Black Cherry Tomato advice needed - Page 2

Cole_Robbie · March 22, 2016

Whatever fertilizer you pick, start out at 1/4 to 1/2 strength. And make sure it is fully dissolved into the water before applying.

Antipodean · March 23, 2016

Tomatoes require heaps more N and K than P, so stay away from the Fat and Bloom one. The seaweed or 20-20-20 will do.

Grayson · March 24, 2016

Thanks for the fertilizer help! This will be my first time applying it and I decided to start with the seaweed (will do the others either after this trial phase or when I move up to the 5 gallon tubs). I also opted for the foliar route and got a small sprayer.

After reading the instructions, though, I am a bit stumped. Does the 4ml - 8ml dilution into 1 liter of water count as 1/4 or 1/2 strength or do still I need to half the amount? Also, how much do I need to spray on to the plant? And finally, is early morning (like 9am) the best time to do it?

Gardeneer · March 24, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grayson

Thanks for the fertilizer help! This will be my first time applying it and I decided to start with the seaweed (will do the others either after this trial phase or when I move up to the 5 gallon tubs). I also opted for the foliar route and got a small sprayer.

After reading the instructions, though, I am a bit stumped. Does the 4ml - 8ml dilution into 1 liter of water count as 1/4 or 1/2 strength or do still I need to half the amount? Also, how much do I need to spray on to the plant? And finally, is early morning (like 9am) the best time to do it?

The strength mentioned is just in metric system, giving you a range.
So if 8 ml/liter is full strength then 4 ml/liter must be half strength.
For foliar spraying I would even cut back more to 2ml/liter to avoid possibility of burning.

Gardeneer

BigVanVader · March 24, 2016

Yeah, start low since tomatoes don't need very much fert. until they start blooming/setting fruit.

Grayson · March 24, 2016

Ok, I did the foliar fertilizing after I watered the plants. I used a 1ml syringe I was able to procure from a pharmacy. I went with a 2ml mix.

Thanks. I'll continue monitoring the progress and reaction of the plants to the fertilizer.

I also did my weekly inspection and noticed some roots were visible underneath one of my pots (3 white strands at 11, 12, and 4 o'clock):

Should I leave them be?

Grayson · March 30, 2016

1 month and 18 days, two of the plants have bloomed:

I also found this on an area of the topmost leaves of one of them. Are these eggs or soil specks (how they got there, I am unsure)? They came off easily after I brushed the leaves with a fine haired watercolor brush though.

heirloomtomaguy · March 30, 2016

The specks look like soil to me. Soil may have splashed up onto the plant when watering or it is possible that wind blew soil onto the plant.

Grayson · March 31, 2016

Ah. It could have been the wind. It was particularly windy these past two days.

That's a relief!

Grayson · April 4, 2016

Three of the four plants have started to blossom:

How does one take care of the early batch of flowers? (more fertilizer, careful pruning, etc?) I ask because I noticed that some of the flowers in one plant look shriveled and aren't opening:

--------------------------------

And is this normal? This is a different plant from the one above. I saw it in the upper middle stem area as I was watering them.

Antipodean · April 4, 2016

all looks fine, leave them alone in peace

just keep up with you regular fertilizing regime.

Worth1 · April 4, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Antipodean

all looks fine, leave them alone in peace

just keep up with you regular fertilizing regime.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Worth

Grayson · April 9, 2016

Thanks! Left them alone and now they each have their second set of blooms in a different spot. They are also around 15 inches tall now. When should I consider adding stakes?

However, the part of the stem on that same plant is looking a bit weird. Should I be worried?

Grayson · April 10, 2016

Noticed this today:

I'm not sure if it's sun damage, detergent water that was poured from the balcony 2 floors up (due to the wind, some of that water splashed on the plant), or the leaf being in contact with the cardboard box the plant is in. Apart from that, the only thing I did the day before was the foliar spray.

The rest of the plant is generally fine and I went ahead and pruned those parts off.

gorbelly · April 11, 2016

The photos from your last 2 posts look like some kind of mechanical damage. Maybe just light trauma from the repotting process? Like you scraped or stressed the stems in some minor way and maybe bent a few leaves a little too far? Or maybe damage from the wind you mentioned before? FWIW, one of my black cherry plants had a major vine snap and fall over last year, and because it was only partially severed, that branch just kept going and producing. The break scarred and looked gnarly, but the production on that branch barely missed a beat. Tomato plants can be tougher than we think, and the cherries particularly so, from what I've seen.

March 30, 2016	#23
heirloomtomaguy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: glendora ca Posts: 2,560	The specks look like soil to me. Soil may have splashed up onto the plant when watering or it is possible that wind blew soil onto the plant. __________________ “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."

April 9, 2016	#28
Grayson Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Philippines, Osaka Posts: 47	Thanks! Left them alone and now they each have their second set of blooms in a different spot. They are also around 15 inches tall now. When should I consider adding stakes? However, the part of the stem on that same plant is looking a bit weird. Should I be worried? Last edited by Grayson; April 10, 2016 at 01:25 AM.

March 22, 2016	#16
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	Whatever fertilizer you pick, start out at 1/4 to 1/2 strength. And make sure it is fully dissolved into the water before applying.

March 23, 2016	#17
Antipodean Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Perth Posts: 46	Tomatoes require heaps more N and K than P, so stay away from the Fat and Bloom one. The seaweed or 20-20-20 will do.

March 24, 2016	#18
Grayson Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Philippines, Osaka Posts: 47	Thanks for the fertilizer help! This will be my first time applying it and I decided to start with the seaweed (will do the others either after this trial phase or when I move up to the 5 gallon tubs). I also opted for the foliar route and got a small sprayer. After reading the instructions, though, I am a bit stumped. Does the 4ml - 8ml dilution into 1 liter of water count as 1/4 or 1/2 strength or do still I need to half the amount? Also, how much do I need to spray on to the plant? And finally, is early morning (like 9am) the best time to do it?

March 24, 2016	#20
BigVanVader Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Greenville, South Carolina Posts: 3,099	Yeah, start low since tomatoes don't need very much fert. until they start blooming/setting fruit.

March 31, 2016	#24
Grayson Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Philippines, Osaka Posts: 47	Ah. It could have been the wind. It was particularly windy these past two days. That's a relief!

April 4, 2016	#25
Grayson Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Philippines, Osaka Posts: 47	Three of the four plants have started to blossom: How does one take care of the early batch of flowers? (more fertilizer, careful pruning, etc?) I ask because I noticed that some of the flowers in one plant look shriveled and aren't opening: -------------------------------- And is this normal? This is a different plant from the one above. I saw it in the upper middle stem area as I was watering them.

April 10, 2016	#29
Grayson Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Philippines, Osaka Posts: 47	Noticed this today: I'm not sure if it's sun damage, detergent water that was poured from the balcony 2 floors up (due to the wind, some of that water splashed on the plant), or the leaf being in contact with the cardboard box the plant is in. Apart from that, the only thing I did the day before was the foliar spray. The rest of the plant is generally fine and I went ahead and pruned those parts off.

April 11, 2016	#30
gorbelly Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania Posts: 1,069	The photos from your last 2 posts look like some kind of mechanical damage. Maybe just light trauma from the repotting process? Like you scraped or stressed the stems in some minor way and maybe bent a few leaves a little too far? Or maybe damage from the wind you mentioned before? FWIW, one of my black cherry plants had a major vine snap and fall over last year, and because it was only partially severed, that branch just kept going and producing. The break scarred and looked gnarly, but the production on that branch barely missed a beat. Tomato plants can be tougher than we think, and the cherries particularly so, from what I've seen.