How to water tomatoes with whey to enhance growth and fight fungal diseases

The wide range of industrial products for caring for garden plants is amazingly diverse; with their help, you can cure almost any ailment of vegetables and fruits. Despite this, many home garden owners prefer proven home recipes. Availability, proven effect and lack of side effects attracts fighters for the naturalness of fruits, and processing with fermented milk products leads the list of drugs. Today we’ll figure out how to water tomatoes with whey, and why this particular method is recommended for home use.

Serum for processing cucumbers and tomatoes: what is it?

Whey is a substance that is formed when fresh milk turns sour. It is usually separated from milk when curd is prepared or yogurt is filtered.

Note! Curdled milk contains more vitamins and minerals that are beneficial for plants, so whey from it will be preferable.

You can make it yourself or purchase a ready-to-drink drink at grocery stores. This product is effective for plant care due to its high concentration of milk protein, vitamins, minerals, and essential amino acids.

Healthy cucumbers and tomatoes

What are the benefits of whey?

Bread fertilizer for cucumbers and tomatoes

Cucumbers and tomatoes growing in open ground in central Russia do not always produce a good harvest. Cucumbers planted from seeds often sprout poorly and develop slowly, especially if the spring and summer were rainy and cloudy. Tomatoes also have serious problems: late blight, viral leaf diseases, diseases caused by moisture deficiency.

Industrially produced fertilizers are not always effective. Quite often they are of low quality, since they are made in violation of technological standards: adding less active substances to the fertilizer than required by GOST standards. In such cases, proven “grandmother’s” methods come to the rescue. Here's what you can say about the benefits of serum:

• The product is instantly absorbed into the soil, enriching it with useful substances;
• Successfully fights viral and bacterial infections;
• Helps get rid of pests and parasites;
• Increases the yield of cucumbers and tomatoes.

But the most important thing is that this fertilizer is absolutely harmless.

Serum

Systematic use of whey in the garden

Rich harvests of vegetables and fruits bring immense joy to all farmers. After all, they are a great reward for their hard work. Throughout the season, plants need careful care, which includes weeding, fertilizing and protection from pests. Let's explore how using whey in the garden helps to obtain abundant harvests.

Tomatoes

As you know, the biggest problem for tomatoes is late blight and powdery mildew. In addition, pests settle on plants. Various chemicals help get rid of the infection. However, this is not the last thing that can be done. A properly prepared solution will help solve the problem.

Components required:

• settled warm water (9 l);
• whey (1 l);
• iodine (20 drops).

The components are combined in one container. Mix thoroughly and filter. The resulting “preparation” will help tomato seedlings quickly adapt to the new environment and increase immunity. At the same time, you need to know how to spray tomatoes with serum to provide them with reliable protection.

First of all, tie up the bushes if they are tall. Then the solution is poured into a container with a sprayer and processing begins. Thanks to the sticky mixture, a dense film is formed on the foliage and stems. It prevents the proliferation of harmful fungi that are ready to infect the crop.

The first time the procedure is carried out 2 weeks after planting with an interval of 10 days.

To stimulate the growth of tomatoes, whey-based fertilizers are used.

Watering is carried out in 3 passes:

• the first time - 10 days after planting the seedlings in the greenhouse;
• the second - after 14 days;
• the third time when they are planted in an open garden bed.

Fertilizing with a solution of whey during the flowering period increases the yield of the vegetable crop. All procedures are performed in dry, warm weather. During the rainy season, fine days are selected to properly fertilize the plants.

cucumbers

To increase immunity, almost all vegetable crops need fertilizing. As soon as the young shoots of cucumbers rise 10 cm above the soil, they can be watered with fertilizer. The procedure is repeated every 7 days until the buds appear. The solution is applied to the root area in small portions. To improve the effect and protect against pests, cucumbers are regularly sprayed, trying to cover all leaf blades.

Cucumbers are often affected by powdery mildew. A simple composition will help you get rid of the disease:

• water;
• ash;
• serum.

Pour 3 liters of hot water into the pan. Add 1 cup of ash. Bring to a boil, then cover with a lid. They insist for 7 days. Then the liquid is filtered. Add 3 liters of fresh whey diluted with water (1:1). Mix thoroughly. Spray the above-ground parts of cucumbers.

