Best Organic Fertilizer to use after fruitset begins?

[Jonnyhat]

I have 20 plants, all between 3 and 4 ft tall here in zone 6B, about 20% have fruit beginning to set and all the rest are full of flower. I have a few fertilizer options in my bag right now but I wanted some expert opinion on what would be the best right now.

Tomato tone 3-4-6

Dr Earth Home Grown 4-6-2

Pure Protein Enzymatic Hydrolysate Fish Protein 15-1-1

Neptunes Harvest organic Seaweed 0-0-1

Or Boogiebrew Pro Compost tea (Worm Castings, Volcanic Ash, Trace Ocean Minerals, 35% Humus, 20% biochar) in the base and the boost for the tea has( kelp powder, soybean hydrolysate, nutritional yeast, kelp meal, soybean meal, humates, evaporated cane juice, soluble humic acid with potash, alfalfa meal, rock phosphate, langbeinite, and Greensand)

Also recomended as a tea additive SEA-90

I guess my question is really what not to use? But what do you think would be most beneficial in this stage?

[Redbaron]

As a general rule don't use the high nitrogen one. It is better to use one with a higher phosphorus rating. Too much nitrogen gives you all foliage and few fruit.

Or better still, use Mycorrhizal fungi inoculate at plant out so you get what you need naturally.

[Gardeneer]

This is my opinion:

Tomato Plants' growth is an ongoing, continuous process until killed by disease or frost.
They don't just set fruits and stop growing. In reality when a plat has a bigger foliage it would even need more nitrogen than before. Just as a big heavy person would need more food.

What I have said is more true like in hydroponics. In the garden, the medium can have a store of nutrients to last the whole season.

JMO

Gardeneer

[RayR]

Even more important than Phosphorous at the fruiting stage is Potassium and always a biggie is Calcium, but in a natural organic system it is really up to the plant to decide what it needs at any given time. The gardener can only supply the necessary raw materials that the plant and its microbial partners will need. That's not to say that you can't tweak a plant to do more through organics, you certainly can but don't think in the same terms of what gardeners who use synthetics do. You are not force feeding a plant mineral salts and synthetic salt based chelates to provide nutrition for growth and reproduction.

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by RayR

Even more important than Phosphorous at the fruiting stage is Potassium and always a biggie is Calcium, but in a natural organic system it is really up to the plant to decide what it needs at any given time. The gardener can only supply the necessary raw materials that the plant and its microbial partners will need. That's not to say that you can't tweak a plant to do more through organics, you certainly can but don't think in the same terms of what gardeners who use synthetics do. You are not force feeding a plant mineral salts and synthetic salt based chelates to provide nutrition for growth and reproduction.

true, sorry about that. I forgot about potassium because Oklahoma soils are naturally high in potassium. Even the worst soil you can imagine here is fine with K and since I use well water that is high in Ca, I don't worry too much about either.

[amideutch]

Check out this site and yes I have used their products.

http://tandjenterprises.com/

Ami

[maf]

Jonnyhat, out of your available options I would recommend a combo of the Tomato tone 3-4-6 and the Neptunes Harvest organic Seaweed 0-0-1.

Between them it should supply a good combo of macro and micro nutrients with emphasis on the potassium which is needed for fruit. You don't want to be adding something with high nitrogen or even high phosphorus at the fruiting stage.

Obviously this all depends on your soil type and growing conditions; if you garden in a high K area like Redbaron then you can dial down the K.

[Jonnyhat]

Thanks for all the info, As for my soil type it was all hand mixed so about 1/3 Dr. Earth garden Soil, 1/6 Coconut coir, 1/6 peat moss, 1/6 vermiculite and 1/6 compost/worm castings. These are in raised beds with about 10" of this soil mix. PH was aprox 7 at the beginning of the season.

So I take it by your posts the fish fert 15-1-1 will be better to add to non fruiting plants such as my kale, chard, asian greens, cabbage, lettuce and mustard greens?

[RayR]

Jonnyhat, out of your bag of organic products what have you used so far this season in your fertilization scheme?

I know everybody is looking at the high N ration of the Pure Protein Fish Hydrolysate but that product is a concentrated dry powder cod fish hydrolysate so the NPK of 15-1-1 is no surprise. Jonnyhat, what is the dilution ratio in water that you are using it at?

