I think it might be OK down the road, but the bonemeal is going to probably take until next season to do much. In other words the NPK ratio you think you are getting isn't going to be consistent. The urea will get used up quickly, the bonemeal will still be around next year.

Also, high amounts of phosphorus are not required by *any* plant on the planet. *All* plants use more N and K than they do P. The old notion that high P makes more/better flowers/fruit production is a myth. If you do get a soil test you will notice they establish low/adequate/high values for each nutrient. Take a look at what they consider adequate for P and you will notice it's less than N and K.

If you want an *ideal* veggie/tomato fertilizer I would use materials that will release nutrients at roughly the same rate and I would choose an NPK ratio around 3:1:2 or 3:1:3 which will be very similar to what the soil test recommendations will say for each nutrient. Of course even more ideal is actually getting the soil test as you might end up surprised. I wouldn't assume anything without a baseline test.

Also, with a sand soil you might want to get the secondary and minor nutrients tested for as well. No point adding just NPK if the soil is lacking other nutrients. For the minors it's generally adequate to work in some organic matter before each season, but for stuff like calcium, it's worth checking on.

Thanks for the tips justagay. My rationale for adding that much phosphorus to the transplanting soil is that it is the least water soluble and best applied near the roots of the plant. Also I want to encourage rooting more than anything at the transplant stage. I can always apply more nitrogen as needed and potassium during the fruit set stage when it is most needed.
Most of the phosphorus is actually in the form of superphosphate so it should be available to the plants this season. The small amounts of bonemeal I'm adding is for calcium and other nutrients.

Make tea of the alfalfa pellets and add half to a half filled hole and the rest at the soil line. Additional, I mix store bought pasteurized manure to the soil at 4:1 soil/manure ratio before planting.

Any comments on the strength of my synth fertilizer mix?

Thanks

I think it sounds great. Everything I've read says that for tomatoes use a fertilizer mix that is low in Nitrogen, high in Phosphorus and medium to high in Potassium. I would throw some epsom salts in the mix as well.

Everything I've read says that for tomatoes use a fertilizer mix that is low in Nitrogen

I have read others saying the same thing, but I really want to know where folks are reading this. Are we talking about some guy's blog or something based on science/field trials/tissue analysis etc. ?

Tomatos use a good amount of nitrogen and low N ferts aren't going to do them justice in terms of reaching their potential. The only risk is in using too much nitrogen which may result in a large plant with little fruit. There is a pretty large difference between enough and too much nitrogen in the fert ratio though.

7-25-20 sounds heavy-handed and way out of balance to me. If your soil actually had no nutrients in it at all, maybe, but that isn't the case.

But since you have already used it and planted them you'll know how well it works or if it is going to create problems within a couple of weeks.

Neighbor down the road tilled a 16' trailer of chicken manure and a 50 lb. bag of super phosphate into his 20'x30' garden last month. Then planted. He still can't figure out why all his plants died within 2 weeks.

More isn't always better. Often it is worse. ;)

Dave

Nitrogen promotes green leaf growth, whereas Phosphorus promotes fruiting and flowering through root growth and Potassium helps to build tissue and leads to hardy plants.

Having a lot of nitrogen will result in beautiful green plants but not many flowers. That's why people say not to use much. Having a high amount of Phos in the soil will result in more vigorous blooming and increased growth.
Potassium will help the plants resist pests, temp extremes and prevent leaf yellowing, basically it makes for stronger plants.

My soil tests show that I have a lot of Phosophorus in my soil already so when I fertilize I focus on potassium.

"7-25-20 sounds heavy-handed and way out of balance to me. If your soil actually had no nutrients in it at all, maybe, but that isn't the case."

It is a strong mix of fert but that's why I'm only adding about 10 grams per planting hole. Also the alfalfa pellets add nitrogen and potassium over time.

What would you consider a more reasonable fert for transplanting Dave?

7-25-20 sounds heavy-handed and way out of balance to me.

I also agree with this...a 10-10-10 would be good...or some MG supplemented with whatever you feel is necessary to even things out.

Having a lot of nitrogen will result in beautiful green plants but not many flowers. That's why people say not to use much.

I agree, but what is *too much*? Is 10-10-10 too much N? Is 24-8-16 too much N? Is 30-10-10 too much? The fact is tomatos aren't 'special' plants in terms of their nutrient requirements. They use as much N as K and much less P than either, just like most plants grow for flowers/fruit. If we supply nutrients such that plants can't get as much N as K then regardless of how well the plants do, they would have done better if their need for N was met. Having a high amount of Phos in the soil will result in more vigorous blooming and increased growth.

No, it won't. Call your extension service's soil testing dept and ask them how much P they recommend for a garden relative to N and K. It's much less. Look at modern research into plant nutrition and try to find a source that still believes high P results in anything other than water pollution and the potential for inducing minor nutrient deficiency (which, ironically, can induce early flowering from nutrient stress).

