Tomato plants are heavy feeders and need fertilizer at all stages of growth. Instead of buying bags from the store, you could learn how to make your own tomato fertilizer. The great thing about making fertilizer at home is that you make what your plants need based on your soil. It's best to have your soil tested before planting to determine what nutrients the soil is lacking. After you get the results, add the nutrients your plants need for successful growth. If you want to make your own tomato fertilizer, check out the following recipes!
When should you fertilize tomato plants?
You need to fertilize tomato plants several times, including while growing seedlings. First, add fertilizer or compost to the hole where you plan to plant your seedlings and gently mix it into the soil. Compost is usually sufficient for most plants' growing seasons, but this depends on the quality of your soil and the nutrients present.
Shortly after planting, tomatoes will need more nutrients, but if you used quality compost, you should not add more fertilizer at this time. Watch thisGrowth of your plantsto decide whether they need help. When your plants begin to flower and bear fruit, it's time to fertilize again. Diluted fertilizers are suitable at this stage, but make sure you incorporate plenty of potassium into the soil.
To make about 4 liters of homemade tomato fertilizer, you will need:
a larger container, e.g. B. a bucket
10 kg Compost
2 cups rabbit droppings
1/2 cup human and pet hair, cut into small pieces
400g dried alfalfa leaves or alfalfa pellets
1 Tasse getrocknete, zerkleinerte Eggshells
80 g used, dried tea or coffee grounds
1 cup of wood ash
First, put the compost in the container, add the rabbit droppings and hair. Using a short wooden stick or similar, stir the ingredients until well incorporated. Add the alfalfa leaves (or pellets), crushed eggshells, coffee and tea grounds, and wood ash. Mix the ingredients again until well incorporated.
Once you've finished mixing your homemade tomato fertilizer, there are many ways to use it. It is suitable for use when planting the seedlings in the vegetable garden. Simply fill the hole with the homemade fertilizer and then water well. This ensures that all the organic ingredients contained in the fertilizer go where they are needed most - to the roots of the plant!
How to make liquid fertilizer from manure at home
Add 1 part manure and 5 parts water to a 10 liter bucket and allow to soak covered for at least 2-4 weeks. When you've finished your manure tea, add the leftovers to your compost pile. How to use the DIY fertilizer: Mix one part with 10 parts water and apply directly to the soil around your plants. You can later apply this fertilizer tea every 2-3 weeks.
Use baker's yeast as fertilizer
For feedingfrom tomatoes you canUse both fresh yeast and dry yeast. A nutritional yeast solution can be prepared in two ways: Mix a packet of dry yeast with 2 tablespoons of sugar and a little warm water into a homogeneous mixture. The resulting substance is dissolved in 10 liters of water, and the dosage for each plant is 0.5 liters.
The other way to obtain a yeast nutrient solution is to pour 200 g of brown bread into a container and pour 500 ml of warm water in which 100 g of fresh yeast have been dissolved. Leave in a warm place for 3-5 days. Then the mixture is strained and diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10. For young plants the dosage is 0.5 liters and for adult plants, about two liters.
Another, fairly simple recipe for feeding tomatoes with yeast: 100 g of fresh yeast is carefully dissolved in 10 liters of water and the resulting mixture is poured onto the root of the plants. Such a yeast solution is an excellent growth promoter.
Feeding plants with nettles
The nettle infusion forthe tomato nutrition willobtained from young leaves as they contain a lot of nitrogen, potassium and iron. The container in which you prepare the solution, e.g. B. a 10 liter bucket should be 2/3 full with nettles and filled with water, but not to the brim. Cover with a lid and leave in a warm place for 7-10 days.
When the nettles begin to ferment, 1 liter of the solution is diluted with 10 liters of water and the resulting liquid is poured into the tomato beds, 1-2 liters per plant. This feeding should not be overdone - do it no more than twice a month. Instead of nettles, you can also use other young plants for this solution, with dandelions and alfalfa being the best.
Make your own tomato fertilizer with chicken manure
Chicken manure has no worse effect on plants than mineral complex fertilizer - it contains a lot of nitrogen and phosphorus. It is very effective to use water diluted with fresh chicken droppings. A bucket (10 liters) is filled 1/3 with chicken manure, topped up with water and soaked outdoors for 7-10 days. After that, 0.5 liters of the fertilizer is diluted in 10 liters of water and the resulting liquid is poured into the beds. Calculate 5-6 liters per square meter.
Be careful not to get the chicken droppings solution on the leaves as this can cause burns. Dried chicken manure can also be used to fertilize tomatoes. To do this, 0.5 kg of manure is poured with 10 liters of water, the container is tightly covered with foil (so that the nitrogen does not evaporate) and left for 3-5 days. Stir daily. Then dilute the fertilizer with water in a ratio of 1:20 and water with 0.5-1 liter for each plant.
