How to water tomatoes to blush faster: the best top dressing for tomatoes and life hacks to speed up ripening

Every gardener wants to get a rich harvest of red, large and tasty tomatoes. But many novice farmers in the process of growing do not find an answer to the question of why tomatoes in a greenhouse do not turn red.

To deal with this problem, you need to figure out how to water the tomatoes so that they turn red faster and what other ways are there to speed up the pouring of the fruit.

Why tomatoes do not turn red for a long time in the garden, in the greenhouse and on the balcony

The approximate period for which tomatoes ripen after the start of flowering is 40-55 days... The exact period depends on the variety of the vegetable.

During the first month, green fruits increase in size, become dense. After that, they need about 20 more days to mature.

There are several reasons why tomatoes ripen more slowly. in a greenhouse, open ground and on a balcony:

1. Lighting... The light of the room will determine how the tomatoes turn red. If there is not enough light for the fruits, they will develop unevenly and slowly. In the open field, maturation is slowed down by cloudy weather.
2. Nutrition... If the feeding was incorrect (for example, with an excess of nitrogen), the stems become large, and the fruits - small, they may not turn red for a long time.
3. Temperature... If the temperature is too low or too high, tomatoes grow worse. They do not produce the pigment lycopene, which makes tomatoes red. The optimum temperature for the growth of tomatoes is + 15 ... + 35 ° С.

Features of accelerating maturation in the greenhouse and in the open field

To speed up the ripening process of tomatoes in the open field, adhere to the following rules:

1. If cold dew falls at night, cover the tomatoes with foil at night. This will keep the fruits from moisture and reduce the likelihood of late blight.
2. It is better to remove brown tomatoes so that they ripen in another place.
3. Spray plants with iodine solution - this will strengthen the immune system.
4. Remove the lower leaves of the plant to those brushes where the fruits are already ripe.

If tomatoes grow in a greenhouse, these rules apply to them as well. However, if the greenhouse has heating, then it is recommended to leave no more than 12 brushes on the plant. If there is no heating, then no more than 7.

In a greenhouse, before the onset of cold weather, the fruits ripen fully on medium clusters, and partially at the tops.

Experienced gardeners recommend removing stepchildren and leaving no more than 17 leaves on the plant.

Top dressing of tomatoes for early ripening

Ways to speed up the ripening of tomatoes used only if the timing is right, and the number of ripe fruits is insufficient... In many regions of our country, this is relevant for the last summer months: from late July to late August.

Proper feeding plays an important role. For rapid ripening, it is necessary that the tomatoes receive the right amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and sodium.

Experienced gardeners recommend combining organic and mineral fertilizing. With this approach, tomatoes not only grow faster, but also bear fruit more abundantly.

Feeding with iodine

Iodine - a traditional fertilizer used by gardeners to feed tomatoes... It solves two problems at once: prevention of fungal infections and feeding. Thanks to iodine, nitrogen metabolism in the soil improves and resistance to various infections increases, the plant begins to bear fruit better.

Lack of iodine leads to a decrease in yield and incomplete ripening of fruits.

Reference. Tomatoes are poured with iodine solution in the ratio of 1 drop of the substance to 3 liters of warm water.

Ash feeding

Ash is an effective remedy for strengthening the root system and protecting against pests... It is rich in nutrients for plant growth and development. Ash contains phosphorus, potassium, nitrogen, sodium, calcium and magnesium.

The infusion is prepared as follows: a glass of ash is dissolved in 5 liters of water. Within a week, the solution is insisted. After that, the tomatoes can be watered.

Watering with potassium humate

Humate - a mixture of salts of various trace elements and acids... Fertilizer is formed from organic deposits. Humate improves the penetration of air into the soil, kills microbes, and neutralizes toxins.

Potassium humate is an excellent organic fertilizer for tomatoes: it increases yields, makes the roots stronger. For feeding, a solution with a concentration of 0.05% is used. 2 liters of substance are distributed on 1 m² of soil.

Read also:

Why do tomatoes crack when ripe in a greenhouse

Spraying tomatoes with serum with iodine

How to store tomatoes so they turn red

Alcohol bush injections

Gardeners accelerate the ripening of unripe tomatoes and activate flowering with alcohol injections.

Reference. From alcohol injections, the taste of the fruit does not change: the tomato does not contain foreign odors, and bitterness is not felt.

Alcohol injections can be administered at any stage of development vegetable culture. But when using this method, follow the safety rules:

• for feeding, use vodka no stronger than 45 °.
• use only sterile syringes and work with gloves, disinfect the injection site.

Alcohol injection is performed only once.

Additional ways to make tomatoes blush

If you followed all the care recommendations, but the fruits still did not start to turn red, try additional ways to speed up the ripening of tomatoes.

