Want to grow sweet, meaty tomatoes? Apply potassium - fertilizer for tomatoes

Like all living things, tomato plants need constant replenishment of nutrients. Their composition is distinguished by the variety of chemical elements, each of which, both on its own and in combination with other elements, is responsible for the vital functions of the entire organism: growth, flowering, fruit set and ripening.

A deficiency or excess of any of the nutrients negatively affects the condition of the plant, leads to the development of diseases and even its death. Potassium is one of the main nutrients, so it is so important that the plant receives it in a timely manner and in the required quantities.

When to fertilize potassium

The first addition of potassium should be made to the main dressing in the spring a week before planting seedlings in the ground. During the tomato growing season, at least four potassium feedings are recommended. For example, root feeding with monophosphate can be done as follows:

Feeding seedlings with a solution of 7-10 g of fertilizer per 10 liters of water:

• 1 - in the phase of 2 true leaves;
• 2 - 10-14 days after planting in the ground;
• then the concentration of the solution is increased - 7.5-15 g per 10 liters of water:
• 3 - beginning of fruiting;
• 4 - 10-14 days after the previous one.

Additional fertilizing may be required after prolonged rains, which contribute to the leaching of potassium.
The amount of fertilizing tomato also affects:

• type of bush;
• ripening period;
• maturation period;
• soil type;
• weather;
• general condition of the plant.

Potassium value for tomatoes

In the periodic table, potassium is the 19th element - K. It has an active effect on tomatoes at all stages of the growing season.
At the beginning of summer, it participates in the formation of tomato stems and ovaries. Potassium activates the assimilation of carbon dioxide from the air. Important! Potassium prolongs the youth of cells.
It is considered an element of cell youth. Tomato bushes bear fruit longer if they receive enough potassium from the soil. During fruit ripening, this nutrient promotes the formation of sugars. It is thanks to him that tomatoes grow sweet.

Potassium makes the stems of tomato bushes stronger and the root system more powerful. In plants, thanks to this element, adaptation characteristics are improved. They better tolerate cold weather, drought, and rainy periods.

How to properly apply potash fertilizers

The main thing in feeding is not to harm the plant, so you need to:

1. Strictly follow fertilizer consumption rates and manufacturer’s recommendations.
2. Apply fertilizers in moderately warm weather, cloudy but not damp.
3. The event is best held in the evening or early in the morning.
4. Fertilizing is carried out on well-moistened soil to prevent burns of the root system.
5. The solution is poured onto the soil carefully, without spraying the leaves and trunk.
6. Cold solutions should not be used.
7. Remains of fertilizers when fertilizing are washed off with clean water.

Signs of Potassium Deficiency

During potassium starvation, the first to suffer are the old leaves located in the lower tiers. The outflow of carbohydrates in them slows down, which leads to the accumulation of starch. First, the leaf blades become dark green, then their edges begin to become covered with yellowish-brown spots.

Over time, they merge into one continuous border. The marginal tissue dies, and the spots spread throughout the plate. Curled bronze leaves are one of the signs of potassium deficiency. Other symptoms of potassium starvation:

• uneven ripening;
• curling of young leaves;
• few ovaries;
• growth arrest;
• woody trunk;
• spots are visible on the surface of the fruit, they remain green near the stalk;
• fresh taste of the pulp.

Potash fertilizers for tomatoes

Potassium monophosphate (KH2PO4), a complex mineral fertilizer, contains K-28%, P-23% in the active substance. Available in the form of powder or granules, the color is beige or light brown. It has positive characteristics and some limitations:

1. It does not accumulate in the soil and decomposes quickly, so it is not recommended to add it to the autumn dressing.
2. It is easily absorbed by all parts of the plant, therefore it is very effective for foliar feeding.
3. The drug is easily soluble in water, but solubility is significantly affected by ambient temperature. At low temperatures it is poorly dissolved and absorbed by plants.
4. A good ratio of phosphorus and potassium significantly improves the general condition, fruiting, and increases resistance not only to various diseases, but also to low temperatures.
5. Does not contain ballast substances that can lead to side effects.
6. Has a good effect on beneficial microflora.
7. Has virtually no effect on soil acidity.
8. Can be used together with pesticides.

Potassium monophosphate promotes not only abundant flowering and fruit formation, but also increased formation of lateral shoots and tillering, which is not very useful for indeterminate varieties of tomatoes.

It quickly loses its quality under the influence of moisture and light and requires storage in a closed form. Prepared solutions must be used immediately.

