We figure out what to do if the tomatoes burned out in the greenhouse - how to save your crop

The greenhouse helps to get an early harvest of many vegetables, including tomatoes. But even in a special room with all the conditions, the gardener is not insured against crop loss due to the heat. Growing vegetables in southern regions is fraught with the danger of overheating, burns and plant death.

How to protect tomato seedlings in a greenhouse from the heat, what actions to take if the bushes become lethargic and burns appear on the leaves - you will learn from our article, supplemented with photographs.

What to do if the tomatoes in the greenhouse are burnt

Tomatoes are perhaps the most popular crop in our country, both outdoors and indoors. Those who do not have a plot grow them on balconies and window sills.

In greenhouses and greenhouses, film, polycarbonate or glass are used for good lighting of seedlings. However, the availability of a well-equipped premises does not guarantee a rich harvest. Plants in closed structures often suffer from overheating and heat.

How to save seedlings

To save the plant, damage is assessed. If only the leaves of the seedlings are affected, all is not lost. But if there are burns on the stems and roots, the best solution is to replace the bush.

Signs of burning tomatoes:

• lethargy of the bush;
• leaf plates lose color;
• leaf burns;
• fall off flowers and ovaries;
• plant growth stops;
• stems and roots dry up.

Damaged leaves are removed first. If there are many of them, the procedure is carried out in several stages. It should be noted that after cutting the green mass, the harvest time is shifted for several days or even weeks.

Why do tomatoes burn?

Not all summer residents have the opportunity to constantly be on the site. But leaving plants unattended in the heat or forgetting to water the beds in time is dangerous. An increase in temperature to + 30 ° C makes tomato flowers infertile. If this temperature is kept for more than four hours, the first signs of overheating of the plants appear.

With prolonged overheating, burns appear on the leaves, and they begin to curl. Fruits also suffer from the heat - cracks and light spots form on them. The palatability deteriorates, the pulp becomes coarse fiber.

At a temperature of + 38 ... + 42 ° C, the leaves fall off, the stem dries up and the plant dies. Seedlings that have suffered from overheating waste energy on recovery, so their development stops.

Important! Experienced gardeners know that dry white spots are not only caused by overheating and sunburn. Can also burn seedlings feeding from fresh manure.

How to prevent burning tomatoes in the greenhouse

To protect tomatoes, in hot weather, through ventilation is arranged in the greenhouse. Simultaneous opening of doors and vents not only lowers the temperature, but also protects the seedlings from late blight.

Tomato seedlings can be made weather-resistant. For this, young sprouts are hardened - they are taken out for a short time outside or more often they open windows in greenhouses. Hardening begins as soon as the air temperature rises to + 18 ° C.

Why do tomatoes wither in a greenhouse

There are several reasons why tomatoes do not tolerate heat well:

1. Unpreparedness of seedlings for changing environmental conditions. The sprouts are planted in the ground without preliminary hardening.
2. Seedlings were grown at home on the northern windows.
3. During the hot season, the greenhouse was not sufficiently ventilated.
4. The grower did not control the room temperature.
5. Long absence of the owner on the site.

How to save tomatoes in the heat

You can save withered tomato bushes. It is important to establish a favorable temperature regime for seedlings. Indicators should not exceed + 23 ... + 25 ° С during the day, + 18 ° С at night.

The drug "Epin" - a growth stimulator will help to revive the bushes... With it, the damaged plant will grow green mass faster and increase stress resistance. For processing, use one ampoule for 5 liters of water. The ground part of the seedlings is treated with a spray bottle. As a preventive measure, treatment with "Epin" is carried out every two weeks.

Important! To protect the plant from additional burns, it is sprayed in the morning or evening.

Foliar dressing also helps with tomato rehabilitation. The greenhouse uses mineral fertilizers containing a full range of trace elements. Processing is carried out twice with a break of two weeks.

Some growers use film material in the greenhouse. However, it transmits sunlight well and allows heating. What if the tomatoes start to burn under the film? The first step is to replace the covering material with a white non-woven, for example, spunbond. Then the seedlings are watered abundantly and left open overnight.

The damaged leaves are removed from the bush. If the root has suffered from the heat, it does not need to be pulled out, the plant will later give stepsons. However, gardeners often prefer not to spend too much time nursing such seedlings, but replace them with healthy bushes.

Overheating is especially dangerous for plants planted at an angle. In such bushes, the root is closer to the surface, therefore it also suffers from heat. If there is a threat of overheating, the soil around the stem is covered with a thick layer of mulch.

Saving tomatoes from overheating

There are several tricks that can save tomatoes and quickly reduce the air temperature in the greenhouse:

1. Shading. On especially hot days, the greenhouse is shaded with a special net, newspapers, spunbond or white material. You can also apply solutions to the outer surface of the room: 200 g of chalk per 10 liters of water or 2 kg of flour per 0.5 liters of milk. Shading should be temporary; it is removed as soon as the heat stops.
2. Watering with ventilation... Burnt bushes especially need water. Watering is carried out early in the morning or in the evening. During the day, the water quickly evaporates, forming condensation on the walls of the greenhouse, therefore, after watering, the room is ventilated for at least an hour. Irrigation with cold water on the outer walls of the polycarbonate greenhouse lowers the temperature inside by several degrees.
3. Automatic regulator. The thermostat makes life easier for the gardener - when the air temperature rises, the window opening system is triggered. The disadvantage of such equipment is its high cost.

To quickly fix the situation, buckets with mullein and green fertilizer infusion are placed in the greenhouse. During fermentation, carbon dioxide is released, which serves as food for damaged plants.

Important! These methods are suitable for greenhouses. Other methods of plant rescue are used outdoors.

Creation of favorable conditions in the greenhouse

The best protection for tomatoes from overheating is to provide favorable conditions in the greenhouse:

1. Crops grown in greenhouses height 180-200 cm, they suffer less from overheating. In the southern regions, it is better to build premises with such parameters.
2. For the development and fruiting of tomatoes, the temperature during the day should not exceed + 20 ... + 25 ° С, and at night - + 16 ... + 18 ° С. It is important to track indicators of not only air temperature, but also humidity. In greenhouses, it should be at least 60-70%.
3. While high humidity can be easily eliminated by ventilating and stopping watering, the problem of dry air requires more effort. Besides abundant watering you can moisten the paths and aisles. Work is carried out in the morning so that the moisture evaporates during the day.
4. For better ventilation, fans are installed in the room. The equipment is placed at floor level.
5. If the greenhouse is located so that the sun hits only one side, a light shield is installed there. Tall ornamental plants can be used as natural protection.

Experienced growers use homemade hydraulic temperature controls. The system is created from two cans, different in volume, with metal lids. They are connected to each other by tubes. A large jar is filled with water and installed next to the window, a small one is hung on the top of the window frame. A bar is nailed to the lower part of the frame - it will act as a counterweight.

When the temperature rises, water from a large can under pressure moves to a smaller one through pipes and opens the window. When the temperature drops, the liquid moves back and the window closes.

Conclusion

Growing tomatoes during the hot season takes a lot of effort. It only takes a few hours for the bushes to become lethargic. Proven agrotechnical methods will help save seedlings from overheating: mulching the beds, timely watering, loosening the soil, maintaining favorable conditions in the greenhouse.

Do not leave tomatoes unattended in the heat, even for one day. Without ventilation and shading, the gardener risks losing the entire crop.