Removing new peduncles

For large and sweet tomatoes, remove new buds and flowersthat form on the tops of the bushes. Young fruits will no longer be able to ripen, and the strength from the bush will be taken away, which will slow down the development of the remaining tomatoes.

Trim the tops of tall bushes and remove all inflorescences. If the bushes are undersized and medium-sized, then all flower brushes are also cut off on them, which interfere with the normal development of fruits.

Stepping

Another way to stimulate the growth of tomatoes is pinching.

The plant branches well, forming stepchildren (lateral shoots). Flower brushes appear on new shoots. After the extra stepsons are removed, the plant does not waste energy on extra shoots, and its energy is directed to the ripening of the fruits.

Food restriction

For the growth of tomatoes, many experienced summer residents use forced power limitation.

An incision is made in the stem (12 cm from the ground) and a thin wooden plate (10-15 mm) is placed in the gap that has formed. Thanks to this, not only the intake of nutrients into the plant is controlled, but also their outflow.

Tomatoes ripen much faster after using this method.

Why tomatoes removed from a bush do not ripen

Why don't tomatoes taken from a bush turn red? There are several reasons for this.:

• low room temperature;
• tomatoes removed from the bush early (before the onset of the first ripening phase);
• lack of lighting.

To pour tomatoes faster, you can put already ripe fruits to them. They will help others to quickly acquire a red color.

Why does a tomato turn red with green spots near the stalk

If the temperature is above or below normal, then not only the fruits slow down during ripening, but also a green-yellow border appears on the tomato stalk.

The concentration of the coloring pigment lycopene in the fruits decreases, and therefore uneven reddening of the tomatoes occurs.

Important! To avoid a sharp temperature drop during the day and night, it is necessary to ventilate the greenhouse during the day, and turn on the heating at night.

Ripening fruits with signs of late blight

Tomatoes are prone to late blight... The disease manifests itself in the blackening of the fruits and leaves of the plant and negatively affects the yield. Phytophthora most often appears in the second half of summer. Cold and dampness are favorable conditions for the development of the fungus.

Eat tomatoes that suffer from late blight, you can, but they need to be processed. Within 15 seconds, the fruits are placed in water with a temperature of at least 60 ° C. Then the tomatoes are dried and left to ripen.

Reference. Infected red fruits should be eaten immediately or used for conservation. Greens are best preserved.

What not to do during tomato ripening

In order not to harm the tomatoes, avoid common newbie mistakes:

1. Abundant feeding with nitrogen. It is allowed to use top dressing for tomatoes only in the first half of summer. It is not recommended to do this later. Feeding with nitrogen at this time will worsen the taste of the tomatoes and reduce the yield.
2. Watering abuse. Tomatoes do not like when the humidity in the greenhouse changes. It is impossible for the earth to dry out and then watered abundantly.
3. Excess fertilizer for the soil. Soil abundantly fertilized with organic matter is contraindicated for tomatoes. When planting seedlings, manure and bird droppings should not be placed in the holes - this will increase the risk of late blight.
4. Abundant feeding with manure. It is not recommended to feed tomatoes with manure more than 2 times per season.
5. Abundant feeding with urea. When planting, you should not put the substance in the holes or water it too often. If tomatoes need this compound, then only at the beginning of development (no later than the first days of June) - spray the leaves with a solution of urea. For 10 liters of water, 1 tbsp is placed. l. substances.
6. Using nitrates as top dressing and creating a steam room effect in the greenhouse. This will negatively affect the yield and quality of the fruit.

Tips and tricks from experienced summer residents

Experienced gardeners advise you to follow a few simple rules., which will help grow tomatoes large and tasty:

1. It is recommended to plant seedlings in rows. Carrots can be planted between rows to keep pests away.
2. Two weeks after planting the seedlings, the plant is sprayed with solutions containing copper.
3. Do not plant tomatoes in one place for more than 3 years in a row.
4. Tomatoes love when they are watered at the root.
5. The soil should be loose and saturated with humus.
6. Do not use manure as fertilizer more than 2 times per season.
7. It is best to sow twice as many seeds as you want your plants to. It is better to remove weak bushes and leave only productive plants.
8. The first feeding of tomatoes after planting seedlings in the ground is carried out in early June.

Conclusion

Tomatoes are picky plants, so you must follow the methods of growing this vegetable crop. Temperature, food and lighting must be adequate. Do not overuse abundant fertilizing with manure and urea - this will have a bad effect on the plant, it can get sick with late blight.

If the tomatoes do not turn red for a long time, use mechanical (pinching, removal of peduncles, restriction in nutrition) or chemical methods (treatment with iodine, spraying with growth stimulants, feeding with boric acid).