Feeding seedlings with a solution of 7-10 g of fertilizer per 10 liters of water:

• 1 - in the phase of 2 true leaves;
• 2 - 10-14 days after planting in the ground;
• Next, the concentration of the solution is increased - 7.5-15 g per 10 liters of water:
• 3 - beginning of fruiting
• 4 - 10-14 days after the previous one.

Potassium nitrate or potassium nitrate KNO3 is available in the form of a white or yellowish crystalline salt. This is a complex fertilizer containing a convenient ratio of the active substance potassium and nitrogen (K2O - 46.2, N - 13.7), which usually do not combine well when absorbed by plants:

• dissolves well in water;
• has an almost neutral PH;
• is a prevention of blossom end rot and other diseases;
• safe for living organisms.

Potassium nitrate consumption rates are usually indicated by the manufacturer and are:

• foliar feeding - 0.5-2% aqueous solution;
• watering - per 1 m2 of area with a solution of 10-20 g per 10 liters of water.

It is most rational to use this fertilizer for feeding during the period of fruit formation, when the rate of nitrogen application needs to be reduced, and potassium application rate needs to be increased.

In this way, the plant’s strength is directed to increase the yield. Repeated feedings are carried out at intervals of 7-12 days.

Potassium magnesium is a potassium-magnesium fertilizer (K2SO4-to and MgSO4 - about 10%) that is not used regularly, but for symptoms of magnesium deficiency. Allows you to simultaneously replenish potassium reserves and eliminate microelement deficiency, which affects tomato leaf blades between the veins. There is a color change from yellow to purple. This significantly impairs photosynthesis. Potassium magnesia also contains about 17% sulfur and 1 to 3% chlorine.

Advice! A slight concentration of chlorine will not harm the plant with a single application of fertilizer.

Nutrients do not migrate in the soil and are comprehensively absorbed by the root system. Used in the form of an aqueous solution of 20-30 g per 10 liters, and for foliar feeding up to 5 liters are used per hundred square meters.

Cucumbers contain potassium. Botanical description

Cucumber is the oldest plant known to mankind since ancient times. The vegetable is native to Western India, from where it has spread throughout the world. This is one of the few crops consumed by humans in their unripe form. Due to this feature, the plant was nicknamed “aguros”, which translated from Greek means “unripe”.

Cucumbers are characterized by a taproot with a large number of lateral shoots. The stem of young seedlings is smooth, erect, while those of flowering and fruiting ones are rough, creeping, ending in branched tendrils (for climbing vertical supports). Moreover, the central shoot of the plant forms many lateral vines, from which vines of the second, third and fourth orders extend. At the same time, the number of secondary offspring depends on the variety of cucumbers and the growing conditions of the crop. The length of the main stem varies from 1 to 3 m, and the lateral branches from 0.3 to 0.8 m. The leaves of the vegetable are petiolate, heart-shaped, alternately located on creeping vines. As the stem grows, yellow funnel-shaped flowers with jagged edges form in the axils of the rudimentary plates. The stamens of cucumbers are fused in pairs, and the ovary, protruding, is pubescent along its entire length. The buds contain special glands that release fragrant nectar into the air.

Interestingly, bee-pollinated cucumbers are monoecious dioecious plants that produce both female and male flowers. Moreover, their staminate corollas contain sticky pollen, and their pistillate corollas contain ovaries with three- or four-lobed stigmas. Moreover, the number of male buds significantly exceeds the number of female ones. These plants require cross-pollination to bear fruit.

Monoecious plants are suitable for cultivation only in open ground. This is due to the fact that in greenhouse conditions it is impossible to ensure proper pollination. Breeders managed to solve this problem by developing parthenocarpic forms of cucumbers that form ovaries without the participation of insects.

The outer surface of the vegetable can be either smooth, spiky or coarsely tuberous. Moreover, the size, shape, color of the “pubescence” and the structure of the peel directly depend on the plant variety.

The use of potassium in complex fertilizers

Since plants most often require not one, but several nutrients at the same time, it is more advisable to use ready-made complex fertilizers for feeding. On the packaging, the manufacturer indicates the content of elements and average standards for fertilizing.

1. Potassium sulfate or potassium sulfate (K2SO4)

Effective for soils that have an alkaline environment, as it acidifies it. Acidic soils will need to be deoxidized when using potassium sulfate, which is not advisable.

Potassium sulfate can be used in the production of vegetables for all types of soils with normal acidity.

Composition of the active substance: K - 50%, S - 46%, P - 4%. Most often, fertilizer is used as an aqueous solution of low concentrations (about 0.1%) when watering at the root. It is not recommended to constantly use potassium sulfate to feed tomatoes; it should be alternated with other sources of potassium.

