Members of our club of amateur tomato growers were looking for an answer to the question of what to put in the planting hole when planting tomato seedlings in a permanent place. We want to introduce you to the most popular recipes from experienced tomato growers.
Should you put anything in the hole when planting tomatoes? If no fertilizers have been applied to the garden bed or greenhouse since the fall and the soil there is depleted after the previous year’s harvest, then it’s definitely worth it. How to fill the planting hole when planting tomato seedlings in a permanent place?
Recipe 1. Mineral fertilizers
When planting, many tomato growers recommend adding mineral fertilizers, in particular AVA for vegetables, to the hole when planting. This complex mineral fertilizer contains a lot of phosphorus - and this is what tomato seedlings especially need in the first time after transplantation, because phosphorus stimulates the growth of the root system. Just 5 g of fertilizer (mix it with sand) applied to the hole during planting is enough for the whole season.
You can add any complex mineral fertilizer designed specifically for tomatoes, or 1 tbsp. superphosphate.
A week before planting seedlings in open ground or a greenhouse, prepare a solution of Fitosporin (5 g per 10 liters of water) and pour it into the prepared holes. Before planting, loosen the soil well.
- Mineral fertilizers - what they are and how to apply them correctly
We understand the features of mineral fertilizers.
How to properly tie tomatoes in a greenhouse
Without tying, tomato stems may break when the fruits begin to ripen. To protect the plants, gardeners immediately prepare a support for them as soon as they plant the seedlings.
Various materials are used for tying tomatoes in a greenhouse:
- Leg-split. It is attached to a peg, which is dug next to the bush. It is better that the twine is strong, but not hard, so as not to damage the delicate plant. The twine is attached at one end to the peg, and at the other to the crossbar near the greenhouse roof. It shouldn't be too tight.
- A loop. This tying method also requires a peg, which is dug in next to the plant. A loop of fabric strip secures the stem next to the peg.
- Pin. A peg is dug into the ground next to the bush, and the plant stem is attached to it with a clothespin.
- Wire cone. Wire hoops are installed around the bush, and seedlings are tied to them with fabric strips.
When using pegs, you need to remember that the best size is 1.5 meters.
If the garter is done correctly, the tomatoes will feel comfortable, and this will have a positive effect on fruiting.
Recipe 2. Organic fertilizers
There are many tomato growers who prefer organic fertilizers.
A week before planting tomatoes in a permanent place, water the soil with an infusion of bird droppings (1:20) - 0.5 liters per plant. Rotted (not fresh!) manure can be added directly to the hole during planting at the rate of 0.2 kg per plant. To prevent organic fertilizer from burning the roots, first mix the manure with the soil and only then put it in the hole. Make sure that the roots of the tomato do not come into contact with manure.
Mature compost can be used instead of manure. The norm is the same - 0.2 kg of fertilizer, which should be mixed with the soil, per plant.
- Everything you wanted to know about organic fertilizers
No “chemistry”, only environmentally friendly fertilizers.
How to mulch the ground after planting
Mulching the soil is necessary for:
- suppression of weed growth;
- protecting the earth from overheating;
- protecting the earth from cold and frost;
- maintaining loose soil structure;
- protecting plants from diseases and pests;
- adding useful components to the soil if the mulch is organic.
Organic mulch includes:
- Humus.
- Hay.
- Peat.
- Sawdust.
- Tree bark.
- Compost.
- Dry cut grass.
- Onion peel.
- Paper covering.
Inorganic mulch includes:
- black film;
- non-woven fabric.
It is forbidden to mulch tomatoes with roofing felt, which becomes toxic when heated. Also, you cannot mulch with manure; this organic fertilizer will lead to an abundance of greenery at the expense of the fruits. Mulching with fresh manure poses another danger - the roots of the tomatoes will become very hot, which will lead to the death of the plants.
There are rules for mulching:
- The operation is possible if the ground is well warmed up, the temperature is 15 degrees Celsius.
- Before use, the mulch is exposed to ultraviolet light to disinfect the material.
- The mulch layer should be no more than 15 cm. Thin mulch will not save you from weeds.
- Place mulch only on a clean and loosened bed.
Recipe 3. Eggshells
Often eggshells are placed in the hole. Before adding this source of calcium, the shells should be dried and ground almost to a flour. It is enough to put 2 tsp in one well. crushed shells.
According to experienced gardeners, eggshells not only saturate the soil with calcium, but also serve as good protection against mole crickets.
- How to properly use eggshells - all about the benefits for the garden
Winter is ahead, which means it's time to start sorting waste and collecting eggshells for the garden. You'll have a great supply by spring!
