Feeding schedule

uncleal · May 12, 2016

Hello ,

I have been growing tomatoes for about 25 years with moderate success. However, after finding the site I have to consider myself a novice. I was just wondering if there were "rules of thumb", as far as what types of fertilizers are best when 1. Planting the seedlings 2. When flowering and 3. When fruit sets?

I generally like to use organics like Espoma Tomato Tone and fish emulsion etc. but not completely opposed to things like Miracle Gro if that works just as well.

Thanks

Al

b54red · May 12, 2016

Al I have been growing tomatoes for 40 years and my techniques have changed gradually over the years. My feeding regimen has changed drastically. I used to prepare the soil and add some compost and a commercial balanced fertilizer then just feed them maybe once more after the first couple of trusses were ripe and picked.

Now I prepare the ground with as much compost as I can get and some chicken manure. I then put in a heavy dose of cottonseed meal and alfalfa pellets. After I till that in the top 3 to 4 inches of soil I then water it well and mulch it heavily. If I can wait a week I then pull the mulch back and plant my seedlings to the depth they were in the cups and replace the mulch almost up to the stem. For the next month I try to only water if the plants are wilting badly and then only a little in an effort to increase root production. When the first blossoms start appearing I start feeding the plants Texas Tomato Food at the rate of about 1 1/2 tsp to 2 tsp to the gallon once a week until they get about 2 ft tall then I start feeding them the full dose of 1 Tbsp to the gallon every week to ten days. As the plants get larger and larger I increase the amount of the mix I give them but not the ratio.

Before I found TTF I had already started using this method of feeding my plants using Miracle Grow every week to ten days and it had increased my results dramatically over just feeding them once in a while when they looked poorly. The TTF gave me a further big increase and a big increase in fruit set in the most difficult summer months down here.

I do many other things to increase production like grafting, keeping my plants pruned for increased air flow and regular applications of fungicide. The heavy mulching that I use also helps keep the soil cooler and more evenly moist which really helps down here when the temps are near 100. It isn't even mid May and we have already had days over 95 so this may be a scorcher of a summer this year.

Bill

Gardeneer · May 12, 2016

I think that most of the established garden soils are rich in "P" and "K". It is the nitrogen that is either used up or leached out. Almost all the soil test results that I have read on these boards confirms it.
This past winter I got a soil test done, for the first time, my self. The results that I got was the same : K >>>medium to high . P >>>> High .... N >>>> Low ... S >>> Low .... Na , Fe >>> Low
Ca >>> high ... Mg >>> mid range.
This is considering that my raised beds are just 3 years old, filled with the purchased material.
Even knowing all these fact , I tend to go overboard with P and K.

My advice is first to get a soil test and see what your soil is lacking. Tomato fertilizer is not like food that feed our cats and dogs, that has to be done on schedule. Most of them (Except N ) are there already. JMO

Gardeneer

uncleal · May 14, 2016

Thanks for the advice guys. That's exactly what I was looking for. Soil going out to test lab on Monday.

Cole_Robbie · May 14, 2016

1. Planting the seedlings 2. When flowering and 3. When fruit sets?

1=N, 2=P, 3=K

After fruit set, I alternate cal nitrate 15-0-0, with a 4-18-38, fed through drip irrigation. Tomatoes still use nitrogen through all growth phases.

BigVanVader · May 14, 2016

I have always fertilized a week after planting with a balanced liquid feed then about every 2 weeks until good fruit set, by then I am usually too overwhelmed to keep it up. I am planning on getting a fertigation system asap so I don't have to bother with all the mixing.

hovermother22 · May 14, 2016

My plants are about to go out for the hardening off process. They look very healthy. The weather is still too cool here in Chicago. When I potted them up, I added worm castings and I have given them half-strength fish emulsion ferilizer mixed into their waterings every few weeks. I am trying to hold off on the next fertilizing until I get them outside for hardening off: (1) because of the smell, and (2) because they look so healthy and maybe I shouldn't encourage another growth spurt until they are closer to going out into the garden plot. Will they be okay with just water again?
Any thoughts from you very smart and experienced folks?
Signed,
One of your biggest fans!

