Does anyone think TTF affects the flavor of tomatoes, good or not good?

[QUOTE=Dark Rumor;738393]Does anyone think TTF affects the flavor of tomatoes, good or not good?[/QUOTE]

Interesting thought...I use the various TTF formulas on all my veggies and fruit trees because the plants grow well. I’ve never set up a side-by-side experiment with same tomato, same soil, same watering, different ferts and then taste comparisons.
Doable but takes planning.

I think the soil type or lack of soil and amount of water would have more effect on the flavor.
I have seem some bountiful crops of much praised heirloom tomatoes be practically tasteless due to soil type and water.

Most of my tomatoes have had a green/tart taste even when fully ripe, not sure why they have this taste, but they do. Usually a dash of salt will help eliminate the tartness. They seem to be tasting sweater this past week as the temperatures are a lot hotter.

[QUOTE=Dark Rumor;738393]Does anyone think TTF affects the flavor of tomatoes, good or not good?[/QUOTE]

I don't know for sure but I do know that my tomatoes taste much better now than they did 10 years ago. Maybe the healthier plants from the TTF feedings produce better tasting fruit or it could be my ph lowering or the soil amendments. I do know for a fact that dry weather will produce much better tasting fruit even if it does mean more watering. I have only gotten 2 1/2 inches of rain over the past two and a half months and the taste of the early tomatoes this year is the best that I can remember. I have only been getting fruit for a little over 2 weeks and haven't had a bland one yet.

Bill

Does any one know how to get the solids mixed back in the liquid? We have a few gallons that have sat for a while and now have solids. It sounds kinda like ice when you shake it.

[QUOTE=brooksville;752965]Does any one know how to get the solids mixed back in the liquid? We have a few gallons that have sat for a while and now have solids. It sounds kinda like ice when you shake it.[/QUOTE]

How cold did they get? I have the liquid lawn care and a veggie that are several years old and they are still liquid, I keep it inside the house.

But, I've had the ice/crystal thing happen to other brands but never used them afterwards.

So if you poured the gallon into another container, it would all come out but some of it would be clumped together?

I would contact the company and ask them. Can you put it through a blender?

Below freezing. Urban Farms says to warm it back up, just curious how others have tried it.

I always buy it by the case to save money and so I have had the crystallization problem quite a few times. In the summer I can just set the jug in cab of my truck for a few days in the heat and it will usually mix right back up with a good shake. This time of the year I have found it is easiest to shake it well then strain it and dump the crystals with a little water or solution into and old pot and heat it up till it dissolves and then mix it back in.

Bill

Mixing TTF if needed
 

Warm to in house temp app. 68 dgs. or put in hot water 1/2 5 gal. bucket and let sit in warm area. Shake hard and see if can break up all solids. Pour out in bucket, attach paint stirrer to electric grill and blend as much as you like.Anything hard to dissolve , this works for me.

Bill, that is exactly what I was thinking. Thanks!

Blender to remix TTF
 

I use a blender to remix and it works great. I bought a separate blender I keep in the garage for various garden and other non-food needs. Works great for making various "teas" etc.

FWIW my TTF is stored inside, never freezes, the clumping occurs anyway. At first I didn't notice because I didn't hear the tell-tale rattling. Turns out the clumps were just stuck to the bottom of the bottle. Smacking the bottom against a hard surface broke the chunks free.

I just used the heating treatment on the crystals in my last jug of Vegetable formula which I bought late last summer and needed it today. It had a rather large quantity of crystals in it but they quickly dissolved when heated a while on my fish cooker. I didn't use really high heat but very low heat and stirred it some and in a few minutes the crystals were completely dissolved saving me a lot of shaking. I just added the hot mixture back into the nearly full jug.

I ended up using most of the gallon jug today as I had approximately 100 broccoli plants, nearly 40 cabbage plants, around 20 cauliflower plants, carrots, Brussels' sprouts, rutabagas, mustard greens, turnips, nest onions, and lettuce that needed some fertilizer after all the rain we have had the past 6 weeks. I have never over fertilized some of them even though I have tried but things like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, rutabagas, greens, and especially Brussels' sprouts are very heavy feeders. I have found that regular heavy feedings of those types of plants will increase production tremendously while some of the others do with only an ocaisional feeding. I am going to need to order some more Vegetable formula along with TTF before long.

Bill

Bill, How many gallons of TTF do you use per season on your 60? plants? I have or will have about 100 plants this year in the ground and have just ordered my first gallon of TTF yet to be shipped. I know it is no where near enough. I am considering buying a case when they start accepting orders again.

I would like to know how many of my plants I should select for TTF? 30? 40? with 5 gallons of TTF.

I have quite a bit of MG in stock which I want to use until the plants start to bloom. I could substitute a gallon of Vegetable in the case but then I wouldn't have as much TTF. I am guessing I would be better off with more TTF and using MG for the initial growth.

Thanks for any thoughts.

[QUOTE=b54red;703020]I know for a fact that the TTF makes a huge difference in fruit set and proved it this year without trying to. I fertilized with TTF at the 1 TBS per gallon rate every 5 to 7 days up until we started getting that rain every day for about two weeks. My fruit set for the blooms that came out before the rain was almost too much and I had to cull a lot of small fruit. I had little to no fruit set starting about 3 days into the rain and lasting til about a week afterwards and I didn't feed the plants any TTF for that two weeks. I started back with the TTF three days after the rains stopped and gave them a heavier than normal dose of TTF and within three days I started seeing much more fruit set. I have noticed this before when I lay off the TTF for over a week blossoms start dropping and fruit set goes down. It is especially noticeable when it is very hot and dry.

I don't know if TTF really helps a lot with blossom end rot but since I have been using TTF regularly I have rarely seen BER. I have had a few fruits get it when I didn't adequately water during a dry windy time but nothing like I used to see . I think using the heavy layer of cypress mulch does a lot in mitigating BER also because it keeps the soil more evenly moist. Since I have been using raised beds for over 35 years I have had some real problems with BER in the past due to the beds drying out too much and then having to heavily water them. My use of TTF started about the same time I started using the cypress mulch so I guess it is a chicken and egg question.

I set out 26 plants on March 16th and another 27 on March 25th. Since the middle of May I have picked 140 tomatoes with the bulk of them coming from the first bed but the second one is starting to put out ripe fruit now. I plant only medium to large varieties and the fruit set on almost all of them has been very heavy. I lost several large clusters that pulled away from the stems in those two rainy weeks but have not had any splitting problems so I don't guess I got too much rain. After using TTF for several years I am extremely happy with the results and will continue using it as long as I can get it. It isn't the cheapest fertilizer out there but neither is it close to being the most expensive. I feel for the amount of fruit I get it is a good value for the money. I used to spend just about the same amount on Miracle Grow but without the same results.

Bill[/QUOTE]

I would imagine 5gal for 100 plants should be more than plenty for one season, in ground.
For soil imo it's always better to combine a good soil preparation the old organic way and supplement only when fruit starts forming.