compositions for a very long time, constantly experimenting and inventing new recipes. On the forums dedicated to gardening, you will find many positive reviews about this fertilizer and stories about how yeast managed to increase the yield of not only tomatoes, but also other crops.
And in order not to be unfounded, at the end of our article we will add a few reviews from people who have been using this method of fertilization for a long time.
Yuri Konstantinovich, 58 years old, Kaluga.
When choosing between chemistry and organic fertilizers, I will always choose organic. I have been using fertilizers with yeast for more than eight years and I am very satisfied - the tomatoes do not get sick, grow well, the fruits are large, juicy and do not crack. I usually plant a lot of tomatoes, so I prepare a large amount of fertilizer, adding chopped nettle, ash and mullein to the yeast.
Maria Alexandrovna, 44 years old, Ramenskoye.
For four years now, I have not only been watering, but also sprinkling tomatoes with homemade fertilizer with yeast. The result becomes noticeable very quickly, the plants look great, and the yield is much larger and the quality of the fruit is better.
Oleg Sergeevich, 68 years old, Tula.
I have worked in the agricultural field all my life, I have a large amount of knowledge and skills, and I can confidently say that feeding plants with yeast is one of the most effective methods of fertilization. At the same time, it is completely organic and does not violate the environmental friendliness of the product.Using yeast fertilizers, you will grow truly healthy and tasty tomatoes.
Anatoly Evgenievich, 56 years old, Tver.
Yeast is a living culture that contains everything a tomato could want. For several years now, I have been using a simple recipe for seedlings - yeast and water, for large bushes I prepare a solution by adding sugar and ash. Tomatoes do not get sick, they grow "by leaps and bounds", and I harvest the harvest for everyone to envy!
Alexander, 47 years old, Moscow.
A couple of years ago, I reacted with suspicion to this recipe, but still decided to try it and the result pleased me very much. Now I fertilize tomatoes exclusively with yeast and I advise everyone.
Conclusion
Perhaps you still have doubts, and I cannot but agree - it is difficult to rely on the opinion of strangers from the Internet. But the organic nature and 100% environmental friendliness of the product speaks in its favor, as well as the low cost and easy-to-prepare feeding recipes.
And I assure you, if this summer you try to feed your tomatoes with yeast-based fertilizer, then next year you will confidently recommend it to all your friends summer residents.