Nothing tops the great flavor of a vine-ripened tomato picked from your own vegetable garden. Giving your tomato plants the fertilizer they need is one of the most important factors in ensuring they produce flavorful, healthy fruit. You can accomplish this by choosing from several nutrient-packed, safe and effective natural fertilizers.
Tomato growers have many options when it comes to fertilizing their tomato plants. Chemical fertilizers are fast acting but can burn tender plants and leach nitrogen and salts into the environment. As a result, many gardeners are seeking natural ways to fertilize their tomatoes. Fortunately, natural fertilizer can be found in many forms. While natural fertilizers are not as fast acting as chemical fertilizers, they can be well worth the effort.
The following is a partial list of some common types of natural or organic fertilizers:
Cottonseed Meal: High in nitrogen. Look for products labeled pesticide-free.
Bat Guano: Depending on the processing method, bat guano (bat feces) is high in either nitrogen or phosphorous.
Fish-Based Products: Available as fish emulsion, enzymatically digested fish liquid and fish meal.
Seaweed-Based Products: Available in kelp meal, kelp powder and liquid kelp. All types contain micronutrients and are often used in conjunction with fish emulsions.
Homemade fertilizers
In addition to purchasing natural fertilizers, you can also use common household items to fertilize your tomatoes. Creating your own compost pile is an excellent way to recycle organic materials such as leaves, grass clippings and vegetable peelings into a nutrient-rich soil amendment. Some organic gardeners add crushed eggshells or hair (from shedding pets or hairbrushes) to the holes before planting their tomatoes. Eggshells provide calcium, which can help prevent blossom-end rot (dark, sunken spots at the blossom end of the fruit). Hair is composed of keratin and releases nitrogen gradually as it decomposes.
Soil amendment
Tomatoes prefer soil that is rich in organic matter. Organic matter such as compost or rotted manure enhances soil drainage and provides some natural fertilization. Because organic matter must decompose before it begins releasing nutrients, you should work it into the soil several months in advance of planting.
Fertilizing tomatoes
Depending on the amount of organic matter in the soil, tomatoes generally require medium amounts of additional fertilizer. The Texas Gardener recommends starting tomato transplants by working 2 tbsp. each cottonseed meal and fish meal into the bottom of the hole before planting. Then use a diluted solution of seaweed and fish emulsion to water the roots and spray foliage about once per week. Once the first blossoms appear, work in 1/2 cup of cottonseed meal or a commercially available organic fertilizer such as 8-2-4 in a circle around the roots and water in thoroughly.
Requirements
Tomatoes are the number one choice of America's home gardeners, according to Organic Gardening. Although there are many different varieties to choose from, all have the same basic needs -- lots of sunshine, fertile soil, regular watering, good weed control and excellent nutrition. Although tomato plants need occasional fertilizing, you can avoid synthetic formulas by opting for natural, organic choices. Start feeding your plants at the time of planting, followed by additional applications two or three weeks apart while your plants are growing and producing.
Compost
Compost is basically pure organic matter packed with essential nutrients. Compost adds all the basic nutrients your plants need, along with macronutrients and micronutrients that are usually missing from synthetic fertilizers. Compost releases its components gradually during the growing season, providing long-lasting nutrition. Compost not only feeds your plants, it also neutralizes the soil, helps soil retain water and nutrients, and adds beneficial microorganisms to your garden. Work a handful of compost into the soil at the bottom of each hole as you plant your tomato seedlings and add a side dressing of compost to each plant several times during the growing season.
Organic cottonseed meal
Cottonseed meal is also a good choice as a natural tomato fertilizer that can be mixed into your soil at the time of planting. It contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in about a 6-2-1 ratio; it's nitrogen supports leafy growth early in the young tomato plants' growth cycle. Nutrients in cottonseed meal are released slowly and last about four months. Cottonseed meal contains other important elements, including calcium, magnesium, sulfur and copper, and also provides trace elements such as manganese, molybdenum and zinc. When purchasing cottonseed meal, choose only products labeled as Certified Organic, since nonorganic meal may contain pesticide residues and is restricted by the California Department of Food and Agriculture Organic Materials List.
Fish emulsion
Fish emulsion is another natural fertilizer that can give your tomato plants an extra boost, both at planting and during the entire season. It contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, with additional minerals that include calcium, magnesium, sulfur and other trace minerals. Most products are available as a concentrated liquid, produced by blending fish parts -- including bones -- and then subjecting the emulsion to heat to destroy any unhealthy bacteria. Unlike cottonseed meal and compost, the nutrients in fish emulsion are available to your plants immediately. Dilute the emulsion in water according to the package directions and apply to your plants as a foliar spray every few weeks. You can also give your seedlings a boost at planting by adding fish emulsion to your watering can and drenching the root zone of each plant after it is planted.