Onions and root vegetables

The appearance of spicy greens in the garden brings joy to all summer residents. However, you need to try to prevent pests from destroying it. The onion fly quietly penetrates the beds in order to destroy the succulent greens. A unique tincture of whey with tobacco leaf will protect the plant from annoying “neighbors”. Spraying is carried out from a spray bottle once a week.

Gardeners use solutions containing whey to fertilize plants, which always increases productivity. And crops such as radishes, carrots and beets also need additional feeding. It is usually carried out after the formation of the fourth leaf. The nutrient is prepared according to a traditional recipe. Then the crops of root crops are sprayed. The frequency of the procedure depends on weather conditions and the external state of the crops.

World of flowers

Gardeners have noticed that if you water flowers with whey, they grow better and are not afraid of temperature changes. Their foliage acquires a dense structure, and their buds acquire a rich color. The irrigation solution is prepared in the classical way, using clean water and fresh whey. The components are taken in equal quantities and mixed thoroughly. Fertilizer is applied in small portions, alternating with regular moisture.

Garden flowers are watered taking into account weather conditions. Less often - during heavy rainfall. More often - in dry times.

Using the serum for watering indoor plants that decorate offices and residential buildings brings wonderful results. The procedure is carried out no more than once a week, so as not to increase the acidity of the substrate. The solution is prepared according to the traditional recipe. Use a natural (not purchased) product if it has not been subjected to heat treatment.

Spraying indoor flowers with serum protects them from pests.

Fruit trees and shrubs

Fruit crops are often affected by various fungal infections or insect pests. Not all gardeners want to use chemicals to protect their plants. Helps out natural milk waste.

The product is diluted with warm, settled water. If necessary, add ash or iodine. The prepared solution is sprayed on currants, raspberries and gooseberries during lush flowering. The procedure is repeated 1-2 times a month. Foliage and branches of fruit crops are treated in a similar way. Tall trees are irrigated using a powerful sprayer. As a result, plants receive reliable protection from pests and fungal infections.

As practice shows, the use of whey in the garden promotes the growth of vegetable and fruit crops. The preparation prepared at home helps protect plants from diseases and “uninvited” guests. The main thing is to stick to the dose indicated in the recipe, and abundant harvests will definitely please your heart.

Types of serums

Video: Soil for cucumbers in a greenhouse

You can add different components to whey, then this product will be much more effective. Most often, domestic gardeners use the following formulations for feeding and spraying plants:

• Whey from cottage cheese or yogurt in its pure form;
• Mixture with iodine solution;
• Mixture with brilliant green solution;
• Infusion of serum with ash.

The addition of substances such as iodine, brilliant green and ash further enriches the feeding with useful substances. For example, ash contains a large amount of potassium, which has a beneficial effect on the formation of ovaries and fruits and plays a big role in the prevention of “barren flowers”. Iodine increases the intensity of flowering, and brilliant green disinfects the soil, killing pathogenic bacteria.

Serum with iodine

Folk recipes

In addition to whey, you can also use kefir for tomatoes as fertilizer, fresh or sour milk.

Here are a few recipes for using curdled milk for tomatoes.

Standard

Take 1 part whey to 10 parts water. They spray the plantings with it and water the bushes.

Concentrated

Up to 10 drops of iodine are poured into half a liter of serum.
The product should be warm. It is better for them to wipe the leaves with a sponge if spots, darkening and other signs of an incipient fungal disease are found on them. The solution is also applied under the root to protect the root system. The concentrated solution should not be overused; it contains a lot of iodine, the excess of which is dangerous for tomatoes.

Tying stimulator

Add 1 tsp to a liter of whey. pharmaceutical solution of boric acid and spray the tomatoes. You shouldn’t get carried away with this remedy either: an excess of boron is no less harmful than an excess of iodine. In moderate quantities, the solution will accelerate the appearance of ovaries and the ripening of fruits.

Top dressing

It is recommended to water weak, stunted tomatoes from time to time with any fermented milk product - sour milk, whey, kefir, yogurt. No need to dilute.

How to use

Is it possible to plant cucumbers after tomatoes?

Spraying tomatoes with whey (as well as cucumbers) is an easy job. The same goes for watering. The main thing is the correct dosage of this beneficial substance.

• There are several options:
• Watering. The soil must first be loosened for more intensive absorption of nutrients;
• Spraying. This method is most often used to control pests and parasites;
• Feeding. In this case, other components are added to the whey (iodine, brilliant green, ash);
• Treatment of seedlings before planting in a greenhouse or open ground to stimulate their growth.

