Useful preparations for plants can be bought not only at the hardware store.
Some cheap pharmaceutical products are excellent for feeding and stimulating the growth of vegetable and berry crops. Dear readers!
For you, we have created communities on social networks in which useful articles and interesting ideas are published several times a day! Subscribe and receive useful content in a convenient format! Among them is succinic acid. Today we want to tell you what this product is for and how it should be used.
Why do tomatoes and cucumbers need succinic acid?
So, first of all, succinic acid is a growth stimulant. The drug can be used at any time: from pre-sowing seed treatment to planting seedlings and treating adult plants.
Additional advantages of succinic acid are:
- the ability to enhance chlorophyll synthesis processes;
- stimulation of the vital activity of microorganisms;
- prevents nitrates from accumulating in the soil;
- increases plant resistance to unfavorable environmental conditions;
- strengthens the general immunity of plants;
- strengthens the root system, stems and leaves;
- increases the absorption of other microelements.
ON A NOTE. Interestingly, it is almost impossible to overfeed plants with succinic acid. Plants themselves regulate the level of microelement intake.
Preparation and storage of the solution
Since the drug is a potent growth stimulant, it should be used with caution. If a dose of concentrated solution gets on the skin or mucous membranes, the acid will cause a burn. Prepare the mixture for spraying or watering plants while wearing gloves. If the mixture does get on the body, you need to immediately treat the area with a solution of baking soda and rinse with water.
The solution is prepared depending on its purpose: when watering the root system, a more concentrated mixture is prepared; for spraying plants, the concentration is reduced. After preparation, you need to use the entire mixture. It cannot be stored. Therefore, you need to calculate the required amount before processing.
What useful elements does it contain?
Succinic acid is a natural product that is produced by all living organisms.
Industrially, it is produced as a white powder similar to salt or sugar. You can also find the drug in tablet form.
Succinic acid does not contain chemical impurities. It contains sugar, potato starch, talc, calcium stearate and aerosil.
As you can see, this is an exclusively natural product that is more suitable for organic farming than anything else.
It is better to use a powdered product
The product is sold in different forms, but the most common are tablets.
Features of succinic acid:
- Sold in all pharmacies and used as a stimulant to help with physical and mental stress . This is a product of natural origin, obtained by processing amber, the acid is found in plants and the human body, it is a very useful substance for plants and living beings.
- Available in the form of tablets, capsules with granules inside and powder . The most convenient way to use cucumbers as a stimulant is powder, since it dissolves best in water. Of course, it is possible to use it in tablets or capsules, but in this case it is better to crush the tablets first, open the capsules and carefully pour out the contents.
- When processed, the composition of the soil improves and the green parts of the plant are strengthened . Cucumbers grow and develop much better, the level of chlorophyll in the plant increases and the processes of photosynthesis and metabolism are accelerated.
Is it possible to spray cucumbers during fruiting? Yes, the composition is safe for humans and it is enough to simply wash the fruits before eating
- If you treat the seeds with an aqueous solution before planting, their germination will improve significantly . In this case, special growth stimulants can not be used, since this is no longer necessary.
- Treated plants tolerate both a lack of moisture and its excess much better . The tolerance to temperature changes is significantly improved, and the plant experiences minimal stress. Periodic spraying of the ground part shortens the ripening time of cucumbers.
- When watering with the solution, active growth of the root mass is stimulated . The system is formed much faster, which ensures good development of the plant and its provision with all the necessary microelements.
- The balance of microorganisms in the soil is normalized and toxic compounds are destroyed. Spores of many diseases die when exposed to succinic acid. The nitrate content in the soil is also significantly reduced.
When watering with a solution of succinic acid, the structure of the soil improves.
The author of the video notes the safety of succinic acid for humans and plants. It is almost impossible to overfeed cucumbers and other crops.
How to use succinic acid as a fertilizer for tomatoes and cucumbers
Let's look at how to use this product as a top dressing for tomatoes and cucumbers.
Tomatoes love succinic acid. After processing it, they produce more buds. Tomatoes can be watered and sprayed.
