How to fertilize vegetable seedlings with regular iodine

Iodine is a useful nutrient not only in medicine but also in the cultivation of various crops. It is an essential micronutrient for vegetable crops, including peppers and tomatoes. Today, we'll discuss how to recognize plants' needs and how to replenish this nutrient deficiency when growing vegetable seedlings.

What are the benefits of iodine for seedlings?

Tomatoes and peppers have high iodine requirements in the soil and, without a sufficient supply, are unable to grow and develop properly. Along with other nutrients, iodine is involved in critical biological processes in plants.

Chernozem and chestnut soils contain sufficient iodine. However, sierozem, solonchak, and podzolic soils contain almost no iodine. Small amounts of iodine have been found in mineral and organic fertilizers such as rock phosphate, wood ash, and manure.

Iodine is a micronutrient in plant nutrition, meaning that peppers and tomatoes require very little of it compared to, say, nitrogen. Mineral fertilizers containing iodine are not commercially available. However, it's easy to make a homemade iodine-based fertilizer solution.

Iodine supplementation has the following advantages:

• Seed material treated with iodine produces uniform shoots;
• iodine solution destroys fungal infections both during soaking of seed material and in subsequent phases of plant life;
• the drug increases the protective forces of plants to withstand unfavorable growing conditions;
• the number of flowers and ovaries increases, which has a beneficial effect on the harvest;
• Tomatoes and peppers are beginning to show greater resistance to harmful insects.

Depending on the crop being grown, its development stage, and the intended application, different concentrations of fertilizer solutions may be used. Every vegetable grower should have two or more such fertilizer recipes in their arsenal. We'll discuss popular recipes later.

How to determine if plants are in dire need of iodine

Iodine deficiency can lead to serious diseases in pepper and tomato seedlings, such as root rot, late blight, and olive spot.

The following symptoms indicate that plant organisms lack iodine:

• the stems are too thin and stretch out;
• the leaves become pale in color;
• the seedlings look unviable and may die;
• adult plants begin to bear fruit later than usual;
• The fruits are smaller in size and the overall yield decreases.

If the seedlings are too pale, the first feeding should be done with an iodine-based fertilizer. After 8 days, the seedlings are inspected. If they haven't become greener, a second feeding with urea should be done. The interval between fertilizations should be 10 or more days.

Methods of fertilizing

Vegetable growers use two main methods of fertilizing: root fertilization and foliar spraying. The first method involves pouring the nutrient solution under the plant's roots. The second method involves applying the nutrient solution to the leaves and stems of plants. For maximum results, alternate between these two methods of fertilization.

An optional fertilizing method is soaking seeds in a nutrient solution before planting. This technique protects plant seedlings from fungal and bacterial pathogens at the earliest stage and provides them with a specific nutritional element.

Stages of fertilizing pepper and tomato seedlings

Peppers and tomatoes are closely related and belong to the same family, the Solanaceae. These crops share the same fertilizing regimen, which is as follows:

• soak the seeds for six hours before sowing in a liquid solution consisting of 3 drops of iodine and 3 liters of water;
• application of a nutrient composition consisting of 1 drop of iodine and 3 liters of water under the root in the 2nd true leaf phase;
• root application, during the formation of the first brush, of an infusion of ash mixed with boric acid and iodine;
• Spraying the leaves with a composition consisting of milk and iodine against fungal diseases.

Recipes

Over many years of growing tomato and pepper seedlings, many recipes for iodine-based fertilizer solutions have been developed and tested.

A recipe using iodine, whey, and hydrogen peroxide

A recipe for protecting seedlings from late blight is quite popular:

• Dilute 40 drops of iodine in 1 liter of whey;
• add 1 tbsp of hydrogen peroxide to the composition;
• mix well;
• carry out spraying.

Recipe using milk and iodine

To create a fertilizing solution, follow the steps below:

• take 4 liters of water;
• pour 1 liter of fresh cow's milk into the same bucket;
• add 15 drops of iodine;
• mix and use for spraying.

This fertilizer mixture has proven itself to be a good fungicide. The milk coats the leaf surface with a protective film, preventing pathogens from attaching to them.

A recipe based on whey and iodine

To prepare you will need:

• take 10 liters of water;
• add 1 liter of whey there;
• add 40 drops of iodine;
• add 10 ml of 3% hydrogen peroxide.

The product has shown good results against late blight on tomatoes.

Yeast and boric acid recipe

The product is prepared according to the following algorithm:

• take 1 liter of warm milk or whey;
• dissolve 100 g of yeast in liquid;
• leave to infuse for 6 hours;
• add water to the solution, bringing its volume to 10 l;
• add 30 drops of iodine;
• Mix thoroughly.

This solution is sprayed on tomato and pepper plants twice a season: before flowering and before fruiting. Yeast fertilizers enrich the plants with microelements and provide effective protection against late blight.

A recipe based on iodine and brilliant green

To prepare it, do the following:

• take a bucket of clean water;
• add 10 ml of iodine there;
• add 40 drops of brilliant green to the mixture;
• mix the mixture.

The resulting composition is considered a good antiseptic, which can be used for foliar and root feeding.

A recipe based on iodine and mineral fertilizers

This mixture not only nourishes plants well but also protects them from fungal diseases. It's prepared as follows:

• take a bucket of water;
• add 10 ml of iodine to it;
• add another 10 g of superphosphate and 20 g of potassium sulfate;
• stir until all ingredients are completely dissolved.

The prepared solution can be used to feed the roots of plants every 2 weeks at a rate of 500 ml per bush.

Pepper and tomato yields largely depend on proper seedling cultivation techniques. To grow a decent harvest of high-quality vegetables, it's important to feed the plants with essential nutrients, including iodine. This element is essential for plants from germination to the end of the growing season. Strong and viable seedlings are the key to an excellent harvest.