How to feed tomatoes with ammonia, features of watering tomatoes with ammonia

Experienced gardeners sometimes use ammonia for tomatoes as a top dressing. Fertilizer costs a penny, and you can find it in almost every home. Ammonia has a magical effect on plants, the result can be replaced almost immediately - seedlings and adult plants are literally bursting with health.

In order for ammonia to act only for the benefit of tomatoes, you need to know how to use it correctly when feeding.

Why do tomatoes need ammonia?

There is no secret that tomatoes suffer greatly if there is a lack of nitrogen and its compounds in the soil. Accordingly, plants get sick more often, develop worse and bear fruit unstably.

To prevent this, it is worth putting into practice feeding tomatoes with ammonia during the growing season. Folk remedies prepared on its basis are safe for nature and plants, therefore they can be used at the stages of growing seeds, seedlings, during transplantation and at the initial stages of the growing season of tomatoes.

Ammonia seriously nourishes the soil under tomatoes with nitrogen, which is required for the development and fruiting of this garden crop. Often the folk remedy is used not so much for feeding as for controlling pests and various fungal diseases of tomatoes.

Is it possible to feed tomatoes with ammonia and what does it do?

Why ammonia is valuable as a fertilizer for tomatoes:
The nitrogenous substances in it are in a form that is easily absorbed by plants; their additional processing by bacteria is not required.

1. It very quickly, almost instantly saturates the soil with nitrogen.
2. Perfectly disinfects the soil, helps fight pests and fungal microorganisms.
3. The growth of the above-ground parts of tomatoes is significantly accelerated thanks to the “building material” nitrogen.
4. Ammonia is absolutely harmless, both for tomatoes and for plants that are nearby.
5. It is very cheap and easy to use.

Advantages and disadvantages

Tomatoes are often very capricious. They always require careful care and a certain amount of time. Therefore, only an attentive and hardworking summer resident can get a really good harvest of tasty and beautiful fruits. In fact, it is not so difficult if you follow all the care recommendations and use various useful products.

Ammonia for tomatoes is one of the important care products, which has many advantages:

• such a solution can be classified as a nitrogen-containing fertilizer that is well absorbed by plants;
• unlike many other fertilizers (for example, ammonium nitrate or urea), ammonia has a positive effect on the bush immediately, it does not require a cumulative effect;
• due to the nitrogen contained in ammonia, the flowering of plants improves, which in the future contributes to a good harvest;
• in addition, ammonia is also used in the fight against pests and fungal diseases;
• the product is always available and inexpensive, it can be purchased at any pharmacy;
• You can prepare the solution very quickly, it only takes a few minutes;
• the solution does not need to be infused; immediately after preparation it is used for its intended purpose.

Disadvantages are also present, but they are not so significant as to refuse to use ammonia. These include the following nuances:

• the proportions should be strictly observed, since the wrong dosage of ammonia can harm the plant; if there is an excess of nitrogen, fungal diseases can occur, the tomatoes will grow green mass, and there will be few fruits;
• In addition, you need to process the bushes using protective equipment - a mask and gloves.

Solutions prepared on the basis of ammonia can be sprayed on bushes or watered both in a greenhouse and in open ground, depending on what effect you want to achieve.

Useful properties of ammonia solution

A deficiency of nitrogen compounds negatively affects the growth of tomatoes. Bushes underfed with ammonia are characterized by short growth, increased thinness and rigidity of stems . The leaves of such plants are small and pale, with a yellowish tint. The greens are fragile and weak, and there is no need to talk about quality fruits. Timely feeding with suitable mineral fertilizers helps to avoid nitrogen starvation. For example, ammonia.

Ammonia purchased at a pharmacy contains a concentrated tincture of ammonia, which, in turn, is a nitrogenous compound. This nitrogen is easily absorbed by plants, does not require bacterial processing before use as fertilizer, and helps increase the rate of chlorophyll production.

Tomatoes fed with ammonia correctly and in a timely manner:

• They actively increase the vegetative mass.
• They bloom profusely and set fruit.
• They are practically not attacked by insect pests.
• They do not suffer from fungal diseases.

It is recommended to start fertilizing with ammonia from weak tomatoes, since for stronger plants, routine spraying with ammonia tincture will be enough to prevent fungi and pests.