Typically, for both cultures the following scheme is used:
- 1 feeding is carried out at the stage of transplanting seedlings to a permanent place;
- 2 fertilizing before flowering;
- 3 feeding during flowering;
- 4 feeding after flowering.
If necessary, you can spray it a couple more times, but then you need to reduce the concentration of the active substance.
ON A NOTE. Experts advise using root dressings with succinic acid in the evening.
Possible applications
Solutions of succinic acid are used for watering and processing many vegetable crops, but it is worth remembering that there are a number of features for each technique. Today, in vegetable growing manuals you can find the following uses of succinic acid for tomatoes:
- Pre-soaking seeds to stimulate growth.
- Spraying tomatoes or cucumbers with succinic acid.
- Watering the root part of the crop.
- Watering foliar systems.
For each presented method there are a number of restrictions on the dosage of the drug, the concentration of the solution, and the frequency of application of the technique. This is due to the fact that any drug has a toxic dosage.
If the recommended standards and requirements are not followed, you may simply lose the plant instead of the expected result.
How to use succinic acid for processing
The drug can be used not only for root feeding, but also for leaf treatment. Usually for this purpose the concentration is reduced.
To prepare a working solution for spraying, the tablet is ground into powder and dissolved in a small amount of water. Next, the volume of liquid is adjusted to the working value and the plants are treated.
As always, spraying should be done in the morning or evening. Preferably in cloudy weather, but without rain. All these requirements will improve the digestibility of the product by plants.
Features of mineral nutrition of cucumbers
Regular root feeding of cucumber beds is a complete enrichment of the soil with the NPK complex, calcium, magnesium, iron, sulfur salts, as well as microelements (boron, copper, molybdenum, zinc, cobalt, manganese, fluorine, iodine, etc.).
Microelements, which are in a form bioavailable to the root system of seedlings, increase the activity of enzyme systems in the plant body. Due to this, the yield increases, as well as the content of vitamins and sugars in greens. The optimal feeding regime for pumpkin crops is alternating organic and mineral fertilizers in the form of nutrient solutions.
Regardless of whether cucumbers grow in an open plantation or in a greenhouse, applying various fertilizers every 10-14 days, until the end of the growing season, is the key to normal plant development and long-term fruiting of the cucumber plantation. A sufficient amount of nutritional components not only increases the yield of cucumbers, but also increases the ability of plants to withstand various unfavorable factors (drought, sudden temperature fluctuations, pests, phytopathogens).
Application of succinic acid for seedlings
You can use succinic acid already at the stage of growing seedlings. Let's look at how to prepare a nutrient solution for tomato and cucumber seedlings.
How to use tomatoes for seedlings
Tomato seedlings love spraying with a solution of this drug. To prepare the working fluid, you need to dissolve 2 grams in 1 liter of water.
Tomatoes should be sprayed evenly both above and below the leaves.
How to use for cucumber seedlings
But cucumber seedlings prefer watering with this product. The working solution is prepared from 5 grams of the substance and 2 liters of water.
External characteristics of the drug
This drug can be found for sale on the shelves of any pharmacy. Succinic acid does not officially belong to mineral or organic fertilizers, but is used quite often among summer residents for cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers. It is a white crystalline powder.
Thanks to its optimal composition, it is perfectly soluble in both water and alcohol solutions. Among the products of pharmaceutical companies you can find acid tablets that can be easily crushed into the usual powder.
How to make a solution for adult tomatoes
Let's look at how to prepare a recipe for feeding already large tomatoes.
Feeding when planting seedlings
When you transfer the seedlings to a permanent place, after planting them, feed them with the following composition. Dissolve 2 grams of the drug in a liter of water. Water the planted seedlings and sprinkle the leaves. This composition will help the tomatoes take root better and withstand a stressful situation.
Feeding during flowering
Once the tomatoes bloom, they can be processed for 3 weeks straight. To do this, dissolve 1 g of the substance in 1 liter of water.
