Yeast is a universal tool that helps not only make excellent baked goods, but also grow healthy and beneficial plants for humans. Using a product such as yeast fertilizer for tomatoes, you can grow strong, environmentally friendly, healthy and beautiful plants.
Why are yeast feedings considered so effective? They cause the plant body to become saturated with phosphorus. The fungus found in the yeast processes the organic microelements with which the soil is saturated, thereby improving the plant's sensitivity to the minerals and elements found in the soil for the rapid and healthy growth of planted plants.
In this case, an important factor is the cost of this product. In a store, supermarket or market at any time you can purchase both live and dry yeast and prepare an inexpensive and environmentally friendly fertilizer from them.
Yeast is an inexpensive and effective fertilizer.
By purchasing yeast to feed tomato and pepper seedlings, you can easily prepare a substance for plant growth using homemade products. We will discuss how to prepare them, at what time and how often to use them in the text below.
Beneficial properties of yeast nutrition
Experienced gardeners know: if you want to grow strong seedlings, use yeast nutrition. Thanks to active organisms and fungal bacteria, yeast has beneficial effects on plants:
- increase the endurance of seedlings when grown in unfavorable conditions, for example, with insufficient lighting;
- stimulate the growth of vegetative mass;
- help strengthen the root system;
- increase the likelihood of cuttings rooting when planting shrubs;
- increase plant immunity during fruit set.
Feeding tomato seedlings: methods of applying fertilizers
There are two ways to feed plants with nutrients - root and foliar. Experienced gardeners are familiar with these methods, but for novice gardeners this information will be extremely useful. Each of these methods has its own characteristics.
Root feeding is the main method of fertilizing; by pouring a nutrient solution under the root, you enrich the soil, and the plants, with the help of the root system, receive all the nutrients necessary for proper development.
This is not difficult to do, but you still need to follow some rules and adhere to certain deadlines. You can feed the seedlings for the first time after the appearance of true leaves, then after picking. 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 the fertilizer according to the recipe and calculate the dosage correctly. Young seedlings should be fertilized with half the intended dose, and for older plants (after transplanting to a permanent place and during the formation of buds) - fertilize using the full dosage.
The result of yeast feeding can usually be noticed after about three days, this is the time it takes for the product to decompose in moist and warm soil and release all the beneficial compounds, trace elements, amino acids and other nutrients.
Foliar feeding is carried out to enhance the effect of the root and help weakened or newly transplanted plants adapt; it is carried out by spraying tomato greens with a nutrient solution.
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 treated at any time of the day, but it is better to spray plants outside in the evening.
If you notice how well tomatoes respond to yeast feeding and begin to grow better, then of course you will want to feed them more often, in the hope of a rich harvest. But we 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.
Why yeast has a beneficial effect on seedlings
- Yeasts are living organisms that are single-celled fungi. Due to their high protein content, they influence the qualitative restructuring of the soil, which leads to increased plant development.
- Yeast contains a full range of minerals. They contain potassium and phosphorus in large quantities, and magnesium, iron, calcium and sodium in lower concentrations.
- Once in a warm environment (in the soil), the yeast begins to actively divide. One cell divides 25 times. Considering that the main waste product of unicellular fungi is carbon dioxide, the growth of colonies creates a nutrient medium for plants.
- Fertilizer is not so much the yeast itself as the products of its vital activity. Single-celled fungi stimulate the rapid decomposition of organic matter in the soil.
Feeding tomato seedlings with yeast: what are the benefits
feeding tomato seedlings
feeding tomato seedlings
Perhaps you have never heard before that you can fertilize vegetables with yeast 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 the growth period: important amino acids, organic iron, various trace elements, as well as proteins and minerals.
As a result, we get an extremely inexpensive, complex, highly nutritious fertilizer, which is completely organic and therefore does not violate the ecological purity of the crop. So if you are new to gardening, then don’t worry, because feeding tomato seedlings with yeast is extremely beneficial for plants
Flaws
When using yeast to feed plants, you need to know the features of their action in specific conditions:
- yeast actively reproduces only in a warm environment, therefore, when added to unheated soil, it does not give the expected effect;
- yeast is added to soil pre-treated with organic matter. There will be no result in depleted soil;
- When feeding, it is important to follow the recommended dosages. Overfeeding leads to a rapid increase in green mass, slowing down the formation of ovaries.
How to breed yeast for seedlings: recipes
Both fresh and dry yeast are used for feeding. Another advantage of yeast feeding is that it is very easy to prepare at home.
Fresh yeast is the most effective
Fertilizer made from fresh yeast is considered the most effective. Regardless of the stage of plant development, they are bred according to the following scheme:
- warm water – 1 l;
- fresh yeast – 200 g.
Stir everything well and leave to infuse for 6-8 hours. Dilute the resulting solution with 10 liters of water. Use on the day of breeding.
Dry yeast - add sugar
Sugar is added to dry yeast to enhance the fermentation process. Mix:
- warm water – 10 l;
- dry baker's yeast – 10 g;
- sugar – 2 tbsp.
