Urban Farms Texas Tomato Food

[b54red]

I have and still do use TTF or other Urban Farm fertilizers with container plants. If the plants are fairly mature then I use the recommended rate of 1 tbs per gallon and soak the container til it runs out the bottom.

Bill

[wormgirl]

I do the same, Bill. I am sorry if I confused anyone or misspoke - it got a little confusing because someone asked specifically about Earthboxes and the conversation took off from there for a few pages.

It seems to me I kind of figure out how much each container needs so I know how much to apply.

[Stvrob]

Originally Posted by b54red

I have and still do use TTF or other Urban Farm fertilizers with container plants. If the plants are fairly mature then I use the recommended rate of 1 tbs per gallon and soak the container til it runs out the bottom.

Bill

I am doubling the amount I put on my in ground tomatoes. I was mixing a four gallon batch and dividing it up between 12 plants each week. The plants are healthy enough and growing well, but nothing magical seems to be happening, so maybe 8 gallons of mix ( 2/3 gallon per plant) would not be too excessive?

[b54red]

Originally Posted by Stvrob

I am doubling the amount I put on my in ground tomatoes. I was mixing a four gallon batch and dividing it up between 12 plants each week. The plants are healthy enough and growing well, but nothing magical seems to be happening, so maybe 8 gallons of mix ( 2/3 gallon per plant) would not be too excessive?

Unless you have been getting some of that rain which keeps missing us then you should go ahead and mix up at the very least a gallon of solution per plant for in ground feeding. If your plants are 5 ft tall or so you can give them even more if it is fairly dry. I can only guess how much I am giving the plants because I use a hose end Chameleon sprayer to apply it to the ground under the plants but I'm sure some of my larger plants are getting closer to two gallons when they look like they need it. Of course I am growing in raised beds which tend to drain very well and so more is probably needed in my case than for plants grown on flat ground. I have two beds that are too sandy toward one end and I always give those plants the most solution because they always seem to need it in order to keep up with the rest of the plants in the beds.

Bill

[Stvrob]

Originally Posted by b54red

Unless you have been getting some of that rain which keeps missing us then you should go ahead and mix up at the very least a gallon of solution per plant for in ground feeding. If your plants are 5 ft tall or so you can give them even more if it is fairly dry. I can only guess how much I am giving the plants because I use a hose end Chameleon sprayer to apply it to the ground under the plants but I'm sure some of my larger plants are getting closer to two gallons when they look like they need it. Of course I am growing in raised beds which tend to drain very well and so more is probably needed in my case than for plants grown on flat ground. I have two beds that are too sandy toward one end and I always give those plants the most solution because they always seem to need it in order to keep up with the rest of the plants in the beds.

Bill

Its been mostly dry here, nothing unusual, the summer rains havent really started up in force. Ive resorted to keeping the soaker hose on with low pressure 24/7. I think a laurel oak is stealing most of the water. I dont like laurel oak at all, this one has to go but it is too big for me too handle by myself.

[wormgirl]

For comparison, when the plant is nearly dry (when summer starts to warm up), a 9 gallon container plant takes 2 gallons of water, so that's how much solution I apply. This year, I used 20 gallon containers for the first time. It took 5 gallons to water them in. So, that's how much TTF I used. I think if you are stingy with it in the garden, you may not be getting it deep enough.

[cheebamaster]

I have about 20 plants going and just started using TTF. I attached the hose end sprayer and ended up going through 1 ENTIRE bottle for just one application. Am I doing something wrong? Everything is in containers and I water each container with hose end sprayer for about 45 seconds a plant equalling about 1.5/2 gallons of water total.

Seems mighty expensive to use this stuff unless you only have a few plants

[Barb_FL]

Originally Posted by cheebamaster

I have about 20 plants going and just started using TTF. I attached the hose end sprayer and ended up going through 1 ENTIRE bottle for just one application. Am I doing something wrong? Everything is in containers and I water each container with hose end sprayer for about 45 seconds a plant equalling about 1.5/2 gallons of water total.

Seems mighty expensive to use this stuff unless you only have a few plants

How big was the bottle?

I've been using TTF/Veg for 1+ years now. Container plants and Earthboxes;

Do you think this would work with container plants? Could you water the plant from the hose until the mix is wet (say drains or almost drains) and then add the diluted TTF?