Recipe 4. Nettle
Another popular addition that is placed in the hole when planting tomatoes is nettle. In May, when the time comes to plant tomato seedlings, young nettles can be found everywhere. Once in the hole under a layer of soil, the plant begins to quickly decompose and saturate the soil with useful substances, primarily nitrogen.
Collect fresh nettles and add 5-6 small leaves of this prickly plant to each hole. Then sprinkle them with a layer of soil and plant tomato seedlings on top.
- What can you feed with nettles - the best recipes for green fertilizer
We tell you how to use nettle infusion in the garden to feed plants.
Recipe 5. Wood ash
Wood ash is a source of potassium and other beneficial substances. It is used for fertilizing both in the form of infusion and dry. Many garden plants are fertilized with ash. It is also used for tomatoes. Before planting, you need to pour dry ash into the hole (one handful is enough) and mix it with the soil.
Ash is added not only separately, but also in combination with other substances: with chicken droppings and rotted manure, with superphosphate, eggshells, onion peels, etc.
- Wood ash is a natural fertilizer and pest control agent
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Advice from experienced gardeners
Crop rotation must be observed. Only then will it be possible to obtain a high-quality harvest of tomatoes and avoid their diseases. If you plant the same crop in one place every year, the soil will be severely depleted, its acidity will be disrupted, and pest larvae and pathogenic microorganisms will accumulate.
Advice! It is best to plant tomatoes after different types of cabbage, pumpkin and zucchini.
Good predecessors would be: carrots, beets, turnips, cucumbers, onions, radishes. Greens and legumes are also suitable.
During the growth process, tomatoes consume quite a lot of nutrients, so pre-planting soil preparation cannot do without the application of fertilizers. Only a complete set of micro- and macroelements will make it possible to obtain a bountiful harvest. Properly prepared compost has a positive effect on the composition and structure of the soil, so it is advisable to have a compost box on the site in which organic waste in the form of food scraps, cleanings, mowed weeds and grass will rot.
Tomato fertilizer
Mineral fertilizers must be poured into the hole in doses, taking into account the composition of the soil and its depletion. Overfed plants will grow a large volume of green mass to the detriment of fruit formation. It is better to use specialized complex preparations for tomatoes, in which all components have the correct ratio. The use of superphosphate will make the plants strong and healthy, and magnesium sulfate will increase the sugar and starch content in the fruits, which will improve their taste.
If the summer resident did not have time to prepare humus, an infusion of rotted grass will help out. The cut greens are placed in a barrel, filled with water and left to ferment for 2 weeks. The resulting concentrated infusion is diluted in a ratio of 1:10 and 1 liter of fertilizer is added to the hole before planting.
Note. Do not fill the holes with manure or bird droppings before planting. This organic matter should be added only in the fall, otherwise the bushes will “fatten” and you may not get a harvest from them. In the future, it is advisable to feed the tomatoes with mullein solution only 2-3 times per season.
Sometimes you can find recommendations to plant tomatoes in the ground at a distance of 30 cm from each other. It is better to increase this distance to at least 45 cm. Dense plantings are poorly illuminated by the sun and are poorly ventilated. With a single-lane planting, the width of the ridge should be 90-100 cm, and with a two-lane planting - at least 120 cm.
If all of the above recommendations are followed, even an inexperienced gardener can count on excellent results. Having planted tomato seedlings correctly, you should also not forget about further care.
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Recipe 6. Yeast bread
Any yeast bread, pre-assembled and dried, will do. Bread crumbs contain many nutrients and retain moisture in the soil.
When planting tomatoes, add some bread, eggshells and a handful of rotted manure to each hole. There is no need to pre-soak the bread in water, because... in a watered hole it will get soggy from moisture. Then plant the seedlings in the holes prepared in this way.
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What kind of soil do tomatoes like?
The site should be sunny so that the earth absorbs heat and does not burn the tender roots of plants with cold.
The ideal temperature is 18-20 degrees. As for the composition of the soil, tomatoes will grow in any soil. Only the harvest will suffer. Therefore, for a good harvest, it is better to use soil that contains phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium. Acidity should be approximately 6-6.5. To determine the acidity level, you can use a regular litmus strip. It must be lowered into damp soil. The color the litmus turns will indicate how acidic the environment is.
Tomatoes love moisture, so the soil should be moderately moist. If the soil is dry, there is a risk of flowers falling off, which means there is a danger of being left without fruits.
The best soil for tomatoes:
- Peat, with good breathability, excellent water absorption.
- Chernozem, rich in nutrients. Since chernozem is heavy, it is better to slightly loosen it with other soil.
Recipe 7. Leftover fish
A rather strange, but at the same time common recipe for feeding tomatoes when planting them in a permanent place is fish. For this purpose, it is not at all necessary to specifically buy fish. Suitable small fish, which are usually fed to cats after catching, or those leftovers that you do not use for food: heads, tails, offal.