Tomato growers have many options when it comes to fertilizing their tomato plants. Chemical fertilizers are fast acting but can burn tender plants and leach nitrogen and salts into the environment. As a result, many gardeners are seeking natural ways to fertilize their tomatoes. Fortunately, natural fertilizer can be found in many forms. While natural fertilizers are not as fast acting as chemical fertilizers, they can be well worth the effort.
Definition of natural fertilizer
According to the Colorado State University Extension Service, natural or organic fertilizers are derived from plant or animal matter and must contain at least minimum percentages of nitrogen, phosphate and potash. General-purpose organic fertilizers are readily available at gardening centers and through the Internet in granular, powder and liquid formulas.
According to the Colorado State University Extension Service, natural or organic fertilizers are derived from plant or animal matter and must contain at least minimum percentages of nitrogen, phosphate and potash. General-purpose organic fertilizers are readily available at gardening centers and through the Internet in granular, powder and liquid formulas.
Types of natural fertilizers
The following is a partial list of some common types of natural or organic fertilizers:Cottonseed Meal: High in nitrogen. Look for products labeled pesticide-free.
Bat Guano: Depending on the processing method, bat guano (bat feces) is high in either nitrogen or phosphorous.
Fish-Based Products: Available as fish emulsion, enzymatically digested fish liquid and fish meal.
Seaweed-Based Products: Available in kelp meal, kelp powder and liquid kelp. All types contain micronutrients and are often used in conjunction with fish emulsions.
Homemade fertilizers
In addition to purchasing natural fertilizers, you can also use common household items to fertilize your tomatoes. Creating your own compost pile is an excellent way to recycle organic materials such as leaves, grass clippings and vegetable peelings into a nutrient-rich soil amendment. Some organic gardeners add crushed eggshells or hair (from shedding pets or hairbrushes) to the holes before planting their tomatoes. Eggshells provide calcium, which can help prevent blossom-end rot (dark, sunken spots at the blossom end of the fruit). Hair is composed of keratin and releases nitrogen gradually as it decomposes.
Soil amendment
Tomatoes prefer soil that is rich in organic matter. Organic matter such as compost or rotted manure enhances soil drainage and provides some natural fertilization. Because organic matter must decompose before it begins releasing nutrients, you should work it into the soil several months in advance of planting.
Fertilizing tomatoes
Depending on the amount of organic matter in the soil, tomatoes generally require medium amounts of additional fertilizer. The Texas Gardener recommends starting tomato transplants by working 2 tbsp. each cottonseed meal and fish meal into the bottom of the hole before planting. Then use a diluted solution of seaweed and fish emulsion to water the roots and spray foliage about once per week. Once the first blossoms appear, work in 1/2 cup of cottonseed meal or a commercially available organic fertilizer such as 8-2-4 in a circle around the roots and water in thoroughly.
Requirements
Tomatoes are the number one choice of America's home gardeners, according to Organic Gardening. Although there are many different varieties to choose from, all have the same basic needs -- lots of sunshine, fertile soil, regular watering, good weed control and excellent nutrition. Although tomato plants need occasional fertilizing, you can avoid synthetic formulas by opting for natural, organic choices. Start feeding your plants at the time of planting, followed by additional applications two or three weeks apart while your plants are growing and producing.
Compost
Compost is basically pure organic matter packed with essential nutrients. Compost adds all the basic nutrients your plants need, along with macronutrients and micronutrients that are usually missing from synthetic fertilizers. Compost releases its components gradually during the growing season, providing long-lasting nutrition. Compost not only feeds your plants, it also neutralizes the soil, helps soil retain water and nutrients, and adds beneficial microorganisms to your garden. Work a handful of compost into the soil at the bottom of each hole as you plant your tomato seedlings and add a side dressing of compost to each plant several times during the growing season.
Organic cottonseed meal
Cottonseed meal is also a good choice as a natural tomato fertilizer that can be mixed into your soil at the time of planting. It contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in about a 6-2-1 ratio; it's nitrogen supports leafy growth early in the young tomato plants' growth cycle. Nutrients in cottonseed meal are released slowly and last about four months. Cottonseed meal contains other important elements, including calcium, magnesium, sulfur and copper, and also provides trace elements such as manganese, molybdenum and zinc. When purchasing cottonseed meal, choose only products labeled as Certified Organic, since nonorganic meal may contain pesticide residues and is restricted by the California Department of Food and Agriculture Organic Materials List.
Fish emulsion
Fish emulsion is another natural fertilizer that can give your tomato plants an extra boost, both at planting and during the entire season. It contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, with additional minerals that include calcium, magnesium, sulfur and other trace minerals. Most products are available as a concentrated liquid, produced by blending fish parts -- including bones -- and then subjecting the emulsion to heat to destroy any unhealthy bacteria. Unlike cottonseed meal and compost, the nutrients in fish emulsion are available to your plants immediately. Dilute the emulsion in water according to the package directions and apply to your plants as a foliar spray every few weeks. You can also give your seedlings a boost at planting by adding fish emulsion to your watering can and drenching the root zone of each plant after it is planted.
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