Regardless of the age, variety and size of the bushes, it is important to be very careful when calculating the required dosage of fertilizer, since exceeding the concentration of nitrogen compounds can negatively affect the quality of plant growth and development.

The benefits of ammonia

At the initial stage of development of any crop, nitrogen is required for growth and green mass gain. This trace element plays an important role in the formation of chlorophylls, without which the process of photosynthesis is impossible. A sufficient amount of nitrogen will ensure intensive development of stems and leaves, and subsequently provide a good platform for flowering and fruiting.

How effective is ammonia?

Apart from nitrogen, there is nothing else useful for tomatoes in ammonia. Therefore, to understand how practical and effective its use is, you need to compare how much nitrogen is contained in working solutions of other fertilizers.

The concentration of active substances diluted in 10 liters of water, safe for plants, is taken into account:

• 2 tbsp. l. 10% ammonia - 1.2 g of nitrogen;
• 30 g ammonium nitrate - 9 g nitrogen;
• 30 g urea -14 g nitrogen;
• any organomineral fertilizer (15:7:7) - 3 g of nitrogen.

It turns out that ammonia contains less nitrogen compared to other fertilizers. Therefore, stimulation of the growth and fruiting of tomatoes will be less pronounced than when using other fertilizers.

But undoubtedly, there are benefits for tomatoes, and most importantly, environmental safety for the soil and human health.

Features of this fertilizer

Ammonia (ammonium hydroxide solution) is an ammonia solution, its concentration is 10%, and the amount of nitrogen is 80-82%. The nitrogen in it is easily digestible. What gives this fertilizer an advantage over other nitrogen fertilizers such as:

• manure;
• ammonium nitrate;
• urea.

To break down microelements in them, it takes time from three weeks to several months. The ammonia solution has an immediate effect. The nitrogen in this fertilizer is volatile and does not pollute the soil; this fertilizer is environmentally friendly and safe.

How is ammonia useful for tomatoes?

Ammonia is an aqueous solution (10%) of ammonium hydroxide. It is a colorless transparent liquid with a pungent and unpleasant odor. The benefit of ammonia for tomatoes is its nitrogen content.

Nitrogen plays a leading role in increasing tomato yields. Despite the huge content of nitrogen in the atmosphere, plants cannot absorb it in this form (molecular). The supply of nitrogen to the crop depends entirely on the application of organic and mineral fertilizers.

Nitrogen is the building material of proteins, nucleic acids, amino acids and other compounds in plants. Without it, the life of any plant organism is impossible. Therefore, a lack of nitrogen is manifested by a decrease in the content of green pigments, slowing down or stopping the development of vegetable crops. Severe nitrogen starvation leads to significant yield loss, even with the corrective measures taken.

The advantage of ammonia as a source of nitrogen is that it is an easily digestible form of the mineral. For example, nitrate nitrogen (saltpeter), after entering plants, goes through a complex path of reduction to the state of ammonia. The nitrogen of ammonia (ammonia) is immediately included in the plant metabolism process and does not accumulate in fruits in the form of nitrates.

After fertilizing with ammonia, the growth and development of tomatoes is accelerated. Plants form strong stems and leaves of rich green color, the formation and development of fruiting organs improves. The harvest is abundant, the fruits are larger and of better quality.

Another benefit of ammonia for tomatoes is its pungent and unpleasant odor. It repels aphids, mole crickets and wireworms. Therefore, feeding tomatoes with nitrogen in this way also protects the plants from pests.

Properties of ammonia

Ammonia is a nitrogenous compound, and nitrogen is one of the main elements necessary for plant nutrition. Typically, in the garden, organic matter is used as a source of nitrogen - manure, litter, compost, humus. However, plants begin to absorb nitrogen from such fertilizers only after they are processed by bacteria.

Mineral fertilizers such as urea and saltpeter help quickly satisfy the plants' need for nitrogen. But when applying mineral fertilizers, there is always a risk that the seedlings will begin to accumulate nitrates. At the same time, ammonia, when applied to seedlings, does not accumulate in plant tissues, but provides the necessary nutrition.

You can notice that tomato or pepper seedlings are suffering from a lack of nitrogen by the following signs:

1. The lower leaves become yellowish and pale.
2. The leaf blades grow very small.
3. The shoots become thin and fragile.
4. The seedlings stop developing.
5. The buds on the plants begin to deform.

