Providing the right type of fertilizer for your tomatoes helps your plants sustain healthy growth and ensures a productive growing season. The best method for fertilizing your tomatoes provides fertilizer before and during the growing season. Knowing the right type of fertilizer for your garden tomatoes ensures that they have enough phosphorous and potassium to maintain healthy fruit production without flooding the soil with nitrogen.
Tomatoes are heavy feeding plants. They don't take a lot of maintenance other than the occasional watering and feeding from some form of fertilizer, whether a liquid, granule or just your own compost.
Using fertilizer
Performing a soil test in your garden before you plant provides an accurate measurement of the existing soil nutrients that you can use to determine the type and amount of fertilizer your garden needs. Soils that are lacking in phosphorous or potassium can benefit from adding a complete fertilizer when you till your garden prior to planting. Soil that already has the right nutrients benefits from periodic applications of fertilizer with a nutrient ratio of 5-10-10 or 5-10-5 at a rate of two pounds for every 100 square feet of soil. This helps to maintain the fertility of your garden soil throughout the year as your tomatoes draw nutrients from the soil.
Nitrogen
The best fertilizers for tomato plants have a relatively low concentration of nitrogen. Applying fertilizers with a high nitrogen content promotes the growth of stems and leaves instead of fruit and flowers. Tomatoes that receive too much nitrogen grow excessively long stems and produce less fruit. High levels of nitrogen can also cause flowers to wither and drop off from their stems, preventing your tomato plants from producing fruit.
Phosphorous and Potassium
Tomato plants use phosphorous and potassium in significant amounts to produce fruit. Fertilizer that contains nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium in a ratio of 8-32-16 or 6-24-24 is an effective source of phosphorous and potassium for tomatoes in soils with low concentrations of these nutrients. The best time to apply this type of fertilizer is before you plant your tomatoes. Once you have established the desired level of fertility in your garden you can apply subsequent doses of fertilizer as side dressing at a lower concentration to maintain a fertile growing bed for your tomatoes.
Considerations
The roots of tomato plants are mainly found within the upper six inches of the soil. Tilling your fertilizer into the soil at this depth ensures that you do not waste fertilizer on soil where your tomatoes do not grow. Fertilizer applied at the beginning of the growing season does not provide enough nutrients to meet the full growth potential of your tomato plants throughout the year. The best time to apply subsequent doses of fertilizer is when the first crop of tomatoes reaches one-third of the fruits' full size and is still green. Applying a subsequent dose of fertilizer roughly two weeks after you harvest the first fruits and a third dose a month later ensures that your tomatoes can continue producing abundant fruit.
Tomatoes are heavy feeding plants. They don't take a lot of maintenance other than the occasional watering and feeding from some form of fertilizer, whether a liquid, granule or just your own compost.
Using fertilizer
Performing a soil test in your garden before you plant provides an accurate measurement of the existing soil nutrients that you can use to determine the type and amount of fertilizer your garden needs. Soils that are lacking in phosphorous or potassium can benefit from adding a complete fertilizer when you till your garden prior to planting. Soil that already has the right nutrients benefits from periodic applications of fertilizer with a nutrient ratio of 5-10-10 or 5-10-5 at a rate of two pounds for every 100 square feet of soil. This helps to maintain the fertility of your garden soil throughout the year as your tomatoes draw nutrients from the soil.
Nitrogen
The best fertilizers for tomato plants have a relatively low concentration of nitrogen. Applying fertilizers with a high nitrogen content promotes the growth of stems and leaves instead of fruit and flowers. Tomatoes that receive too much nitrogen grow excessively long stems and produce less fruit. High levels of nitrogen can also cause flowers to wither and drop off from their stems, preventing your tomato plants from producing fruit.
Phosphorous and Potassium
Tomato plants use phosphorous and potassium in significant amounts to produce fruit. Fertilizer that contains nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium in a ratio of 8-32-16 or 6-24-24 is an effective source of phosphorous and potassium for tomatoes in soils with low concentrations of these nutrients. The best time to apply this type of fertilizer is before you plant your tomatoes. Once you have established the desired level of fertility in your garden you can apply subsequent doses of fertilizer as side dressing at a lower concentration to maintain a fertile growing bed for your tomatoes.
