As one
famous tomato
once said .... "You are what you eat" :)
Making a good tomato
How to fertilize...
Fertilizing... a continuous process and a better understanding of Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium. Your tomatoes need a proper "balance" of nutrients. Packaged fertilizer should include on its label the Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium ratio of 5-10-10 or 10-10-10. For best results, stay with these numbers; since, a change from the
stated numerical format like 20-5-5 [too much nitrogen] will create tall,
very green, leafy tomato plants with little or no tomatoes.
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If you are using a dried, rotted manure... mix it with bone meal to obtain a proper nutrient balance. Many organic tomato growers like this combination of nutrients to grow good tasting, champion tomatoes. To fertilize... Sprinkle the fertilizer mix approximately one foot from the base of the tomato plant. Make sure you encircle the entire plant. Cover the mix with 2" of top soil and then place a light covering of grass cuttings or hay over the fertilizer mix and soil. Then soak the area! Your objective is to always keep the soil moist! Then you will avoid big problems such as Blossom End Rot. Your cut grass or hay covering will keep the soil moisture at a constant. |
Fertilize every 15 to 21 days, depending on package instructions and repeat the above "how to" procedure. What will happen is that you will create a "layering" process, where you will have a nice "hill" build-up of soil, mulch and nutrients encircling your plant. Avoid making direct contact with any part of the tomato
plant with your fertilizer... this could burn your plant or create other
negative problems.
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