In modern shops for gardeners and gardeners, a large number of various fertilizers and industrial growth stimulants. However, the proven "grandmother's" methods are still much safer. One of them is based on the use of whey in the care of cucumbers and tomatoes. This simple and affordable tool will help get rid of many problems that arise during cultivation.

Serum for processing cucumbers and tomatoes: what it is

Whey is a substance that forms when fresh milk turns sour. It is usually separated from milk when curd is prepared or curdled milk is filtered.

Note! Curdled milk contains more vitamins and minerals useful for plants, so whey from it will be preferable.

You can make it yourself or purchase a ready-to-drink drink from grocery stores. This product is effective for plant care due to its high concentration of milk protein, vitamins, minerals, essential amino acids.

Healthy cucumbers and tomatoes

Why serum is useful

Bread dressing for cucumbers and tomatoes

Open field cucumbers and tomatoes in the middle of Russia do not always yield a good harvest. Seed-planted cucumbers often produce poor shoots and develop slowly, especially if spring and summer are rainy and cloudy. Tomatoes also have serious problems: late blight, viral leaf diseases, diseases caused by moisture deficiency.

Industrial fertilizers are not always effective. Quite often, they are of low quality, as they are made in violation of technological standards: the manufacturer "saves" by adding less active substances to the fertilizing than is required by GOST standards. In such cases, proven "grandmother's" methods come to the rescue. Here's what to say about the benefits of whey:

  • The product is instantly absorbed into the soil, enriching it with useful substances;
  • It successfully fights viral and bacterial infections;
  • Helps get rid of pests and parasites;
  • Increases the yield of cucumbers and tomatoes.

But the most important thing is that this fertilizer is absolutely harmless.

Serum

Serum varieties

Trichopolum for tomato seedlings

Various components can be added to whey, then this tool will be much more effective. Most often, domestic gardeners use the following formulations for feeding and spraying plants:

  • Pure milk whey from cottage cheese or curdled milk;
  • Mix with iodine solution;
  • Mix with brilliant green solution;
  • Infusion of whey with ash.

The addition of substances such as iodine, brilliant green and ash additionally enriches the feeding with useful substances. So, for example, ash contains a large amount of potassium, which has a beneficial effect on the formation of ovaries and fruits, plays an important role in the prevention of "barren flowers". Iodine increases the intensity of flowering, and brilliant green disinfects the soil, killing pathogenic bacteria.

Iodine serum

How to use

Is it possible to plant cucumbers after tomatoes

Spraying tomatoes with whey (as well as cucumbers) is an easy job. The same goes for watering.The main thing is the correct dosage of this beneficial substance.

  • There are several options:
  • Watering. Previously, the earth must be loosened for a more intensive absorption of nutrients;
  • Spraying. This method is most often used in pest and parasite control;
  • Top dressing. In this case, other components (iodine, brilliant green, ash) are added to the serum;
  • Treatment of seedlings before planting in a greenhouse or in open ground to stimulate their growth.

Each gardener independently chooses the method of using this valuable substance, depending on the age of the plants, their development phase and basic needs.

Spraying

How to spray and water

When using tomato serum, spraying not only has an extremely beneficial effect on plant development, but also helps fight diseases and pests of tomatoes and cucumbers. For example, this remedy will help "ward off" the whitefly from the beds. This insect has long been adapted to industrial insecticides, so in this case, folk remedies will be much more effective.

You can spray plants with an industrially produced spray bottle, but you can also make a DIY sprayer. The latter option is more convenient, because the capacity of a home-made spray bottle may be larger than that of a purchased one.

Important! Irrigation is necessary on a sunny, windless day. If the work is done in the rain, there will be no benefit.

When spraying and watering, keep the following in mind:

  • The substance must be diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 3. If you use pure serum, plants will get severe burns and may even die;
  • You need to water at the root, without touching the leaves, so that the precious dressing is not wasted. Therefore, it will be more convenient to water from a watering can, from which the tip with holes has been previously removed;
  • When the serum is absorbed, the soil must be re-loosened for more intensive absorption;
  • Do not stand too close to the plant while spraying. On the contrary, in order for the liquid to be evenly distributed, you must move a distance to spray it.