Dissolve the yeast well in water and leave for 2-3 hours. When foam begins to form, the fertilizer is ready. In this proportion it does not need to be further diluted with water.
Alternative recipe using dry yeast:
- warm water – 3 liters;
- dry yeast – 100 g;
- sugar – 1 glass.
Yeast is dissolved in water and allowed to brew. The fermentation process in this case is very active. After 2-3 hours, for each liter of such fertilizer you need to add 5 liters of warm water.
Feeding tomato seedlings with yeast - what are the pros and cons
feeding tomato seedlings
The fact that yeast is a useful fertilizer does not mean that it can be used constantly throughout the season. The secret is to carry out the required amount of fertilizing within a certain time frame, strictly observing the concentration of the product.
How it works? Like all fungi, yeast begins to actively multiply in warmth and dampness. During the reproduction process, all the necessary substances are released and enter the soil, increasing its nutritional value.
Feeding your tomato seedlings with yeast has many benefits. It is absolutely safe for both plants and you. It significantly accelerates growth (remember the expression “grows by leaps and bounds”?), helps plants grow healthy foliage, at the same time strengthens the roots and helps increase the immunity of the crop.
But speaking about the advantages of this fertilizer, one cannot fail to mention certain pitfalls. Firstly, if the dosage is not followed, 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, during the fermentation process there is less calcium in the soil, which means the acidity level of the soil may change.
Therefore, when fertilizing tomatoes with a yeast composition, do not forget to replenish the calcium level by adding, for example, wood ash.
Acceptable additives for yeast nutrition
To enhance the effect, as well as if it is necessary to treat seedlings, you can add the following to the yeast solution:
- Ash, which is considered the main source of potassium and calcium for plants. To do this, add 0.5 kg of wood ash, previously diluted in 1 liter of water, to the infused yeast solution (10 liters). To activate fermentation, you can add 100 g of sugar. Let it brew for a day, dilute in a ratio of 1:10.
See also: Ash for seedlings
- Whey. It is used instead of water and infused with mash. In 1 liter of whey you need to dissolve 100 g of fresh or 10 g of dry yeast. Leave for 2 hours, add 1 kg of crackers and 5 liters of water. Leave for a week, stirring every 2 days. For watering plants, dilute in a ratio of 1:20.
- Kefir. In one container you need to mix 20 g of live yeast, a glass of wood ash and 100 ml of kefir. Stir and add 2 liters of warm water. Leave the mixture to ferment for a week. Dilute in a ratio of 1:5.
Attention: it is not recommended to combine yeast with manure or chicken droppings.
Methods and timing of introducing yeast nutrition
For experienced gardeners, this information is not new, but novice gardeners often ask how to feed tomatoes with yeast.
There are two main types of yeast-based nutrient additions:
- root;
- foliar.
Each of them has its own characteristics.
You can also fertilize the plant using the foliar method.
Root
The main type of supplementary nutrition. The root system absorbs all the substances necessary for the plant to develop normally.
But you need to know how to properly feed tomato seedlings with yeast.
This is done in the following cases:
- when the first leaf appears;
- after the second dive;
- after transplanting the crop into open ground;
- at the beginning of flowering.
You also need to know how to properly feed tomato seedlings with yeast at home, and how to calculate the concentration. If the seedlings are young, then they need to be treated with half the application rate. For an adult, formed bush, more feeding is required.
Foliar
When asked whether it is possible to water tomatoes with yeast, the answer is yes. This method is used in cases where root nutrition needs to be enhanced by external influence. This applies to weakened tomato bushes that have just been planted (no matter in a greenhouse or in open ground). The non-root method of nutrition means spraying and watering the tomato with yeast. Fungus-based solutions are usually used.
At the beginning of the growing season, it is recommended to carry out such fertilizing
Gardeners recommend carrying out such fertilizing at the beginning of the growing season. Only the concentration of nutrition should be slightly less than with root nutrition. You need to know how to properly feed tomatoes with yeast and what time to choose. If tomatoes are grown in a greenhouse, then additional nutrition can be carried out at any time of the day. Watering tomatoes planted in the garden with yeast should be done in the evening.
Plant Compatibility
Despite the overall positive effect, yeast feeding will not be useful for all plants.
Compatibility:
- tomatoes;
- pepper;
- zucchini;
- cucumbers;
- carrot;
- radish;
- strawberry;
- chrysanthemums;
- petunia;
- peonies.
They don't like yeast:
- garlic;
- onion;
- potato;
- peas;
- beans;
- Saintpaulia.
The nuances of yeast feeding
To get a positive effect from yeast feeding, you must adhere to the following rules:
- choose only cultures compatible with yeast;
- follow the regime - maximum 2 feedings per seedling period;
- use yeast that is not expired;
- Store yeast for fertilizer in a cool place;
- use yeast infusion during the next watering;
- For 3 days of fertilizing, feed the seedlings with potassium sulfate or pour in an infusion of wood ash.
