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Fish in a bed of tomatoes is not at all an invention or a joke of gardeners. Among the many tricks undertaken by owners of personal plots in order to obtain a huge harvest, there is this one. Let's try to figure out whether it is worth stocking up on fish at the time of planting tomato seedlings in the garden and, if this is really worth doing, how to do it with the highest probability of winning.
There is an opinion that even the American Indians placed fish under their plantings. Allegedly, this is even reflected in rock paintings. We don’t undertake to say for sure, but we admit this option. At present, when fish products are not cheap, in our country this is done in those places where they are available in sufficient quantities: in Primorye and on Far East fish waste even used for growing potatoes, also common in the Astrakhan region this method growing tomatoes. The cheapest types are used.
Feeding tomatoes with fish during transplantation Why put fish when planting tomatoes? It is clear that fish, with its organic composition, will obviously add some useful components to the soil during its decomposition. Which ones exactly? This is what needs to be determined in more detail.
Plants need to receive sufficient amounts of various macro and microelements to grow and develop.
Among macro (= many) the following are especially necessary:
- Nitrogen– necessary for the process of photosynthesis. The main sources are manure, humus, urea, etc. If the plant receives it in excess, it “fattens”, i.e. The plant develops a large green mass, but the yield is minimal.
- Potassium– helps fruit ripening. Main source – potash fertilizers and wood ash.
- Phosphorus– promotes flowering and fruiting of plants. The main source is superphosphates and bone meal.
It is known that tomatoes are particularly demanding on the phosphorus content in the soil. On initial stage phosphorus stimulates the development of the root system of plants, later accelerates the process of formation of flower clusters, and at the stage of harvest ripening improves the taste of tomatoes.
Just to provide tomatoes with a sufficient amount of phosphorus in accessible form and add fish under the roots of the seedlings. The same result can be achieved using superphosphate. But if there is such a tradition, let’s decide how to do it most correctly.
Feeding tomatoes with fish when planting seedlings
At the time of disembarkation tomato seedlings Often small fish are used as a fish additive: capelin, sprat, herring. Connoisseurs organic farming They say that it is best to use pre-prepared and frozen heads as a top dressing for tomatoes.
At the time of planting seedlings, you need to prepare holes of sufficient depth (at least 60 cm deep), put them in each head, sprinkle it with soil, and then plant the seedlings. If the holes are less deep, there is a risk of an odor that may attract pets.
Attracted by the fishy smell, cats and dogs are able to dig up plantings and damage planted plants.
Fish feeding tomato throughout the season If at the time of planting the seedlings there was no fish at hand, then this can be done later by burying it quite deeply next to the bush. In addition, this method of feeding is recommended to be carried out throughout the growing season. . This is especially easy to do if someone in the family likes to fish. Fish remains can be passed through a meat grinder, diluted with water and such liquid fertilizer, without waiting until it starts to smell unpleasant, water the soil between tomato bushes
(not at the root!) There is also an opinion that fish (even just scales can be used) are buried in the soil to scare away mole crickets, which destroy young plants by feeding on their roots, but cannot tolerate the smell rotten fish
. The insect avoids such places, and this helps preserve the plants.
Other ways to feed vegetable plants with fertilizer based on fish waste
Instead of fish directly, you can use fishmeal and other types of waste-based feeding.
- Maxim Zhmakin’s book “All About Fertilizer” provides several options for feeding tomatoes based on fish waste: Bone Meal
- – is produced in the same way as fish bone meal. Additionally, soft waste is used. It contains more nitrogen (up to 10%). Phosphorus is usually 3%. Apply 1-2 tbsp into each hole immediately before planting the bush. spoons (or 40 g) / bush.
- Fish emulsion- is mainly obtained by processing fish of the herring family - menhaden, which the American Indians used as fertilizer. This type of fish is not valuable for Food Industry and is used for livestock feed and fertilizer production. It is recommended to apply in small doses once a month throughout the growing season. For this purpose not a large number of The emulsions are dissolved in water and the plants are watered directly at the root. The disadvantage is the characteristic fishy smell, which can attract cats.
Here is a study on the usefulness of using fish and derivatives in agricultural technology for growing tomatoes. There was almost no scientific justification for its mandatory use. But in practice this method is widespread. Amateur vegetable growers often write on forums about the results that pleased them. Therefore, everyone decides for themselves; many questions can only be answered experimentally. At least within the boundaries of your own greenhouse.
Once upon a time in the USSR, frozen sprat cost 10 kopecks per kilogram, and there were no fertilizers on the market for summer residents at all. Because of its cheapness, our grandmothers used fish as fertilizer for garden plants. How to do this and does it really have any beneficial effect?