The product can be watered or sprayed on plants. A total of 3 treatments are done.
Prophylactic solution
Recipe: 2 grams of powder per 1 liter of water. Equally suitable for both spraying and root watering.
This composition should be used approximately once a month if the tomatoes are generally doing well.
Preparation of a concentrated solution
You can purchase this plant feeder in the form of tablets or powder.
To prepare the concentrate, you need to dissolve 1 gram of the drug in a small amount of warm water and leave for a few minutes. Then add water, bringing the amount of liquid to 1 liter. The growth stimulator should be purchased at flower shops or pharmacies.
But it should be borne in mind that the pharmaceutical version, in addition to the active substance, contains auxiliary components: ascorbic acid, glucose and talc. This will not harm the flowers, but it will be more difficult to prepare a solution of the required concentration.
The working solution (0.02%) is prepared by diluting 200 grams of concentrate with 1 liter of cold water. For a weaker solution (0.002%), the amount of water is increased to 10 liters or the amount of concentrate is reduced to 20 grams. The prepared liquid is stored for no more than three days. After this period, its properties are lost.
The stimulant is used in several stages from the preparation of seeds and seedlings to harvest:
- Soaking seeds and cuttings, processing tubers and bulbs before planting.
- Regular watering of the soil.
- Spraying the above-ground parts of crops before and after flowering.
Such measures increase the yield and concentration of beneficial microelements in the fruits of garden crops.
Garden flowers are distinguished by more intense and prolonged flowering and lush, rich greenery. Such biostimulation prevents the development of various diseases, the accumulation of negatively active elements in the soil, protects against parasites, increases endurance and revives from the consequences of natural disasters.
Seed treatment
The concentrate is used for soaking plant seeds. Thanks to this procedure, they germinate earlier. In the future, the crop will be more resistant to diseases and stress, flowering and fruiting will improve. The procedure takes from 12 to 24 hours. Next, the seeds are removed from the liquid, dried and sown in a container with prepared soil. Or you can wait for the seeds to germinate in the mixture itself.
Flower tubers are also soaked, but the period spent in the product is reduced to 6 hours and they are immediately planted in the soil.
Thus, it is possible to increase the yield of all garden fruit-bearing crops, for example: zucchini, cucumbers, radishes, carrots. Seeds should be treated immediately before sowing. Otherwise, this procedure will become a waste of time, it will simply lose its usefulness.
Soaking petioles and roots
When propagating flowers by cuttings, the use of a stimulant promotes rapid root formation in the petioles. To do this, the separated petioles are soaked in concentrate for a day. In this case, you need to ensure that the cut of the petiole is immersed in the liquid by 2 centimeters.
This way you can stimulate root growth. In this case, the root system is immersed in the prepared mixture. Soaking time depends on the type of flora and lasts from 20-30 minutes to four hours. The optimal time is 30–40 minutes.
Plant treatment
Using a solution to treat plants (watering and wiping leaves) regulates their growth. The root system develops faster and more actively absorbs beneficial microelements from the soil. When a biostimulator gets into the soil, the vital processes of microorganisms are normalized, and this leads to the restoration of optimal microflora.
This treatment is used to resuscitate plants that are sick, injured or stressed.
The effect will become noticeable within a few days. In this case, the concentration can be increased by diluting 2 grams of the drug in 0.5 liters of water. After receiving a positive result, treatment should be stopped and, after waiting some time (20–30 days), the procedure should be resumed, but for the purpose of prevention. Preventive watering should not be carried out more than once every two weeks.
Spraying
A weak biostimulating composition is suitable for spraying already planted crops. When carrying out the procedure before the flowering period, 20 grams of the drug are diluted in 20 liters of water, and after flowering the amount of water is reduced to 10 liters.
This measure makes green friends more resistant to frost and heat and reduces the risk of rotting at high humidity. During the period of bud opening, flower pollination and fruit set, the plant should be left alone.
Recipes for feeding with succinic acid for adult cucumbers
Cucumbers can also be processed several times.
