Urban Farms Texas Tomato Food

[JosephineRose]

Avocados, lemons, tangelos, pomegranate, lime, artichokes, asparagus, kiwi, grapes, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, boysenberries, saffron, nectarine, plum, peaches, apricot, asian pear, greek bay, mixed herbs, rhubarb.

Then edible flowers and nitrogen fixers: comfrey, yarrow, lupin, salvia, pansy, echinacea, etc. It's been almost a year long project. I am growing most of the plants from seed, and have been collecting bare root trees and vines this winter. Almost there!

[b54red]

Originally Posted by brooksville

Bill do you see a noticeable difference between TTF and TT Veg formula? We are currently using TTF for everything with superb results. We did not use it for 2 seasons, we tried another liquid fert. That, coupled with starting seeds with soft water, have prevented us from making a crop for 2 summers. We are back! I am excited too!

I see a very big difference on some things and not so much on others. For heavy feeders that need more nitrogen like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, melons, cucumbers, and greens the new Vegetable formula has been dynamite. I have had somewhat better luck with it on onions and peppers also. I sometimes give the Vegetable formula to my tomatoes early to get them growing a bit faster before they start blooming heavily when I switch to TTF. About mid season when the plants get that fading look after that first few clusters of heavy fruit production I might give them a dose of Vegetable formula to give them a boost before resuming weekly feedings of TTF.

I have been sold on TTF since I first compared it side by side on tomatoes with Miracle Grow. Both produced nice big healthy plants but the fruit set difference was amazing. In areas with less heat and humidity it might not be as dramatic but down here fruit set can be very challenging. Already we have seen temps well into the 90s and the nights are heating up dramatically so I can't slack up on the TTF. When the midsummer heat begins this early I have found that keeping the feedings regular makes a huge difference in fruit set. I have seen and read that fruit set on tomatoes is almost impossible when night time temps are high along with really hot humid days but with regular applications of TTF I get good fruit set during the hottest weather even in the doldrums of mid and late summer. There are exceptions in that some varieties are much better at setting fruit in the hot weather than others so with my staggered planting dates I take into account the varieties that do better in hot weather when starting seed that will go out after May.

Bill

[hovermother22]

Sorry, I may have missed this answer, but I am only planting 18 tomato plants this year and was going to buy a gallon of the Texas Tomato Vegetable Fertilizer and a gallon of the Texas Tomato Food. Will this last for a few seasons? It seemed like a better deal to get the gallon size containers. Or should I buy smaller sizes so that it retains its potency?

[Greatgardens]

Has anyone ever run an actual A-B comparison test of Texas Tomato Food vs 10-10-10 or something similar? It would have to be awesome to be worth ~$40/gallon (with shipping).

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by hovermother22

Sorry, I may have missed this answer, but I am only planting 18 tomato plants this year and was going to buy a gallon of the Texas Tomato Vegetable Fertilizer and a gallon of the Texas Tomato Food. Will this last for a few seasons? It seemed like a better deal to get the gallon size containers. Or should I buy smaller sizes so that it retains its potency?

There was a thread it may be this one about the product expiring.
No it doesn't expire or lose it's potency.
But it will settle out over time and needs to be shaken up.

Originally Posted by Greatgardens

Has anyone ever run an actual A-B comparison test of Texas Tomato Food vs 10-10-10 or something similar? It would have to be awesome to be worth ~$40/gallon (with shipping).

Not yet, I cant find any local.
There was one feed store up the road that was advertised to sell it but they changed hands and dont have it.

[brooksville]

Pic of Vorlon truss. Around 20-22 flowers!

[brooksville]

Vorlon

Originally Posted by JosephineRose

Avocados, lemons, tangelos, pomegranate, lime, artichokes, asparagus, kiwi, grapes, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, boysenberries, saffron, nectarine, plum, peaches, apricot, asian pear, greek bay, mixed herbs, rhubarb.