It turns out that those who are interested in fishing do not have to spend money on buying fertilizers for crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers or bell peppers. Fish entrails, heads and scales can be an invaluable source of phosphorus necessary for plant development. Even at the seedling stage, if you wash and clean the fish, then you need to do this not with tap water, but with specially settled water, which every gardener probably has at home for watering seedlings. This water is very useful for seedlings. She stops reaching up. Due to the abundant supply of phosphorus to the roots, they become stronger and, consequently, the growing stem becomes stronger.
Before planting tomatoes in open ground, try burying one or two sprat in each hole and the result will surprise you. The plant will develop much faster, the stem will be thicker, and side shoots not so brittle. And most importantly, for all nightshades these are larger and juicy fruits. In general, the yield will be significantly higher due to the earlier development of the plant as a whole. For our early cold weather, this is an important advantage.
Fish fertilizer has another advantage - it not only strengthens the plant, it makes the soil more fertile. The nitrogen contained in fish waste gradually decomposes in the soil over 6-8 months, making it more loose and oily.
You need to bury the fish to a depth of at least 8-10 cm. This is due to the fact that, firstly, at such a depth, nitrogen will not evaporate from the soil, and secondly, there is less chance that tailed fish lovers will smell the delicacy and dig up your garden ( meaning cats). And it is also very important that the roots of the plant and fish fertilizer do not touch each other, otherwise they may “burn” slightly. Therefore, it is necessary to make an earthen layer between them.
Fish feeding can be applied not only during planting. Fish waste infused in water is called fish emulsion. You can water the plants with it until the very end of fruiting.
I myself put fish when planting tomatoes in the ground. I grow the roots of tomatoes up to half the entire height of the plant in advance. Then I lay the plant with a root of 30-40 cm horizontally and slightly tilt it with its root to the south.
At the bottom of the trench before planting tomatoes, I place either fish peelings and heads, or small fish such as bleak - along the entire root of the plant.
I sprinkle a little soil and compost on top, put tomatoes and make a small earthen mound over them. I bury the tomatoes at 2/3 of the height of the plant.
When I harvest the tomatoes, or rather, with difficulty tearing the roots out of the ground, there are no traces of fish under them - no scales, no bones, nothing. Perhaps the roots of tomatoes secrete substances that help digest organic matter, or attract bacteria for these purposes. In any case, the tomatoes grow healthy and require almost no fertilizing.
According to “British scientists”, tomatoes are predatory carnivorous plants.
Plants have sticky hairs that trap tomatoes small insects, which fall into the soil, where they are absorbed by the roots.
From time to time I feed the tomatoes with the following: I dilute the liquid remaining after defrosting fish or meat several times warm water and water it at the root.
There are about a thousand carnivorous plant species on earth, including potatoes. I have never added fish under potatoes when planting, but after analyzing the situation, next spring I'll definitely do this.
Now I want to say a few words about the dangers and benefits of using rotten fish and other organic matter in agriculture. I think there is only one harm - plantings dug up by cats and other animals.
In general, I love animals and I think that you can come to an agreement with them, after all, they are only interested in fresh fish. A small portion on a plate next to the garden bed satisfies their appetite.
And to protect the beds, this is what I do: I cover the plantings for a day or two, but if the areas are large, you can spray the garden with a decoction or tincture of citrus peels or put them along with the fish.
You might think that fish would create a terrible smell in the area? No. If you place the fish at a sufficient depth (20-30 cm), there will be no smell, and the roots of the plants will eventually take what they need.
In general, all organic fertilizers do not have a very pleasant “aroma”. However, no one is bothered by the stench from the infusion of rotten grass, beautifully called “green kvass,” which spreads over tens of meters and cannot be washed off from hands. What about manure? And at the same time, stale fish is also called poison?! By the way, slightly rotten fish is served in Sweden, and, mind you, not in the suicide club, but in restaurants...
How and what kind of organic matter to use in the garden is up to everyone to decide for themselves. The end result is important. AND best proof the right decision- a sugary and meaty tomato grown in the north of the Leningrad region.
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Some readers claim that planting potatoes with fish is harmful, as they release cadaverous poison, which the vegetables absorb. But so far no one has proven or told this. Let’s assume that the poison is released, but in tiny doses, and does no harm.
And now another question. IN Lately A common method is to treat potatoes before planting with a well-known commercial preparation to kill the Colorado potato beetle. The manufacturers of this poison claim that it has no effect on humans. Have any of the summer residents conducted research on this topic?
I have published many articles about planting potatoes with fish, and many have criticized me for this method. And with this landing I achieved the following successes:
Completely got rid of the wireworm;
doubled the yield;
moles avoid the area.
Hence the conclusion: wireworms and moles do not respect the smell of fish, and the fish itself turns into fertilizer, which increases productivity.