When you plant seedlings, water the seedlings with a solution of boric acid (2.5 g per 1 liter). The next 2 feedings can be done after 1 and 2 weeks, respectively. The recipe is the same.
Dissolve 2 grams in a bucket of water and process the cucumbers leaf by leaf in case of unfavorable environmental conditions (heat or cold).
Also, for prevention purposes, you can water the bushes with a liquid prepared from 2 grams of product and 10 liters of water.
How to breed correctly
- To treat seeds in order to increase germination, 50-70 g of humate fertilizer are diluted in one liter of water. The seeds are kept in the solution for a day.
- For root feeding, prepare a solution of 50 milliliters of the drug per ten-liter bucket of water.
- For the purpose of foliar spraying, the product should be less saturated. It is enough to take 25-30 grams per standard bucket. Getting the necessary nutrients through the leaves is much more efficient. However, it should be remembered that such feeding should be carried out only in the evening or cloudy times of the day.
- Potassium humate is also used to improve soil condition. Take 200-300 milliliters of liquid concentrate per bucket of water.
Advantages and disadvantages
Now let's talk about the pros and cons of this product.
The advantages of succinic acid include its high efficiency, low cost, and harmlessness to humans, animals and insects.
Succinic acid generally has a beneficial effect on plants, increases immunity, and gives them strength. The shoots become plump and the root system is strong.
The drug has very few disadvantages.
For example, the finished working solution is poorly stored. Over the course of 3 days, it gradually loses all its beneficial properties. Therefore, try to prepare the right amount of fertilizer.
The drug also increases the acidity of the soil. If you add it uncontrollably, then you will need to add ash or dolomite flour.
How potassium humate affects the development of cucumbers
The substance, entering the soil, is instantly absorbed by cucumber bushes. By receiving a portion of this product, cucumbers strengthen their root system and immunity. The ripening period is accelerated and the protection against diseases is improved. Plantings increase the content of vitamins, chlorophyll and other nutrients.
To grow cucumbers, it makes sense to start by soaking the seeds in a solution of potassium humate. The effectiveness of the product has been proven when planting seedlings. It has the greatest benefit on cucumbers during the formation of ovaries and fruiting.
Precautions for use
Be sure to use personal protective equipment to protect your eyes and mucous membranes from exposure to the powder.
Keep the product out of the reach of children. Although the product is harmless, an allergic reaction may occur. Therefore, generally keep any medications away from children.
In case of poisoning, consult a doctor.
If the solution gets into your eyes, rinse them with plenty of warm water. If the condition worsens, consult an ophthalmologist immediately.
The use of potassium humate during the fruiting period
By using this drug during fruit ripening, gardeners thereby help increase the yield and keeping quality of vegetables after harvest.
By the time of harvest, the soil under the cucumbers is depleted. The use of this fertilizer will increase the nutrient content and can even change the color of the soil to a darker one. Thanks to the darkening, the soil is better warmed by the sun.
Cucumbers signal a lack of potassium in the soil by changing the shape of the fruit. Smooth, neat cucumbers acquire an unattractive pear-shaped shape, becoming thinner at the stalk.
If such signs are detected, it is necessary to feed the plantings with potassium. Potassium humate is best suited.
Answers to frequently asked questions
Can the product be used on cucumbers and tomatoes?
Yes, and at all stages of growth and development.
What is succinic acid used for?
It strengthens the immune system, improves the root system, stimulates the formation of buds and ovaries.
Are there any contraindications?
We can say no. Succinic acid is a natural remedy. A slight overdose will not cause any harm, since the plants themselves regulate the required amount of the microelement.
How to apply fertilizer?
You can water the plants at the roots, or you can spray them.
Processing of foliar parts
Vegetative propagation of tomatoes is an infrequent technique among vegetable growers and summer residents. Timely watering and processing of vegetation allows the plant to grow quickly and increase green mass thanks to optimal energy metabolism.
Succinic acid promotes the active entry of vitamins, minerals, microelements and nutrients into plant cells. Vegetative stepsons grow quickly after treatment, confidently gaining weight.
