Soil liming: when and for what?

Breeders bred varieties of tomatoes, adapted for a short summer, but to grow this vegetable in areas of high-risk farming need to make some effort. Tomatoes require sunlight, heat, watering, pasynkovanie, fertile or fertilized soil. Equally important in the cultivation of this vegetable is the acidity of the soil.

Why lime the soil

Soils are subject to liming in cases when plants are not suitable soil acidity. Tomatoes for comfortable growth requires a pH of from 6 to 6.8. Such indications have distilled water. This means that in order for the roots to fully absorb the nutrients from the earth, tomatoes need a soil with a neutral pH. Liming is carried out to bind the excess amount of hydrogen ions in the soil by hydroxyl groups contained in the composition of the lime composition. A neutralization reaction occurs with the formation of water and salt.

What soils require liming

It is necessary to lower the pH value of the soil with an acidity reading below 5-5.5. Although for growing in such conditions there are lovers, especially flowers. Increased acidity can be determined by the appearance of the soil. It is gray with a white bloom. The absence or small amount of earthworms in the garden also indicate the presence of acidic land. Most often sour are depleted:

• chernozem;
• forest;
• peatlands;
• podzolic;
• red soil.

Plants - Indicators

An experienced gardener is not required to perform an analysis to determine the pH level of the soil.

Growing on the house adjoining weeds all prompt.

Soil acidity level and its effect on tomatoes

Due to exceeding the acidity of the soil in tomatoes:

1. Reduced absorption of food and moisture from the soil due to reduced root growth.
2. The growth of seedlings in the initial period of development slows down.
3. Metabolism is disturbed due to imbalance in the land of calcium, magnesium, and potassium.
4. There is a slowdown in the conversion of simple carbohydrates into organic compounds within the plant.
5. Bud formation decreases.
6. The harvest decreases.
7. Tomato's susceptibility to fungal diseases is increasing.

Although a slight decrease in pH, tomatoes tolerate tolerable. An increase in acidity to 5-5.5 will not make significant changes in their growth and development.

But alkaline earth also has a negative effect on the development and fruiting of tomato bushes. This is observed at a pH above 8.0. Alkali forms insoluble compounds with microelements, which leads to yellowing of leaves in tomatoes and lag of bushes in growth. In such cases, it is necessary to increase the acidity by:

• compost, humus, manure, peat moss;
• introduction of nitrogen fertilizers into the soil for the winter;
• the introduction of colloidal sulfur;
• the introduction of ferrous sulfate.

Than to chase and when

Liming can be carried out by applying mineral compounds, organic fertilizers and planting siderats to the soil.

The main time for liming is autumn, when the garden is free and a suitable lime can be scattered without harm to the plants. From mineral use:

• quicklime fluff;
• dolomite flour.

Additives are scattered on the ground, consuming 500 g and 300 g per 1 sq. M. Treatments are made on more often 1 time in 3-4 years. As a result:

• increases the pH of the earth;
• plant growth increases;
• the activity of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil increases.

In the spring, they use chalk, scattering it right in the snow. Melt water will carry particles of chalk into the ground. It should be remembered that the planting of tomato seedlings can be made 3 weeks after processing.

Organic fertilizers that can increase soil acidity include ash. Since there is no nitrogen in its composition, ash can be applied to plants throughout the season. It is only required to comply with the dosage, making a bush under small portions or in the form of a solution.

Essential assistants in soil deoxidation are considered siderats. They can be planted throughout the growing season. In the spring, this occurs before planting of the main crops, in order to later bring it into the soil and enrich it with nitrogen. They are planted in the autumn after harvesting and leave the garden in this form before winter.

Overdose

Sometimes, if you do not follow the rules of liming and application rates, tomatoes show signs of overdose.

Overdose is expressed in:

• dying off tops;
• insufficient number of ovaries;
• yellowing leaves.

Neutralize the action of alkaline additives by feeding tomatoes with nitrogen-containing fertilizers.

It is possible to determine the soil pH by means of simple devices. Do you know the acidity of the land in your plot? Do you use liming and how often?