[b54red]

Originally Posted by cheebamaster

I have about 20 plants going and just started using TTF. I attached the hose end sprayer and ended up going through 1 ENTIRE bottle for just one application. Am I doing something wrong? Everything is in containers and I water each container with hose end sprayer for about 45 seconds a plant equalling about 1.5/2 gallons of water total.

Seems mighty expensive to use this stuff unless you only have a few plants

If you put out two gallons of solution at the 1 tbs to the gallon rate you would only use 20 oz of product. That would be a heavy application for all but the largest plants.

It isn't cheap to use enough to get great results but then neither is any good fertilizer if you apply it regularly which I do. I buy it by the gallons in case lots because it saves me a little money and I use a lot of it. I have at least 60 tomato plants in the ground now and around 30 pepper plants along with squash and cucumbers which all get regular doses of TTF.

I used to use the large boxes of Miracle Grow and that was fairly expensive also without giving me the impressive results I am getting with the TTF. For a little more money the difference is worth it to me. The same is true of grafting tomatoes when you start with seed that cost way too much but the results are just too good to not use grafted plants. I have been gardening for around 40 years and my results now are so much better with far less work but it does cost more. The upside is more success has meant far less frustration and disappointment which were constants when growing tomatoes in my garden years ago. Now those disappointments are not as frequent or as severe so gardening is much more fun than it was. Almost everything that has made my garden more productive and easier to care for has cost me more money but as I get older I find that I don't mind as much.

Bill

[JamesL]

Originally Posted by cheebamaster

I have about 20 plants going and just started using TTF. I attached the hose end sprayer and ended up going through 1 ENTIRE bottle for just one application. Am I doing something wrong? Everything is in containers and I water each container with hose end sprayer for about 45 seconds a plant equalling about 1.5/2 gallons of water total.

Seems mighty expensive to use this stuff unless you only have a few plants

Whoa! 1 gallon makes 256 gallons mixed with water. Yes something is wrong there....

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

Do you think this would work with container plants? Could you water the plant from the hose until the mix is wet (say drains or almost drains) and then add the diluted TTF?

Barb,
I do exactly that with the few standard containers I have. Water them mostly down and then add premixed TTF from a gallon container.

[aclum]

Hi Cheebamaster,

Did you dilute the TTF before spraying? For use with the hose end sprayer (like the Ortho ones), you dilute the mix 3 parts water to 1 part TTF before hooking the sprayer bottle to the hose and then spraying.

Anne

[aclum]

PS to my last post.... you also set the dial on the hose end sprayer to 2 oz.

Anne

[kurt]

I have always tried to figure out a way to measure liquid fertilization amounts and measure the results per plant over the years.Two years ago I was throwing out some gallon jugs of Arizona Ice Tea and It came to me.I cut the bottom of the jug off and buried the neck part about 3-4 inches into the ground next to the mater,pepper plants etc.Now I mix/ my favorite fertilizer(Algo Flash,TTF,some tea solutions etc.)and dole out the amounts needed at that particular time in the growing season/regimen(start up,foilage growth,flowering etc.)Works like a charm and a good monitoring/ calibration system at the same time.

[Stvrob]

Originally Posted by cheebamaster

I have about 20 plants going and just started using TTF. I attached the hose end sprayer and ended up going through 1 ENTIRE bottle for just one application. Am I doing something wrong? Everything is in containers and I water each container with hose end sprayer for about 45 seconds a plant equalling about 1.5/2 gallons of water total.

Seems mighty expensive to use this stuff unless you only have a few plants

My guess is that you are doing something wrong. A gallon bottle makes 256 gallons, quite a bit for a single application on 20 tomato plants.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by aclum

Hi Cheebamaster,

Did you dilute the TTF before spraying? For use with the hose end sprayer (like the Ortho ones), you dilute the mix 3 parts water to 1 part TTF before hooking the sprayer bottle to the hose and then spraying.

Anne

I found a hose end sprayer that so far has worked without diluting the TTF before putting it in the hose end container. I got it at Lowes and it is a Chameleon. I do shake it up well every few minutes but so far it has worked like a charm and I just fill it up and when I get through if there is any left I just pour it back into the original container.

Bill