Fertilizing tomatoes with salt

Can ordinary salt really be a fertilizer? Yes, tomatoes go well with salt, but can't it be that good?! It can! It's no wonder avid gardeners use this life hack in their gardens. We explain why table salt is an effective fertilizer for nightshades and other plants.

The benefits of table salt for plants

Table salt, rock salt, edible salt, table salt… So many names! But essentially, they're all sodium chloride, or NaCl, a white, sand-like substance. Salt is typically used in cooking to enhance the flavor of dishes and as an eco-friendly preservative that extends the shelf life of foods.

In the chemical industry, table salt is used to produce hydrochloric acid and baking soda. Salt is even used in filtration systems to soften water. Incidentally, it's also used in dishwashers.

In relation to plants, rock salt has the following positive effects:

• protects from harmful insects;
• reduces the time of fruit setting and ripening;
• as a fertilizer for vegetable crops, it improves the taste of fruits.

Recipes for products using table salt

Various remedies are prepared from salt and water depending on the intended purpose. Sometimes additional components are added.

To feed the plants during fruit formation and ripening, prepare a solution consisting of 10 liters of water heated to 25 degrees Celsius, 200 ml of wood ash, and 1 tablespoon of rock salt. After thoroughly mixing, the solution is ready. Use it to water the plants weekly.

To make tomatoes sweeter and tastier, water them every 10 days with a solution consisting of 10 liters of warm water and 1 tablespoon of table salt.

To prevent infection or treat existing late blight, a concentrated solution is needed. To prepare it, add 1 cup of sodium chloride to 10 liters of water. These sprays are applied once every 30 days.

To improve the effectiveness of the spray solution, add a small amount of liquid soap. Instead of liquid soap, you can add shavings from laundry soap and dissolve them in the liquid.

How to use salt when growing tomatoes

Plants are treated early in the morning or evening, when the sun is not strong. This will protect the tomato plant foliage from sunburn. To improve the product's adhesion, a small amount of liquid soap is added to it. Such treatments are useful for combating late blight.

A salt solution repels harmful insects. After spraying with this solution, a fine film of salt dust remains on the foliage, which also prevents fungal spores from developing. It's easier to spray the bushes with a spray bottle. Before using, filter the prepared solution to remove any undissolved particles.

Before treating late blight-infected bushes, remove all damaged plant parts. Treat the top and bottom of the foliage. To improve the flavor of tomatoes, pour 500 ml of the prepared solution under each bush during ripening. This treatment is only applied to mature plants with six or more mature leaves, once every three to four weeks.

Advantages and disadvantages

The positive effects of saline solutions on tomatoes are as follows:

• the taste of ripe tomatoes improves, they become more sugary;
• plants are protected from fungal diseases;
• pests do not damage the bushes.

If fertilizer is used incorrectly, the following negative consequences are possible:

• the acidity of the soil increases, creating favorable conditions for the development of rootworm;
• the balance of nutrients in the soil and in the plant itself is disrupted.

Saline solutions used as fertilizers in tomato beds will only be effective if applied correctly. The concentration of the active ingredient should be low. Applications should be carried out no more than once every 7 days.