In the Altai Republic we have a testing center of the Federal State Budgetary Institution “SAS Torno-Alaiskaya”, which is located in the village of Mayme and is involved in testing feed and soil. I turned to this center for help to identify harmful substances, in particular cadaveric poison, in my potatoes grown with fish.The samples shown in the photo are: No. 1 – potatoes grown with fish; No. 2 – potatoes grown without fish. The tubers are taken of the same size, of the same variety, the plots are located nearby. From the test report it is clear what the difference is in the tested samples. But the most important thing is that no poisons were found there!
The protocol is attached. So, dear readers, study this document carefully and decide for yourself whether to plant potatoes with fish or not.
Answer
Ivan Danilov Altai
Burying fish in a tomato bed is not a gardener's trick or someone's strange invention. This method of fertilizing has been known for a very long time. Even the ancient Indians placed fish in holes for planting plants. And these days, many gardeners resort to this old and proven method of feeding. Judging by the reviews experienced gardeners, this gives a wonderful effect. Tomatoes fed in this way are distinguished by their yield, strong structure and excellent taste.
Why put fish in a hole?
There is nothing unusual in this method of feeding. After all, fish contains many minerals. When fish biomass decomposes, useful substances are added to the soil, which serve as fertilizer for tomato seedlings.
With this method of feeding, tomatoes receive the following benefits:
- Substances formed during the decomposition of fish in the soil are well absorbed by tomato roots.
- Fish is rich in phosphorus, and tomatoes are especially sensitive to the content of this element in the soil. Phosphorus stimulates the formation of the root system, accelerates the flowering process and significantly improves the taste of fruits at the ripening stage.
- Tomatoes will also receive magnesium, potassium and iron. These elements are necessary for tomatoes to fully ripen.
You can also provide tomatoes with a sufficient amount of phosphorus using superphosphate fertilizers. However, feeding fish is a more natural and cheaper way.
How to apply fish fertilizer to the soil
To feed tomatoes, small types of fish are most often used: herring, capelin, sprat. However, experienced gardeners recommend burying frozen heads more large species fish
It is necessary to dig deep (about 60 cm) holes. They put fish in them, sprinkle them with earth and plant seedlings. If the holes are not deep enough, the fishy smell may attract cats and dogs. Pets can dig up your garden and damage your plantings.
If you accidentally forgot to put the fish in the hole, you can do this at any time. Just bury the fish head or whole carcass deeply next to the bush.
Some gardeners use fishmeal as a top dressing. In this case, there is no need to dig deep holes. The smell of fishmeal does not attract animals, so you do not have to worry about dogs and cats invading your garden. However, flour does not give the same effect as natural fish.
Constant feeding of tomatoes
Tomatoes should be fertilized not only when planting, but throughout the entire growing season. To do this, you need to pass the fish through a meat grinder and mix with a small amount of water. The resulting composition is used in fresh. Fertilizer is used to water the soil between the rows of plantings. Avoid getting the composition on the leaves or under the roots.
Conclusion
Many gardeners share on forums their experience of using fish as fertilizer for tomatoes. In their opinion, this feeding method promotes the ripening of sweet, strong and fleshy fruits. Gardeners leave mostly positive reviews about fertilizer made from natural fish. We can conclude that this method is really effective.
However, such feeding should not be abused. After all, tomatoes need a variety of substances. Therefore you need to change it periodically different types organic fertilizers. This will help you get a more abundant harvest.
Organic fertilizers are made from substances of animal or plant origin. Such fertilizers contain a high content of substances, necessary for plants for full growth and development: nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, potassium, calcium and magnesium.
The benefits of organics include the following:
- Their availability and low cost.
- Environmental friendliness - their natural origin is beyond doubt.
- Complex effect - they contain a whole set of components vital for the plant.
Flaws:
- Working with the tools can be not very convenient or pleasant.
- Calculating the correct dosage also has its difficulties.
love tomatoes natural fertilizers and there are many undeniable advantages of this type of fertilizer:
But there are also disadvantages of such fertilizers:
- Materials of plant and animal origin often contain insect pests and various fungal infections.
- Also, incorrect dosage and overfeeding with organic matter can cause burns to the plant’s root system and above-ground parts.
Onion peel
Tomatoes love feeding with onion peels., which contains a lot useful substances, capable of protecting this crop from such unpleasant diseases as gray and black rot. Thanks to this fertilizer, the tomatoes' stems become stronger, their tone increases and the fragility of the bushes decreases. How to prepare the composition:
- 2 cups compacted onion peel pour 2 liters of boiling water.
- Leave in a cool, dark place for 48 hours.
- Then strain the solution and dilute with clean cool water in a ratio of 1:3.
