And Yet Another Fertilizer Comparison - Tomato-tone vs. Tomaten Dung-er

[rnewste]

OK, Not something you and I can run down to Ace Hardware and buy tonight, but our friend Ami was kind enough to send me a 1 Kg. box of his local tomato fertilizer:



(I guess the name "Dung-er" looses something in Translation.)

So - - another Myth-Busters "Challenge" for Tomato-tone.

Without digressing too much (wait for the August Report), I am finding a blend of one bag "Old" Tomato-tone with one bag "New" Tomato-tone is giving me the combined benefits of both (yield, DTM, etc.):



This contrasts significantly from the 7-3-10 NPK of what Ami sent me.



I have a mechanical divider wall splitting the 'Tainer in half:



While not a waterproof seal, it provides perhaps 85% isolation between the two plants and their fertilizers. The fertilizer strips should remain "localized" to a great deal for the trial:



I have also treated both sides with Actinovate (wouldn't be without it), so let the games begin:



Thanks again, Ami - - should be an interesting experiment on this pair of Celebrity tomatoes.

Ray

[amideutch]

The Germans are just getting into the over the counter sale of specialized organic fertilizers with Myco's. I came across this product last year and had very good results with at my surrogate garden at work. So I sent a box to Ray to see how it would stack up against it's USA counterpart. You will notice that it also contains "Schwefel" which is sulfur. Studies have shown Sulfur plays a role in the outcome of flavor quality of our vege's. Here's a link to the product I sent Ray. Ami


http://www.neudorff.de/produkte/prod...enduenger.html

[rnewste]

Hey Ami,

You are going to have to include a German-to-English dictionary for me to understand all of this on the labels and Website!!

Ray

[svalli]

I'll be interested to see the results from the Neudorff fertilizer. It is sold here too and I may need to buy it, since I'm trying to grow organic this year.

[shelleybean]

I liked old Tomato Tone!! What's up with new Tomato Tone??

[rnewste]

shellybean,

I really liked the "Old" Tomato-tone as well, but alas, with raw ingredients tripling in price (thank your Government's Cartel of 1918 Act), the folks at Espoma probably figured they had to come up with a new formula to keep it affordable.

I am running a number of "A" / "B" comparison grow-outs this year on Goose Creek, Coldset, NARX, Ed's Millennium to evaluate for myself, if the "New" Tomato-tone is acceptable to me (personally) as a suitable replacement. So far, a mixed bag. Plants in "Old" Tomato-tone bigger and bearing more fruit than those in "New" Tomato-tone. But the flip-side - - those in "New" Tomato-tone are averaging an earlier DTM of approximately 6 days - - go figure!!

The plants that I have in a 50/50 blend of Old and New are doing quite well too, so stock up on all you can of the "Old" Tomato-tone for the future to make your own custom blend.

Ray

[shelleybean]

Thanks, Ray. I have to go to the garden center this week so I will indeed stock up on the old formula! I'll be looking for your results at the end of the season. Thank you.

[basserman]

Hi Ray,

Do you use the Actinovate in addition to the Dolomite Lime?

Do you only apply during planting or throughout the growing season?

Thanks!
Jason

[basserman]

Originally Posted by basserman

Hi Ray,

Do you use the Actinovate in addition to the Dolomite Lime?

Do you only apply during planting or throughout the growing season?

Thanks!
Jason

I think I found the answer to my question in your postings in this thread:
http://tomatoville.com/showthread.ph...ght=Actinovate

Now I need to find if it is available in Southern California.

[rnewste]

Jason,

I apply Actinovate after the plants are about 2 weeks into their 'Tainers. Only once during the season is required. Excellent product, in my opinion.

Ray

[basserman]

Originally Posted by rnewste

Jason,

I apply Actinovate after the plants are about 2 weeks into their 'Tainers. Only once during the season is required. Excellent product, in my opinion.

Ray

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but how do you apply it? Do you add it to the earthtainer water resevoir? Or apply at the base of the plant?

Thanks for your help

[rnewste]

I mix it with water according to the package, then use a watering tube to douse the roots around the plant's perimeter. Once per season is sufficient.

Ray

[amideutch]

basserman, you can apply as a soil drench as Ray does or you can sprinkle it on the rootball or in the hole your going to plant it in. This year I mixed up a gallon batch in a bucket and and submerged the plant balls in the solution for 15 seconds then planted it. I used CowPots and DotPots this year which are biodegradeable to grow my tomato seedlings in so I plant the seedling w/pot which is one reason I went to the dunk and plant this year with actinovate and mycorrhizae. Ami

[basserman]

Originally Posted by amideutch

I used CowPots and DotPots this year

Thanks guys. my actinovate order has been placed.

Ami, I love the CowPots idea! I think those would work pretty well.

[clara]

Ray, if there are any problems of translation, please ask. I would be happy to help out if I can.
clara