1. Potassium humate

The main active ingredient of the fertilizer is humic acids (up to 80%), which have a positive effect both on plant growth and on improving the chemical composition of the soil and its structure. Potassium humate also contains other microelements that have a beneficial effect on tomato plants in different periods:

• soaking seeds (20 ml per 200 g of water) for 24 hours;
• watering three times at the root during the growing season (50 ml per 10 liters of water) or over the leaves;
• for digging the soil (500 ml per bucket of water).

1. Ammofoska

This is a complex of nutrients ((NH4)2SO4 + (NH4)2HPO4 + K2SO4), containing in equal parts (about 15%) N, K, P. It is produced in the form of granules, does not caking, is used on all types of soils and, practically, for all plants. It is recommended to use it in the form of fertilizing in an amount of 25-30 g per 1 m2 during the flowering stage and the period of fruit formation, as well as when planting seedlings.

It is not advisable to apply in the fall. Fertilizing can be supplemented with manure extract, manganese sulfate and boric acid.

1. Nitrophoska.

Used when planting seedlings for the main filling or in holes, as well as a week after the seedlings have taken root. Manufacturers offer different percentages of NPK for different crops.

More often, the main elements are contained in equal proportions (16:16:16). If the composition of nitrophoska is higher than nitrogen (up to 50%), this contributes to increased plant growth and its strengthening in the initial period. phosphorus and potassium occupy from 16 to 24% in the structure and are in equal proportions. Nitrogen is present in an easily accessible form and is used first, and by the time of flowering, potassium and phosphorus are actively absorbed.

Advantages and disadvantages

Feeding with PKU (phosphorus-potassium fertilizers) is important throughout the entire growth cycle. The presence of potassium and phosphorus provides seedlings with a strong root system, strong stems, and the quantity and quality of fruits increases (large, fleshy tomatoes). Plants are resistant to adverse external factors, suffer less illness and withstand insect attacks.

In addition to the advantages, there are also disadvantages. Fertilizer must be used correctly, observing the dosage. An excess of micro and macroelements will lead to plant disease, spots appear, new leaves grow thin and weak, and productivity decreases.

Phosphorus-potassium fertilizers will help increase tomato yields

Potassium for plants from natural sources

1. Ash.

An excellent natural source of potassium is ash from burning wood and plant residues. Depending on the material being burned, the K content can vary significantly:

• peat - no more than 3%;
• spruce firewood - 5%;
• straw, plant residues (buckwheat, sunflower) - up to 30%;
• birch, pine firewood - up to 40%.

In addition to potassium, ash contains phosphorus and various trace elements. They apply it both when digging up the soil, and in dry form, pouring it under the bush. In addition, ash extracts or decoctions (300 g per 10 liters of water) are used for watering or spraying on the leaves. These fertilizers can be independent or complement mineral and organic fertilizers.

1. Cement dust.

Cement dust is also a completely safe and, at the same time, effective fertilizer, since the active substance contains up to 30% potassium.

At the same time, the dust does not contain chlorine, is highly soluble in water and has an alkaline reaction, which is very useful for acidic soils.

How you can feed tomatoes with the “Potassium Humate” fertilizer, the rules for its preparation - about this in the video.

What do tomatoes like?

Potassium fertilizers for tomatoes help accelerate metabolism, which has a good effect on fruit set and ripening. Feeding helps the plant survive spring temperature fluctuations and protects it from pathogens. Transplantation and rooting occurs faster. At the same time, other substances, nitrogen and phosphorus, must also be present in sufficient quantities.

Video: Expert advice on fertilizing tomatoes, including potash

The tomato bush feels good when the nutrition is balanced . To do this, you should follow the sequence of feeding:

1. In the spring, before planting seedlings, you need to fertilize the soil with nitrogen so that the plants can gain green mass and be ready to set fruit.
2. Towards the end of flowering, the most important moment comes - fertilizing with potassium mixtures. If time is lost, some part of the plants may shed flowers or ovaries. At this moment, you should watch the tomatoes especially carefully in order to notice the lack of substances in time. Gardeners usually water their plots every evening. There is time to take a closer look at the foliage - if it begins to change color, then urgent action must be taken. One foliar feeding is enough for the plant to come to life.
3. In the fall, after harvesting, you need to restore the soil by digging it up with phosphorus and potassium. Fertilizers will dissolve over the winter, and in the spring it will be easy for plants to absorb nutrients.

There are different types of potash fertilizers, but not all of them are suitable for the type of soil. Knowing the characteristics of each type of mineral fertilizer, taking into account the composition of the soil - its pH, you can choose the optimal nutrition for plants (more on this in the section on types of potash fertilizers).

