How boric acid is used to process tomatoes
To grow a good harvest of vegetables, every gardener should know that this requires high-quality seedlings, weeding of beds, timely watering and destruction of pests. One of the main components of plant care is planting fertilization. For fertilization, both organic solutions and chemical preparations are used. Organic fertilizers include mullein, bird droppings and extracts from rotted weeds. But we will look at a substance like boric acid for tomatoes and find out what it is and how to use it.
Boric acid for processing tomatoes
Description of the drug
It is a chemical that can be found in nature. It is found in mineral springs, hot geysers and the sassolin mineral. Chemically isolated from a mixture of sodium tetrabonate (borax) and hydrochloric acid, it is odorless. The powder of white or transparent color, when examined in detail, consists of layered scales. Orthoboric acid is relatively poorly soluble relative to others, but its suspension can be obtained in hot water.
Care and personal hygiene must be observed when handling this drug. If ingested orally, into the human body, it can lead to death. A fatal dose for an adult is considered to be about 15 g, and for children, 4 g is enough to destroy a child. So, when using it to fertilize plants, you need to be extremely careful.
How to determine the lack of boron in the soil
The most accurate way to determine the presence of various substances in the soil, of course, is its chemical analysis. But in a private household, this can be determined by the condition of the plants.
- If it is noticed that with a green top, the leaves of tomatoes are yellow.
- It often happens that the leaves become stained and curled.
- The stem itself can break because it becomes brittle.
- Flowers of vegetable crops are few in number and do not produce ovaries.
- The set fruits can, partially or completely, crumble.
- The bush becomes ugly curved and has very few leaves.
These signs are enough to understand that there is not enough boron in the soil, as you can see in the video. If you let everything take its course, the growth point will die, and over time, the entire plant.
Benefits of a chemical drug
Often, tomato seeds are treated with a mixture of boric acid and potassium permanganate in order to make the tiny plant stronger. This is especially necessary when seeds are planted in containers on the windowsill. The lack of light is slightly compensated by the fact that the mass of plants will absorb more organic matter from the soil. If you sprinkle our tomatoes with boric acid, then the risk of infection of dense plantings with late blight decreases.
When you take it for processing tomato seedlings, before planting, the seedlings will be strong and will quickly take root.But for this, a solution of weak concentration is made up. Feeding tomatoes with a warm boric acid solution is twice effective. It not only fertilizes, but also fights late blight and other plant diseases.
Benefits of using boron
Feeding flowering tomatoes with a boric acid solution is very useful. Plants need to be processed for prevention purposes.
It significantly increases the number of flowers in the clusters of the plant. And, practically, all flowers will give an ovary that will not crumble.
- Boron increases the resistance of plantings to fungal diseases, and nullifies the occurrence of putrefactive processes on leaves and fruits.
- The sugar content of the fruits increases and their taste improves.
- With regular and correct feeding, the ripening time of the crop is reduced.
It follows from this that if we take boric acid for processing tomatoes and cucumbers, spraying with the drug will not only increase the yield, but also harvest it earlier than in the beds without the use of boron.
After planting seedlings, we are used to watering the plants with potassium permanganate most often to disinfect the soil and stimulate growth. But the use of boric acid solution for processing our tomatoes and the addition of mullein, we will see that organic matter will be more successfully and fully absorbed by the plant. Weaker seedlings than those grown in the field are grown hydroponically or in balcony boxes. Boron will give them a chance to grow strong, give abundant flowering and bear fruit successfully.
When to use boric acid
To improve germination, seeds can be treated
We know that the use of boric acid solution for the treatment of tomato seeds increases their germination. But if you do not do this, then the tomato seedlings will still be viable. But you need to know when you can spray tomatoes with boric acid. In order for it to be enough for the plants and they do not get burned, it is necessary to correctly determine the timing of plant fertilization.
We need to start when we see that the condition of the seedlings has deteriorated, and there are signs of a lack of boron. The first feeding with boric acid of young cucumbers and tomatoes is carried out before the first wave of flowering. If done correctly, then each flower brush will retain all the ovaries. They will be in shape, match the variety, and the skin of each fruit will be smooth and shiny.
After the first wave of flowering, fruit setting begins and a mass of flower brushes, up to 12, is formed on one plant. Then the time comes to process tomatoes with boric acid again. Spraying the tomato with boric acid for the ovary will help preserve all the fruits and the plant will not weaken. Boron helps the sap move inside the stem, which carries huge amounts of sugar and other nutrients to the fruit.
