Fertilizing does one and only one thing. It provides essential nutrients to the plant.

If one is growing in a fertile soil, there may be no need to use any fertilizer. Many soils will have ample nutrients other than nitrogen so just that needs to be supplemented. If one regularly adds organic matter to their soil there may be little need for anything additional. If one is growing in containers then it's a different story, but when growing in the ground the 'proper' way to fertilize involves a lab quality soil test as a starting point.

I always try to keep it simple. If the tomato plant is growing sluggishly or if the newest leaves on the plant seem more yellow than normal, I add fertilizer. I use 10-10-10 or 13-13-13 commercial fertilizer. If you have organic fertilizer like compost handy, use that. I just try to remember that tomatoes were being grown successfully before anyone ever heard of miracle grow or tomato tone. I like for my garden tomatoes to cost no more to grow than it costs to purchase them at the market.

Ted

Very true Ted--but my Tomato Tone is 2 years old, and the plants are from seed, so pretty sure I'm fertilizing on the cheap :D

sorry susanden,

I just know some folks on this forum that spend more on fertilizer than the tomatoes it grows would cost at the market. I'm not a cheapskate, but cost is one of the factors I consider in my garden. I want it to force me to look for the easiest, most simple, and sometimes cheapest way to grow vegetables.

Ted

I am trying to be organic with my gardening. When I transplanted my tomato plants, I noticed one was looking a little sluggish. I used Terracycle's Worm Poop to help revive the plant. It works great.

However, my neighbor helped my replenish my soil after my first year of gardening last year. That really helps too. I invested in a composter this year so I will have healthy organic compost for next year. (Next year, as long as I have a job, I'll invest in a rain barrel.)

Ted--no need to apologize, and good points! As far as fertilizer goes, as a rule, I usually go to one of my local farms and get a LOT of aged manure. I find that works wonders in the garden. But, really, if you have good soil and add OM (I sometimes add lime to raised beds I am going to grow tomatoes and peppers in, but just a dusting), not much else is needed. Then again, I have good soil (glacier gravel soil mostly, and some heavier clay topsoil that I somehow ended up with in my raised beds--fine after sharp sand and OM added. Still can't believe i PAID for the stuff lol).

CALIKIM ON YOUTUBE GOES FAIRLY CHEAP AND GROWS LOTS OF TOMATOES AND PEPPERS AND STUFF...SHE USES FISH AND EPSOM SALT...EACH OF US NEEDS TO PICK A WAY AND IMPROVE ON IT EACH YEAR...I KNOW FISH AND SEAWEED MIX AND COMPOST TEA PLUS A HAND FULL OF EPSOM SALT WILL GROW A LARGE HEALTHY PLANT WITH GOOD PRODUCTION....I ALSO ADD SOME ALFALFA FOR GROWTH...BUILD YOUR SOIL FIRST IN THE FALL...THE INDIAN

I agree with everyones points here and especially veggiefaery in regard to the earthworm castings, have had really great response from tomatoes, pepper and eggplants (I fertilize these all the same way) from a generous addition (a cup or so per plant) at planting and an additonal side-dressing mid-season. I also use Garden Tone or Happy Frog's Tomato & Vegetable as my granular slow release and alternate foliar applications of Neptune's Fish & Seaweed and FoxFarm's Big Bloom weekly. This combination right there (in conjunction with a nice tilthy loam soil) is what produced 500+ (counted every single fruit, I am serious about my record-keeping) tomatoes on 8 plants in 2013 (a "good" tomato year in VA).

I got a bag of Tomato tone on sale at Tractor Supply at the end of the season. It was only $1.99 for a 5 lb. bag.

Steer manure has a huge positive benefit, as does composted grass and tree trimming mulch. Miracle grow once a week until the plants are in bloom (tomatoes) makes a big difference also. Agree with others on this thread that fertilizer is expensive, that's why we use it early to get the plants going and then stop.

I am pretty sure that epsom salt tip is just dogma that got started when a before/after picture of a giant tomato started circulating social media sites a few years back. It had a caption along the likes of "2 Tbps of epsom salt is what made this little plant turn into this tree-sized tomato."

In any case, I would argue against adding epsom salt without first getting a soil test to show that it is actually necessary. I've heard you can really ruin good soil by adding too much epsom salt, but that is just more anecdotal evidence. Better safe than sorry, in my opinion.

I just use home-made compost as fertilizer for all my plants, including tomatoes. I'm sure there are more efficient/productive methods, but compost is free and my plants produce just fine, although I probably won't break any records. Works for me.

I've never made compost tea. How do I make it? I compost my kitchen scraps in one big pile.

I've never made compost tea... I just spread it out over the garden and use a shovel to mix it in to the soil. Maybe someone else could chime in with the answer.

I get some extra compost from a coffee roaster here that does a giveaway each spring (they also give out grounds, burlap bags, and chaff, which is all lovely). It's a pile that you can fill old bean bags with. Once I dump most of the compost out, I just throw the bag in a bucket and let it sit a while, then strain and use on my herbs.

Here is how I make compost tea. I get a five gallon bucket and fill it a third of the way with compost and a dose of fish emulsion. I then top it off with rain water. I stir it really good with a stir stick and then let it sit for a day/night stirring whenever I got a chance. Maybe 5-10 stirs that day. The next morning I stir it up really good, dilute it to a quarter strength, and then put it on my garden. I apply directly to the roots. Some people use it as a foliage spray but I prefer a root drench.

Thanks, Jeff. I have a bottle of fish emulsion that is several years old. Would that be ok to use?

I am no expert, but I am sure that bottle is fine. The fish emulsion is not required anyway. You can certainly have great results without it.

Thanks!

I'm going with Tomato Tone this year and some Mir-A-cal too at planting time for extra BER insurance. I'm going to also use them on my peppers.