Miracle Gro vs Texas Tomato Food

[Jesse103]

Miracle Gro cost more than Texas Tomato Food?

One 1.5 lb box of MG (18-18-21) will make 30.2 gallons of solution.
Average cost of one 1.5 lb box of MG = $6.00

One gallon of TTF will make 256 gallons of solution.
Cost for one gallon of TTF = $39.00

It will take 8.4 boxes of MG to produce 256 gallons of solution.

8.4 boxes x $6.00 per box = $50.40

1 Gallon of TTF = $39.00

TTF is not that expensive after all & will produce more fruit and no BER.

[Goodloe]

I'm using TTF for the 1st time this year, and have been pleased. Good stuff!!

[zipcode]

There's a very slightly huge problem with your calculation.
This makes x gallons of that, is just not equivalent at all between the two. I can't make a super correct comparison, since I don't have the density of TTF (the analysis is based per weight, but the ttf is bought per gallon).
But assuming a density of 1.3 and referencing all values to K (which gives ttf the biggest advantage, since it has proportionally more compared to N),
1gal ttf = 1gal water * 1.3 = 4.9 kg
1.5 lb = 680g x 21/ 6.7 = 2.12 kg ttf equivalent

So 1 gal of ttf is 2.31 packs of MG in terms of pure NPK referenced to K, or 1.63 packs referenced to N. Now TTF could have a bit more advantage because of humic acids and stuffs but the price advantage leans heavily towards MG.

[Jesse103]

Good observation. I did not include or consider the NPK values of both products, only the cost to produce one gallon of solution. I wonder if everything thing was equal, would one gallon of MG produce more fruit than one gallon of TTF since it's NPK values are higher?

[zipcode]

Hard to say for sure, but my guess is that the NPK is the main driver, and they both contain microelements as well. So npk to npk ttf could maybe have 10% , at most 20% advantage. Even like that MG is twice as cheap per 'effect'.
If you want cheapest stuff of not organic, something that comes in a big bag is the way, like those 20-25kg sacks from Yara or Haifa, which are also very complete and come in all possible ratios one could want. Just store them somewhere without light and preferably not too much moisture and they will last for many years. Here in Europe one such sack is about 60-70 euro, and they are equivalent to about 13 gal of ttf. In USA probably the second cheapest choice would be the masterblend.

[Jesse103]

Thanks for your observations and reply. I have only 5 plants. They are hybrid (Mountain Pride) purchased from the local garden shop. They are growing in 10 gallon fabric bags, and they are between 6 and 7 feet tall now full of fruit and still growing and producing. I have already harvested the first crop. I have them covered with a 50% shade cloth. Last year I had the same setup and grew Mountain Fresh Tomatoes. Had enough for me and the wife and several neighbors. They produced until the second week in October. I fed them once a week with TTF and watered twice a day. I may try MG one day, but for now I stay with TTF.

[b54red]

I don't know which is really cheaper and have used both for many years but TTF produces far more fruit on the plant in side by side comparisons. I did a comparison in a single long bed with tomatoes on each side of the bed and fertilized them on the same schedule with one side getting MG and the other TTF. I actually used more MG each time because I was using the hose end sprayer to apply it. Early on it looked like the MG was doing as well or better since the plants were a bit larger and fuller but when it came time for fruit setting the TTF fed plants set so much more fruit that it wasn't even a good comparison.

I have always prepared my beds well before planting with compost, cottonseed meal, and some chicken manure and then would start fertilizing with liquid fertilizer when the plants started blooming good. I used MG for years as the fertilizer of choice until I tried TTF. I don't know what makes the fruit set better from TTF but it definitely does and that is one of the biggest difficulties down here where the high temperatures and high humidity really can affect fruit set. It might not be as important where the climate is milder but for my garden the TTF is a miracle worker. Of course if I run out of TTF or it is too near the end of the season I will switch to MG if I need to fertilize.

When it comes to bell peppers I like to use the MG about every third fertilizing and use the Vegetable formula from Urban farms as it works far better on peppers for me than does the TTF. I also find the Vegetable solution better on all fall and winter crops as well as squash and cucumbers in the spring.

Bill

[Jesse103]

Thanks Bill:
I have been wondering about my Bell Peppers. In the past I have used MG, I switched this year and started using TTF and I seems like they are not producing as well. I have some of the Vegetable formula and will give it a try. Thanks.

[b54red]

Jessie another thing that I have done with bell peppers that seems to help is throw a bit of Epsom Salts around the base before fertilizing or watering. I do this about once a month or every three weeks. I also had some improvement putting a handful of wood ashes around the plants after the first surge of peppers and watering them in. But the best thing that I have done to improve bell pepper plant health is to plant a few sweet potato vines in each bed. They are messy and I have to keep trimming them to prevent them from running out of the bed and sometimes to stop them covering a plant but my production and size of peppers has really improved with this.

Bill

[edweather]

I treat myself to a gallon of TTF each year, and it doesn't hurt to keep a bottle of MG around either, to fill in every once in a while.