fertilizer questions

sergeant69 · March 20, 2014

I keep reading about a product used by many on this site that seems to work tremendously well on all the aspects of tomato/pepper growing. so I got some in, read the literature, had some concerns/questions, and called the company. and NO, I am not going to name the product or company as my purpose is not to promote nor criticize the product, but hopefully to learn something.
the person made several claims that are a direct contradiction of what I have heard/read for years. so naturally I am curious of you learned people think. he said:
1. his product is a COMPLETE fertilizer, nothing is needed. if true, ok, makes sense.
2. said foliar feeding is the WORST possible way to deliver food to a plant.
3. said the effectiveness of Epsom salts is an old wives tale.
4. said tomato roots only go down 6-8" as they are a shallow rooted plant. I guess that a relative term but I have over the years pulled up old plants w/roots a lot deeper than that.
disclaimer: if I misunderstood any of what he said I apologize up front, right now.

I have always subscribed to the Dick Raymond method that if you feed the soil properly it needs no further additives or chemicals. just finished reading in his 1980s book about his garden test plots where he added no chemicals for 10 years yet got great results from tilling in cover and green manure crops. starting in dec I tilled in tons of manure, cotton seed compost, green sand, sand, leaves, mushroom dirt etc. I so far have 15 tomato plants in the ground all about 18" tall, all raised from seed, all bushy, green and looking good.
his product has tons of rave reviews. he has a business to run and I didn't want to use up his time defending what quite possibly needs no defense. but, I admit to being a bit confused. thoughts? opinions? chemicals versus natural?

March 20, 2014	#1
sergeant69 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: south texas Posts: 203	fertilizer questions I keep reading about a product used by many on this site that seems to work tremendously well on all the aspects of tomato/pepper growing. so I got some in, read the literature, had some concerns/questions, and called the company. and NO, I am not going to name the product or company as my purpose is not to promote nor criticize the product, but hopefully to learn something. the person made several claims that are a direct contradiction of what I have heard/read for years. so naturally I am curious of you learned people think. he said: 1. his product is a COMPLETE fertilizer, nothing is needed. if true, ok, makes sense. 2. said foliar feeding is the WORST possible way to deliver food to a plant. 3. said the effectiveness of Epsom salts is an old wives tale. 4. said tomato roots only go down 6-8" as they are a shallow rooted plant. I guess that a relative term but I have over the years pulled up old plants w/roots a lot deeper than that. disclaimer: if I misunderstood any of what he said I apologize up front, right now. I have always subscribed to the Dick Raymond method that if you feed the soil properly it needs no further additives or chemicals. just finished reading in his 1980s book about his garden test plots where he added no chemicals for 10 years yet got great results from tilling in cover and green manure crops. starting in dec I tilled in tons of manure, cotton seed compost, green sand, sand, leaves, mushroom dirt etc. I so far have 15 tomato plants in the ground all about 18" tall, all raised from seed, all bushy, green and looking good. his product has tons of rave reviews. he has a business to run and I didn't want to use up his time defending what quite possibly needs no defense. but, I admit to being a bit confused. thoughts? opinions? chemicals versus natural? Last edited by sergeant69; March 21, 2014 at 09:46 AM.