Place a small amount of fish waste in the hole, cover it all with a layer of soil (you can sprinkle it with a small amount of peat), water it and plant the tomatoes. Fish is rich in phosphorus, which is so necessary for seedlings during this period.
Recipe 9. Bone meal
An equally useful supplement is bone meal. It is made from bones, horns, hooves, etc. animals. Bone meal has a rich mineral composition: in addition to phosphorus and nitrogen, its components include iron, manganese, copper and other useful substances. Bone meal has a long useful life, so during the season one application is enough: add 2-3 tablespoons to the hole. fertilizers and mix with soil.
Bone meal is often mixed with fish meal to enhance the effectiveness of both fertilizers and achieve better results when growing vegetables.
What to put in the hole?
The opinions of gardeners regarding the application of any fertilizers directly into the planting hole are divided: some argue that the bed should be filled exclusively in advance (in spring or autumn), but most summer residents add all the necessary substances in a certain amount during planting .
In the latter case, it is important to balance the fertilizers so that the delicate root system of young tomato seedlings does not burn. All fertilizers that can be used for planting tomatoes are conventionally divided into mineral and organic.
Complex means
Most often, gardeners (especially beginners) resort to the use of complex fertilizers, which contain a large number of components. Below are the most popular of them, as well as the application rates in the planting hole for tomatoes.
OMU “For tomatoes, peppers, eggplants” (manufacturer: Buysky Chemical Plant). In addition to the necessary macroelements, this fertilizer contains sulfur, magnesium, humic compounds and microelements necessary for the growth and development of tomato seedlings. 20 g of this fertilizer must be added to one hole.- "Signor Tomato" (Bio Vita company) . Contains a small amount of nitrogen (NKP ratio 1:4:2), humic compounds and beneficial bacteria. When planting, fertilize in the amount of 1 tbsp. to the hole.
- “Spring-summer station wagon” (Fertik company). This complex fertilizer has become very famous among gardeners (and although its name has changed, many still call it “Kemira”). The composition is enriched with microelements, it is recommended to apply it in spring and summer. To feed the plant, you need to add 2 tbsp to one planting hole. this fertilizer.
Mineral
Mineral supplements can be simple or combined. The former contain only one component and are therefore divided into nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus.
In rare cases, summer residents, especially experienced ones, independently mix these substances in the correct proportions . Below are the most common combined mineral fertilizers for planting tomatoes.
- Diammofoska . You can find two markings for this fertilizer, which depend on the percentage of NKP: 10 26 26 or 9 25 25. Diammophos is a fast-acting fertilizer. It is enough to add 0.5 tsp into one planting hole for tomatoes. Diammofoski.
- Ammofoska . The fertilizer contains 15% potassium and phosphorus and 12% nitrogen. When using ammophoska, control of the amount of nitrates in tomato fruits is guaranteed, since it helps to remove harmful substances. Ammophos is considered affordable. When planting, you can add 5-6 g of this fertilizer to each hole.
Important! Nitroammofoska also belongs to the combined mineral fertilizers used for feeding tomatoes, but its application contributes to the accumulation of nitrates in the fruits of the crop.
Organic
The main advantage of organic fertilizers is their absolute harmlessness . In addition, organic matter often does not require investment of money and can be found on the site of any summer resident.
Ash . For tomatoes, you can use both wood and vegetable ash. This fertilizer is potassium-containing and is enriched with various microelements . The exact composition depends on the material being burned. When planting tomatoes, a small handful of ash (1-1.5 tbsp) is usually added to the hole.- Humus . This type of organic matter is rotted manure (the time period for rotting is from 4 months to 3 years), has a loose consistency, and is characterized by the absence of ammonia odor. 2 - 3 handfuls of humus (about 50 g) are added to the hole.
Important! Under no circumstances should fresh manure be applied to tomatoes : the plants will actively begin to grow and begin to increase green mass, which will negatively affect the yield - there will be few fruits and their size will be small.
Have your tomatoes suffered frost? Be sure to feed them after the cold weather and treat them with biostimulants.
"Folk remedies
Below are folk recipes for fertilizers applied to the planting hole for tomatoes.
- Onion peel . Adding just one handful of onion peel to the planting hole will qualitatively enrich the soil composition with microelements, and onion phytoncides will perfectly protect young tomatoes from fungal diseases.
- Yeast . Here it is suggested to prepare a yeast infusion a day before planting. 10 g of the active substance should be diluted in a bucket of water at room temperature and left to infuse for 24 hours. When the infusion is ready, pour it over each well. Approximately 1 cup of fertilizer is poured onto one planting site.
