What's your "Silver Bullet"?

Mick7607 · May 16, 2013

What is your "go to" over the years of successful tomato culture? What would you consider never leaving out of your growing practice because it has led to success in the past? A certain soil amendment? A particular fertilizer? A foliar feed? A particular spray?

My personal never-to-be-left-out is well composted chicken manure. I have a friend in the poultry business and I get all I want. But, it must be well aged and composted or it will possibly burn. My roses LOVE it, too.

COMPOSTER · May 16, 2013

Ammending my beds with my own (not purchased) compost in the fall and mixing compost into the planting hole when transplanting. I'm a true believer in feeding the soil and not the plant.

GaryStPaul · May 16, 2013

Agree 100% with COMPOSTER.

Cole_Robbie · May 16, 2013

I start 100 times more seed than what I need, then constantly cull out the weaklings and anything that doesn't look good.

halleone · May 16, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by COMPOSTER

Ammending my beds with my own (not purchased) compost in the fall and mixing compost into the planting hole when transplanting. I'm a true believer in feeding the soil and not the plant.

Absolutely, and well said.

LDx4 · May 16, 2013

Consistent, weekly spraying with anti-fungals. Either Neem oil or Excel LG + Actinovate. Start spraying at the beginning of the season and continue until almost the end. It can be a lot of work, but it's worth it.

Lyn

amideutch · May 16, 2013

I have several Silver Bullets but these two I cannot be without. Both these products are bio and contribute to over all plant health and disease control. Ami

bughunter99 · May 16, 2013

Its all the stuff I do NOT do.

I do not till.

I do not add inorganic substances to my soil like petro-chemical fertilizers,

I do not prune.

I do not spray for pests.

I do not leave my soil bare and protected.

I do not plant a like plants together in a blob, instead I interplant multiple species.

I do not put all my eggs in one basket.

Stacy

sprtsguy76 · May 16, 2013

I agree! I love some good chicken manure, well composted that is. It seems to inhance the flavor of tomatoes for me. When I first was introduced to homegrown tomatoes by a friend of mine, he swore by it along with Miracle Grow (lol). Been using it in the beds ever since!

I've also had really good results with rabbit, horse and lama manure. But if I had to choose one is would be chicken manure.

Damon

RebelRidin · May 16, 2013

Water

RebelRidin · May 16, 2013

A bit more serious.... Composted manure. It can be chicken, horse, steer, etc. Rabbit I will use fresher after just letting it sit out in the rain a bit.

b54red · May 17, 2013

I have too many to pick just one.

First would be planting multiple varieties as no one variety will do well every year.

Good organic fertilizers like manures, compost, cottonseed meal and alfalfa pellets.

Daconil and dilute bleach spray. Daconil for disease prevention and the bleach spray if the prevention doesn't work.

Mulch, mulch and more mulch.

Hose end sprayer for season long fertilizer application.

My SP Systems backpack sprayer because it is such a time saver and so much more efficient and dependable than the others I have used.

Pruning for air flow and sunlight.

Trellis for a tomato support that is stable and lasting.

I'm hoping to add grafted plants to this list after this years experiment with them.

Bill

Barbee · May 17, 2013

A soil test.

COMPOSTER · May 17, 2013

Interesting about the sucess with chicken manure. When I first went organic many years ago I used a pelleted chicken manure product with great results and would have no problem using it and reccommending its use today. But Lately I have read several books from very respectable growers (Elliot Coleman among others) who advised against chicken manure. I can't figure out why they are against it. Used in moderation it seems like a great soil ammendment especially if it was mixed with a fair amount of straw. Different strokes for different folks I guess. Great thread!

Tracydr · May 17, 2013

I like horse manure and chicken manure.
My beds get filled to the top with horse manure every fall since they sink a lot each year. I sidedress at times with my composted chicken manure.
Spray every 2 weeks with fish/kelp.

May 16, 2013	#1
Mick7607 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: Laurens, S.C. Posts: 37	What's your "Silver Bullet"? What is your "go to" over the years of successful tomato culture? What would you consider never leaving out of your growing practice because it has led to success in the past? A certain soil amendment? A particular fertilizer? A foliar feed? A particular spray? My personal never-to-be-left-out is well composted chicken manure. I have a friend in the poultry business and I get all I want. But, it must be well aged and composted or it will possibly burn. My roses LOVE it, too.

May 16, 2013	#10
RebelRidin Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Maryland's Eastern Shore Posts: 993	Water __________________ George _____________________________ "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is it’s natural manure." Thomas Jefferson, 1787

May 16, 2013	#11
RebelRidin Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Maryland's Eastern Shore Posts: 993	A bit more serious.... Composted manure. It can be chicken, horse, steer, etc. Rabbit I will use fresher after just letting it sit out in the rain a bit. __________________ George _____________________________ "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is it’s natural manure." Thomas Jefferson, 1787

May 17, 2013	#13
Barbee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: SW Ohio Posts: 1,818	A soil test. __________________ *Barbee*

May 16, 2013	#2
COMPOSTER Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Connecticut Posts: 252	Ammending my beds with my own (not purchased) compost in the fall and mixing compost into the planting hole when transplanting. I'm a true believer in feeding the soil and not the plant.

May 16, 2013	#3
GaryStPaul Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: St Paul, MN Posts: 158	Agree 100% with COMPOSTER.

May 16, 2013	#4
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	I start 100 times more seed than what I need, then constantly cull out the weaklings and anything that doesn't look good.

May 16, 2013	#6
LDx4 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: San Diego Posts: 321	Consistent, weekly spraying with anti-fungals. Either Neem oil or Excel LG + Actinovate. Start spraying at the beginning of the season and continue until almost the end. It can be a lot of work, but it's worth it. Lyn

May 16, 2013	#8
bughunter99 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: zone 5 Posts: 821	Its all the stuff I do NOT do. I do not till. I do not add inorganic substances to my soil like petro-chemical fertilizers, I do not prune. I do not spray for pests. I do not leave my soil bare and protected. I do not plant a like plants together in a blob, instead I interplant multiple species. I do not put all my eggs in one basket. Stacy

May 16, 2013	#9
sprtsguy76 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: Santa Clara CA Posts: 1,125	I agree! I love some good chicken manure, well composted that is. It seems to inhance the flavor of tomatoes for me. When I first was introduced to homegrown tomatoes by a friend of mine, he swore by it along with Miracle Grow (lol). Been using it in the beds ever since! I've also had really good results with rabbit, horse and lama manure. But if I had to choose one is would be chicken manure. Damon

May 17, 2013	#12
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I have too many to pick just one. First would be planting multiple varieties as no one variety will do well every year. Good organic fertilizers like manures, compost, cottonseed meal and alfalfa pellets. Daconil and dilute bleach spray. Daconil for disease prevention and the bleach spray if the prevention doesn't work. Mulch, mulch and more mulch. Hose end sprayer for season long fertilizer application. My SP Systems backpack sprayer because it is such a time saver and so much more efficient and dependable than the others I have used. Pruning for air flow and sunlight. Trellis for a tomato support that is stable and lasting. I'm hoping to add grafted plants to this list after this years experiment with them. Bill

May 17, 2013	#15
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	I like horse manure and chicken manure. My beds get filled to the top with horse manure every fall since they sink a lot each year. I sidedress at times with my composted chicken manure. Spray every 2 weeks with fish/kelp.