Seedlings underfed with nitrogen will be very weak. Therefore, it is necessary to act immediately, otherwise there will be no harvest. If you start watering the sprouts with fertilizers based on ammonia, the seedlings begin to quickly gain green mass, bloom and are practically not attacked by parasitic insects.

There are many advantages to feeding seedlings with ammonia:

1. Fertilizer quickly reaches the roots through the earthen ball.
2. Plants grow very quickly.
3. The bushes bloom profusely and bear fruit well.
4. This fertilizer costs a penny.
5. It is easy to apply.
6. The drug has disinfectant properties.
7. Completely environmentally friendly and harmless.

But the main advantage of fertilizing with ammonia is that plants do not accumulate nitrogen, which is very important when growing fruit and berry crops. Such fertilizers are completely harmless.

There are also disadvantages to this method. For example, you can accidentally overfeed your plants by preparing the nutrient solution incorrectly. The soil after treatment with ammonia becomes slightly acidic, so it is better to make a small channel for adding water to the plants at the very root.

The main thing when working with the drug is to correctly follow the recommended dosage, as well as the frequency of fertilizer application.

Cabbage, eggplants, potatoes, zucchini, peppers and tomatoes respond well to fertilizing with ammonia. Ammonia is also useful for flowering crops, such as zinnia, petunia, clematis and others. Plants can be fertilized throughout the entire growth period and during flowering.

There are plants that have low nitrogen intake. Radishes, any leafy vegetables and onions are rarely fed. But legumes don’t need ammonia at all.

How to determine that tomatoes lack nitrogen?

It is quite easy to understand that tomatoes do not have enough nitrogen and other nutrients in the soil:

1. First of all, the growth of green mass slows down significantly, and new emerging leaves are small and stunted.
2. The lower leaves on the bushes lose color, becoming either light green or, with an acute lack of nitrogen, yellow.
3. The stem and branches become thinner, they break easily even from a slight wind.
4. Tomatoes generally stop growing, do not bloom, or form very few flowers.
5. Tomatoes react acutely to any adverse weather conditions: lack of light, heat, sudden temperature changes, high humidity, dampness, etc.

In relation to tomatoes, you can also notice that the lack of nitrogen almost always manifests itself equally on adult plants, seedlings, and fruit-bearing crops.

When is feeding needed?

For tomatoes, it is used as the main nitrogen fertilizer during the period of growing seedlings and after planting in the ground. They are also added in case of nitrogen deficiency.

It is easy to determine a lack of nitrogen without additional tests by the appearance of the bushes. Main signs of deficiency:

• pigmentation changes;
• thin stems;
• leaves are small and irregular in shape;
• no growth.

The first sign of nitrogen deficiency is pale and yellowing plants. Loss of rich color will be observed on both leaves and stems. And also with nitrogen starvation, the stems become thin, lose elasticity, easily bend under weight, and often break. The bushes grow with small leaves with an irregular shape. Tomatoes slow down or stop growing altogether. All this indicates a lack of microelements, namely nitrogen, and requires an immediate solution to the problem. It is important that tomatoes receive nitrogen as quickly as possible for recovery and development.

It is important to remember that excess nitrogen can also lead to negative consequences. It is important to observe moderation here. When there is an excess of nitrogen, the following symptoms are observed:

• lack of flowering;
• infection by fungal diseases.

When can you spray tomatoes with ammonia?

Traditionally, ammonia is applied when feeding tomatoes in two ways:

• or foliar feeding by spraying directly on the leaf and aerial parts;
• or regular root feeding - that is, together with the next watering.

Ideal spraying is not carried out at any time, but under certain circumstances:

1. Tomatoes are processed in warm weather with temperatures up to +28°C (in hot weather it is better to avoid spraying altogether).
2. Desirable condition: there is no strong wind outside.
3. Ideal when it’s cloudy outside, but not damp and not about to rain.
4. It is optimal to spray before 9 am, or in the evening at sunset.

There are far fewer restrictions on root feeding. One of the main conditions under which ammonia is believed to have the best effect on tomatoes is first standard watering, and then after half an hour or an hour - fertilizing with ammonia.

