Fertilizer For Tomatoes
Finding the right fertilizer for tomatoes
Everyone loves to grow tomatoes in their home garden, and finding the right fertilizer for tomatoes is an important part of the process. The right fertilizer for tomatoes can easily overcome just about any downfall your soil offers. Even if you have the perfect soil for tomatoes, you’ll also find that some fertilizer can help them grow bigger and stronger.
Tomatoes can grow in just about any type of soil, but the best kind of soil is well-drained and full of organic matter and nutrients. This is where the proper fertilizer for tomatoes comes in. The more nutrients you supply your tomatoes with, the better they’ll look when it comes time to pick them. Another important factor in what kind of soil you grow your tomatoes in is the acidity. Tomatoes and many other garden vegetables grow best in a slightly acidic soil. You should aim for a pH of 6.2 to 6.8 for best results.
Another important thing to keep in mind when you’re planning tomatoes is the type of tomatoes you’re planting. Tomatoes are categorized as early, mid-season, or late, so you must know which category of plant you purchased in order to fertilize them properly. Another important consideration is whether you’ve purchased determinate or indeterminate plants. Determinate plants will grow to a certain height and size and then simply quit growing. However, there is no limit to the size of indeterminate tomato plants. This variety may be perfect for you if you want the challenge of seeing just how large and juice your tomatoes can get.
Choosing the right fertilizer for tomatoes is simple. Just look for a fertilizer that has large amounts of phosphorus. Avoid nitrogen fertilizer as much as possible in the beginning of the fertilization process because it can cause the tomato vines to thrive without producing many tomatoes. You’ll need about two and a half or three pounds of fertilizer per 100 square feet of garden. Try to purchase a fertilizer with a 5-10-10 or 10-10-10 ratio. Use a garden cultivator to work the fertilizer into the soil where you plan to plant your tomato plants. This needs to be done about two weeks before you plant the tomato plants. You may wish to use a bit of nitrogen fertilizer around your tomato plants after the first flowers have borne tomatoes.
If you prefer organic fertilizers, then you may want to try using dry, rotted manure mixed with bone meal. Many award-winning tomato growers use this same recipe to create the fertilizer for their tomatoes. Spread this fertilizer from the base of your tomato plants out to about a foot around them. You will also find it helpful to sprinkle some cut grass around the plants to help hold the moisture in the ground. It’s important to keep the soil around your tomato plants moist, or you could end up with a number of problems, including blossom end rot.
Make sure you continue to fertilize throughout the life of your tomato plants, spreading more fertilizer around your plants about twice a month.