You can, if you wish, give them a 1/2 strength dose of whatever your fertilizer of choice is - preferably something low in nitrogen unlike Miracle Grow - every couple of weeks. Plants in containers need more regular fertilizing than those in the ground because most of the fertilizer leaches out with the watering but you don't want the plants to kick into their growth vs. fruit development mode. Thus the need for low nitrogen.

There are a number of low nitrogen products on the market that are more beneficial than MG for tomatoes - Epsoma, fish emulsion, some of the slow release granular fertilizers, compost, just to name a few. Likely too late now for using the granular ones but its something to keep in mind for the future.

Enjoy your tomatoes. ;)

Dave

Dave gave you perfect advice. As he mentioned container plants require more fertilizer and types that are low in nitrogen else youÂll have more foliage than fruit. Following that alone should provide you a good yield. One question is what are you using for container mix, hopefully something that drains well and does not get water logged because sitting water is harmful to the plants rooting system.

I also have better bush in a container which has many green maters nothing ripe yet, I also have better boys which were planted in-ground, they too are still green, and finally my cherries also in-ground have tons of fruit and picking daily. Good LuckÂ.

Sorry guys, I have different feelings... First, you shouldn't have stopped regular Miracle-Gro feedings, especially if growing Indeterminate plants in containers. I would never stop fertilizing container plants because either the plant will use it or the pot will lose it... or both. Indeterminates will keep putting out flowers as they get bigger/taller... do you cut off your kid's food supply as they are growing or as they get older? They especially need more as they grow, not less, and more water. Miracle-Gro is a plant FOOD. A continued regular supply will insure a continuous supply of flowers to develop into fruits, weather permitting. If using Miracle-Gro, use the 15-30-15 version at least for the first month(s), then try the Miracle-Gro for Tomatoes for good fruit development.

As for the Bush, if it's determinate, did you get a big crop all at once and that's it, or are you still waiting?

As for everyone recommending not to use Miracle-Gro, and recommending low nitrogen fertilizers at every couple weeks, please post some NPK's of what you're recommending. It seems everyone is worried about the amount of nitrogen without considering the ratio to P & K. Compost is usually less than 1-1-1, with more N than P & K. That's a bad example to give in the same sentence with "use a low nitrogen fertilizer." Yep, it's low, but has more N than anything else. Fish Emulsion? Most except Neptune's is 5-1-1, a bad ratio for tomatoes.

Do you seriously expect to see any substantial improvements using 0.6-0.3-0.5 (a typical compost), or 5-1-1, every couple weeks, and at half strength yet? Sorry, I don't see it happening. The plants will be starving for food.... they probably are already from stopping feeding at an early age.

All my containers were planted w/ miracle gro garden potting soil. Can i get fish emulsion at Home depot or lowes?

I find this post interesting since I'm a new grower myself. From what I understand, with the big three( N-P-K), Nitrogen is good for overall growth especially foilage, Phosphorus is good for fruiting, and Potassium for root development, right? It does seem that once tomato plants have reached a good size it would be good to cut back on N and up the P. Most fertilizers though, at least organic ones I use, have a higher N count than anything else. The fish emulsion liquid I use is 5-1-1 and the granular is 7-2-2 I believe.
I'm under the impression that other micronutrients are relevant also though. The stuff you find in seaweed and compost. Also organic matter in the soil.
I'm not a container gardener, but I imagine chemical fertilizers are necessary when growing in containers since the benefits of soil organisms is not available.
ARe there any organic fertilizers that give tomatoes a boost during the fruiting period?
Pete

The best fertilizer I've found for container plants is designed specifically for container plants... Plantex 15-15-18 Soilless w/Micros. It contains additional molybdenum & magnesium, as well as the other 5 micronutrients. Another good one is Plantex 15-15-30 Pot Plant Special (no, not marijuana, but anything grown specifically in pots.) It has twice as much K as N & great during the time plants are budding and maturing.

Fish emulsion will make your plants nice & green but will do practically nothing for creating flowers & fruits...you can do the same thing w/Epsom salts, a lot cheaper than fish emulsion.

Blaze: If you are talking about Miracle Gro Garden Soil, that's not recommended for containers and may be one of your problems. If you still have a bag laying around, post here the exact name on the bag.

Suburbangreen, Phosphorous (P) is good for rooting & fruiting (flowering, but it's easier to remember "rooting & fruiting.") Potassium (K) is good for stem strength, cell wall development, and a plant's natural defenses.

Mark

I generally give my plants a booster feeding around the 15th of August - to replace what has gotten washed out of the soil by rain and watering and used up by the tomatoes. I use 10-10-10 as it's cheap and easily available. By now the plants have set all the fruit that is going to ripen in this climate so they just need a balanced food to keep going.
Nitrogen is washed out or used up very rapidly and it is needed to make more leaves. Phosphorus and Potassium stick around better but my light soil and well drained garden tend to lose fertility fast.