Gardeneer · May 15, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by uncleal

Thanks for the advice guys. That's exactly what I was looking for. Soil going out to test lab on Monday.

UncleAl,
Please let us know of your report, when you get the result. Thanks

Gardeneer

uncleal · May 15, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

UncleAl,
Please let us know of your report, when you get the result. Thanks

Gardeneer

I can do that.

I am amazed at how many different fertilizers are out there, all with different NPK ratios, and each one being touted as "the best fertilizer for growing the biggest healthiest tomatoes". Probably just as many as the number of recipes to make sauce out of those tomatoes.

Tracydr · May 15, 2016

I place a couple tbsp of an organic fertilizer,usually Veggie-tone or Tomato -tone in the hole. I've even used Milorganite for this with good results,I think that may be what I used last year.
I mulch about 2-4 weeks after planting or when I get to each row. I now use leaves and pine straw,I used regular straw in AZ.
I'm also considering pine shavings as I can get giant trailer loads for cheap which is a lot less work than taking up my mulch this time of year.
I will use a weak solution of kelp amd fish emulsion most weeks if I need to water at all. I mix about 100 gallons with shout 1/2 cup each.
This year I'm going to experiment with some neem meal. I'm also using kaolin clay spray this year to reduce stink bug damage,but I haven't sprayed yet,mainly since I just finished planting tomatoes and still have peppers to plant,then all the other goodies like beans,squash and melons.

Gardeneer · May 17, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by uncleal

I can do that.

I am amazed at how many different fertilizers are out there, all with different NPK ratios, and each one being touted as "the best fertilizer for growing the biggest healthiest tomatoes". Probably just as many as the number of recipes to make sauce out of those tomatoes.

Thanks.
Those are bunch of hypes. Tomatoes like most other garden veggies need N,P,K. Most N, Least P and K in between. Then there are secondary elements :
Ca, Mn, Mg, S, Fe.
By putting a picture of a nice red tomato on the package and including the word "tomato" in the name, they deceive.

One also made a distinction between fertilizing in ground/raised bed garden with container gardening using soil less medium.

Gardeneer

planner47 · May 17, 2016

Tracydr
I'm also considering pine shavings. if the shavings are from the bark that's good for mulch but if from the heart of the tree or the stuff under the bark that's really bad for the soil. that stuff leaches the nitrogen from the soil and your plants.

uncleal · May 25, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

UncleAl,
Please let us know of your report, when you get the result. Thanks

Gardeneer

Gardeneer,

Are you, perchance, still interested in the results of my soil test?

Al

Gardeneer · May 25, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by uncleal

Gardeneer,

Are you, perchance, still interested in the results of my soil test?

Al

Yes, of course. If you like to share. It should be informative.

Gardeneer

uncleal · May 26, 2016

Here it is. The samples were taken before any amendments were added this year.

May 12, 2016	#1
uncleal Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Raynham MA Posts: 13	Feeding schedule Hello , I have been growing tomatoes for about 25 years with moderate success. However, after finding the site I have to consider myself a novice. I was just wondering if there were "rules of thumb", as far as what types of fertilizers are best when 1. Planting the seedlings 2. When flowering and 3. When fruit sets? I generally like to use organics like Espoma Tomato Tone and fish emulsion etc. but not completely opposed to things like Miracle Gro if that works just as well. Thanks Al

