tomato tone for containers

[augiedog55]

I've talked to several people that said they use tomato tone as their fertilizer in containers.
I've got a question. I went to their site and it said apllication for potted plants was 1.25 cups per 8 quarts of soil mixture. I'm mixing 150 to 180 gallons of pot mixture . doesn't say 8 cups sound like a bit much per container?. Maybe I read it wrong.
Thanks

[recruiterg]

It says one part Tomato Tone to 30 parts mix. You'd have to use 6 gallons of tomato tone for 180 gallons of potting soil. Better get your credit card warmed up. I'd look for a cheaper alternative. Perhaps, you could add an all purpose slow release fert to the potting mix, then top dress with Tomato Tone throughout the growing season.

[Keiththibodeaux]

Also, I am not sure where these containers will be related to your outdoor living space, but Tomato Tone, particularly when fresh, has quite an odor to it. It makes fish emulsion smell quite pleasant in comparison.

[livinonfaith]

Maybe you should think about it more in regards to per plant, rather than total soil volume in a container.

We previously established that a dwarf to medium tomato should do well in a five gallon grow bag. (based on how well tomatoman's driveway garden has performed)

So, based on the 1:30 ratio, I believe we come out with 2.66 cups of tomato tone for plants around that size. That's if they are actually filling that grow bag with root growth. You may not need quite that much if there is soil space "left over" that the plant is not using. We might need to hear from some other gardeners on that one.)

You may have chosen a larger container for that plant, but the plant itself will probably be fine with that amount of fertilizer. Just add your soil mixture to your container and stir your tomato tone into the center 5 gallons (roughly) of soil.

A large size plant might require a larger amount of "tone", but I'm thinking no more than 4 cups even for a large tomato. I guess what I'm saying is, I personally don't feel like you should be fertilizing the soil, you should be concentrating on the root ball area of the plant if you want the best bang for your buck.

First, make sure it works with your soil mixture and plants. You can always add more at a later date.

Do the experts disagree?

[dice]

I go with handfuls. I put a handful in the hole that the seedling is going
into, and I sprinkle another handful under the plant when they start to
set fruit, maybe one more after that sometime in August, depending
on how the plant seems to be growing.

I do that with Tomato-tone or Garden-tone or Plant-tone, with 5-5-5,
5-10-10 timed release, or whatever I happen to be using in a given year.
(One year I had 2-7-4 organic or something close to that, so I used 2
handfuls to start off with and gave any that seemed to be lagging
a gallon of tablespoon/gallon liquid fish emulsion for a boost.)

[Boarhead]

I use a mixure of Alaska fish and Alaska morbloom. It's $17 per gallon at the local Home Depot. The fish fert is 5-1-1 and the morbloom is 1-10-10. I put 2TB of each in a 4 gallon bucket and fertilize every other Sunday. I have had great results with the combo.

http://www.lillymiller.com/alaska.html

[amideutch]

What type of containers are you going to be growing your plants in and what size? In SWC's (Self Watering Containers) leaching of the nutrients is less a problem as it is in a closed system. In normal containers with bottom drainage leaching is more prevalent and happens every time the plant is watered. Use of organic ferts versus inorganic is another factor as organic ferts are slow release and inorganic are readily available to the plant when watered and depleted more quickly. Supplemental feeding of plants grown in open containers is a must and not an option especially in containers 10gal or less.

Ami

[augiedog55]

Ami, I'm going to use 10 annd 15 gallon smart pots. I have both garden tone 3-4-4 and and tomato tone 3-4-6 . What rate would you suggest at planting then as a supplimenat feeding during the yr.Thanks

[RayR]

I don't usually grow Tomatoes in containers, but peppers I do. I used Tomato-Tone and Plant-Tone last year in the containers and the pepper plants did great. These were mostly in square foot deck planters. I mixed 4 tablespoons of one of the Tones thoroughly in the potting soil and did a root dip of Fish/Seaweed and inoculant (I was using Biotamax and Mycogrow or Tomato Thrive) when transplanting. After that I did a top dress of 3 tablespoons of one of the Tones about 3 weeks to a month later when they were budding and then once more about a month after that.
Like Ami said, organic ferts are slow release, as microbes break the organics down into plant available nutrients, so fast leaching of nutrients out the drain holes is not a real issue like with inorganic fertilizers.

[augiedog55]

Ray, Thank you for your help. If You would ,could to tell me what grow meduim did you use on your container peppers
Thanks again
Bruce

[amideutch]

Bruce, use the 3-4-4 initially on plant out and use the 3-4-6 when you get fruit set. I would put a couple teaspoons in the planting hole and then sprinkle about a 1/4 to 1/2 cup in a band around the plant half way between the plant and the outside of the SmartPot and rake it in about 1 inch deep. Ami

[Mark0820]

Ami, what would you recommend for a 5 gallon bucket SWC? 1/8 to 1/4 cup?

[augiedog55]

Ami, Thank you again for your help. Its greatly appreciated

[RayR]

Originally Posted by augiedog55

Ray, Thank you for your help. If You would ,could to tell me what grow meduim did you use on your container peppers
Thanks again
Bruce

Nothing fancy, Black Magic Professional Potting Soil sold at Big Lots, a compost, peat & pearlite mix. It drains well, it's not too heavy and not too light, it's just about right for veggies. I've been using it for 3 years on the oldest containers, every year I just freshen it up with a couple handfuls of compost, some pearite, greensand or whatever mineral amendments I'm experimenting with at the time.

[augiedog55]

thank you Ray. I'm always curious what is working for people.