Each gardener independently chooses the method of using this valuable substance depending on the age of the plants, their phase of development and basic needs.

Spraying

Composition features and benefits for plants

Whey is a product that can be obtained by preparing cottage cheese from fermented milk. It contains a large number of useful elements necessary for vegetable crops during their growth. Among the main ones are:

• potassium;
• nitrogen;
• phosphorus;
• calcium;
• magnesium;
• amino acids.

In combination with lactic bacteria, these components have a beneficial effect on the condition of plants. Organic matter decomposes into simple components much faster and is more easily absorbed by vegetables. In addition, thanks to the use of this product, it is possible to eliminate pathogenic microflora.

How to spray and water

When tomato serum is used, spraying not only has an extremely beneficial effect on plant development, but also helps fight diseases and pests of tomatoes and cucumbers. For example, this product will help “repel” whiteflies from the beds. This insect has long adapted to industrially produced insecticides, so in this case folk remedies will be much more effective.

You can spray plants using an industrial sprayer, but you can also make your own sprayer. The latter option is more convenient, because the capacity of a homemade spray bottle can be larger than that of a purchased one.

Important! Irrigation must be done on a sunny, windless day. If work is carried out in the rain, there will be no benefit.

When spraying and watering, keep the following in mind:

• The substance must be diluted with water in a ratio of 1:3. If you use pure serum, the plants will suffer serious burns and may even die;
• You need to water at the root, without touching the leaves, so that the precious fertilizer does not go to waste. Therefore, it will be more convenient to water from a watering can from which the tip with holes has previously been removed;
• When the serum has been absorbed, the soil must be loosened again for more intense absorption;
• When spraying, do not stand too close to the plant. On the contrary, in order for the liquid to be evenly distributed, you should move away to spray it.

It must be borne in mind that this substance can only be used for tomatoes or cucumbers. Peppers and eggplants, although they are distant “relatives” of tomatoes, react negatively to milk protein.

cucumbers

Which whey is better: milk whey or with iodine?

If you spray with iodine serum, tomatoes and cucumbers usually respond well to this product. Instead of iodine, you can also use a solution of brilliant green (popularly known as “brilliant green”). The undoubted advantage of these supplements is their availability, you can buy at any pharmacy, and low price.

Note! In the conditions of the Russian middle zone, combined feeding with iodine will be more effective than feeding with a simple solution of whey and water.

This is due to the fact that in this climate zone, plants often experience iodine deficiency. The soil is poor in this element, so additional iodine cannot cause any harm. In addition, iodine promotes the rapid absorption of milk protein and amino acids contained in whey.

But in other climatic zones (for example, where there is a sea), the soils, as a rule, are rich in iodine and there is no need to further enrich the soil with this element.

Top dressing

Feeding cucumbers and tomatoes with whey using folk remedies usually gives good results if the plants are fed correctly. To fertilize seedlings or adult plants, the soil must first be watered and loosened, then the fertilizer will be better absorbed into the soil and get to the roots faster.

Here are the basic rules for feeding plants:

• The solution should only be warm, at least 20 degrees;
• Do not pour the serum infusion into dry soil, so as not to burn the plants. If it is not possible to water cucumbers or tomatoes, fertilizing should be done after rain, while the ground is still wet;
• It is strictly forbidden to use this substance for fertilizer on a hot afternoon. The ideal time to work is early morning or late evening, when there is no bright sun in the sky;
• If fertilizing is carried out in a greenhouse, the greenhouse must be ventilated after applying fertilizer.

For feeding, the solution should not be as concentrated as for spraying.

Top dressing

Precautionary measures

Whey is an acidic medium, so when using it it is worth considering:

1. 
   Be sure to check the acidity level of the soil. If it is within the pH range of 5 and above, then the serum will be detrimental to the root system.

2. Monitor your concentration. The wrong composition is also detrimental to plants.
3. Complementary feeding is carried out only on watered soil.
4. Pasteurized milk is not suitable for making the product.
5. Do not keep the serum for a long time at temperatures above 10 degrees. It is worth remembering that the higher the temperature, the faster the fermentation. In this case, some of the lactic acid bacteria die.

The serum is suitable for treating not only soil and roots, but also leaves. The gardener must be careful; an acidic environment can burn leaves, especially young seedlings.

