Feeding young plants?

[Goldie321]

My tomatoes seedlings have just been put into peat pots from the starter trays to start their real growth and I'm wondering if they should get any type of fertilizing at this stage. If not, when do you start feeding them, what kind of fertilizer and how often? I've usually bought my plants and am really new to starting from seed. I'm in west central Florida so the trays are outside (high temps around 80 and overnight lows bottoming out around 50 or a little higher) on the deck getting indirect sunlight most of the day (morning more direct).

[b54red]

I usually give mine a dilute dose of Miracle Grow or some other liquid fertilizer when I pot them up. If they are hardening off outside I will sometimes give them another dose after they have wilted bad or if they start looking too pale.

Bill

[dpurdy]

Goldie321,
A lot has to do with what your filling your peat pots with. If you use a potting soil with added nutrients you shouldn't have to fertilize them. If your using a soil less mix without fertilizer you can start to fertilize when the first true leaves appear (not the little oval leaves which are called cotyledons. The cotyledons usually supply enough stored food for the sprout until the first leaves form). Usually the cotyledons will disappear when the first leaves develop. When your first set of leaves form you can start fertilizing with the maximum of 1/2 strength. I would recommend using a fertilizer with a NPK of 1-2-1 or a fertilizer with more phosphorus than nitrogen or potassium. This will help with root development. I like to use Neptune Harvest fish & seaweed fertilizer which has a NPK of 2-3-1. I've had good results using this product. There many synthetic and organic fertilizer that you can use, just be careful when you use synthetic fertilizers. I would suggest that you use 1/4 of the recommended dose when using synthetic fertilizers. I've gotten myself into trouble in the past using synthetic fertilizers. I know many who use synthetic fertilizers and do just fine, but I like to keep my plants growing using only organic fertilizers. That's just my preference. I hope this helps.
dpurdy

[Goldie321]

Thanks for the info. No fertilizing agent in these pots by Jiffy. My plants will stay in them until they are ready to go into the 5 gallon containers that will make up my garden this year. Nematodes wiped out my tomatoe and eggplant plants last year (but not before I got a half way decent harvest in), and the containers give me a chance to grow in a nutrient rich soil. This Florida soil is crud! Will probably go with the half strength Miracle Gro; but, how often do they need feeding at this age?

[OldHondaNut]

There are some tomato varities that are resistant to nematodes but I bet you already know that.

I found 5 gallon pots much harder to use than in the ground. I am trying again but with Gardeners Delight cherry pruned to a single stem. Others have good luck with 5 gallons but not me.

[ScottinAtlanta]

I use one tablespoon of fish fert per gallon of warm water for an initial jolt on potting up, and then that's it unless planting out is delayed for more than 6 weeks.

[Goldie321]

Originally Posted by OldHondaNut

There are some tomato varities that are resistant to nematodes but I bet you already know that.

I found 5 gallon pots much harder to use than in the ground. I am trying again but with Gardeners Delight cherry pruned to a single stem. Others have good luck with 5 gallons but not me.

I've never pruned my tomato plants. Maybe now with the containers that would be a good idea.

[nnjjohn]

I read on the MG seed sarter mix that it is fortified with enough food minerals .. another words, I am not spraying plant food on mine until transplanting, unless I feel they need food.. i can't imagine MG seed starter is not enough for growing plants,, it is reputably a huge company .. i do not think they want to risk selling deficient bags of seed starter potting mix. I am using a 72 cell seed starter tray kit with the 7 inch dome.. miracle grow seed starting potting mix (so it reads on the bag and not to be confused with regular potting mix) Why mg puts the words seed starter and potting mix on the bag almost confused me.. i know it is a good seed starter because I see some of my seeds sprouting today after day three. I been spray misting once each day the top of mg which what I believe is mostly peat mix with mg additives.. anyway, the fun is just starting.. i hope this season is finally the one that i grow my own plants as good or better than store plants. wanted to add.. i saturated the mg seed starter in the kits water tray by filling the tray with filtered water about an inch and dropping the cell tray with the dry mix in it into the water tray .. eventually the filled mg mix in the cells sponge the water from the tray.. the heat pad stays on the dome stays on (the dome condensates hence the name mini greenhouse ,,keeps the mix from drying out),, seeds are just under the mix 1/8 in. or (sow) and i check daily to be sure mix is on the moist side as the seeds germinate.. i am using two new grow led bulbs (red/blue/white) 4watt mounted clamp on fixtures according to what I read , these lights have the spectrum needed to grow plants.. i'm not sure yet if the lights are enough yet.. guess I will soon find out