Making your own fertilizer mixtures with potassium

To feed tomatoes, you can independently prepare various mixtures of several components, taking into account the needs of the plants.

For a solution per 10 liters of water:

• Potassium sulfate - 15 g, superphosphate - 20 g, ammonium nitrate - 15 g.
• Nitroammophoska - 10 g, potassium magnesium - 10 g, superphosphate - 20 g, ash - 150 g.
• Mullein infusion - 1 l, wood ash - 1 glass, double superphosphate - 20 g.

The solution is used for watering and consumed from 0.5 to 1.5 liters per bush. Optimal use of mineral fertilizers when growing tomatoes will allow you to grow a rich harvest with good marketability and taste. This production cannot be done without potassium; no other element can replace it.

Combination with other fertilizers

To increase productivity, agrochemicals are combined. Potassium nitrate is combined with phosphate rock, lime compounds, potassium chloride and potassium sulfates. Phosphorus fertilizer is used for tomatoes with folk remedies - charcoal, bird droppings. Manure is often used with superphosphates, phosphate rock and potassium chloride.

Phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are the best option for tomatoes. Follow the instructions, observe the dosage and add supplements on time. Proper use is the key to high yields.

Feeding cucumbers in a greenhouse. Favorite methods for fertilizing cucumbers in a greenhouse

Greetings. Today I’ll tell you about my favorite methods: how to feed cucumbers in a greenhouse. I will tell you about different methods of fertilizing cucumbers and about existing schemes: after planting in a greenhouse, and so that they do not turn yellow. After all, proper and timely feeding is the key to a good harvest. Study and implement.

Why do I feed cucumbers in the greenhouse?

In order for cucumbers to bear fruit abundantly, they need to have time to form a branched root system and a strong above-ground part. Plants require enhanced systemic nutrition. That’s why I apply fertilizers according to a pre-designed scheme - mineral, organic, prepared according to old-fashioned methods.

Greenhouse plants require at least 4-5 feedings:

1. Potassium and nitrogen. About 2 weeks after moving the seedlings.
2. Potassium, boron, nitrogen, magnesium. At the start of flowering.
3. The same magnesium, potassium, nitrogen, boron. Beginning of fruiting.
4. Phosphorus is added to the previous elements. Fertilizers are applied 2-3 weeks after the third feeding.
5. Complex fertilizer. Required for plants grown in poor soils.

I don’t forget to monitor the condition of greenhouse plantings. By their appearance one can judge the lack of one or another element. I will make up for the deficiency as soon as possible.

growing cucumbers in greenhouses

Types of fertilizing cucumbers in a greenhouse

To fertilize cucumber plantings, both mineral and organic compounds are used. Fertilizers also differ in the method of application.

Root feeding

The option is preferable in warm summers - in such conditions a branched and dense root system develops. It is able to effectively absorb nutrition entering the soil.

Root feeding is planned after abundant watering of greenhouse plantings. It is best to plan them on a cool, cloudy day.

Foliar fertilizer

This variation is good for cool, rainy summers. The root system, even in a greenhouse, does not develop particularly actively. Therefore, applying fertilizers to the soil is unproductive - a considerable part of the nutrition is simply not absorbed.

It is more advisable to resort to spraying the leaves. The procedure is carried out before or after sunset, in cloudy rain (to avoid leaf burns). To irrigate with a nutrient solution, it is better to use a sprayer that disperses the liquid into a mist. The longer the microdrops stay on the leaves, the more nutrients the plant will absorb.

Mineral supplements

All existing mineral fertilizers useful for cucumbers can be divided into groups:

1. Nitrogen. Ammonium nitrate.
2. Potassium. Potassium sulfate.
3. Phosphate. Superphosphate.
4. Sources of microelements - calcium, iron, boron, molybdenum, manganese, etc.

To save time on preparing mineral solutions, gardeners turn to ready-made store complexes - “Fertility”, “Ideal”, “Breadwinner”, “Giant”. Zircon and Epin are useful for foliar feeding.

Organic fertilizers

The most effective organic fertilizers for cucumbers for gardeners are:

1. Chicken, cow, sheep, horse, rabbit manure.
2. Fish waste.
3. Peat.
4. Compost.
5. Green infusions, “herbal teas”.

What contains potassium for cucumbers. Feeding: which types are better

If cucumbers do not have enough potassium, what should they feed them with?

Potassium fertilizers for cucumbers are divided into organic and mineral.

The name of the most widely used fertilizer is potassium sulfate. It is produced from the mineral shepite, it dissolves well in the earth. In appearance they are small white granules. You can make a solution from fertilizer or scatter it and dig up the soil.