May 12, 2016	#2
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Al I have been growing tomatoes for 40 years and my techniques have changed gradually over the years. My feeding regimen has changed drastically. I used to prepare the soil and add some compost and a commercial balanced fertilizer then just feed them maybe once more after the first couple of trusses were ripe and picked. Now I prepare the ground with as much compost as I can get and some chicken manure. I then put in a heavy dose of cottonseed meal and alfalfa pellets. After I till that in the top 3 to 4 inches of soil I then water it well and mulch it heavily. If I can wait a week I then pull the mulch back and plant my seedlings to the depth they were in the cups and replace the mulch almost up to the stem. For the next month I try to only water if the plants are wilting badly and then only a little in an effort to increase root production. When the first blossoms start appearing I start feeding the plants Texas Tomato Food at the rate of about 1 1/2 tsp to 2 tsp to the gallon once a week until they get about 2 ft tall then I start feeding them the full dose of 1 Tbsp to the gallon every week to ten days. As the plants get larger and larger I increase the amount of the mix I give them but not the ratio. Before I found TTF I had already started using this method of feeding my plants using Miracle Grow every week to ten days and it had increased my results dramatically over just feeding them once in a while when they looked poorly. The TTF gave me a further big increase and a big increase in fruit set in the most difficult summer months down here. I do many other things to increase production like grafting, keeping my plants pruned for increased air flow and regular applications of fungicide. The heavy mulching that I use also helps keep the soil cooler and more evenly moist which really helps down here when the temps are near 100. It isn't even mid May and we have already had days over 95 so this may be a scorcher of a summer this year. Bill

May 12, 2016	#3
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,919	I think that most of the established garden soils are rich in "P" and "K". It is the nitrogen that is either used up or leached out. Almost all the soil test results that I have read on these boards confirms it. This past winter I got a soil test done, for the first time, my self. The results that I got was the same : K >>>medium to high . P >>>> High .... N >>>> Low ... S >>> Low .... Na , Fe >>> Low Ca >>> high ... Mg >>> mid range. This is considering that my raised beds are just 3 years old, filled with the purchased material. Even knowing all these fact , I tend to go overboard with P and K. My advice is first to get a soil test and see what your soil is lacking. Tomato fertilizer is not like food that feed our cats and dogs, that has to be done on schedule. Most of them (Except N ) are there already. JMO Gardeneer

May 14, 2016	#4
uncleal Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Raynham MA Posts: 13	Thanks for the advice guys. That's exactly what I was looking for. Soil going out to test lab on Monday.

May 14, 2016	#5
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	1. Planting the seedlings 2. When flowering and 3. When fruit sets? 1=N, 2=P, 3=K After fruit set, I alternate cal nitrate 15-0-0, with a 4-18-38, fed through drip irrigation. Tomatoes still use nitrogen through all growth phases.

May 14, 2016	#6
BigVanVader Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Greenville, South Carolina Posts: 3,099	I have always fertilized a week after planting with a balanced liquid feed then about every 2 weeks until good fruit set, by then I am usually too overwhelmed to keep it up. I am planning on getting a fertigation system asap so I don't have to bother with all the mixing.

May 14, 2016	#7
hovermother22 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Chicago Posts: 70	My plants are about to go out for the hardening off process. They look very healthy. The weather is still too cool here in Chicago. When I potted them up, I added worm castings and I have given them half-strength fish emulsion ferilizer mixed into their waterings every few weeks. I am trying to hold off on the next fertilizing until I get them outside for hardening off: (1) because of the smell, and (2) because they look so healthy and maybe I shouldn't encourage another growth spurt until they are closer to going out into the garden plot. Will they be okay with just water again? Any thoughts from you very smart and experienced folks? Signed, One of your biggest fans!

May 15, 2016	#10
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	I place a couple tbsp of an organic fertilizer,usually Veggie-tone or Tomato -tone in the hole. I've even used Milorganite for this with good results,I think that may be what I used last year. I mulch about 2-4 weeks after planting or when I get to each row. I now use leaves and pine straw,I used regular straw in AZ. I'm also considering pine shavings as I can get giant trailer loads for cheap which is a lot less work than taking up my mulch this time of year. I will use a weak solution of kelp amd fish emulsion most weeks if I need to water at all. I mix about 100 gallons with shout 1/2 cup each. This year I'm going to experiment with some neem meal. I'm also using kaolin clay spray this year to reduce stink bug damage,but I haven't sprayed yet,mainly since I just finished planting tomatoes and still have peppers to plant,then all the other goodies like beans,squash and melons.

May 17, 2016	#12
planner47 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: penna Posts: 1	Tracydr I'm also considering pine shavings. if the shavings are from the bark that's good for mulch but if from the heart of the tree or the stuff under the bark that's really bad for the soil. that stuff leaches the nitrogen from the soil and your plants.