There is *no plant on the planet* that *ever* under *any circumstances* will use more P than N or K.

I made that last statement quite absolute as an invitation for those so inclined to attempt to prove it wrong and make me look like a fool. I think in one's quest to prove this statement wrong, a lot will be learned about plant nutrition and more than one commonly believed myth will be dispelled ;)

The idea that N is for green growth, P for flowers and K for roots/overall health was wrong the day it was first said. It's wrong because it's too simplistic and fails to appreciate that like human nutrition, there isn't a single nutrient that does this thing and another single nutrient that does that thing. They all work together. It's like saying Vitamin A is for good eyesight, but that doesn't mean eating carrots until the skin turns orange is going to make a person not need glasses ;)

"It's like saying Vitamin A is for good eyesight, but that doesn't mean eating carrots until the skin turns orange is going to make a person not need glasses ;)"

Hahahaha...good one. =)

What would you consider a more reasonable fert for transplanting Dave?

First, understand what the nutritional needs of tomatos is.

Then, get a soil test done so you can see what your soil has more than enough of, what it has in adequate amounts and what it has insufficient amounts of.

With these two pieces of information, you can prepare your soil for optimal plant growth, yield, and fruit quality. Without it, you can't.

Your best bet in that case is to either a. go organic and add an inch or two of manure and compost to the soil at least once each year (well in advance of planting) or to go synthetic and use 10-10-10 2-3 times per season. In other words just use the shotgun approach to fertility management if you don't care to go the extra mile.

What would you consider a more reasonable fert for transplanting Dave?

What justaguy said. ;)

You are way over-complicating the fertilization question, canuckistani and several of us have tried to convince you of that in your past posts on this issue. There is no magic quick fix no matter how many complex ingredients you dump into the cauldron. ;)

Good soil is the key to success and it simply isn't possible to create some complex homemade mix of meals and various other components that will compensate for poor soil. Instead what usually happens is the problem is made worse due to nutrient overload or the plants do ok while the roots remain in the pocket but die off as soon as they move out of it.

Building good soil takes time - seasons of it. Trying to rush the process with lots of additives usually only makes it worse. You say your soil test are "levels are somewhat below what the soil testing labs will say is 'adequate'". If that's the case then you don't need to be adding all this stuff and you sure don't need such high levels of P and K.

It is too late now to work in a good amount of compost and manure so this year you have to go chemical - that's fine. For all the money you have spent on all these additives you could have bought more than enough of a simple 10-10-10 or 13-13-13 fertilizer and tilled it in with likely very good results. Maybe side dress the plants a couple of times with more compost.

Then come this fall work in the compost and well-aged or composted manure, maybe some bone meal or super phos and let it sit over the winter. Come next spring you'd be well on the road to great soil and with more compost and aged manure it would be even better the following year.

But this year is up for grabs. You've already used this mix so now we just have to wait and see what happens. ;)

Dave

I totally agree with what jag2 is saying. Him and A1 know their stuff. Just a suggestion, but some folks here should check out the container forum sometime there are some really good reads on fertilizer programs. I had my soil tested this year and found that I had high amounts of P. So I will be adding only N and K amendments for the coming next few seasons. I'm using a 3-1-3 synthetic fert in all my containers with great results. And there is no shortage of tomatoes on any of the containered tomatoes. Thats proof right there.

Damon

Thanks for the advice folks. I understand what you're saying about the fert being out of balance. I intended this fert to not be complete, nitrogen and potassium are going to be added later to provide more balance- the nitrogen in particular will be easy to supply since it's so water soluble. As I said before the rationale for the high phosphorus was that I understood it to be the least water soluble and the most needed around the time of transplanting.
I did actually do a home soil test, and phosphorus in particular seemed lower than 'adequate'. Nitrogen and potassium were also a little lower than adequate. So far I've added about 2-3 grams worth of phosphorus fert (phosphoric acid) and 2 grams of potassium fert (potassium sulphate) and probably about 1.2 grams of nitrogen fert (synth and the alfalfa). If I add 5 more grams of nitrogen throughout the season and about 3 grams of potassium at the fruit set stage then how is my fertilizing out of balance or excessive? It adds up to something like a 2-1-2 with the phosphorus being added to the soil environment at the beginning while nitrogen is added at a relatively constant rate throughout the season after transplanting and potassium applied to the soil up front and at fruit set time.

Am I totally off here? What is so wrong about this system of fertilizing?

Thanks again for the advice

The home test kits, unless you spend a couple hundred US dollars or better are garbage. If you get a professional test done they will tell you (can tell you) the total amount of P in the soil as well as the available amount. The total amount available is a fraction of the total.