Compost
Composting provides one of the best and least expensive ways to fertilize your tomatoes; use yard clippings, eggshells, overripe fruit and anything biodegradable. Avoid using things like meat and grease. Before putting your compost with your tomatoes, check the pH level. A good level of pH ranges between 6.0 and 7.0. Composting keeps the moisture level even at the roots.
Composting provides one of the best and least expensive ways to fertilize your tomatoes; use yard clippings, eggshells, overripe fruit and anything biodegradable. Avoid using things like meat and grease. Before putting your compost with your tomatoes, check the pH level. A good level of pH ranges between 6.0 and 7.0. Composting keeps the moisture level even at the roots.
Liquid tomato fertilizer
Once you have an established tomato plant, use a liquid fertilizer, which has a fast release and quickly replenishes the lost nutrients. Blended with fish kelp, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, this type of fertilizer is ideal for tomato plants. Buy liquid fertilizer at any major lawn-care provider. The only drawback to using liquid fertilizer lies in the fact that you need to reapply the fertilizer often during rains or prolonged dry spells.
Tomatoes alive
Tomatoes Alive is specifically designed to give tomatoes what they need. It releases some nutrients quickly to start the plant and keep it healthy when it is young and becoming established; it releases other nutrients slowly to avoid root damage. (Also, as the plant matures, it does not need nutrients as quickly.) Home Improvement Time studies proved that tomatoes grown with Tomatoes Alive produced 150 percent more tomatoes than plants with no fertilizer.
Once you have an established tomato plant, use a liquid fertilizer, which has a fast release and quickly replenishes the lost nutrients. Blended with fish kelp, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, this type of fertilizer is ideal for tomato plants. Buy liquid fertilizer at any major lawn-care provider. The only drawback to using liquid fertilizer lies in the fact that you need to reapply the fertilizer often during rains or prolonged dry spells.
Tomatoes alive
Tomatoes Alive is specifically designed to give tomatoes what they need. It releases some nutrients quickly to start the plant and keep it healthy when it is young and becoming established; it releases other nutrients slowly to avoid root damage. (Also, as the plant matures, it does not need nutrients as quickly.) Home Improvement Time studies proved that tomatoes grown with Tomatoes Alive produced 150 percent more tomatoes than plants with no fertilizer.
Tomato Tone
Tomato Tone is an all-natural product made from plants and other natural products. Use this type of fertilizer on transplanted or mature plants. You only need a handful of fertilizer sprinkled around the plant. Tomato Tone has a special formula with more than three million microbes that benefit to the roots, keeping them strong and healthy. Tomatoes grown with Tomato Tone grew bigger and faster than those without, and they produced more tomatoes than did plants with no fertilizer. This blend contains 3 percent nitrogen, 4 percent phosphorus and 6 percent potassium; all of which are essential to growing good healthy tomatoes.
Tomato Tone is an all-natural product made from plants and other natural products. Use this type of fertilizer on transplanted or mature plants. You only need a handful of fertilizer sprinkled around the plant. Tomato Tone has a special formula with more than three million microbes that benefit to the roots, keeping them strong and healthy. Tomatoes grown with Tomato Tone grew bigger and faster than those without, and they produced more tomatoes than did plants with no fertilizer. This blend contains 3 percent nitrogen, 4 percent phosphorus and 6 percent potassium; all of which are essential to growing good healthy tomatoes.
Considerations
The roots of tomato plants are mainly found within the upper six inches of the soil. Tilling your fertilizer into the soil at this depth ensures that you do not waste fertilizer on soil where your tomatoes do not grow. Fertilizer applied at the beginning of the growing season does not provide enough nutrients to meet the full growth potential of your tomato plants throughout the year. The best time to apply subsequent doses of fertilizer is when the first crop of tomatoes reaches one-third of the fruits' full size and is still green. Applying a subsequent dose of fertilizer roughly two weeks after you harvest the first fruits and a third dose a month later ensures that your tomatoes can continue producing abundant fruit.
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