What do you put into your tomato hole? - Page 3

ginger2778 · February 12, 2015

Welllll, I've heard it called a lot of things but.... That's kind of a personal question, dontcha think?

Redbaron · February 12, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by ginger2778

Welllll, I've heard it called a lot of things but.... That's kind of a personal question, dontcha think?

JRinPA · February 17, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by shatbox

two weeks before planing I take a bucket & trashbag to a fish market and they fill it up with scraps. I dig a deep hole, dump it, mix a little, cover it back up, and put the tomato cage over it to keep the pests away. Its worked well so far. Anyone else do this?

I do something similar with the fish...a few months before planting I dig trench-rows about 12-18" deep and bury some fish, add some lime, and re-fill. I mark the row with stakes until planting time. The plants are store bought and often leggy. When planting I strip some leaves and trench the tomatoes on their side, usually adding some compost. This year I will be using vermicompost. I started doing worms last Feb and have some great VC waiting to be used.

efisakov · February 19, 2015

We fish, so I add fish parts as I can, even after tomatoes were planted but did not spread root system much. I add Mycorrhizae and root booster at a planting time. Epsom salt is added once every 2 weeks. I freeze lobster shells and shrimp shells to be composted at fall/spring. I would love to add kelp, but we do not have much here. It is very beneficial to plants. We compost coffee grounds all year round.

Depending on the soil, it may need different things.

crazyoldgooseman · February 28, 2015

The title of this thread really cheers me up...

daninpd · March 1, 2015

The first thing that goes in the hole is a gopher basket (if you live in an area that doesn't have pocket gophers, consider yourself lucky). Then some Tomato Tone, epsom salt and composted horse manure (we own the manufacturer), all mixed with some of the dirt that came out of the hole, then the plant as deep as possible.

bughunter99 · March 1, 2015

Worm castings
Home grown compost
A wee bit o granite dust
A chunk of char from the fire pit that has been soaked in compost juice.

Once planted, a good long drink with Neptunes Gold.

Rfdillon · March 8, 2015

Folks: FYI, below you will find a list of ingredients that I have gathered as suggestions to use when planting the tomato seedlings into their final places in the garden. If I were to use all of them, it would cost a fortune and there would be no room for the tomato plant!:-)
Does anyone care to help me make a more realistic list of ingredients for those of us who are new to gardening and on a budget?
To place lace in tomato hole:

Compost
Epsom salts
Aspirin(2)
Tums
Bone meal
Fertilizer
Blood meal
Composted manure
Green sand
Bat guano
Rock Phosphorous
Alfalfa pellets
Worm Castings
Fish parts
Crushed egg shells
Compost Tea
Corn meal
Powdered milk
Dry Molasses
Mycorrhiza fungi
Kelp
"Root Booster"
Green sand
Granite dust
Charred Wood ashes
Neptune Gold

kayrobbins · March 8, 2015

I wish some one would plant just one tomato with everything on this list just to see what happens. Anytime you ask a question here you will gets lots of different answers.

Redbaron · March 8, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rfdillon

Folks: FYI, below you will find a list of ingredients that I have gathered as suggestions to use when planting the tomato seedlings into their final places in the garden. If I were to use all of them, it would cost a fortune and there would be no room for the tomato plant!:-)
Does anyone care to help me make a more realistic list of ingredients for those of us who are new to gardening and on a budget?
To place lace in tomato hole:

Compost
Epsom salts
Aspirin(2)
Tums
Bone meal
Fertilizer
Blood meal
Composted manure
Bat guano
Rock Phosphorous
Alfalfa pellets
Worm Castings
Fish parts
Crushed egg shells
Compost Tea
Corn meal
Powdered milk
Dry Molasses
Mycorrhiza fungi
Kelp
"Root Booster"
Green sand
Granite dust
Charred Wood ashes
Neptune Gold

I color coded them for you.

Red is either don't do it, or make sure there is a valid reason, and not really a good thing for most cases.

Yellow is use with caution or according to a specific soil test recommendation or simply is good but expensive.

Green means go for it if you want. Lots of redundancy here. Just one or two from the list is usually enough. Compost, compost tea, inoculant, some form of composted manure is generally plenty. But if you have some free egg shells or coffee grounds or fish bones left over from dinner...go for it. Just use whatever is free or nominal cost. If you must purchase it, then it reverts to yellow. For example: Rock dust is a waste of money if you are growing in soil. If you are growing in a soilless mix, then yes it can help. Aspirin and tums may have some benefits in certain rare cases, but ridiculously expensive compared to alternatives.

Just my honest opinion.

After that just always remember to mulch.

efisakov · March 8, 2015

Scott, I would put Epsom salt in green.
BUT in small amounts and not too often.
I use it at the early stages, if needed, and once deceases take most of the leaves from my tomatoes. Otherwise, I agree with your suggestion.

Redbaron · March 8, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by efisakov

Scott, I would put Epsom salt in green.
BUT in small amounts and not too often.
I use it at the early stages, if needed, and once deceases take most of the leaves from my tomatoes. Otherwise, I agree with your suggestion.

Yes. That's why it is yellow "Caution" . Simply because you need to use it cautiously and not too much. Nor is it always needed. But if needed and not using too much..sure...go for it.

I don't, but I have aquarium fish. I use their water when I clean their tank.

Rfdillon · March 8, 2015

Thanks so very much, RedBaron, for color-coding this list. My hope is that this helps all our new gardeners!

**carolyn137** · March 8, 2015

This is a very long thread and I didn't have time to reread all of it but I agree with those who said they put nothing in the planting hole except the plant, and here's why I also do that.

