What do you put into your tomato hole?

[whistech]

Thank You Carolyn! You know more about tomatoes than most of us will ever learn and I certainly appreciate your knowledge and advice.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Rfdillon

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

I don't recall ever using Ca nitrate, but let me give you some back history.

I grew up on what we call a truck farm here in the East, acres of tomatoes, peppers, squash of all kinds, cabbage, asparagus and so much more. I never bothered to ask my father what he used back then.

When I moved back East from Denver in 1982 I then had all the land I'd ever want at the old family farm and that's when I started growing my own tomatoes from seed. At that time my father was no longer able to do anything so we let a young farmer use the land.

I took the fieled closest to the house which was 90 X 250 long and Charlie would prepare that field for me, sowing winter rye in the fall, plowing it under in the Spring, etc.

One of his workers would cultivate and side dress the plants and he usually used 5-10-5 or 5-10-10 or triple 10 depending on what else he was also using on what charlie grew there.

We're talking maybe 50 years ago, I'm 75 now, and no way can I remember the composition of the NPK in those fertilizers although I had a lingering memory of the N being ammonium nitrate.

So I Googled a bit and came up with the following link:

http://www.ncagr.gov/cyber/kidswrld/plant/label.htm

And sure enough there was ammonium nitrate as one of the primary N sources.

When I retired and moved to where I am now in 1999 I had to grow plants in two other places and also in a large raised bed here at home and that's when I switched to using organic methods and same for fertilizers.

Hope that helps,

Carolyn

[MuddyBuckets]

This is the mix I used last season in my raised beds with mixed results. The San Marzano, Cherokee Purple and Black Cherry tomatoes grew and produced like crazy. The other varieties grew leggy and almost non productive. No issues with blossom end rot or yellowing of leaves. Will use it again next season but only for the San Marzano and Cherokee Purple. Still waiting for the "miracle starter mix"! Any suggestions or comments appreciated.

Tomato Starter Mix

• 1 cup of compost
• 1 cup of corn meal
• 1/2 cup of powdered milk
• 1/2 cup of Epsom salts
• 1/4 cup dusting sulfur

Used as follows:

-2 Tablespoons dug into bottom of planting hole covered with soil
-side dress plants with ¼ cup at first blooms and water in

[Cole_Robbie]

I am reading your list as:
nitrogen
nitrogen
calcium
magnesium
sulphur

You're missing phosphorous and potassium, which would explain the problems with flowering and fruiting.

Tomatotone would be the easiest to add. You could also use high-phosphorous bat guano and greensand for potassium. There are 1,001 other products and fertilizers, too, that will give you P and K. Many of them also contain micronutrients, which may make you not need parts of your current mix. Too much of a micronutrient can be as bad as a deficiency.

[Worth1]

Add some baking powder and you could make muffins.

Worth

[Aerial]

Hilarious! My initial thought. We really, really need a LIKE button on this forum!

Originally Posted by Worth1

Add some baking powder and you could make muffins.

Worth

[efisakov]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Add some baking powder and you could make muffins.

Worth

make it chocolate muffins