Tomato needs fertilizer?

21 years ago

Hello:

Ok, right up front, I haven't bought the book. . .yet. From information gathered from all of your posts (thank you!)I built (well, technically my husband did) a couple raised beds, 2 - 2x3' and 1 - 4x8'. I planted 5 tomatoes in a row along the 8' side. The bed is about 8" deep. I used mushroom compost (looks like it has horse poo in it), peat moss and vermiculite. All the tomatoes are close to 6' in height, bushy, with flowers and fruit.

On this forum, it seems no compost is necessary until the next time you replant the square.

On the tomato forum, some of whom use a similar mix of 'soil' in containers will fertilize.

I'm not sure what I should do. I have a couple other tomato plants in containers that are not as big as those in the raised beds. Wasn't sure if fertilizer would help them or not either. Any ideas?

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Comments (4)

Ray Scheel
21 years ago
I often top-dress tomatoes with compost mid-season, which has the same effect as adding a slow-release fertilizer. Tomatoes will root along the stem into the added compost for an extra boost.
mitanoff
Original Author
21 years ago
Thanks for the advice Ray. Just to clarify though: so you add pure compost to the bed? Would a "trowel-full" around the base be enough? Do I work it in slightly or just leave it on the top? Obviously I don't know what "top-dress" means. :>
On a slight shift of topic, would you suggest anything to add to repel groundhogs? My husband spotted one racing across our back patio. With a big 2x4 in hand, he gave chase and cornered it behind our newly placed rainbarrels. Funny thing is, if the groundhog had even made a slight move to attack, my DH would have run screaming like a little girly-man.
My back garden is not big, only 50'x40' and I live in a 'rural' city. I do not have chicken wire under my beds and I don't see any holes in my yard. My yard is fenced but not securely enough to prevent small animals from coming and going. I haven't seen any signs of munching (except from earwigs) so I don't know if i should initiate a pre-emptive strike. On other forums they suggest shooting or trapping as the only things that work. Ah well. Maybe hubby scared him off for good. Cross my fingers!
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Bethany873
21 years ago
I just added some pure compost to my tomatoes and peppers last weekend. Two big trowel-fulls per plant. First I scratched up the soil a bit around the base of the plants--not dug it up, just made sure it was loose!--and added the compost in an even layer around the base of the stem and watered. I got the compost at Agway in 40# bags.
As for the groundhog......the one who lives at the end of my yard has not been a problem at all since the addition of rabbit fencing around the garden (holes smaller at the bottom, bigger at the top). I don't worry about things smaller than a rabbit, I figure those critters are small enough to eventually get in no matter what I do.
jomorgan
21 years ago
I've heard that human hair will repel deer. You might try that. Go to your local beauty salon. They will give you all the hair you can carry. Put it around your planters' perimeter.