The third time the tomato is treated with boric acid is carried out when the fruits are full and begin to color. This will help the plant to fully maintain the harvest and prevent diseases from developing. It is very annoying when the tomatoes are already turning red, but at the same time, rot spots appear on the fruits. But in order for foliar and root feeding of tomatoes to bring results, you need not overdo it.
Preparation of the solution
In order not to have any questions about whether it is possible to spray tomatoes with boric acid, you must correctly follow the recommendations for preparing solutions. First you need to heat the water because the crystals do not completely dissolve in cold water. The instruction is always available on the packaging of the drug, where the table contains a recipe for the preparation of solutions. A solution is prepared, and then, after cooling, liquid is added in the proportions required for a certain treatment.
To preserve all the ovaries, boric acid 1 g for spraying tomatoes is dissolved in a liter of very hot water. To protect the plant from the appearance of late blight, a teaspoon of powder is added to hot water.Before that, in a week, to improve the action of boron, you can spray the plantings with weak potassium permanganate. After boron, again after seven days, apply a weak solution with iodine in the garden. If a finished product is purchased, then it will only be possible to dilute it to the desired concentration and use it.
How to process tomatoes
How to spray tomatoes with boric acid so as not to harm the fruit? Feeding tomatoes with a boric acid solution should follow the rules.
- The first treatment of tomatoes with boric acid is carried out when the bushes are just forming, before flowering.
- If the flowers are pollinated, then it is forbidden to spray the tomatoes with boric acid, it is better to cover the near-stem area with ash.
- With a weak solution, they feed the bushes when watering, which also brings a positive result if foliar fertilization cannot be used.
- The concentration of boron must not be exceeded because its excess in the soil can destroy the plantings.
- Before spraying tomatoes with boric acid for the second time, it is necessary that at least 10 days have passed.
- If the condition of the plants deteriorates after treatment, then it is necessary to postpone repeated procedures or stop altogether.
Listening to advice and observing the development of vegetable bushes, you can find out whether to spray tomatoes with boric acid right now or wait a little. When and how to sprinkle tomatoes with boric acid, for growth or for better tomato ovary, you can find on the websites by reading the table of contents of the articles.
Spray only on a calm day.
When it is best to sprinkle tomatoes with boric acid depends on the weather. On a rainy and windy day, you need to refrain from such a procedure. The solution will be blown off the leaves and the concentration on different bushes will differ. And if the rain washes away the boron, then yes, fertilization will occur, but only in the form of irrigation. And the concentration of boron will be much less than required for our vegetables.
For tomato ovaries, boron treatment will help if done before flowering.
Spraying with iodine, plus potassium permanganate, is a necessary procedure before using boron. If planned treatments are not beneficial, then the rate of subsequent ones depends on the condition of the plants. You can use foliar feeding such as sprinkling boric acid on your tomatoes if you see the leaves curling and falling off.
Precautions for work
The main thing when working with chemicals is that you must follow safety rules. Before you dilute the solution and use it in gardening or for the garden, you need to protect yourself. To protect a person, you must prepare:
- respirator;
- rubber gloves;
- apron.
They are especially useful in a greenhouse where cucumbers and tomatoes are grown. There, the vapors of the solution have a high concentration and, when inhaled, can get on the mucous membranes, causing irritation and burns. Why risk your health in vain?
The suspension is prepared outdoors in warm weather. The finished solution is poured into nebulizers, the face is protected using glasses and a respirator. If the treatment is carried out at home, then you need to protect the animals from getting the drug on them. For both humans and animals, a one-time ingestion of it into the respiratory tract will be unpleasant, but if it is repeatedly ingested, it becomes life-threatening. Boron is poorly excreted from the body and tends to accumulate in it.
Conclusion
Tomatoes and soluble boric acid, combined with iodine to fertilize them, can provide a large and tasty fruit yield. Different proportions are needed, both for root feeding and in order to spray the plants. We told you how much and what is needed to successfully grow a crop and protect it from phytophthora. We answered the question of how to process our tomatoes with a boric mixture, and how tomatoes and concentrated boric acid interact.Therefore, using this preparation, we will be sure that we will get an abundance of delicious products to the table.