One important thing to understand about hydrolysates whether they are derived from animal or plant sources is that they contain very little nitrates, ammonium or urea. The nitrogen is primarily in organic form, that is Amino Acids and Peptides from the proteins that are broken down through hydrolysis.

The manufacture of Pure Protein provides the NPK analysis. listing the organic N as "14.88% Other Water Soluble Nitrogen"

[Jonnyhat]

pretransplant I tiled the tomato tone into my raised bed and planted mid April under hoops until temps did not go below 55

1 week later top dressed with glacial ruck dust and compost

2 weeks later Dr. Earth Foliar feed

2 weeks later compost tea with sea-90 and seaweed extract, tea brewed for 24 hours

this week we got about 3" of rain but for most of the grow season it has been very dry. I am at about 2 weeks without any additional additives

I have not used the 15-1-1 yet, it came with the boogie brew compost tea kit as an extra gift. It says to use 2 tablespoons per gallon of water

I Also recieved about 4lbs of High Kytonase (sp?) worm casting with this kit as well

[PA_Julia]

I am HUGE fan of Espoma brand fertilizers. Tomato Tone and Bio Tone Starter Plus Plant Food is a must for me each season.

I also make compost Tea and use it as both a drench and foliar. Some of my compost tea's ingredients include Dr. Earth Seaweed liquid concentrate, Neptune's Harvest Fish Fertilizer as well as lobster compost and compost from my own bins. I activate the proccess by using unsulfered molasses and brew it for three days.

[wormgirl]

Obviously this is a controversial subject, but I second the advice about avoiding the 15-1-1 for now. Yes, it would be GREAT for your green leafy plants. Also, it can be used on tomatoes and other fruiting plants when they are young, but the "traditional" advice is to avoid the high N fertilizer once blooming comes.

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by Jonnyhat

Thanks for all the info, As for my soil type it was all hand mixed so about 1/3 Dr. Earth garden Soil, 1/6 Coconut coir, 1/6 peat moss, 1/6 vermiculite and 1/6 compost/worm castings. These are in raised beds with about 10" of this soil mix. PH was aprox 7 at the beginning of the season.

So I take it by your posts the fish fert 15-1-1 will be better to add to non fruiting plants such as my kale, chard, asian greens, cabbage, lettuce and mustard greens?

It works on Tomatoes too, just not too much, and better applied early. But yes as a general rule the high nitrogen ferts for foliage growth. Oh and BTW you forgot sweet corn. That really likes nitrogen ferts.

But having said that, I agree with Ray. All nitrogen is not created equal, and the type you have is unlikely to harm or burn you plants, and far less likely to cause too much foliage growth in fruiting plants.

Remember the "best" fertiliser is to have soil so bioactive, healthy, and fertile that you don't need to add any fertilizers at all.

[Jonnyhat]

That is my goal RB, hence why I took so much time into building the soil, considering this is my first year I am pretty happy with the results so far. Eating my first "Garden Salad" was pretty awesome. I cant wait until I have tomatoes to add to it.

[RayR]

Originally Posted by wormgirl

Obviously this is a controversial subject, but I second the advice about avoiding the 15-1-1 for now. Yes, it would be GREAT for your green leafy plants. Also, it can be used on tomatoes and other fruiting plants when they are young, but the "traditional" advice is to avoid the high N fertilizer once blooming comes.

I would agree when it comes to inorganic N, Nitrates in particular since they promote vegetative growth above all else. Organic N is a different story and the use of Amino N by the plant is more complex. Amino Acids easily pass through cell walls and are recycled by the cells for various needs, not just for vegetative growth.

Originally Posted by Jonnyhat

That is my goal RB, hence why I took so much time into building the soil, considering this is my first year I am pretty happy with the results so far. Eating my first "Garden Salad" was pretty awesome. I cant wait until I have tomatoes to add to it.

There is nothing like a fresh garden salad from your own garden. This time of year in the only time I get cravings for lettuce and other greens. The difference in flavor compared to the grocery store stuff is phenomenal. I always hope to get those first tomatoes while the lettuce is still good before the heat causes it to bolt.