IMPORTANT POINT! If the tomatoes were fed by foliar or root method, and then after 9-10 hours it started to rain heavily, then it is very likely that the tomatoes did not have time to be saturated with nitrogen. In this case, it is recommended to repeat the feeding the next day in the same concentration.

Types of tomato fertilizers based on ammonia

Fertilizing with this nitrogen-containing fertilizer is usually carried out in two ways:

• spraying the vegetative mass of the plant;
• pouring ammonia solution under the tomato root.

Both options are equally effective and can be alternated one after another. It is also possible to simultaneously pour fertilizer under the roots and treat the leaves.

Watering at the root

This method of application is considered more convenient than spraying plants. When watering, it is easier to control how much nitrogen the plant receives. However, with this method, the result does not appear immediately, but after some time. For a quick solution to the problem, foliar spraying of tomato plants is more suitable.

Foliar feeding

This is a highly effective and quick solution to replenish nitrogen deficiency in the nutrition of tomatoes. Processing of the vegetative mass of plants should be done in good weather, in the absence of wind and precipitation. It is also important to perform it with minimal evaporation of moisture from the plants. These conditions are more consistent in the evening hours, after sunset. Correctly carried out evening treatment never causes leaf burns.

When you perform foliar feeding for the first time on young plants, you need to stick to a low concentration of the nutrient solution: 2 tbsp is enough. spoons of the drug into a bucket of water. During subsequent treatments on leaves, the dosage can be gradually increased.

Unlike foliar feeding with other means, spraying the leaves with ammonia should not be done with a garden sprayer, but with an ordinary watering can equipped with a small divider. When working with a sprayer, a lot of water dust with ammonia is formed in the air, which can cause harm to the health of the person performing this work.

How to make a solution for feeding tomatoes with ammonia, recipes

However, it is under no circumstances recommended to use ammonia in its pure form. To feed tomatoes, only various solutions based on this pharmaceutical product are always used.

How to dilute ammonia for foliar feeding and spraying foliage

The only standard rule is that sprays or foliar feedings should be less concentrated than ammonia-based fertilizers prepared for irrigation.

The usual concentration for leaf treatment is a solution of 10 ml of ammonia per 10 liters of water.

Tomato pest control

Since ammonia has a pungent and unpleasant odor, pests smell it for a long time and try to stay away from its source. The concentration of the solution and the method of insect control depends on the type of pests that damage the tomatoes.

Aphid

Dissolve a bar of laundry soap in 10 liters of water and add 50 ml of alcohol. We use it for spraying and watering plants. The combination of these two methods increases the effectiveness of aphid control.

Advice!

We spray in cloudy weather early in the morning or in the evening.

Mole cricket, wireworm

Mix water (10 l) with alcohol (10 ml). When planting a plant in a garden bed, pour ½ liter of the mixture into the hole.

Ants

Mix water (10 l) with alcohol (10 ml). We water the plants and anthill with the solution, after removing 5 cm of the top layer.

How to dilute ammonia for root feeding of tomatoes, recipe for watering

In turn, there are several options for preparing solutions for watering tomatoes:

1. Standard : add 10 ml of ammonia to a 10 liter bucket of water and mix the solution thoroughly. You can use the product without fear in most situations.
2. Intensive : 25 ml of water is added to a 10 liter bucket of water, after which the solution is thoroughly mixed. This product should be used carefully and only in cases where two or more signs of nitrogen deficiency in the soil are simultaneously observed on tomatoes.
3. Against pests : dilute a 10 liter bucket of water with 50 ml of ammonia at once. The product has proven itself not only as a top dressing, but also in the fight against aphids, ants and other insects that harm tomatoes. It can only be used once a year.

ON A NOTE. Intensive root feeding is also too concentrated. For this reason, it cannot be used more than 2 times a year, otherwise tomatoes overfed with nitrogen will also not be able to produce a high-quality harvest.

On average, you need to adhere to the rule that for young tomatoes you need no more than 0.5 liters of a ready-made product based on ammonia for each bush. And if the plants are mature, then root feeding increases to 1 liter for each bush.

In what cases is feeding needed?

Nitrogen is the main building material for plant cells, and its deficiency negatively affects the quality of plant growth and development, which subsequently affects the amount of harvest.

