[quote=geeboss;164866]The hoopla regarding Tomaten Dunger is that Ray found that it worked better than old Tomato Tone producing a very strong healthy plant in a SWC. Since finding the last of the old Tomato Tone around No VA last year I'm looking to blend something that will provide the necessary nutrients for Tomatoes grown in Self Wattering Containers this year and into the future.

On a side note the hint to use Messenger to inhibit powdery mildew seems to be working this year. I'll also start my spraying with potassium bicarbonate mix next week and continue through the season.

George[/quote]

Does it have to be organic? If not, see if you can get the Plantex I use, it's 15-15-18 with minors for soilless mixes.


[SIZE=1]This fertilizer contains boron, copper, manganese, molybdenum, and zinc, and should be used only as recommended. It may prove harmful when misused [/SIZE]


[B][SIZE=1]GUARANTEED MINIMUM ANALYSIS/ ANALYSE MINIMUM GARANTIE: [/SIZE][/B]
[FONT=Arial,Arial][SIZE=1][FONT=Arial,Arial][SIZE=1]Total nitrogen/ Azote totale (N) ........................................ 15% [/SIZE][/FONT]
[SIZE=1][FONT=Arial,Arial]Available phosphoric acid/ [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=1][FONT=Arial,Arial]Acide phosphorique assimilable (P[/FONT][/SIZE][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][SIZE=1][FONT=Arial,Arial][SIZE=1]2[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][SIZE=1][FONT=Arial,Arial][SIZE=1]O[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][SIZE=1][FONT=Arial,Arial][SIZE=1]5[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][SIZE=1][FONT=Arial,Arial][SIZE=1]) ....................... 15% [/SIZE][/FONT]
[SIZE=1][FONT=Arial,Arial]Soluble Potash/ Potasse soluble (K[/FONT][/SIZE][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][SIZE=1][FONT=Arial,Arial][SIZE=1]2[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][SIZE=1][FONT=Arial,Arial][SIZE=1]O) ............................ 18% [/SIZE][/FONT]
[SIZE=1][FONT=Arial,Arial]Magnesium/Magnésium (Mg) ....................................... 0.15% [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=1][FONT=Arial,Arial]Boron (actual) /Bore (réel) (B) ....................................... 0.02% [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=1][FONT=Arial,Arial]Chelated copper (actual) / [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=1][FONT=Arial,Arial]Cuivre chélaté (réel) (Cu) .......................................... 0.05% [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=1][FONT=Arial,Arial]Chelated iron (actual) /Fer chélaté (réel) (Fe) ............... 0.10% [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=1][FONT=Arial,Arial]Chelated manganese (actual) / [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=1][FONT=Arial,Arial]Manganèse chélaté (réel) (Mn) ................................. 0.05% [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=1][FONT=Arial,Arial]Molybdenum (actual) / Molybdène (réel) (Mo) ............ 0.015% [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=1][FONT=Arial,Arial]Chelated zinc (actual) /Zinc chélaté (réel) (Zn) ............. 0.05% [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=1][FONT=Arial,Arial]EDTA [/FONT][/SIZE][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][SIZE=1][FONT=Arial,Arial][SIZE=1](ethylene diamine tetraacetate) (chelating agent)/(éthylène diamine tétraacétique) (agent chélatant) [/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][SIZE=1][FONT=Arial,Arial][SIZE=1]................................ 2.5% [/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]

Mark, Neudorff Tomaten Dunger is a 7-3-10 with micro's and also has sulphur and calcium plus Mycorrhiza. It is a slow/extended release fertilizer that is ideal for SWC's which is what Ray is looking for. One application and your done.
Your Plantex is a soiless feed and from what I can see is more like a hydro feed. Plus folks using Mycorrhiza in their growing regimen want to stay away from high phosphorous ferts. Ami

I'm experimenting with Ringer Lawn Restore Fertilizer 10-2-6
Contains all-natural ingredients: (feather meal, bone meal, and soybean meal) in a balanced, slow release formula that delivers nitrogen (10%), phosphate (2%) and potassium (6%) to the soil.



This is for starting the plants growing in the SWC and when the plants flower I'll change to Od Tomato Tone 4-7-10 / Ringer mix 50/50 to bring the nitrogen down during fruit growing and pushing Potassium up to aid in fruit development.

[quote=amideutch;164897]Mark, Neudorff Tomaten Dunger is a 7-3-10 with micro's and also has sulphur and calcium plus Mycorrhiza. It is a slow/extended release fertilizer that is ideal for SWC's which is what Ray is looking for. One application and your done.
Your Plantex is a soiless feed and from what I can see is more like a hydro feed. Plus folks using Mycorrhiza in their growing regimen want to stay away from high phosphorous ferts. Ami[/quote]


I keep forgetting that P over 5 or 8 renders Myco useless/dead.

I spent some time looking at Plantex labels and formulations and found that they have a hydroponic [B][U]tomato[/U][/B] formula, but it is 4-18-37, much, much different ratios than you two have been using.

