foliar feed or soil drench for mid-season?

kdoble · July 25, 2008

I am about to use Neptunes Harvest Fish/Seaweed combo for the first time. Can any of the experts out there advise me on which application would be most beneficial at this point in the season ~ as a foliar feed or drenching the soil? Not sure if this is important info, but my first set of toms are ripening now. Thanks!

dice · July 25, 2008

The foliar feed is only absorbed while the leaves remain moist
(which is why foliar feed instructions suggest spraying it until
the leaves are dripping, and doing it very early in the morning
or in the evening, so the leaves have more time to absorb the
nutrition in it). What dries on the leaves without being absorbed
may continue to be available in small increments as morning
dew dissolves nutrients in it. Rain will wash it off into the soil.

Experienced growers tend to start with fairly fertile soil,
so the plants may only need a little boost from foliar
feeding to do their best. If they seem to have stopped growing
(indeterminates, anyway), adding some fertilizer to the soil
in addition to foliar feeding may give the best results.

(In other words, soils, weather, and temperatures vary so
much that there is no hard and fast rule about this.)

kdoble · July 26, 2008

Thanks Dice; I sprayed the leaves and soil early this morning. And I picked my first 2 tomatoes!

July 25, 2008	#1
kdoble Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Wayne, PA zone 6b Posts: 57	foliar feed or soil drench for mid-season? I am about to use Neptunes Harvest Fish/Seaweed combo for the first time. Can any of the experts out there advise me on which application would be most beneficial at this point in the season ~ as a foliar feed or drenching the soil? Not sure if this is important info, but my first set of toms are ripening now. Thanks!

July 25, 2008	#2
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	The foliar feed is only absorbed while the leaves remain moist (which is why foliar feed instructions suggest spraying it until the leaves are dripping, and doing it very early in the morning or in the evening, so the leaves have more time to absorb the nutrition in it). What dries on the leaves without being absorbed may continue to be available in small increments as morning dew dissolves nutrients in it. Rain will wash it off into the soil. Experienced growers tend to start with fairly fertile soil, so the plants may only need a little boost from foliar feeding to do their best. If they seem to have stopped growing (indeterminates, anyway), adding some fertilizer to the soil in addition to foliar feeding may give the best results. (In other words, soils, weather, and temperatures vary so much that there is no hard and fast rule about this.) __________________ -- alias

July 26, 2008	#3
kdoble Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Wayne, PA zone 6b Posts: 57	Thanks Dice; I sprayed the leaves and soil early this morning. And I picked my first 2 tomatoes!