- Eggshell . It contains calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, sulfur and other components necessary for the growth and development of tomatoes. Before use, the shells are cleaned of egg residues, dried and ground into powder. Add 2 - 3 tbsp to each planting hole. such a powder.
Two weeks after planting, it is recommended to fertilize the tomatoes again. What and how? Read the material at our link.
Recipe 10. Preparations based on Trichoderma
To protect tomato seedlings from infection by various fungal diseases when planting seedlings, add 1 tablet of Glyocladin to each hole. It is placed directly under the plant and is not dissolved first: after watering, the drug will dissolve on its own.
The soil fungus trichoderma, on the basis of which the fungicide is created, stops the growth of pathogenic fungi and restores soil microflora. Its beneficial effect begins within a week and continues for 2-3 months. At this time, tomatoes are reliably protected from many fungal diseases.
Soil preparation: general recommendations
Every gardener who wants to grow tomatoes wants to achieve the following goals:
- Get the harvest as quickly as possible;
- Have high-quality bushes that produce a lot of fruit;
- Have healthy and tasty tomatoes on the table, without nitrates.
Even if the seedlings are strong and healthy, but they are planted in unkempt, devastated soil, this will negatively affect the yield. Therefore, before planting a tomato, you need to properly prepare the soil.
The first thing you need to do is add 1.5 buckets of humus to each square meter of soil and dig. This is the basis. It is also important to remember that tomatoes cannot be planted in the same place for more than 2 years in a row. It is best to grow beans, cucumbers and onions on the plot before this.
Important! In the case when tomatoes are grown on an industrial scale, mineral fertilizers need to be added to the soil in the fall, and nitrogen fertilizers in the spring. Moreover, potassium and phosphorus can speed up the ripening process of tomatoes.
If the soil was prepared in the fall and the tomato seedlings sprouted in peat cups, you don’t have to put anything in the hole at all. If the area allocated for tomatoes previously pleased you with cucumbers, then instead of humus you need to add sawdust and peat to the soil - 1 bucket per 1 sq. m. m.
Digging of the soil should be done to a depth of 25-30 cm. Two or three days before the expected planting date, the soil should be watered with plenty of water to a depth of about 10 cm, and covered with plastic film.
Immediately before transplanting a tomato, each bush should be trimmed a little - remove the leaves.
If you plan to get a quick harvest, then the seedlings should not be deeply buried in the ground, even if the plants are overgrown. Otherwise, the buried stem will immediately begin to sprout, which will greatly slow down the development of the plant.
Overgrown seedlings are placed vertically in the hole to a depth of 2-3 cm. The hole is completely filled up after 2 weeks.
Special opinion - from Yuri Kuzminykh
A well-known tomato grower who often shares his experience with colleagues, Yuri Kuzminykh, also did not shy away from this topic. In his opinion, when planting tomatoes, you can put a little superphosphate in the hole (to stimulate root growth), but it’s better not to put anything at all.
In this case, within 1.5 weeks the growth of lateral roots will begin and the seedlings will switch to root nutrition (that’s when you can feed the tomatoes). If, from the moment of planting, the fertilizer is located directly under the plant, in the hole, then it simply will not have an incentive to “develop” new spaces and grow. However, it should be clarified that we are talking about a bed that has been well-filled with the right amount of fertilizer since the fall.
Do you put anything in the hole when planting tomatoes? Share your experience in the comments.
How to prepare soil in a greenhouse for planting tomatoes
First you need to remove the top layer of soil and replace it with another. Tomatoes prefer loose soil, so you need to add ammonium nitrate, potassium chloride, and superphosphate. Typically, these substances are added per square meter in the following quantities: 20 g of nitrate and potassium, 50 g of superphosphate. It would be a good idea to enrich the soil with peat and add rotted sawdust. If you decide to add sawdust, then you will need a bucket of this organic material per square meter.
If the soil is acidic, in the fall you need to use:
Per square meter:
- an incomplete bucket of dolomite flour.
- bucket of lime.
- three liters of wood ash.
After applying the product, the bed is dug up, and by spring it will be ready for planting tomatoes.
The best soil options for tomatoes:
- Garden soil + compost + humus in equal parts + wood ash and superphosphate.
- Peat + coconut substrate in equal parts + garden soil + humus + vermiculite.
- Humus + sand + sawdust in the proportion: 2:2:1.
You also need to take into account that tomatoes grow better in beds where pumpkins, zucchini, cabbage, cucumbers, radishes, and carrots were previously grown. Therefore, you need to plan planting seedlings in a greenhouse in advance. If last year there were cucumbers growing in the garden bed, and radishes were ripening on the sides, then there is no better place for tomatoes this year.