Potassium sulfate for cucumbers is fed to the soil:

• peat;
• lime;
• sand;
• loam;
• black soil

It is not recommended to use potassium sulfate on solonetzes, because they already have enough natural mineral fertilizers.

Attention! If the soil has acidic characteristics, then lime must be added along with potassium sulfate. But first they scatter lime, and after 2 weeks potassium.

Potassium sulfate is applied in autumn, spring, and when plants are flowering. When the buds open, fertilizer is applied to the foliage.

Experienced gardeners do this:

• in the fall, sprinkle potassium on heavy clay soil and dig up the soil;
• and in the spring they add potassium if the soil is light - sandy or sandy loam;
• in autumn and spring, if the soil is peaty;
• spray the crop on the foliage with a solution of potassium.

In the fall, scatter 30 g of potassium sulfate per 1 m² and dig up the soil to the depth of a shovel. After showers and snow, the fertilizer will dissolve.

In the spring, the required amount of potassium is poured into a hole in which the seedlings are planted and watered abundantly.

Fertilizers should be applied depending on the type of land. You also need to carefully consider the landings:

• what color is the foliage?
• number of flowers;
• whether the ovaries have begun to appear;
• What shape is the green grass - regular or deformed?

Root

Root feeding is carried out with a diluted composition or dry granules of potassium sulfate. To prepare the solution, you need to take 10 liters of water (a bucket) and add 2-3 tablespoons of granules, stir and water the bushes. Watering results in faster results on lighter soils.

Foliar

It is necessary to dilute 1.5-2 tbsp. spoons of potassium sulfate in a bucket of clean water

If the soil is heavy loamy, then it is better to spray the crop with potassium solution on the leaves. To do this, you need to dilute 1.5-2 tbsp. spoons of potassium sulfate in a bucket of clean water. You should spray the bushes very early in the morning or in the evening, when the sun has already set, then the leaves will not be burned. It is better to do this on a day without rain.

Composition and properties of potassium fertilizer

Potassium nitrate is supplied to the market in the form of colorless crystals of various shapes. The drug is of inorganic origin and is characterized by rapid solubility in water. The smell is neutral. The product stimulates crop growth due to the presence of nitrogen in the composition. Thanks to this, the complex is actively used in vegetable gardens and personal plots.

Other names for potassium nitrate are potassium nitrate, potassium nitrate and Indian nitrate.

The difference between potassium salt and nitrate

The main difference is that potassium salt is not a fertilizer, although it is used to feed plants. The product is extracted from the bowels of the earth. Salt, which contains 40% potassium, also differs in color - light brown or pinkish crystals. When purchasing fertilizer, you need to pay attention to the product labeling.

Properties of potassium nitrate

Chemical formula – KNO3. K and N allow the complex to be used as the main nutrition for crops. This composition of ingredients has the following effects on vegetables, shrubs and trees:

• growth stimulation;
• root development;
• increasing protective functions;
• soil nutrition.

It is allowed to use a potassium-nitrogen complex as a top dressing. This is due to the presence of nutrients. Nitrate is also applied as an independent fertilizer to increase the protective functions of crops. Strong immunity promotes the rapid growth of vegetables and trees, prevents the development of soil diseases, and resists pests. As a result of the work of potassium nitrate, farmers receive high yields.

The disadvantages of bait are the lack of microelements in its composition and rapid leaching from the soil.

This is what potassium nitrate looks like without packaging, friable white powder

Signs of deficiency with photos

If tomato bushes do not have enough potassium nutrition available in the soil, they begin to actively signal this by necrosis of the edges of the leaf blades - the appearance of a yellowish border, similar to burn damage .

New leaves on plants become deformed - they curl into a tube, wrinkle, and sometimes necrosis forms a kind of mosaic.

If potassium fertilizing is not applied at the first signs, the affected area will grow and cover all vegetative parts of the bush. The branches stop growing and become woody. The leaves turn yellow-bronze and fall off.

The harvest from such dried-out plants will also not please you : its ripening will be uneven, spots and unripened “butts” will form on the fruits, and their taste will become sour.

Below you can see what tomatoes with these symptoms look like.

If you notice these symptoms on your plants, you need to feed them as soon as possible. Even if you doubt whether they can be saved, it’s definitely worth a try.

Do your tomato leaves look anything like the ones in the photo? Then follow the link and read the material about the deficiency of other nutrients in tomatoes.

Your plants may be lacking other nutrients. Deficiencies of manganese, magnesium, calcium and nitrogen are especially common. You can learn about the symptoms of their deficiency by using the links.

Important! A characteristic feature of potassium deficiency in tomatoes is the manifestation of symptoms from the edges to the center of the plant.