Calcium additive for containers

[FlipTX]

How are egg shells for containers?

[feldon30]

Originally Posted by troad

Did you check out the Wil-Gro I mentioned?

Yes, I did. The 16-16-16 numbers don't line up with what I know about the nutrients that tomatoes prefer (especially micronutrients). But as you say, it is up to each gardener to decide what they want to put in their soil. The numbers on TomatoTone 4-7-10 sound like what I know about tomatoes, but I have only grown 4 seasons of tomatoes so far.

[robin303]

I always use egg shells. But I heard it really takes up to 6 months to break down. Season is almost over by then.

[dice]

I always use egg shells. But I heard it really takes up
to 6 months to break down. Season is almost over by then.

I do, too, but I mostly mix them into compost, so they have
cooked over the winter before they get mixed into soil.
I have taken a handful and just crushed them in my hand
and dropped them into the soil right under a transplanted
seedling. None of those plants showed any BER. It seems
to me that even if it takes six months to get the full effect
of adding eggshells, *some* calcium is available from them
anytime that the soil is moist.

Whether that alone would be enough to keep up with the
demand for calcium from a plant in a container during
fruit formation I don't know (might depend on the cultivar).

A drainage layer of chunks of limestone or drywall
in the bottom of the container could provide an abundance
of calcium without significantly effecting the pH of the
container mix.

[Elliot]

I add calcium starting in July. I take some lime pellets and throw a handful around the soil and repeat it every three weeks. The theory is that a lack of calcium creates cracking

[dice]

Wondering about lead in Tomato Tone, I checked out
Fox Farms Peace of Mind Tomato & Vegetable food
in the WA St. fertilizer database:

http://agr.wa.gov/PestFert/Fertilize...asp?pname=3401

Here is Tomato Tone again for comparison:

http://agr.wa.gov/PestFert/Fertilize...asp?pname=4535

Note that the Fox Farms product has lower ppm of lead, but
also that it lacks calcium and several other micronutrients
found in Tomato Tone (so one may want to add some
kelp with it).

Plant Tone (lower phosphorus and potassium than Tomato Tone)
also has the calcium and other micronutrients of Tomato Tone
with a lower ppm of lead:

http://agr.wa.gov/PestFert/Fertilize...asp?pname=4530

I am trying this stuff this year (less than $1/lb at HD in early
spring), with langbeinite (that I had left over from last year)
added to boost the potassium plus kelp and fish emulsion
for micronutrients:

http://agr.wa.gov/PestFert/Fertilize...asp?pname=3770

(I also use a tea of any of alfalfa, comfrey, nettles, chickweed,
kelp, and molasses, whatever I have on hand, for soil fertility
boosters, probably some earthworm castings this year, manure
or compost in the beds, lime and gypsum, a little wood ash, etc.
The nutrient availability is not really comparable with what it
would be using one of these fertilizers exclusively in a
container.)

My take on it: the lead levels in Tomato Tone and Plant Tone
are annoying (anxiety), but they both provide a balance of
micronutrients that it costs a fair amount extra to add
via other sources (fish emulsion and kelp).

I did not find any entries for Maxicrop products in that database
to compare levels of lead, arsenic, cadmium, etc with the
Espoma and Fox Farms products. It does have E.B. Stone
products, though:

http://agr.wa.gov/PestFert/Fertilize...asp?pname=4427

(9% calcium, very low lead and arsenic levels; would benefit
from adding some kelp or greensand for extra potassium and
micronutrients, but this looks like a decent organic fertilizer
as far as having low levels of toxic metals, higher calcium
levels, etc.)

[rnewste]

dice,

Thanks for the comparative information. I am doing an "A/B" comparison between TomatoTone and Fox Farms on 2 sets of Stump of the World, and Carmello plants to evaluate production this season.

Ray

[dice]

I am doing an "A/B" comparison between TomatoTone
and Fox Farms on 2 sets of Stump of the World, and Carmello
plants to evaluate production this season.

I will be watching for the results with some interest. One
would expect the Fox Farms product to grow a little bigger
plant overall (more nitrogen), but it will be interesting to see
what difference the micronutrients and extra potassium
in Tomato Tone make to production.

[REDCLUSTER]

All you need is some solution grade calcium nitrate.

Ding,Ding,Ding! We have a winner!

[Elliot]

I use to get cracking of tomatoes and and expert told me it was a lack of calcium. So I buy granualted lyme. In July and then every month, I take a fistfull and put it around the plants (not touching) The water washes it into the soil. Th elyme is cheap but very heavy