I also found another unusual formula, 19-4-12 "[B][SIZE=4][SIZE=2]ONE SEASON TOPDRESS CONTROLLED RELEASE NURSERY FERTILIZER[/SIZE]." [/SIZE][/B]

[SIZE=4][LEFT][SIZE=2][/SIZE][/LEFT]
[SIZE=2]*The nitrogen, phosphate and potash materials in this product have been coated to provide 19% coated slow release nitrogen (N), 4% coated slow release available phosphoric acid (P2O5) and 9% coated slow release soluble potash (K2O).[/SIZE][SIZE=1] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=1][/SIZE]
[SIZE=1][LEFT][/LEFT]
[SIZE=1][SIZE=2]"Only to be applied as a surface treatment, not to be incorporated. 19-4-12 should be applied according the specific nutrient requirements of the crop being grown.[/SIZE] "[/SIZE]
[SIZE=1][/SIZE]
[SIZE=1][SIZE=2]It's mostly nursury plants & flowers though.[/SIZE][/SIZE]
[SIZE=1][SIZE=2][/SIZE][/SIZE]
[SIZE=1][SIZE=2]Perhaps the German fert did better than the Tomato Tone mix due to higher N & K? When you combine ferts, you don't add the numbers.[/SIZE]
[/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]

I'm trying a fertilizer this year that my mother swears by. Its a 6-2-2 with calcium and magnesium. I'm going to use it on about half of my plants in my raised beds. I'll share my results at the end of season.

[quote=amideutch;164897]Mark, Neudorff Tomaten Dunger is a 7-3-10 with micro's and also has sulphur and calcium plus Mycorrhiza. It is a slow/extended release fertilizer that is ideal for SWC's which is what Ray is looking for. One application and your done.
Your Plantex is a soiless feed and from what I can see is more like a hydro feed. Plus folks using Mycorrhiza in their growing regimen want to stay away from high phosphorous ferts. Ami[/quote]


Now that I'm awake:

Ted, Ray, et al, would there be that much doubt that a 7 - 3 - 10 fert with micros & myco should outperform a 3.5 - 5.5 - 8 fert? It obviously has 2x the N as the TT blend.

What results specifically were better with the Dunger than the Tomato Tone blend? I also assume they were confined to different SWC's too, no?

And another question: is organic growing important or even a goal in the case of SWCs? There isn't exactly "soil" that you try to "build" and do you hope to energize it enough to extend its season to multiple seasons? Does it get reused?

Have any used a more "typical" fruiting formula/ratio fertilizer with good results? Something with N lower than P & K?

And finally, are there any concerns about heavy metals in an enclosed system like this? It's not like in-ground where they can get leached away. I don't have the #s for the Tomato Tone but recall that the Garden Tone & Plant Tone have about 24 times as much arsenic as M-G 15-30-15.

[quote=danwigz;164937]I'm trying a fertilizer this year that my mother swears by. Its a 6-2-2 with calcium and magnesium. I'm going to use it on about half of my plants in my raised beds. I'll share my results at the end of season.[/quote]

Will you be comparing it to no fertilizer at all, or to a different fertilizer on the other plants?

korney,

The Celebrity with Tomaten Dunger was more productive by about 15%. Also, the plant lived about 6 weeks longer than the one with Tomato-tone. On the other hand, the plant in Tomato-tone produced the first ripe fruit 2 weeks earlier than the plant in Tomaten Dunger. Coincidence? Maybe. That is why I am doing the same evaluations on multiple Goose Creek plants this Season, and will document the rsults in photos.

BTW, I am also using Osmocote, Fox Farms Peace of Mind, E.B.Stone Tomato and a 14-14-14 CRF in other 'Tainers as compared to Tomato-tone. It is truly amazing to me that all of these Companies claim theirs is a "tomato fertilizer" yet the N-P-K ratios vary all over the map!!:shock:

Trial and error will be my best reference source on what works in an EarthTainer environment. Your in-ground results may vary....

Raybo

Raybo

Ringer Lawn Restore 10-2-6 combined with Peace of Mind 7-4-5 50/50 blend will come close to the Foliage Pro 9-3-6 for a test of liquid vs granular.

George

George,

What appealed to me with the "Old" Tomato-tone were the Micros that Espoma added, specifically for tomato production. Most of those ingredients are no longer included in the "New" Tomato-tone. Compare the details in the respective labels:

[IMG]http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh67/rnewste/img180.jpg[/IMG]

So, I am concerned a basic lawn fertilizer is missing these additives that would be difficult to replicate beyond compiling a simple 4-7-10 NPK.:evil:

Raybo

[quote=korney19;164963]Will you be comparing it to no fertilizer at all, or to a different fertilizer on the other plants?[/quote]

That's a good question. I think I'll probably be comparing it to no fertilizer at all. In the past I've never had a problem with the size of the plant nor the quantity of tomatoes; last year I didn't use any and had cherries coming out... well I had a lot.

I did use miracle garden soil mix in my raised bed, so there was some amount of fertilizer, in my new beds I'll be adding that in as well so I guess there will be some now that I think of it.

Dan