Beetroot is a very unpretentious plant that prefers loose soil with a neutral reaction. When grown in open ground, the plant needs additional feeding. But the use of fertilizers will significantly improve the taste of the root and the crop itself. The use of the fertilizer complex has its own characteristics. This is what we will discuss in detail later.
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Does the beet need top dressing for growth?
Beetroot (another name for a vegetable is buryak) is an unpretentious plant, but unlike other root crops, it needs to be supplied with the right amount of mineral components. But if the day before the soil was well fertilized and prepared for planting cultivated plants, you can safely do without top dressing. By the same analogy, there is the use of siderats, in other words, plants that, after mowing, fully enrich the soil with minerals.
They may be missing several or just one. In any case, it is necessary to use different fertilizer complexes, differing in their composition.
These funds are divided into specialized complexes and folk techniques. In the first case, fertilizing is easy and convenient. Whereas in the second case, you will need to make an effort to make your own composition. But the result will be worth it, because the complex will be environmentally friendly and safe for humans and the environment. But, even better, almost free when compared with the original purchase option.
Types of solutions for open ground
There is a mass of various dressings that you can use to feed the beets. They can be added directly to the soil, watered at the root or directly on the leaves. It all depends on the fertilizer and the features of its application. They can be organic, mineral or created by hand from improvised means.
Organic formulations
It is best to grow beets without nitrates, using only organic mixtures. A large amount of nitrogen is found in manure and chicken droppings. The real storehouse of potassium is wood ash, and sodium is rock salt.
How to fertilize root chicken droppings
Farmers always preferred chicken litter when fertilizing cultivated plants. This is because it contains a huge amount of beneficial trace elements and substances. Plus, these components have the feature of being released within a few days.
It is best to spice up the soil chicken droppings in the autumn. In this case, it is worthwhile to embed the soil in such a way that nitrogen does not evaporate. While in summer you can use liquid fertilizer. To do this, dilute the manure with water in the ratio of 1.5: 10. But you can not use the solution immediately. It must be infused for 10 days.
In this case, it is necessary to properly drain the resulting solution. Do not allow the mixture to fall on the green leaves of plants, as they will get burned. Pour the solution is solely in the ground, not under the root. And in the end it is better to pour the beets on top with plain water. So there will be a decrease in concentration.
How does plant fertilization wood ash (potassium): to compensate for the lack of potassium, you can use the usual wood ash at the rate of one glass of a mixture per one and a half square meters of land.
Salt sprout treatment
Through the use of a solution based on rock salt, it is possible to significantly improve the taste of the root and protect the plant from many diseases and parasites. So, for one square meter of land it is necessary to make a solution of one tablespoon of rock salt and ten liters of water.
It is recommended to use this method of feeding seedlings three times over the entire period of plant development. The first time with the appearance of the first two leaves; the second time - when the plant grows by 30 mm and the third time - two weeks after the previous fertilizer.
Mineral fertilizers and the feature of their use
If it so happens that there wasn’t enough organic fertilizer to feed the beets, you should use mineral fertilizers. It should use the following sequence of fertilizer complex:
- back in early May, when you dig up the land, you should fertilize the soil with a special mixture based on ammonium nitrate (20 g), ammonium sulfate (25 g), double superphosphate (20 g) and potassium (15 g). If the land is on very poor soil, then the concentration of the components can be increased by 1.5 times;
- as soon as the plant has the first few leaves, it will be in June, it is recommended to make a liquid top dressing of beet with urea or sodium nitrate;
- in July, the root crop should be fertilized with a solution of rock salt;
- then it is possible to scatter ammonium nitrate (10 g) and potassium sulfate (5 g) between the individual rows of beets in the furrows. Then you need to actively fill the land with water so that at least 50 mm of soil is soaked with it;
- after you harvest your crop it is recommended to take care of fertilizing the soil for the next year.
Potassium salt
For this, it is best to enrich each square meter of soil with double superphosphate in the amount of 30 g.
Folk remedies
There is a mass of popular methods that allow to make feeding of beets from improvised means. They are different and have their own characteristics, and which option to give preference, it all depends solely on your capabilities and preferences.
Lure from infusion of young weeds
This kind of infusion is particularly popular among gardeners.In this case, it is worth picking up young weeds except for those that have small inflorescences, and put them in a container. Such manipulations should continue throughout the week. Then everything is plentifully filled with water, covered with a lid and infused in the shade for a week. Then the mixture is filtered from the remains of weeds and the soil is watered with fertilizer. This feed water should be used twice a month.
But it is well understood that it is important to feed the vegetable in time with a certain type of fertilizer. Nutrition beets should alternate, distributing in advance and assessing the condition of the soil. Many people are mistaken in thinking that a large concentration of fertilizer is good. Everything is exactly the opposite. It is important to find a "middle ground".
How to feed nettles?
Nettle is a source of a huge amount of useful components, for example, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and calcium, which are so necessary for normal growth of beets. Moreover, nettle can repel pests. But in this case it is worth adhering to the following recommendations:
- only those plants that have not thrown off the inflorescences are suitable;
- the plant must be completely healthy, without symptoms of the disease;
- during the infusion of nettles you should definitely mix;
- to improve the yeast, you should additionally use yeast;
- This fertilizer should be used only once a week, not more often. Moreover, after watering the soil must be watered abundantly with water.
Nettle infusion
Advantages and disadvantages of fertilizers
If fertilizers are used correctly, it does not matter if they are purchased or natural, made by hand, in any case for the plant it is only a plus. After all, in this way it receives a complex of essential nutrients and components, which for various reasons may not be enough in the soil. But this is only under the condition of competent use of dressings.
To get a good harvest you need to make a lot of effort, and the beets in this matter are no exception. Although it is unpretentious, fertilizers cannot prevent them from using them correctly and in time.In our article we have described everything in detail, therefore, following all the recommendations, you will definitely be rewarded with tasty and large root vegetables.