Tomatoes have two cycles, the vegetative cycle of forming new stems and branches and leaves and the sexual cycle of blossom formation, blossom set, growth and maturation of fruits.

Tomatoes have their own DNA which tells them what to do and when, so why not let them grow naturally.

Too many amendments in the hole or growing them in too rich soil or contanier mix keeps them in the vegetative phase which delays the sexual phase.

My rows were 250 ft long. I'd crawl on my knees place my trowel and pull back and insert the seedling, ideally ones that were 6 to 9 inches tall. Then water well to remove any air pockets that would prevent the roots from making close contact with the soil.

About two weeks later I would sidedress with granular fertilizer and work it in. Plants in a row were spaced 3-4 ft apart and rows were 5 ft apart.

When blossoms would set I'd sidedress once more, and that was it until late in the summer when I felt if they needed a boost, but by that time there was no way to place fertilizer at the base of the plant so I sprayed with either seaweed or fish emulsion.

So that's what I did, as did some earlier in this thread did in terms of not putting any amendments in the planting hole and I tried to explain the reasons why I did so,

Carolyn

Rfdillon · March 8, 2015

Carolyn, how and when did you use Calcium Nitrate? How often, and how much per plant?

February 19, 2015	#34
efisakov Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: NJ, zone 7 Posts: 3,162	We fish, so I add fish parts as I can, even after tomatoes were planted but did not spread root system much. I add Mycorrhizae and root booster at a planting time. Epsom salt is added once every 2 weeks. I freeze lobster shells and shrimp shells to be composted at fall/spring. I would love to add kelp, but we do not have much here. It is very beneficial to plants. We compost coffee grounds all year round. Depending on the soil, it may need different things. __________________ Ella God comes along and says, "I think I'm going to create THE tomato!” Last edited by efisakov; February 19, 2015 at 03:59 PM.

February 28, 2015	#35
crazyoldgooseman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Southern Maryland 7a Posts: 200	The title of this thread really cheers me up... __________________ Anybody see where I sat my beer? -crazyoldgooseman

March 1, 2015	#36
daninpd Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: Prunedale, CA Posts: 134	The first thing that goes in the hole is a gopher basket (if you live in an area that doesn't have pocket gophers, consider yourself lucky). Then some Tomato Tone, epsom salt and composted horse manure (we own the manufacturer), all mixed with some of the dirt that came out of the hole, then the plant as deep as possible. __________________ I started out with nothing and I've still got most of it left.

March 8, 2015	#41
efisakov Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: NJ, zone 7 Posts: 3,162	Scott, I would put Epsom salt in green. BUT in small amounts and not too often. I use it at the early stages, if needed, and once deceases take most of the leaves from my tomatoes. Otherwise, I agree with your suggestion. __________________ Ella God comes along and says, "I think I'm going to create THE tomato!”

March 8, 2015	#44
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	This is a very long thread and I didn't have time to reread all of it but I agree with those who said they put nothing in the planting hole except the plant, and here's why I also do that. Tomatoes have two cycles, the vegetative cycle of forming new stems and branches and leaves and the sexual cycle of blossom formation, blossom set, growth and maturation of fruits. Tomatoes have their own DNA which tells them what to do and when, so why not let them grow naturally. Too many amendments in the hole or growing them in too rich soil or contanier mix keeps them in the vegetative phase which delays the sexual phase. My rows were 250 ft long. I'd crawl on my knees place my trowel and pull back and insert the seedling, ideally ones that were 6 to 9 inches tall. Then water well to remove any air pockets that would prevent the roots from making close contact with the soil. About two weeks later I would sidedress with granular fertilizer and work it in. Plants in a row were spaced 3-4 ft apart and rows were 5 ft apart. When blossoms would set I'd sidedress once more, and that was it until late in the summer when I felt if they needed a boost, but by that time there was no way to place fertilizer at the base of the plant so I sprayed with either seaweed or fish emulsion. So that's what I did, as did some earlier in this thread did in terms of not putting any amendments in the planting hole and I tried to explain the reasons why I did so, Carolyn __________________ Carolyn

February 12, 2015	#31
ginger2778 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10 Posts: 9,283	Welllll, I've heard it called a lot of things but.... That's kind of a personal question, dontcha think?

March 1, 2015	#37
bughunter99 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: zone 5 Posts: 821	Worm castings Home grown compost A wee bit o granite dust A chunk of char from the fire pit that has been soaked in compost juice. Once planted, a good long drink with Neptunes Gold.

March 8, 2015	#38
Rfdillon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 121	Folks: FYI, below you will find a list of ingredients that I have gathered as suggestions to use when planting the tomato seedlings into their final places in the garden. If I were to use all of them, it would cost a fortune and there would be no room for the tomato plant!:-) Does anyone care to help me make a more realistic list of ingredients for those of us who are new to gardening and on a budget? To place lace in tomato hole: Compost Epsom salts Aspirin(2) Tums Bone meal Fertilizer Blood meal Composted manure Green sand Bat guano Rock Phosphorous Alfalfa pellets Worm Castings Fish parts Crushed egg shells Compost Tea Corn meal Powdered milk Dry Molasses Mycorrhiza fungi Kelp "Root Booster" Green sand Granite dust Charred Wood ashes Neptune Gold

March 8, 2015	#39
kayrobbins Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Jacksonville, Fl Posts: 820	I wish some one would plant just one tomato with everything on this list just to see what happens. Anytime you ask a question here you will gets lots of different answers.