Is 4-18-38 the best fert for tomatoes?

[ScottinAtlanta]

Folks, I am looking for a water soluble fert for my tomatoes and peppers. Texas Tomato Food is pretty expensive.

I am looking at mixing a 4-18-38 fert such as Masterblend with the Calcium Nitrate and Magnesium Sulfate.

Is anyone using that mix? Is it good?

[AKmark]

Scott, we use Masterblend, but use Hydrogardens directions. We have grown commercially with 4-18-38 for years. I am not sure if it is the best, but by means of chemical leaf analysis of our plants we know it is very good. This is for containers in Pro Mix, etc, dirt will give different results

There can be a learning curve for some, I highly suggest following HG directions. You will also want a TDS meter as well as a pH meter. Both Blue Lab and Hanna have little combo meters. These will help you make sure you mix hits the numbers they call for. I deal the stuff, so I do help many get set up using it, it is tougher over the net, but its not so hard either.
Send a PM if you have any questions. Good luck

[Yak54]

Many of us here learned about 4-18-38 from AKmark, myself included and it's great for grow bags and Pro Mix. My neighbor has not been very successful using it for "growing in ground". As Mark said "dirt will give different results".

[AKmark]

Originally Posted by Yak54

Many of us here learned about 4-18-38 from AKmark, myself included and it's great for grow bags and Pro Mix. My neighbor has not been very successful using it for "growing in ground". As Mark said "dirt will give different results".

Our state Agronomist introduced me to it, set me up, etc, it's all just information passing from the White Coat people.

In dirt its better to back way off, maybe use it once or twice a week in between waterings? I just backed my EC down to a 1.2 and had great results in dirt. I grew corn with it, greenbeans, watermelon, cantaloupe, zucchini, etc. lol

Haifa has a good mix, Jack's has a mix, Tecnigro, Growmore, etc, etc. I'm sure if one follows their directions they will work great too?

We have also been trialing organic mixes recently and are having great results with some stuff. I will post some pics, etc of that in time.

[ScottinAtlanta]

Wow - this is very helpful. I am 90% in containers for cherries and saladettes, 10% in ground for the big slicers such as Cherokee Purple and Cherokee Green.

What are HG directions?


Also, I note that the quantities specified are very small:



5 Gallon Recipe:
12 grams MasterBlend 4-18-38 0.423288 ounce
12 grams Calcium Nitrate (15.5-0-0) 0.423288 ounce
6 grams Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salt) 0.211644 ounce


Is that correct? That would hugely reduce the cost of my fertilizer if correct.

[AKmark]

[QUOTE=ScottinAtlanta;763336]Wow - this is very helpful. I am 90% in containers for cherries and saladettes, 10% in ground for the big slicers such as Cherokee Purple and Cherokee Green.

What are HG directions?


Also, I note that the quantities specified are very small:



5 Gallon Recipe:
12 grams MasterBlend 4-18-38 0.423288 ounce
12 grams Calcium Nitrate (15.5-0-0) 0.423288 ounce
6 grams Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salt) 0.211644 ounce
8 oz per 100 gallons, 4-18-38, 8oz calcium, 5 oz magnesium. In stock the Ca must be seperate. In a tank mix one component at a time before you add the next component. Ca will cause P, to precipitate.

[Yak54]

Scott--You may want to consider growing your two Cherokee varieties in containers also.

[Tormato]

What works for me is something in the ballpark of a 5-15-15. Some years i'll add a small amount of "bloom booster"

[b54red]

It might work good in your soil-less mix but I would be very cautious using it in your soil beds because P doesn't leach out like N and K. I will never get my P down to a good level no matter what I do other than removing all the soil and replacing it due to using fertilizers too high in P for too many years. I agree that TTF is fairly expensive but I love the results and it is my one big hobby so I bite the bullet and order it every year. Why not try it on half your pots and beds and see how it works down here and compare the results with TTF. That is how I made the decision to go with TTF instead of MG and fish fertilizer. From the pictures AKmark has posted there is no doubt he has phenomenal results but it is a far cry from Alaska to Georgia and things might not work the same in the very different environment down here.

Give it a try and let me know how it works for you in your soil beds because I might give it a try also. I will never use pots to grow tomatoes again down here. I'm too old to do all the work involved especially setting up a watering system that will work in our heat. In the past when I did experiment with growing in pots with soil-less mixes I had some good results and some bad results but my biggest problem was the watering in our excessive heat. I know that can be corrected with the right containers but I'm an old dog and new tricks are a bit harder than they used to be.

Bill

[zipcode]

Masterblend seems good, many people have good results with it. Haifa or Yara will probably be a lot cheaper in the big sack and just as good (many formulations though, easy to get lost).