Fertilizer

[celticman]

Okay here is a question?
What is the best way to fertilize a tomato plant.
How often?
With want?
Liquid
solid.

And most importantly what evidence do you have your method works?
Celtic

[robin303]

I use mild blue juice [MG]
Fish emulsion
and Black Kow
about every two weeks
and lots of tea and coffee grounds for the earthworms

[Barbee]

I generally use a potting mix that has long acting fertilizer in it for seedlings. When I plant out, I use a long acting granular tomato fertilizer. Then when the fruits start coming on, I side dress with the same granular fertilizer.
In winter, I do soil tests and treat my tomato patch accordingly.
The only proof I have that it works is that I produce a good crop of tomatoes. It's not a better method than anyone else's, it's just what works for me. The one advantage I have over some people is that I can move my patch if I need to.

[feldon30]

I mix about 1/2 cup of TomatoTone and a little bit of pelletized lime and maybe some bone meal and epsom salts into the area around where the tomato plant will be planted. So let's say 1 cubic foot.

I figure this way the plant will keep growing roots and keep reaching more nutrients.

When the tomatoes are all loaded up with fruit, then I fertlize by watering the leaves with diluted fish and seaweed emulsion.

[amideutch]

I owe most of my tomato growing success to two products.
Mycorrhizae and Actinovate. Sure the fertilizers play a very important role but if your plants aren't healthy and disease free all the ferts in the world aren't going to help.
I grow in containers primarily but also do it in the dirt at my surrogate garden at work.
For containers in addition to the above I use Bio-Bizz Bio-Grow which is 8-2-6 for the grow phase and later use Hesi Floraison for the fruiting phase which is 4-3-5.
For my dirt grow in addition to the amendments I put into the growing medium to include horse manure I use a German product called Neudorf Tomaten Dunger 7-3-10 which is a dry fertilizer that comes with mycorrhizae,calcium and micro's. Later in the season I will give it a shot of Hesi Floraison.
Basically it's going to boil down to availability of the products and whether you want to grow organically or inorganically or a combination of the two which I sometimes do. Either way it's a learning process by trial and error to come up with a formula that works best for you. Here's some pictures from last year's grow.First 4 photo's from my container grow outs and last 2 from the surrogate garden.Ami

[celticman]

amideutch,
Nice pictures. I have been getting moderate to good result over the years mainly tied I think how hot it get how soon as opposed to fertilizer. I just curious how people handle fertilizer and how for it differs from my methods.
Cetlic

[mdvpc]

celtic-there was a thread about foliar feeding here-you can review it for more ideas.

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...foliar+feeding

[oc tony]

Earls hole method do a search on here for it.

[Tomstrees]

my easy organic regiment :

in the fall pull all dead tomato plants and discard

dig long trenches in between the rows of the tomatoes you had previously

fill the trenches with compost - cover with soil

let mother-nature work her magic over winter

come spring, ever so slightly loosen the soil

plant your tomatoes

cover with straw once soil warms and water well all summer long

then enjoy hassle free delicious heirloom tomatoes

~ Tom

[duajones]

Tom, dont you use seaweed?

[Ruth_10]

Here's my fertilizing routine:

Till in rotted horse manure in the fall.

In the spring, some compost if I have enough.

Plant tomatoes.

After the soil has thoroughly warmed up, mulch with newspaper and straw.

That's it. I don't water or fertilize or spray or anything else.

[louster]

I second the vote for Earl's Hole. Had great success with it last year!!

[Adenn1]

I may use a bit of Tomato Tone when I put the tomatoes into the ground. Like Ruth and Tom...I let mother nature do most of the work.

At the end of the season--after the bed has been cleaned up--I cover it with layers of grass clipping and shredded leaves. I may also add a few bags of coffee grounds. Over the winter...this material turns into a nice compost.

I don't disturb the soil in the spring...just make my holes for the tomatoes.

[Barbee]

OK, I couldn't resist doing a search here for "Earls Hole"
I found several references to people using it, but nothing on what it is. I'm almost afraid to ask for further info

[feldon30]

Earl’s Hole Method of Growing Tomatoes

Items from Walmart type garden center, 40 lb. bags of Composted Peat Humus, 40 lb. bags of Composted Cow Manure, Epson Salt and Bonemeal and Espoma Tomato-tone® 4-7-10 fertilizer or equivalent .

In raised beds, after tilling, I dig good sized holes about 2 feet across, scattering the soil around the hole. Then to each hole I add ½ bag of the peat humus, 1/4 bag of the manure, then I scatter about the hole a handful each of Epson salts, Bonemeal and Espoma. Then I use a spade fork to mix the formula VERY well some inches beyond the depth and width of the original hole. If plants are indeterminate they should be planted at least 4 feet apart.

I then, using my hands, I make a hole in the center of this mixture and plant the seedlings. If seedlings are tall I strip off the leaves except for the top few inches, and lay it at an angle or on its side in the hole and cover up to the leaves. Then I form a 4 inch deep water holding basin [a crater] about 1 1/2 feet across and around the plant, then mulch the plants and bed with straw or grass clippings, then water. Last I spread a handful of granular fertilizer such as Espoma Tomato-tone® 4-7-10 on top of the mulch around the plants so it will leach into soil over time and feed the outer roots for they grow wide and deep. I use concrete wire cages 18-20 inches across and anchor them with rebar driven deep next to the cage. When I have to water, if I don’t get rain in 7-10 days, I stick an open ended hose at the base of the plants and give them a couple gallons.

Never over water. The plant’s leaves will tell you they’re thirsty by drooping a bit. As the plants grow, to help prevent leaf disease, trim any branches that droop and touch the mulch.

During late summer if I think they need it I'll give each plant a couple gallons of fish emulsion or what ever liquid type I have. And if you have leaf problems, get started early using Daconil as soon as you plant, even saturate the mulch around the base as well as top and bottom of leaves.

I can't say this is the best way to do it, but it works for me.

Earl
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I don't follow this exactly, especially as most of the "soil" at Wal-Mart is just the soil scraped off lots. You know you're in trouble when the bag says "Contains no more than 10% of composted cow manure." Dare I ask what the other 90% is?

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=9266