Ammonia for tomatoes is used in the following cases:

• slow growth of vegetable crops (tomatoes, cucumbers);
• loss of high yields and quality characteristics of fruits;
• chopping vegetables;
• lack of flowering or a small number of inflorescences;
• shrinking of foliage, yellowing and falling, yellowing of stems and thinning of roots.

Ammonia acts as an additional source of increasing the immunity of vegetable crops. It quickly begins to participate in metabolic processes, while it does not accumulate in fruits as nitrates.

Thanks to it, tomato bushes activate growth, forming strong stems, and the foliage acquires a healthy bright green color.

This substance also has a specific odor, so it acts as a means of protection against pest attacks.

After treatment with ammonium, the pungent and unpleasant odor persists for a long time, repelling parasitic insects such as mole crickets, aphids and wireworms.

In pharmacies, ammonia can be offered in two concentrations - 10% and 20%. For use in gardening, ammonia of 10% concentration is used.

How to feed seedlings with ammonia

One of the important conditions for success from fertilizing tomatoes with ammonia is timeliness, as well as the correct concentration.

Most often, you can start fertilizing already at the stage of growing tomatoes from seeds.

To stimulate the rapid ripening and adaptation of tomatoes, they resort to soil cultivation. For seedlings, it is necessary to use half the concentration of the solution from the standard recommendation, that is, 5 ml per 10 liters of water.

The seedlings are treated with the same half concentration later. The optimal time for re-application of ammonia-based product: the appearance of the first 4 leaves on seedlings or 2 weeks after the first picking.

Application at the stages of seedling development

The use of ammonia is recommended at almost all stages of plant growth , from growing seedlings to the period of fruit ripening.

For seedlings

Strong, viable seedlings are the first step towards obtaining an enviable tomato harvest. At the same time, it is difficult to underestimate the beneficial effect of an ammonia solution in growing small tomatoes. Fertilizing tomato and pepper seedlings will allow the seedlings to quickly grow in height while being less stretchy, make the stem flexible and stocky, and add healthy leaves while being less stretchy.

Tomato seedlings should be fed no earlier than the 15th day after picking , when the first two pairs of true leaves have fully expanded. To prepare a nutrient solution for watering seedlings, dilute one teaspoon of 10% ammonia per liter of water. The resulting composition is sprayed onto the above-ground parts of plants using a spray bottle. It is recommended to carry out the procedure in the morning or evening to avoid sunburn on the leaves.

We wrote here about what you can fertilize tomato seedlings in the first stages of growth, and here we talk about what to feed them with before and after picking.

For mature plants

Fertilizing adult tomato bushes with ammonia is carried out by introducing the working composition directly into the soil.

Take 10 ml of a 10% ammonia solution per 10 liters of water . If the concentration of the drug is 25%, the volume of its application is proportionally reduced. The prepared solution is thoroughly mixed and applied directly under the roots of the plants at the rate of 1 liter of fertilizer per 1 tomato bush.

Before watering plants at the roots with ammonia fertilizer, be sure to spill the soil with plain water. Otherwise, the roots may get burned during fertilizing.

It is recommended to fertilize with nitrogen-containing fertilizers no more than three times during the entire growing season: once at the stage of seedlings, growth of green mass by an adult bush and ripening of already set fruits. At the stage of laying buds and ovaries, nitrogenous fertilizers are not required for tomatoes.

Fertilizer at the ripening stage

The nitrogen contained in ammonium hydroxide has the ability to have a beneficial effect on the speed of ripening and the final quality of tomatoes. At the same time, fertilizing with ammonia can be done at all stages of ripening of tomatoes and cucumbers , without causing damage to both the plant itself and the quality of the crop.

For a 10-liter bucket, take 200 ml of apple cider vinegar, a tablespoon of 10% ammonia and 10 ml of soap solution or liquid soap. The resulting composition is stirred until completely homogeneous and the fruits are sprayed with it directly on the bushes using a spray bottle. As a result, the rate of tomato ripening increases, and their final weight increases.

Feeding adult plants with ammonia

The next feeding, preferably with a standard concentration (10 ml per 10 liters of water), is carried out a week after transplanting tomato seedlings into an open area.

Often this feeding can be sufficient until harvest. If further inhibition in the development of the tomato is not observed, ammonia will no longer be useful.