[Goldie321]

I used the Burpee seed starter tray. It's a soilless medium for starting and no extra fertilizer is included. When potting up I used the Jiffy peat pots with the growing medium in the large pellets you have to add water to and wait for them to puff up (they are a size that needs coaxing thought so I used a crochet hook to help break them up and speed them along - it worked great). I added some dilute MG for veggies a couple of days after and they seem to be doing great. Standing nice and tall and you can see the formerly spindly stems are a tad thicker than they were - they are also getting that darker color you see in more mature plants. The trays of pots are outside fulltime now. Overnight lows have been around 50 with a couple of nights int he low 40s but they are holding up.

[nnjjohn]

I suppose there are pros and cons comparing seed starter mediums. I have tried only a few but will certainly keep trying something new or recommended here should I have a problem growing from seed. I seeded an early tray and have a reserve tray should something go wrong. Some of the seeds I used are a couple seasons old but I stored them in a dry end table draw. I also placed an order of choice heirloom seeds from remy on this site. I decided I want to grow more variety.. maybe six or seven this season from beefs to cherries ..good luck and hope all goes well down south

[nnjjohn]

i knew peat was tough to saturate but following the simple instructions on the bag,it just illustrates pouring from a container and reads wet soil with enough water, but i'm not so sure now the mix is absorbing the water. I discovered accidently dropping big drops of water on one cell while taking off the plastic dome full of water condensation caused by the heat pad below the tray.. so big drops feel off on one cell that moved the mg off a bit and revealed dry mix just below..but i think i'm okay cause i shallow seeded instead of driving the seeds a 1/2 in. down under with a pencil ..so the water from top and bottom isn't really penetrating the dry peat mix entirely in each cell.. did i make the mistake of not premixing ? Was I suppose to mix this mg peat in a bucket of water using a trowel in the same way a bag of dry cement is blended with water? Or is it better to surface water as instructed and just moisten daily the top dry mix? Maybe over saturation is not the best way because it may spore those fungus and mold problems? I'm new to this seed starter mixes.

[Father'sDaughter]

When I was using MG Seed Starting soil, I would dump it into an old plastic bowl in the sink and mix in water by hand, a splash at a time. Sort of like kneading dough. I would add enough water that I could squeeze a handful of the MG and have it form a ball, but one that would crumble when pressed on. If it got too wet, I'd just add more from the bag. It really resists absorbing water when it's dry, but once it was completely moistened this way, it always seemed to wick it up more readily when bottom watering.

[gssgarden]

Fish Emulsion at half strength when needed. don't like to keep them too wet or dry.

I stay away from the blue stuff...too much N will make then leggy.

Greg

[nnjjohn]

Originally Posted by Father'sDaughter

When I was using MG Seed Starting soil, I would dump it into an old plastic bowl in the sink and mix in water by hand, a splash at a time. Sort of like kneading dough. I would add enough water that I could squeeze a handful of the MG and have it form a ball, but one that would crumble when pressed on. If it got too wet, I'd just add more from the bag. It really resists absorbing water when it's dry, but once it was completely moistened this way, it always seemed to wick it up more readily when bottom watering.

Okay. Next seed tray I, m doing just that..I wonder why the company can' t explain it..perhaps I should file a complaint with the company..where is worth when you need him?

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[TightenUp]

for seed starting - after the first set of true leaves i use biobizz bio grow at about 1/4 strength and build up to 1/2 strength before plant out

for containers i use biobizz bio grow at full strength once a week and i also use fox farms happy frog tomato and vegetable granular fertilizer at half strength once every 2 weeks

this combination of liquid and granular fertilizer has proven to be quite effective for me while container gardening. now my plants in the garden get completely diff treatment.