Effective use of ammonia in gardening
The use of ammonia in horticulture is used for fruit and berry trees, flower and vegetable crops. With the help of ammonia solution, top dressing is carried out, replacing nitrogen mineral fertilizers and eliminating soil and aboveground garden pests.
Properties of ammonia
It is contraindicated to use ammonia for various purposes for people with epilepsy.
The properties of the substance are used for domestic purposes and for breeding cockroaches. The use of ammonia in the country and in the garden requires caution. Ammonia gas is much lighter than air and can escape when a bottle is opened in a concentrated form, especially from a container that was warm. Therefore, you should not bring an open bottle of ammonia to your face, its vapors can be dangerous. Use the solution only in diluted form, applied to fabric or cotton wool.
With the use of ammonia in horticulture, soil acidification can be prevented and its quality improved. The nitrogenous compound, which enters the soil with ammonia, in natural conditions is obtained only from the processing of humus or manure for several years.
Work with the solution outdoors. Concentrated contact with skin may cause burns. It is recommended to use gloves and respirators to prepare the solution.
The use of ammonia in gardening
10% ammonia solution is a concentrated product containing nitrogen in a form that is readily available to plants. Nitrogen necessary for plants for development, they are obtained from the soil, including when applying mineral fertilizers, which are absorbed longer in comparison with the beneficial properties of ammonia.
Nitrogen fertilization is essential for all crops. But most of all, the following crops need nitrogen:
- cabbage,
- potatoes,
- tomato,
- cucumber,
- bow,
- beet,
- Apple tree,
- strawberries,
- currant.
Lack of nitrogen is expressed in:
- changing the green color of the vegetative mass of plants to pale green or yellow, due to a delay in the formation of chlorophyll and a violation of the process of photosynthesis;
- slowing down the growth of plants;
- the appearance of fruits of small size or irregular shape.
When feeding plants with ammonia, the effect of the application occurs immediately. The available form of nitrogen is quickly absorbed by the plant. It is necessary to take into account the high concentration of the substance and the need for garden and flower crops in fertilizer. An overabundance of trace elements when growing plants is also harmful as a deficiency. Therefore, soil treatment with ammonia is carried out in limited quantities and only if necessary for plants.
Signs of an excess of nitrogen:
- plants grow a lot of green mass, the stems thicken, there is a slowdown in the transition to the phases of flowering and fruit formation;
- the vegetative mass of plants is dark green or emerald;
- the resistance of plants to diseases and pests decreases;
- the quality of fruits, in which nitrates accumulate, deteriorates.
For the balance of trace elements, after applying ammonia as fertilizer, potassium and phosphorus are added to the soil.
The solution evaporates quickly and is washed out of the soil, so its application is possible up to 4-5 times until the condition of the plant improves, with a break of one week.
Seed treatment
The treatment of seeds with ammonia is carried out for seed with a dense shell. Preliminary destruction of the seed coat of cucumbers, zucchini and pumpkins contributes to their faster germination.
For pre-sowing treatment of seeds with ammonia, they are laid out in containers and dripped onto each seed with a solution from a pipette.
Seedling processing
You can use ammonia in gardening for seedlings of flowers and vegetables. When the foliage dries or turns yellow on young seedlings, the stems look thin and fragile, or the seedlings stop growing, nitrogen fertilization is required. Watering and spraying is carried out once a week, until the condition of the seedlings improves. Within a few days after spraying, the seedlings noticeably gain strength and acquire a healthy, green color. Top dressing of seedlings is carried out at the root, for which you need to pour ammonia from a watering can without a spray.
You can fertilize the seedlings with an ammonia solution during their growth at home and during the transfer to open ground. In the greenhouse, watering is carried out a few days after transplanting, when the seedlings take root.
Tomatoes
Top dressing of tomato seedlings with ammonia is made 2 weeks after the pick. A mixture of water and 10% ammonia is prepared in a ratio of 15 ml to 5 liters of water. Pour the solution over wet soil. Depending on the size of the planting container, the amount of the prepared solution is taken, focusing on the amount that is used during normal watering. You should not fill the seedlings with ammonia water and use it only a few times during the growing season.
