Soda - an effective top dressing for tomatoes

Baking soda is used not only in cooking and households. They make an excellent top dressing for vegetable crops growing in greenhouses or open ground. This product is used as an accelerator of growth of tomato bushes and as a means of improving the palatability of fruits. Also baking soda helps get rid of pests that infect tomatoes, and some diseases.

Useful properties of soda

Many gardeners often use baking soda as a plant care product. The beneficial properties of this product make it an indispensable tool for improving the palatability of fruits and top dressing of the plants themselves.

The benefits of sodium bicarbonate for tomatoes are as follows:

1. Soda solution has an antibacterial effect. Therefore, it is used to clean and disinfect containers for growing seedlings and disinfecting seed material.
2. Soda solution has an alkaline reaction that destroys pathogens and fungal spores. As a result, many diseases of seedlings and seeds are prevented.
3. After soaking in a solution of baking soda, the seeds receive a charge for active growth. All germination rates are also improved.
4. A soda solution is useful as a protection for adult shrubs from pests such as aphids and caterpillars.

Advantages and disadvantages

Sodium bicarbonate is actively used for growing plants, thanks to its merits:

You may be interested in:

Have you planted the tomatoes roots up?The first feeding of tomatoes after planting in the greenhouseStepsonovy tomato in the greenhouse - step by step for beginners

• it is an inexpensive product sold in any store;
• the product does not contain harmful impurities;
• does not emit toxic substances;
• used in various fields;
• shows high results;
• easy to use.

The use of baking soda does not harm plants and does not have significant disadvantages. To minor cons include:

• after preparing the solution, it cannot be stored for a long time;
• processed vegetables are covered with a whitish coating;
• highly concentrated solution is detrimental to plants.

Types of top dressing based on baking soda

From sodium bicarbonate make solutions for making root and foliar top dressing. To do this, plants are watered under the root or sprayed with bushes from above. Applying baking soda in this form, they achieve rapid seedling growth, improve the taste of fruits and increase the number of ovaries.

Sometimes soda is applied to the soil, without diluting with water, in dry form. This method of application is beneficial for the soil and reduces its acidity. This is very useful for tomatoes, as they prefer to grow on soils with neutral acidity.

To combat diseases and pests that affect tomato bushes, a solution of baking soda of a weak concentration is made. It is used to spray plants from a spray gun or watered bushes from a watering can with a diluted preparation through a shower head. Getting on the foliage, the solution creates an alkaline environment that is harmful to insects and pathogens.

Dates of dressing from baking soda

Solutions with sodium bicarbonate are effective as fertilizers at various stages of development of tomato bushes.The concentration of the solution and the frequency of use change, focusing on the needs of plants. All working solutions are prepared in warm water with a temperature of +30 to +37 degrees. If spraying is necessary, choose a calm day. Then the fertilizer acts more efficiently.

Before sowing the seeds, they are treated with a soda solution. It destroys pathogenic bacteria and eliminates free radicals. To prepare the product, use 2 l of warm water and 2 tbsp. l sodium bicarbonate. In this solution, the seeds are left for a day.

You may be interested in:

Topping a tomato in a greenhouse: what fertilizers and when to use
Growing tomatoes in a greenhouse will allow you to get a crop a month earlier than on open ground. Get strong and ...Read more…

Baking soda has good antiseptic properties. Therefore, it is used to disinfect planting containers and soil before planting seeds. The solution for this is prepared from 2 liters of water and 6 tbsp. l soda powder. This means is washed landing tanks and left to dry without wiping the liquid. For disinfection, the soil is shed with a prepared product. It saturates the earth with useful elements and destroys harmful bacteria.

To improve immunity and enhance growth, seedlings are treated 15 days after emergence and immediately after transplantation into separate containers. Such top dressing accelerates the adaptation of seedlings to new conditions after transplantation. To do this, dilute 30 g of powder in 3 l of water. On a separate plant use 3 tbsp. l the drug.

After transplanting seedlings to a permanent place, use fertilizer from 10 liters of water and 500 g of soda. With the prepared product, water the bushes under the root of 500 ml per plant and additionally spray the foliage. Such top dressing stimulates growth and prevents infection by pests.

When the bushes bloom, to improve the ovaries, they are watered under the root with a preparation prepared from 2 l of water and 60 g of soda powder. This fertilizer is poured into 500 ml per plant.

To accelerate the ripening and improve the taste of tomatoes at the time of their ripening, top dressing is made of 5 l of water and 200 g of soda. Plants are sprayed with this solution every week.

Pest and Disease Control

Unlike chemicals, baking soda does not harm plants. Therefore, funds based on it can be used even during the ripening period of the fruits in order to rid the tomatoes of diseases and pest attacks. To do this, use a composition of 10 l of warm water and 75 g of soda powder. Tomato bushes are sprayed with the prepared preparation every week until the pests disappear.

To prevent infection using a solution of sodium bicarbonate with a concentration of 5%. They process the aerial part of the bush. As a result, the number of ovaries increases, and the green mass retains its saturated color.

You may be interested in:

How to feed tomato and pepper seedlings with iodine?
Iodine is an extremely useful substance not only in medicine, but also in the cultivation of various crops. The fact,…Read more…

To prevent infection, mix 1 tbsp. l soda powder, liquid soap and vegetable oil. This mass is mixed with 5 l of water at room temperature and add 1 tablet of aspirin, after grinding it into powder. With this tool, the bushes are sprayed every 10 days.

To prevent yellowing and early decay of the leaves, the bushes are watered with a weak solution of sodium bicarbonate. The tool is made from 10 liters of water and 1 tbsp. l soda. Processing begins in July when the weather is hot. Three treatments are sufficient during the season.

Advice

So that diseases and pests do not disturb the tomato bushes during the growing season, the treatment is done in accordance with the following recommendations:

1. Working solutions are prepared only on water separated from chlorine.
2. If the product is used for foliar treatment, it is filtered before use.
3. The prepared product is used immediately. They have not kept it for more than three hours.
4. Soda-based fertilizers are applied early in the morning or late in the evening. Otherwise, sun rays can cause burns on the foliage.

Soda can be used in weed control. To do this, a highly concentrated solution of 10 l of water and 1 kg of powder is prepared and weeds are watered with it. In a few days they will dry.

Reviews

Anna, 48 years old:

For a long time I have been using only natural dressings and remedies for diseases. Recently discovered the benefits of baking soda solutions. They really help to cope with some diseases and improve the quality of the crop.

Inga, 28 years old:

I began to use baking soda in the country on the advice of a more experienced friend. She has been using it for nutrition for a long time. Recently I tried it. The result pleased me. Tomatoes were not sick, and the harvest was rich. The fruits are tasty and sweet.

Conclusion

Already many gardeners have appreciated the benefits of soda top dressing and abandoned chemicals. A solution of sodium bicarbonate promotes the growth and development of tomato bushes, improves the taste of fruits and protects against pests.