Subsequent feeding may be required only in the rarest cases: if the tomatoes are attacked by pests or the soil in the garden is too poor in nutrients.

Reviews

Irina: “I use ammonia in the fight against wireworms. Due to the fact that our site is new, there is a lot of it in the ground. It works like a charm, I’ve been using it for many years.”

Stanislav: “I use ammonia for root feeding. The plants become stronger and more beautiful, I see the effect after the second watering. I’m very glad that I started using it in my garden.”

Elena: “For three years in a row, the mole cricket simply ate up my garden completely. Both seeds and seedlings - everything disappeared, as if no one had planted anything. I went to the market, and there they told me how to deal with it - dilute 10 ml of alcohol in 10 liters of water and water it under each seedling bush when planting it. Happened! Finally, my garden has produced a harvest, and I can please my family with preparations for the winter.”

How to use fertilizer at different stages of tomato growth

The very first feeding of tomatoes with ammonia is necessary already when growing crop seedlings.

Growing seedlings

At this time, it is important not to overdo it with nitrogen in the soil. But approximately 5 ml per 10 liters of water will add exactly as much nitrogen to the soil as the seeds need for rapid germination.

Growth of green mass

In general, tomatoes need nitrogen especially urgently only at the stage of germination from seeds and active growth of green mass.

Therefore, ammonia will be useful until the flowering and formation of the ovaries of future fruits. At this time, a standard concentration of ammonia solution is sufficient, but it is permissible to resort to intensive treatments or one-time treatment against pests.

Flowering and fruiting

In almost all cases, during flowering and fruiting, nitrogen-containing fertilizers are strictly not recommended - excessive concentration of nitrogen in the soil impairs flowering and spoils the quality of the fruit.

It is permissible to prepare and use only weak solutions of ammonia and exclusively for spraying, but not for root feeding.

Beneficial features

Ammonia is an aqueous ammonia solution. It dissolves well in water and has a characteristic pungent odor, which in high concentrations can even cause poisoning. The main element in ammonia is ammonia. When ammonia enters the soil, it quickly penetrates even into the deepest layers and intensively nourishes the root system of plants. As a result, the growth of the tomato bush increases, juicy green leaves are formed, and the bush looks attractive.

Ammonia does not contain any side additives or chemically hazardous substances; it does not poison the soil and does not accumulate in it. With foliar feeding, due to its pungent odor, alcohol serves as a reliable insecticide; insects and pests are not afraid of plants.

How to properly use ammonia for tomatoes, precautions

The active ingredient in ammonia - ammonia - in itself in very high concentrations is deadly to humans. For this reason, all treatments of tomatoes with solutions based on ammonia should be carried out exclusively in personal protective equipment.

1. First of all, protect the respiratory tract, since the main way ammonia enters the human body is air. Moreover, a simple dust respirator will not protect against vapors. You need a paint respirator.
2. The second way ammonia enters the human body is through the skin. Rubber gloves, as well as eye protection glasses and preferably thick clothing will help protect yourself when using the solution.

ATTENTION! When preparing mixtures based on ammonia, you need to immediately use personal protective equipment, and not delay their use at the time of processing!

After treatment, remove clothes and immediately put them in the wash, then wash your hands thoroughly and wash.

If signs of ammonia poisoning occur, a medical team is strictly called - no self-medication. To alleviate the condition (dizziness, nausea), you can drink a glass of warm milk.

Personal safety measures

Ammonia, which is contained in ammonia, is very dangerous for humans. In high concentrations it is a real poison. Remember this when feeding tomatoes and protect yourself. Ammonia poisoning is always very serious and can lead to death if not treated promptly.

Ammonia easily penetrates the body through the skin and respiratory tract. Therefore, when preparing a solution of ammonia in a bucket and when feeding plants, be sure to wear a respirator.

It must be one that can protect against fumes (these are respirators designed for protection during painting work). A simple fabric respirator, which can close the airways only from dust particles, is not suitable; it will not protect against toxic ammonia fumes.

1. Be sure to wear long latex gloves on your hands. The eyes are covered with special glasses (they can be purchased at construction or gardening stores).
2. Work clothes are put on , which must be removed immediately after feeding and sent to the wash. It is advisable to tie an apron in front.
3. Remember that you need to prepare the solution in a bucket while wearing work clothes and a mask , otherwise you can inhale the fumes even in such a short time.
4. After handling, be sure to immediately wash your hands with soap and change into different clothes.