How to use:
- The first feeding with onion infusion is carried out 3-4 days after planting tomato seedlings in the ground. The solution should be applied to the root hole near the plant trunk. For 1 bush you will need half a liter of infusion.
- The second feeding should be done when the bushes are flowering. Watering is also root-based.
Fish
Tomatoes love fish heads because it is a very effective, environmentally friendly and easily accessible fertilizer. Just don't throw away leftover fish after cutting it and store it in the freezer.
Important: Feeding tomatoes with fish will provide them with phosphorus, potassium, iron and magnesium.
How to prepare fish head composition:
How to use:
- It is not the roots of the plants that need to be watered with this solution, but the space between them.
- Try not to let fertilizer get on the leaves, as this can burn them.
Crackers
Summer residents have long noticed that bread solution has a very beneficial effect on tomatoes. Culture begins to develop faster root system is formed several weeks earlier, and the ripened fruits have excellent taste qualities. How to prepare the composition:
- Remnants of black or white bread dried in advance and stored in a tightly closed container.
- Then the resulting crackers are placed in a small bucket and filled with warm water.
- This composition should be infused under a tightly closed lid in the sun for about 2 weeks - during this time the yeast will begin to ferment.
How to use:
- The finished solution must be diluted with water in a 1:1 ratio.
- You need to water the bushes right to the roots for two weeks.
Banana peel
Infusion from banana peels has long proven itself well, How effective remedy for feeding tomatoes in a greenhouse. But also growing in open ground plants also respond gratefully to fertilization with such a nutrient solution. Tomatoes grow faster, form and increase leaf mass well, and produce higher yields. How to prepare and use the composition:
- From fresh peel: Place 3 banana skins in a 3 liter container glass jar and fill with clean cool water. Leave for 3 days. Pour the mixture into a bucket and dilute with water in a 1:1 ratio. Water the tomatoes at the root in the morning or evening throughout the week.
- From dried skins: Pour 4 dried peels into 1 liter of water and leave for 48 hours. Then dilute with water 1:1. Watering is carried out in the same way as described above.
Chicken droppings
Chicken manure has long been used in gardening as a natural and very effective fertilizer for watering tomatoes, because it contains chemical elements 3 times more than everyone knows cow dung. Bird droppings contain large amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, copper, manganese, cobalt and zinc.
As a result of this feeding, tomatoes have fast growth, faster ovary of inflorescences and active flowering. In addition, it has been experimentally noted that even a single treatment of bushes with such fertilizer increases the crop yield for 2 years in advance.
Attention: use for cooking nutritional composition You can use fresh, dry and even granulated bird droppings.
Fresh
How to prepare a composition from chicken manure:
How to use:
- The solution must be applied by the root method at the rate of half a liter of fertilizer per 1 bush.
- It is recommended to carry out this procedure only after rain or a couple of hours after watering the crop.
Dry
How to use:
- Dry chicken manure is added when digging the soil after harvesting in the fall.
- Fertilizer is applied in a slightly moistened form over the entire surface of the future planting site of tomatoes at the rate of 3-5 kg of manure per 5 m².
- Fertilizer must be spread evenly over the soil; you can use a rake to do this.
- It is also recommended to add to chicken droppings wood ash, sand and compost and then leave the beds fertilized in this way until spring digging.
Granulated
How to use:
- Granular fertilizer is very convenient to apply to the soil before planting tomato seedlings.
- For 1 m² of land you will need 150-250 grams of litter.
- The granules should be lightly sprinkled with earth.
Important: The seedlings should not come into contact with this fertilizer, so it must be applied between future beds.
Horse dung
Horse droppings are an excellent fertilizer for tomato bushes. But it is most effective to use half-rotted manure, since it contains a large amount of nitrogen, which is well absorbed by plants. How to prepare the composition:
- Dissolve one bucket of manure in 30 liters of water.
- Let the resulting solution brew for 2-3 days.
How to use:
- The first feeding is carried out 20-25 days after planting the tomato seedlings in the greenhouse.
- Further, the manure composition should be applied no more than once every 2 weeks.
Application of rabbit
In addition to water, rabbit droppings are rich in nitrogen, magnesium and potassium, thanks to which the growth of plants accelerates and they become stronger and more resilient. This fertilizer is used directly in 2 ways:
How to prepare and use liquid fertilizer:
- Pour 1 kg of litter into 10 liters of water and mix thoroughly.
- Let the fertilizer sit for 12 to 24 hours, shaking occasionally until smooth.
- This fertilizer must be applied at the rate of 2 liters of composition per 1 m² of land, but not more than twice a year, otherwise the plants will burn from an excess of nitrogen and methane in the soil.
How to prepare and use dry manure:
- To make dry powder from rabbit dung, it is first dried in the sun and then ground to a fine powder.
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