It must be borne in mind that this substance can only be used for tomatoes or cucumbers. Peppers and eggplants, although they are distant "relatives" of tomatoes, react negatively to milk protein.

Cucumbers

Which whey is better: milk or with iodine

When sprayed with iodine serum, tomatoes and cucumbers usually respond well to this remedy. Instead of iodine, you can also use a solution of brilliant green (popularly known as "brilliant green"). The undoubted advantage of these supplements is their availability, you can buy at any pharmacy, and the low price.

Note! In the conditions of the Russian middle zone, combined feeding with iodine will be more effective than feeding with a simple solution of serum with water.

This is due to the fact that in this climatic zone, plants are often iodine deficient. The soil is poor in this element, so the additional introduction of iodine can in no way harm. In addition, iodine contributes to the rapid absorption of milk protein and amino acids contained in whey.

But in other climatic zones (for example, where there is a sea), soils, as a rule, are rich in iodine and it is not required to additionally enrich the land with this element.

Top dressing

Feeding cucumbers and tomatoes with whey with folk remedies usually gives good results if the plants are fed correctly. To fertilize seedlings or adult plants, the ground must first be watered and loosened, then the fertilizer is better absorbed into the soil and quickly gets to the roots.

Here are the basic rules for plant feeding:

  • The solution should only be warm, at least 20 degrees;
  • Do not pour the whey infusion into dry soil so as not to burn the plants. If it is not possible to water cucumbers or tomatoes, fertilizing should be carried out after rain, while the ground is still wet;
  • It is strictly forbidden to use this fertilizer on a hot afternoon. The ideal time to work is early morning or late evening when there is no bright sun in the sky;
  • If feeding is carried out in a greenhouse, the greenhouse must be ventilated after fertilization.

For feeding, the solution should not be as concentrated as for spraying.

Top dressing

Seedling processing

Gardeners often ask if it is possible to water tomato seedlings with whey. Indeed, if you water young plants with this remedy, there will be no harm from this, only benefit. However, for the intensive development of seedlings, it is still better to use special growth stimulants. They are much more efficient in this task. It is necessary to process seedlings with serum many times, only in this case the result will be noticeable.

Experienced summer residents recommend spraying weak bushes with valuable fertilizer at least once every 10 days.

Important! Thanks to spraying, a thin film is formed on the leaves and stems of young seedlings, it perfectly protects immature plants from diseases and pests, as well as from the adverse effects of the environment.

But this film is easily washed off during rains, and is also blown away by the wind, so there is no point in processing once or twice.

Phytophthora treatment

Milk whey for tomato seedlings is a guarantee that a plant planted in open ground or in a greenhouse will not get sick with late blight. Serum for late blight on tomatoes is a very effective remedy. It can be used both for treatment and for the prevention of a dangerous disease.

Processing is carried out as follows:

  • Take 10 liters of water for 2 liters of whey;
  • Add 30 drops of iodine;
  • Stir vigorously;
  • Pour into a sprayer container, shake vigorously several times;
  • Spray tomatoes.

The same solution can be used to treat powdery mildew and spotted leaf mosaics in cucumbers.

Phytophthora

Folk remedies for fertilizing cucumbers and tomatoes

You can process cucumbers and tomatoes using other folk remedies. They also give good results and can significantly increase yields. Among these funds, the following are most commonly used:

  • Ash;
  • Mullein diluted with water;
  • Infusion of humus;
  • Fresh manure and diluted bird droppings.

Bone meal and eggshells also significantly increase yields. The crushed bones are rich in valuable trace elements, and the powdered shell is an irreplaceable source of calcium.

Experts say that the use of whey as a supplement and a natural growth stimulant gives good results. But before using this tool, you need to carefully study the options for its use and choose the one that is best suited for specific plants.

So, serum for cucumbers and tomatoes is very popular among domestic gardeners. It is an easy-to-use and inexpensive yield-enhancing agent.