Important! If after feeding you feel nausea, dizziness, or vomiting, you should immediately call an ambulance and explain to the doctors that you have inhaled the fumes of ammonia. Before their arrival, you can drink some warm milk if you are not vomiting. Self-medication in this case is strictly forbidden.

If symptoms of poisoning appear, even if you strictly followed all precautions and wore all personal protective equipment, then you have increased sensitivity to ammonia and its intolerance. In this case, never fertilize using this method again.

In the greenhouse

Conditions for growing tomatoes in greenhouses are close to ideal, but fertilizing with ammonia will help improve the quality and quantity of the future harvest.

It is recommended to give preference to root watering rather than spraying. This allows you to reduce the level of ammonia concentration in the surrounding air.

The proportions for preparing ammonia solution are the same as when treating plants in an open garden bed.

In the open ground

Fertilizing accelerates fruit ripening

For adult bushes, nitrogen fertilizing is necessary to increase resistance to possible changing weather conditions and speed up the process of fruit ripening.

In regions with short summers, add up to 200 ml of apple cider vinegar to the solution (it accelerates the ripening of the crop).

The main proportions of the working fluid are 1-2 tbsp. per 10 liters of water (depending on the chosen feeding method).

Pests appear on vegetables grown in open gardens much more often than in greenhouses, which is why treatment with ammonia is also preventative. For this purpose, crushed laundry soap is added to the solution.

Precautionary measures

To avoid unpleasant consequences, it is necessary to observe certain precautions when working with a caustic drug:

• The bottle should not be taken with bare hands - contact of alcohol with exposed skin is undesirable. It is imperative to use protective equipment (gloves);
• the respiratory tract (when working with ammonia in an enclosed space, for example in a greenhouse) must be protected with a respirator or a thick gauze bandage;
• When carrying out processing in a greenhouse, do not forget about its ventilation;
• It is better to work with the substance in cool times of the day (early morning, late evening), in cloudy weather;
• a diluted product is suitable for fertilizers - it is strictly forbidden to use pure alcohol for tomatoes and other crops;
• Fruits that have been treated with ammonia must be thoroughly washed under running water before consumption.

At the slightest suspicion of drug poisoning (dizziness, nausea), you should immediately seek medical help.

Rules for working with the drug

Ammonia is far from a harmless product, so when working with it you must adhere to certain rules:

• Due to the volatility of ammonia, a nutrient solution based on it quickly loses its properties, so it makes no sense to prepare it for future use and store it.
• Foliar feeding of plants with ammonia is carried out in cool, cloudy weather, as well as in the morning or evening hours, when there is no bright sun outside the window.
• To avoid burns to the roots, seedlings are watered with an ammonia solution immediately after the soil has been thoroughly moistened.

Keep in mind that ammonia is toxic ! Prolonged inhalation of its vapors leads to migraines, dizziness, loss of consciousness and deterioration of the general condition, and contact of a concentrated solution with unprotected skin can cause severe chemical burns. In order not to pay for the resuscitation of green pets with your own health, do not forget to follow safety precautions: work with ammonia in a respirator and gloves, and after completing the procedures, sterilize the equipment and wash your hands thoroughly with soap.

Common mistakes

The main mistake is the use of high concentrations of ammonia to feed tomatoes.

It is also not recommended to use more than 3 fertilizing per season - an increased concentration of nitrogen in the soil does not lead to good results either.

Finally, some gardeners, due to inexperience, choose the wrong time for processing. In bright sun, foliar feeding can burn the leaves and stems of tomatoes. And in windy weather it is almost impossible to process the crop efficiently.

Feeding tomato seedlings

To speed up the growth of seedlings, you can use ammonia. The concentration for young, immature plants should be less than for adults. You need to take a teaspoon of the substance for 8-10 liters of water. The resulting solution is used to water young seedlings, at least a month old. To stimulate stem growth, 2-3 feedings with an interval of 7-10 days will be enough.

Attention! When using ammonia, other nitrogen fertilizers are abandoned to avoid an excess of nitrogen.

Answers to frequently asked questions

When can you start fertilizing tomatoes with ammonia?

At the time of growing seedlings, when sowing seeds.