Applying ammonia to plants will help prepare the soil for transplanting seedlings. The day before planting tomatoes in open ground, 250 g of a solution are poured into the prepared holes, which is prepared at the rate of 40 ml of ammonia per 10 liters of water. This method, among other things, will make it possible to neutralize the landing site from insect pests living in the soil.
Cucumbers
With sufficient nitrogen, cucumbers grow even and in large quantities. Fertilization of cucumbers with ammonia is carried out both at the seedling stage and in the greenhouse. Seedlings begin to be watered with ammonia as needed after the appearance of 4-5 true leaves. In a greenhouse, the solution is watered no more than 1 time per week along the diameter of the trunk circle. The solution is prepared, as for other vegetable crops at the rate of 1 tbsp. l per 5 l of water. About 300 ml of solution is poured under each bush, depending on how the plant reacts.
The Exhibition onion, which is grown through seedlings, is responsive to nitrogen fertilizing.
Pepper
Using ammonia for pepper seedlings in the open field:
- an earthen roller is made along the diameter of the planting of pepper;
- the soil is pre-watered with plain water;
- a cloudy day is selected for processing;
- prepare a solution at the rate of 3 tbsp. l ammonia in a bucket of water;
- 250-300 ml of the prepared solution is poured under each bush.
For indoor flowers
The use of ammonia from midges in flowers is effective. For spraying plants, bred ½ tbsp. l 10% ammonia in 1 l of water. In order for the solution to stay on the leaves longer, a laundry soap or a few drops of hair shampoo is added to the mixture of ammonia and water. Flowers and window sills are sprayed from a spray bottle once a week, after 2-3 applications the midges disappear.
The use of ammonia for indoor flowers should be carried out in the period before the buds appear, and geraniums can be processed regularly.
Flowers at home grow in unchanging soil, which is depleted as the plants grow.With a lack of nitrogen, indoor flowers begin to wither, respond with weak, small flowering and yellow leaves. A harmless and safe dosage of ammonia for home flowers can be used at the rate of 1 tbsp. l per 3 l of water.
The prepared solution is not stored. For processing, a freshly prepared mixture is used each time. The solution, in addition to fertilizer, disinfects the soil, but in order not to burn the plant roots, the soil is watered with water before use.
Use an ammonia composition for indoor flowers no more than 1 time per month.
The use of ammonia in the garden is especially suitable for bulbous flowers. Responsive to nitrogen fertilization with ammonia lilies, peonies, clematis.
From pests
The use of ammonia from pests, in contrast to chemical insecticides, can be carried out at any stage of the growing season. Spraying is possible during flowering, ovary formation and fruit formation. A solution of water with ammonia is safe for the surrounding nature, garden and horticultural crops. The peculiarity of ammonia is that it does not accumulate in the soil and evaporates quickly.
The use of ammonia against the bear helps to save both seeds and seedlings of plants. The insect does not tolerate the smell of ammonia and crawls to the surface of the soil. Ammonium is used for spraying or watering the soil, including before planting. The solution, which is prepared at the rate of: 10 ml of alcohol per 10 liters of water, use half a liter for each bush of seedlings.
Spilling the holes with ammonia when planting potatoes helps to neutralize the Colorado potato beetle.
Ammonia has a detrimental effect on carrot and onion flies. To get rid of the insect, the ridge is watered or laid out in the aisles with a cloth soaked in undiluted ammonia solution. After applying the agent, the soil is loosened.
To spray trees and plants from aphids, a soapy part is added to a solution of ammonia and water, so that the liquid adheres to the surface of leaves and stems. The solution is mixed in the ratio:
- 2 tbsp. l 10% ammonia solution;
- 10 l of water
- 2 tbsp. l of liquid soap.
Spraying is carried out on a cloudy, windless day. A product with ammonia will destroy not only aphids, but also the larvae laid by it in a few hours.
To get rid of moles and ants, cotton wool soaked in undiluted ammonia is placed in the places of their appearance, which allows you to drive away pests from the site.
The use of ammonia in the fight for the harvest is affordable and effective for gardeners. Observing plants, timely fertilizing and getting rid of pests will allow you to get a high quality harvest.