Then edible flowers and nitrogen fixers: comfrey, yarrow, lupin, salvia, pansy, echinacea, etc. It's been almost a year long project. I am growing most of the plants from seed, and have been collecting bare root trees and vines this winter. Almost there!

Lol, sounds like what I went through 3 years ago when we finally bought a house.
I planned the garden out for over a year and saved up for 2 years.

Love your selections.

FWIW African Blue Basil is my most popular bee plant by far.
The hummingbirds love the Abutilon I planted to screen out the neighbor’s ugly shed.
I decided on borage instead of comfrey under my apple trees ... more manageable and reseeds easily. I also let arugula seed around under the trees as it attracts tons of tiny bees and hover flies when it flowers. Ditto for cilantro and dill.
- Joyce

[hovermother22]

Thank you, Worth1! I just re-read all the posts about TTF and found the response!

[b54red]

When I did the side by side comparison I used around 6 pairs of tomatoes planted side by side and gave them each approximately equal doses of TTF and Miracle Grow. At that time I was preparing my beds with a bit of 10-10-10 along with some cottonseed meal a week before planting. All the plants were trellised and pruned as close as possible to the same way and all were mulched heavily. I started weekly feedings of both at about half strength on the same day and gradually worked up to using at the recommended strength. I had found the year before that my production increased markedly when I gave the plants weekly feedings of Miracle Grow after the first cluster of fruit was picked. instead of just a one time side dressing of 10-10-10 midway through the season. When I did the test I went further by starting the weekly feedings as soon as the plants were blooming but at a reduced strength. When the plants were between 2 and 3 feet tall I started using full strength.

Some weeks I was unable to feed them due to excessive rain and some weeks I would give them a smaller amount of fertilizer because the plants were looking very dark green and if they looked a bit peeked I would give them more. I found that blossom drop decreased substantially with the weekly feedings over what I had done in the past. This was true of the plants receiving both types of fertilizer; but more so for the ones getting the TTF. As the summer heat got much worse the difference only increased.

It wasn't a super controlled experiment but it convinced me. I have been using the TTF on my tomatoes since and production and fruit quality has only gone up most years. I still keep some Miracle Grow and use it when I run out and on seedlings before planting. I think it is a great fertilizer particularly the one high in N and K and somewhat low in P but it isn't cheaper. For me it is actually a bit more expensive and doesn't go as far. I was going through those big boxes of MG very fast but then I go through a lot of TTF also. It is probably a toss up as to which is more costly in the long run but the results make the decision easy.

I still build up my soil with amendments like compost, chicken manure, small amount of chemical fertilizer, lots of cottonseed meal and a good bit of alfalfa pellets before I plant each season. I basically side dress with my hose end sprayer every 7 to 10 days if I can. For tomatoes they get mostly TTF and I use the Vegetable formula on most other crops and when I run out of one or the other I just use what I have or if I run out of both I use Miracle Grow. If I had a good cheap source of chicken manure I would surely use much more of it than I do now.

Bill

Since I’m doing all of my veggie gardening in containers it’s easier to use a bit of dry fertilizer in the 5-1-1 soil mix and then go with liquid TTF. I like the Apples and Oranges formula as it does double duty on the fruit trees and blueberries as well as tomato and pepper seedlings.

I keep fish emulsion around for the annuals, roses, herbs, etc.

Ditto, Bill - It’s really annoying when it gets to raining nearly every day and the fertilizing schedule gets messed up.

All liquid gallons of TTF on sale now for $21.95 incl. shipping.

[Barb_FL]

Originally Posted by PlainJane

All liquid gallons of TTF on sale now for $21.95 incl. shipping.

Where do you see that?

[eyegrotom]

On there Website Urban Farms Fertilizer,Texas Tomato Food

[Barb_FL]

Originally Posted by eyegrotom

On there Website Urban Farms Fertilizer,Texas Tomato Food

For me, the $21.95 price comes up as a quart

and the normal $39.95 price for the gallon.

It gave an error when I tried the link.