When is ammonia no longer worth using?

After the first flowers appear on the tomatoes.

Is it possible to repeat the treatment if it rained immediately after it?

It is even recommended to do this the next day, using a product of the same concentration.

When to use

You can feed seedlings with ammonia. This will ensure good growth of the crop. This should be done not only to obtain a rich harvest, but also as a prevention of various diseases. However, to achieve a positive effect, it is necessary to observe the dosage and intervals between waterings.

Seedlings grown at home look very fragile. As a rule, it is difficult for her to tolerate transplantation. In this regard, the fruits will ripen much later than expected. To prevent this from happening, you can feed the tomatoes. This needs to be done once, preferably a few weeks after the picking. The positive effect will not take long to arrive.

You can also feed adult tomatoes with ammonia before they begin to bloom. This will be a good prevention against pests.

Tomatoes in open ground and in greenhouses need to be fed 2 times. The interval between watering should be 2 or 3 weeks . You need to water the bushes at the rate of: 1 liter of solution per bush.

Advice! After such watering, it is recommended to fertilize the tomatoes with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers. But this must be done 10 days after watering.

Fertilizing for ripened fruits should be carried out at the very beginning of the formation of tomatoes.

How to spray and feed

There are no special secrets in this process. Most gardeners have long been using this product on their plots for effective feeding and protection from pests. If tomatoes are growing in a greenhouse, it will be very important to protect the respiratory system from ammonia, as well as to ventilate the room well after processing.

For tomatoes in open ground, it will be important to maintain the required proportions, as well as uniform application.

You may also be interested in information on how to water tomatoes in a polycarbonate greenhouse.

It should be noted that most pests like to settle on the back side of leaves, where they are not disturbed by the sun's rays and natural predators - birds.

In the video, is it possible to water tomatoes with ammonia:

Recipes for using ammonia for tomatoes:

1. Prevention against mole crickets and wireworms is carried out as follows . You need to dilute 10 ml of ammonia in a bucket of water. Half a liter of the resulting solution is poured into each well before planting.
2. The solution prepared according to the previous recipe can be used for root feeding of plants. To do this, after watering, use a freshly prepared mixture of 0.5 - 1 liter for each plant. With age, the need for nitrogen increases, so the size of the “portions” is determined individually.

   
   Feeding tomatoes

3. For intensive feeding, you can increase the concentration of ammonia to 25 ml per bucket of water . It should be noted that this feeding is used no more than once a week. But why chlorotic leaf curl of tomatoes occurs, and what means you can get rid of it, is indicated here.
4. When attacked by pests, you can use a concentrated solution (50 ml of ammonia per bucket of water). This treatment is carried out two to three times per season and will completely get rid of aphids and ants in the garden. But what to do when ants appear in a greenhouse with tomatoes, you can find out from the article.
5. For preventive purposes, weekly treatments with ammonia can be used.. To do this, take a concentration half as much (25 ml per bucket of water). The resulting solution is sprayed on seedlings or adult plants. The pungent smell of ammonia will quickly disappear, and the plantings will become unattractive to insects. It will also be useful to know what folk remedies for the Colorado potato beetle on tomatoes are used most often.

   
   Tomato processing

6. For better adhesion of the insecticidal solution to the leaves and stems of plants, you can add liquid soap, shampoo or dishwashing detergent to the solution . A solution of unscented laundry or baby soap is considered the safest. To do this, the bar must be grated and dissolved in warm water, and then mixed with the main amount. Here's what black aphids look like on tomatoes, and what products can be used for the best results.
7. If the fruits do not ripen for a long time, you can speed up this process a little . To do this, plants must be sprayed with the following composition. For a bucket of water, take a glass of apple cider vinegar and 10 ml of ammonia and liquid soap.

Ammonia is an excellent way to grow a good crop of tomatoes on your plot. To do this, it is not necessary to use expensive purchased drugs; just look in your home medicine cabinet.

The nitrogen in ammonia is easy to absorb and is also harmless to fruits, humans and domestic animals.

But is it necessary to feed tomatoes during flowering, and what are the most effective means indicated in the article at the link.

This is an effective and safe insecticide that will repel or destroy insect pests, and also provide the necessary foliar feeding for tomatoes. The features of using ammonia for tomatoes are discussed in the information in this article.

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