The very large tomato thread

[lubadub]

Anyone have a recipe for a "complete organic fertilizer"? COF is a self made mixture of organic materials a person can use on an area of garden that is not really big enough to justify doing a soil test on it. It is a complete mix with as many as 20 products mixed together in some compost, all of which is then spread on the garden and scratched in early in the season.

[lubadub]

Here is a sample recipe.

1. If you are growing in an area that is not big enough to merit a soil test you could use a “complete organic fertilizer” that would not be as good as balancing your soil but better than nothing. Here is one recipe that can be used to cover 100 square feet. It should be applied to the soil annually in the fall and better yet in the early spring and mixed into the top 3 inches of soil using a rake or digging fork.

2 pounds feather meal
2 pounds fish meal
3 pounds soft rock phosphate
1 pound kelp meal
1 ½ pounds agricultural limestone
1 ½ pounds gypsum
1/3 cup potassium sulfate
1 teaspoon borax
1 ½ teaspoons zinc sulfate
2 teaspoons manganese sulfate
1 teaspoon copper sulfate

This will weigh around 11 pounds and should be mixed into some compost, spread on top of the soil and then dug into the top 3 inches of soil using a digging fork or rake.

[lubadub]

Two weeks and nobody here. What are you guys doing? I worked some organic fertilizers into the top 2 inches of soil in my garden today. And then it snowed.

[biscuitridge]

Waiting for the nice weather to show up!

[Spartanburg123]

Great suggestions Lubadub! Biscuit- I have 4 out of 6 up so far for your mystery lunker . Hope to grow a big un this year!

[greenthumbomaha]

Nice formula, thanks! Timing is everything, spring finally arrived, temporarily. It was in the 60's today! I was planning to raid my fertilizer stash and get going, but the forecast has lots of cold snowy weather headed my way next Thursday, with a nightime low of 19. Other than the rock phosphate (not needed in ground but I add to container mixes), should I wait until the April snows are over?


- Lisa

[biscuitridge]

Originally Posted by Spartanburg123

Great suggestions Lubadub! Biscuit- I have 4 out of 6 up so far for your mystery lunker . Hope to grow a big un this year!

Good to hear,grow em mammoth. Keep us posted!

[lubadub]

When exactly to put your fertilizers on has a lot to do with what you are using. Organic fertilizers could go on now so as to give soil life, when it gets going, a chance to start breaking the nutrients down into useable molecules. Water soluble Miracle Grow, then apply later as the April showers could cause a lot of them to be leached out. Others chemical fertilizers could wait until you can actually work your soil.

[lubadub]

The ground is warming up and getting dry enough to be able to work on it. I built a compost pile several days ago. I had one pile of old leaves from the fall and another pile of grass clippings and garden wastes from flower garden and mixed them together along with a little urea to give it some nitrogen. Also I mixed in some old compost and a bit of garden soil to give it some life. I watered it as best I could and after a few days the temperature of the pile went from 50 degrees F to 60F. So, I guess things are coming to life inside the pile.

[KarenO]

Do how are everyone’s plants doing? Getting some big blooms?
I have a few big blooms in my garden here and there
KarenO

[Spartanburg123]

Karen- I have one Big Zac (Riemer Seeds) and one from Dan's WR tomato. They look identical from the growth perspective, but my first set of blooms is yet to show up. I got them out a little later this year than most folks down here. I'll post lots of pics as I go along (and also ZG .

Darin

[taboule]

I'm growing Big Zac for the first time this year, 2x plants, just to see what it's like.I noticed a bloom on one of them yesterday.

[KarenO]

I have lots of double blooms here and there throughout the garden, ( lots of times first blooms are doubles on my hearts for example but generally they pollinate well and grow big but obviously not giant tomatoes.
I do have one double in Sutherland 5.63 from Dan so I am keeping that one removing all the normal blossoms but next to it on a Domingo I have a bigger one with an abnormally thick fasciated stem where all the others have normal stems. I will keep this one, looks like possibly 4 fused.
Not sure and I don’t want to mess with it. I’ll look more closely once it opens fully.
So far my biggest bloom. I removed the other normal buds from this cluster.
I have no clue but I’m going to see what I should feed this guy. I planted it right in ground not a pot or bed. Will mulch well with my compost for starters and go from there.
I think I will buzz it to help it pollinate fully once it’s open also.
Will be Fun to see what happens I will hope for a bigger bloom on the 5.63
Nights are still very cool so that contributes to higher incidence of fasciated blooms I think?
Karen

[Spartanburg123]

Hi Karen- that looks like a double. Two visible stems fused together. I would let a few more buds develop to see if you get a megabloom. I have had as many as 5 or 6 fused with Big Zacs in the past, and yes, the cold nights seem to produce the most multiples.

Many times, only one or two get pollinated in a fused stigma situation, and a badly lopsided tomato results. I have the best luck by taking another flower from the plant, and smearing the entire stigma of the megabloom with the pollen from the sacrificial flower. You'll want all of the ovaries on the megabloom to become active. It usually helps me

[lubadub]

It is still raining here and last night we got just over two more inches. It could rain the rest of the week. The slugs in the garden are now showing up even though there is little for them to eat. Many trees in our area died from some kind of fungus. The tree cutting guys will make a fortune. I really need to get my plants in the ground but don't want to plant tomatoes in mud.