Garden Tone

cjp1953 · June 25, 2014

I have been looking for Tomato Tone at the local stores around here and no one carries it in store,you have to order on line.They do instead have Garden Tone.I'm looking for something with calcium.I have not limed my garden in 6 years and have not tested it this year.Will Garden Tone stop Blossom End Rot.It has 5.0% Calcium.I'm not having trouble,just want to make sure this does not happen.I have Miracle Gro Tomato that I have used this week,I had this on hand but would rather go with a organic plant food.I don't want to pay shipping on top of the cost of the Tomato Tone.

RayR · June 25, 2014

You can use Garden-Tone (3-4-4 5%Ca) in place of Tomato-Tone (3-4-6 8%Ca) BER is not necessarily caused by a lack of Calcium in the soil, it is calcium uptake and translocation to the fruit which can be caused by other factors like inconsistent moisture, N and K competes with Ca in the soil, so too much of those nutrients during flowering and fruiting can contribute to BER. Also, some varieties are more susceptible to BER than others.
Staying organic, you can supplement your dry organic fertilizer weekly with Liquid Fish Hydrolysate or better yet Liquid Fish Hydrolysate/Kelp. It will add a little Calcium and a whole host of other macro and micronutrients, hormones, vitamins and amino acids.

cjp1953 · June 25, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by RayR

You can use Garden-Tone (3-4-4 5%Ca) in place of Tomato-Tone (3-4-6 8%Ca) BER is not necessarily caused by a lack of Calcium in the soil, it is calcium uptake and translocation to the fruit which can be caused by other factors like inconsistent moisture, N and K competes with Ca in the soil, so too much of those nutrients during flowering and fruiting can contribute to BER. Also, some varieties are more susceptible to BER than others.
Staying organic, you can supplement your dry organic fertilizer weekly with Liquid Fish Hydrolysate or better yet Liquid Fish Hydrolysate/Kelp. It will add a little Calcium and a whole host of other macro and micronutrients, hormones, vitamins and amino acids.

Thanks,We have had a very wet spring and month of June.Don't know if that will have an effect things.

tomatoguy · June 26, 2014

Miracle-Gro will generally give you lush, pretty plants, with very few tomatoes. 18-18-21 is way too strong for tomatoes, unless you are growing in unamended clay, sans topsoil. I use organic Mater Magic, 8-5-5.

mater
tomato season #46

Shooter1103 · June 26, 2014

You mean the stuff in a little red plastic tomato container? I thought that was just an advertising ploy?

RonnyWil · June 26, 2014

I couldn't find it in the stores around here and the nursery wanted $8.95 for 4lb. bag. I found some on Ebay for $19.75 for an 20lb. bag with free shipping so I ordered 4 of them. They still have it listed but they have gone to the new 18lb. bag same price.

Shooter1103 · June 26, 2014

What Mater Magic or Tomato Tone.....

cjp1953 · June 29, 2014

Bought a 8lb bag today at Lowes of Garden Tone,Thanks to all that replayed.

Spartanburg123 · June 29, 2014

I bought a bag of Tomato Tone at a feed store today, and sprinkled 3 tablespoons around each of my plants. I have to say, man does this stuff stink! My whole garden smells like a sewer! LOL

feldon30 · June 29, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spartanburg123

I bought a bag of Tomato Tone at a feed store today, and sprinkled 3 tablespoons around each of my plants. I have to say, man does this stuff stink! My whole garden smells like a sewer! LOL

Wow I've never noticed TomatoTone to have a bad smell.

RayR · June 29, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spartanburg123

I bought a bag of Tomato Tone at a feed store today, and sprinkled 3 tablespoons around each of my plants. I have to say, man does this stuff stink! My whole garden smells like a sewer! LOL

What?!! You don't like the smell of dehydrated chicken manure?

My neighbor and I were talking about that today, we both use Espoma Tones.
Both our wives hate the smell, but it doesn't both either of us.

The trick is to not leave it on top of the soil, but scratch it in and then water.
It's much better to mix it thoroughly into the soil before planting

Spartanburg123 · June 29, 2014

A chicken poop fan I am not! LOL. But this should be a nice little snack for the maters every few weeks.

ginger2778 · June 30, 2014

OZBO.com has the 18lb bag for $14.99. I ordered 3 because I have so many Earthboxes, and will be doing about 600 seedlings for my garden club plant sale. $4.99 shipping no matter how many you order. I liked it!

June 25, 2014	#1
cjp1953 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Cuyahoga Falls,Ohio Posts: 818	Garden Tone I have been looking for Tomato Tone at the local stores around here and no one carries it in store,you have to order on line.They do instead have Garden Tone.I'm looking for something with calcium.I have not limed my garden in 6 years and have not tested it this year.Will Garden Tone stop Blossom End Rot.It has 5.0% Calcium.I'm not having trouble,just want to make sure this does not happen.I have Miracle Gro Tomato that I have used this week,I had this on hand but would rather go with a organic plant food.I don't want to pay shipping on top of the cost of the Tomato Tone.

June 26, 2014	#6
RonnyWil Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Collierville TN Posts: 106	I couldn't find it in the stores around here and the nursery wanted $8.95 for 4lb. bag. I found some on Ebay for $19.75 for an 20lb. bag with free shipping so I ordered 4 of them. They still have it listed but they have gone to the new 18lb. bag same price. __________________ I'm two days older than dirt and I like to play in it.

June 25, 2014	#2
RayR Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Cheektowaga, NY Posts: 2,466	You can use Garden-Tone (3-4-4 5%Ca) in place of Tomato-Tone (3-4-6 8%Ca) BER is not necessarily caused by a lack of Calcium in the soil, it is calcium uptake and translocation to the fruit which can be caused by other factors like inconsistent moisture, N and K competes with Ca in the soil, so too much of those nutrients during flowering and fruiting can contribute to BER. Also, some varieties are more susceptible to BER than others. Staying organic, you can supplement your dry organic fertilizer weekly with Liquid Fish Hydrolysate or better yet Liquid Fish Hydrolysate/Kelp. It will add a little Calcium and a whole host of other macro and micronutrients, hormones, vitamins and amino acids.

June 26, 2014	#4
tomatoguy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Rockvale, TN Zone 7A Posts: 526	Miracle-Gro will generally give you lush, pretty plants, with very few tomatoes. 18-18-21 is way too strong for tomatoes, unless you are growing in unamended clay, sans topsoil. I use organic Mater Magic, 8-5-5. mater tomato season #46

June 26, 2014	#5
Shooter1103 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2014 Location: Bedford County Posts: 9	You mean the stuff in a little red plastic tomato container? I thought that was just an advertising ploy?

June 29, 2014	#8
cjp1953 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Cuyahoga Falls,Ohio Posts: 818	Bought a 8lb bag today at Lowes of Garden Tone,Thanks to all that replayed.

June 29, 2014	#9
Spartanburg123 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Spartanburg, SC Posts: 1,262	I bought a bag of Tomato Tone at a feed store today, and sprinkled 3 tablespoons around each of my plants. I have to say, man does this stuff stink! My whole garden smells like a sewer! LOL

June 30, 2014	#13
ginger2778 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10 Posts: 9,283	OZBO.com has the 18lb bag for $14.99. I ordered 3 because I have so many Earthboxes, and will be doing about 600 seedlings for my garden club plant sale. $4.99 shipping no matter how many you order. I liked it!