Experienced gardeners know that, starting from the moment of flowering, tomatoes consume large amounts of microelements from the soil. In particular, plants vitally need boron, which is responsible for the fruiting processes that actively occur in the middle of the growing season. Just two or three treatments of seedlings during the formation of ovaries and fruiting with a solution containing this microelement can increase the yield by 10-15%.
The benefits of boron for tomatoes
Boron normalizes the synthesis of nitrogenous substances, stimulates metabolic processes in plant organisms and increases the chlorophyll content in leaf blades. In addition, the presence of a sufficient amount of the substance ensures rapid filling of already set fruits.
With a boron deficiency in the soil, not only the yield of tomatoes decreases, but also their biochemical composition deteriorates, the amount of sugary substances in the fruit pulp decreases, as well as their keeping quality. You can determine that your seedlings are suffering from mineral starvation by their appearance.
Signs of boron deficiency in tomato bushes:
- massive fall of flowers and ovaries;
- twisting of the tops;
- dying off of growth points;
- yellowing of the upper leaves;
- fragility of the sheet plates of the upper tier;
- the formation of darkened and dried places on ripening fruits;
- a large number of basal shoots and stepsons.
Foliar feeding of tomatoes during flowering and fruiting
If there is at least one sign of a lack of the microelement boron on plants, it is necessary to immediately foliar feed the seedlings with a solution of any microfertilizers with a high content of this substance. But most often, to normalize the condition of plants, summer residents use ordinary boric acid (the simplest and most affordable boron compound), which can be purchased at any gardening store or pharmacy.
Spraying a tomato plantation with a boron solution from a finely dispersed spray bottle in a short time normalizes the balance of nutrients in plant organisms. Within a few days after the procedure, numerous ovaries begin to form on the bushes, and the flowers stop dying. Moreover, such procedures are equally useful for plants living in greenhouses and for bushes growing in the open air.
Preparation and use of boric acid solution
An effective liquid fertilizer for treating tomatoes by leaves is prepared at a rate of 2 to 5 g of boric acid per 10 liters of water.
The concentration of the solution depends on the condition of the plants. The more signs of a substance deficiency on the tomatoes, the greater the amount of powder should be used for dissolution. Since tomatoes are plants with an average need for boron, they are most often fertilized with a solution with a minimum concentration (2 g per standard bucket of water).
As practice shows, boric acid dissolves well only in hot water (temperature 60-70°C). Before preparing the nutrient solution, the required amount of white crystals is diluted in 100 ml of specially heated water until there is complete absence of sediment, and only then the resulting concentrate is added to a bucket of water.
The liquid poured into a sprayer is generously irrigated over the entire above-ground part of the tomatoes, including the fruits, stems, tops and underside of the leaf blades. Before the event, all ripe or almost ripe fruits must be removed from the bushes.
The first time the treatment is performed during active flowering and fruit set.
The procedure is repeated a second time after 2 weeks.
The third time tomatoes are fed leaf by leaf at the end of summer, in the green fruit phase, to speed up their filling, increase the shelf life of the crop and increase the sweetness of the pulp.
The third fertilizing with boron is carried out exclusively if it is necessary to accelerate the ripening of tomatoes living in open ground, for example, if weather forecasters predict a sharp drop in temperature in 1-2 weeks. It can be combined or replaced by feeding the bushes with a solution of pharmaceutical tincture of iodine (40 drops per 10 liters of settled water), which also activates the process of filling green tomatoes.
Boron fertilizers are useful not only for tomatoes, but also for most vegetable crops. According to reviews from experienced gardeners, spraying plantings of cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, bell peppers, squash, and eggplants during flowering improves the formation of ovaries and accelerates the fruiting.
We wish you excellent tomato and vegetable harvests at your summer cottage!
