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briergardener_gw

This year program for tomatoes

17 years ago

I see a huge amount of information on this forum.

Thank you, people. Should find time to read all this.

I want to try to grow tomatoes in container this year and want to clarify some issues.

I am growing right now seedlings in compost + perlite + peat, they are doing fine and need to be repotted these days. I will report them in bigger pots in similar mixture, but next time i will report them in 5 gallon containers where they stay for summer.

I am planning to use Tapla's 5-1-1 Mix for these containers but replace peat with my compost.

I am trying to find out:

1. How much dolomite lime should i use when i mix:

5 gallons of pine bark fines

1 gallon of compost

1.5 gallons of perlite

2. How much CRF should i add (if any)

3. How much of micro-nutrient source should I add,

4. What is best to use as micro-nutrient source for tomatoes

5. What to use as fertilizer during growing period?

6. How much of fertilizer should i use per one container?

7. How often? Every day tiny amount or once a week?

8. If i need to add some fert with every watering what to do on rainy days when i don't need to water?

9. Can i move my containers to the lawn when i water them to allow running water to go to lawn?

  1. Will i need to update something in my program that i finalize after finding answers to questions above if i want to create CFC out of 5 gallon baskets?

Thanks in advance if somebody finds time to help me to finalize the tomatoes program.

Comments (2)

  • 17 years ago

    1. The same as if you were not substituting compost for peat. The bark remains acidic and will benefit from the lime.

    2. It depends on if you want to add CRF. Using CRF is for those who aren't confident they will fertilize regularly. It is an insurance policy. In a 5 gallon bucket you would add approximately 1/4 cup. Look for a CRF advertised to last 6 months or so rather than the 3 month varieties if you can find them. It will be more likely to last an entire season than the 3 month release ones.

    3. Depends on how you prefer to supply the micros. There are products like Micro Max, Stem and others, but they work differently. There are also liquid products like EarthJuice MicroBlast that would be used when you fertilize. For this you would just follow the label instructions.

    4. See #3 above. There is nothing special about tomatos in terms of the nutrients they require. They are like every other plant in this regard.

    5. Whatever you like that is intended for container use. Some of us here are very fond of Dyna Grow Foliage Pro with or without adding DynaGrow ProTekt. Others would simply use a Miracle Grow product. For most plants, tomatos included, a fertilizer with an NPK ratio of 1:1:1: or (better) 3:1:2 or 3:1:3 will work very well without including a bunch of salts (nutrients) your plants don't need. When I say ratio, I mean if the NPK rating is 10-10-10, then it is a 1-1-1 ratio. So is a 5-5-5 NPK rating. A 3:1:2 ratio would be an NPK rating of 9-3-6 or 12-4-8 etc.

    6. Follow the instructions that come with the product.

    7. You can either dose once every couple weeks ant full strength or once per week at half strength or daily at 1/4 strength etc. Many feel more frequent fertilizing at reduced dosages is best for the plant as it avoids a feast/famine cycle.

    8. Don't worry about it :)

    9. Yes. You may end up with very green spots in the area though.

    1. I don't know what CFC is.
  • 17 years ago

    Thank you, Justaguy, for fast response.
    Sorry for CFC, i wanted to say SWC (self-watering container).