Processing of seedlings

Gardeners often ask whether it is possible to water tomato seedlings with whey. Indeed, if you water young plants with this product, there will be no harm, only benefit. However, for intensive development of seedlings, it is better to use special growth stimulants. They cope with this task much more effectively. It is necessary to treat seedlings with serum many times, only in this case the result will be noticeable.

Experienced summer residents recommend spraying weak bushes with valuable fertilizer at least once every 10 days.

Important! Thanks to spraying, a thin film is formed on the leaves and stems of young seedlings; it perfectly protects immature plants from diseases and pests, as well as from the adverse effects of the environment.

But this film is easily washed off during rains and is also blown away by the wind, so there is no point in carrying out the treatment once or twice.

Application errors

The most common mistakes include:

1. 
   Using an undiluted product or exceeding its consistency leads to a strong increase in soil acidity.
   If it gets on the leaves, it causes severe burns on their surface.

2. Weak consistency does not increase the effect. This is especially noticeable in the fight against parasites.
3. Wash off the composition. Often, when the composition is washed off, water mixed with whey ends up in beds with crops for which acid fertilizers are contraindicated.
4. Use only serum. This fertilizer is preventative. It is not used on an ongoing basis.
5. Frequent spraying. It is important to observe a frequency of 1-2, and sometimes 3 weeks. Frequent use of serum will lead to soil oxidation and burning of young seedlings.

The gardener must also remember that an acidic environment is harmful for seed germination. The seeds can be soaked in an acidic solution, but the whey cannot be used until the stems and leaves appear.

Treatment of late blight

Whey for tomato seedlings is a guarantee that a plant planted in open ground or in a greenhouse will not suffer from late blight. Serum against late blight on tomatoes is a very effective remedy. It can be used both for treatment and for the prevention of dangerous diseases.

Processing is carried out as follows:

• Take 10 liters of water per 2 liters of whey;
• Add 30 drops of iodine;
• Stir vigorously;
• Pour into the sprayer container, shake vigorously several times;
• Spray tomatoes.

The same solution can be used to treat powdery mildew and spotted leaf mosaic in cucumbers.

Late blight

How to prepare a solution: step-by-step recipe

In fact, the entire process of preparing fertilizing based on whey and iodine comes down to mixing the main components, the main thing is to choose the most suitable recipe. Let's consider several options.

Important! For each new treatment, you need to prepare a fresh solution, even if you still have the mixture from the last time.

Proportions and components

Among the simplest and most accessible ingredients for the preparation of whey feeding are the whey itself, iodine, water and ash, although in addition to them hydrogen peroxide, the drug Fitosporin and other components can be used. Let's look at a few popular recipes.

Option 1:

• water - 10 l;
• whey milk - 2 l;
• iodine - 10 drops;
• ash (provides an alkaline reaction and repels pests) - 2 tbsp. spoons.

Option 2 (protects the plant well from late blight):

• water - 10 l;
• whey - 1l;
• iodine tincture - 40 drops;
• hydrogen peroxide (3%) - 10 ml.

Instead of peroxide, you can add 40 drops of brilliant green, which is also highly effective in the prevention and treatment of tomato late blight.

Video: how to prepare a solution with iodine and serum for processing tomatoes

Step-by-step cooking instructions

Regardless of the selected recipe, the sequence of all actions when preparing the working solution will be the same in all cases. The main stages of this process include:

1. Preparing clean containers and purified water at room temperature.
2. Mixing water with whey.
3. Add iodine and stir thoroughly.
4. Introduction to the composition of the remaining components (ash, peroxide or brilliant green).

It is advisable to leave the finished fertilizer for half an hour, and then you can proceed to the direct processing of the tomatoes.
Important! With the simultaneous use of iodine and brilliant green, the latter should be less.

Folk remedies for fertilizing cucumbers and tomatoes

You can process cucumbers and tomatoes using other folk remedies. They also give good results and can significantly increase productivity. Among these tools, the most commonly used are the following:

• Ash;
• Mullein diluted with water;
• Humus infusion;
• Fresh manure and diluted bird droppings.

Bone meal and eggshells also significantly increase yield. Ground bones are rich in valuable microelements, and ground shells are an irreplaceable source of calcium.

Experts say that using whey as a top dressing and natural growth stimulator gives good results. But before using this product, you need to carefully study the options for its use and choose the one that is best suited for specific plants.

So, serum for cucumbers and tomatoes is very popular among domestic gardeners. It is an easy-to-use and inexpensive tool for increasing productivity.

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