Fertilizing How Often?

gunrunner · August 28, 2021

Hello All

I would like to try a couple of beefsteak next year. I read some place where they should be fertilized every 7-10 days. I am planning on using Fertilome water soluble and was wondering if this is too often for my plants? Does anyone have any experience with the Fertilome 20 20 20? Will it burn new plants?

Thanks
Mike

MissS · August 28, 2021

Wow, how often you fertilize and with what depends on a lot of variables. You feed more often in most containers than you do in the ground. Your best bet is to have a soil test done. If in ground, you may not need to feed them at all. There is no set schedule on feeding your plants, you need to learn how to read their leaves. I also feed my plants different things in different growth phases.

b54red · August 29, 2021

Definitely get a soil test done. I try to feed my tomatoes every 7 to 10 days when they need it; but there are a lot of variables in what need means. Since I use a liquid fertilizer on established plants I find it very hard to keep to that schedule in times of frequent or heavy rainfall. I also find that a lot depends on how well the soil is prepared before planting. Well prepared soil that is high in most or all of the required amendments will naturally need less side dressing both by starting later and fertilizing less frequently.

I do seem to get much heavier fruit set when I can keep up regular fertilizing especially after the first initial rush of tomatoes when the plant seems to need more pepping up to keep up the good results. I like to use Texas Tomato Food for my side dressing because for me it usually results in higher fruit setting in difficult times and the tomatoes seem to taste better when I use it regularly. I have used Miracle Grow type fertilizers in the past with fairly good results most of the time but when I did side by side comparisons using both I liked the results from TTF much better on tomatoes.

I have been gardening in the same raised beds for 40 years so I am constantly adding amendments to the soil each year to try to stop the erosion of nutrients both macro and micro. I developed a problem that doesn't really seem to mess up my plants too much and that is an accumulation of phosphorus in the soil due to using cow manure, horse manure and fertilizers way too high in it. It doesn't leach out of the soil as nitrogen and postash do so after a while it will build up to levels that can cause problems rather quickly. For that reason I would avoid using a 20-20-20 solution very often unless your soil is really lacking in phosphorus.

I live in an area with the climate for a very long tomato season or several of them. It is not unusual for me to have some plants still producing after six or seven months and the older they get the more important the side dressing becomes. I try to set out new plants several times in the long season because no matter how well I tend the plants the diseases, pests and hot humid conditions will take a toll on the tomatoes over time and it can become more work than it is worth to keep them going. Another reason is for me the best production from tomato plants almost always comes from the first five or six bloom clusters with fruit set usually dropping off rapidly as you go up the plant. I plant for continuous production so I use the single stem lean and lower system which automatically prevents me from taking full advantage of the first or lower clusters because of the single stem. When I want a lot of tomatoes early and still good sized fruit I will grow a bed of tomatoes with 3 to four stems on a trellis but as I said I have a very long growing season and have found no way to keep up with all those stems or any way to keep them healthy when they become a giant hedge of tomatoes.

I grew one bed with multiple stem plants early in the season and it was super productive and pretty much filled up the freezer with a good supply of sauce and quite a few jars of canned salsa for use from now til next summer. I pulled what was left of the bed back in late June as it was ravaged by early blight and was an unmanageable mess that was just too much work to maintain and my single stem plants which were planted a month later were producing much better and larger fruit by that time.

Bill

SharonRossy · August 29, 2021

I grow in raised beds with Pro Mix and use a lot of initial amending - lime, Epsom salts, fertilizer - at planting. Then I fertilize 7-10 days with a water soluble fertilizer and CalMg. Because watering is more frequent in a raised bed with a peat base, fertilizing on a regular schedule is critical.

zipcode · August 30, 2021

Fertilizing every week sounds good, it all depends how much you use. I don't think that formula is that good though, even as general purpose. P should be applied often but in small amounts. It becomes quickly tied up in the soil so it's not only wasted, it can cause some other problems after some years.

August 28, 2021	#1
gunrunner Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: memphis tn Posts: 81	Fertilizing How Often? Hello All I would like to try a couple of beefsteak next year. I read some place where they should be fertilized every 7-10 days. I am planning on using Fertilome water soluble and was wondering if this is too often for my plants? Does anyone have any experience with the Fertilome 20 20 20? Will it burn new plants? Thanks Mike

August 28, 2021	#2
MissS Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin Posts: 3,146	Wow, how often you fertilize and with what depends on a lot of variables. You feed more often in most containers than you do in the ground. Your best bet is to have a soil test done. If in ground, you may not need to feed them at all. There is no set schedule on feeding your plants, you need to learn how to read their leaves. I also feed my plants different things in different growth phases. __________________ ~ Patti ~

August 29, 2021	#3
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Definitely get a soil test done. I try to feed my tomatoes every 7 to 10 days when they need it; but there are a lot of variables in what need means. Since I use a liquid fertilizer on established plants I find it very hard to keep to that schedule in times of frequent or heavy rainfall. I also find that a lot depends on how well the soil is prepared before planting. Well prepared soil that is high in most or all of the required amendments will naturally need less side dressing both by starting later and fertilizing less frequently. I do seem to get much heavier fruit set when I can keep up regular fertilizing especially after the first initial rush of tomatoes when the plant seems to need more pepping up to keep up the good results. I like to use Texas Tomato Food for my side dressing because for me it usually results in higher fruit setting in difficult times and the tomatoes seem to taste better when I use it regularly. I have used Miracle Grow type fertilizers in the past with fairly good results most of the time but when I did side by side comparisons using both I liked the results from TTF much better on tomatoes. I have been gardening in the same raised beds for 40 years so I am constantly adding amendments to the soil each year to try to stop the erosion of nutrients both macro and micro. I developed a problem that doesn't really seem to mess up my plants too much and that is an accumulation of phosphorus in the soil due to using cow manure, horse manure and fertilizers way too high in it. It doesn't leach out of the soil as nitrogen and postash do so after a while it will build up to levels that can cause problems rather quickly. For that reason I would avoid using a 20-20-20 solution very often unless your soil is really lacking in phosphorus. I live in an area with the climate for a very long tomato season or several of them. It is not unusual for me to have some plants still producing after six or seven months and the older they get the more important the side dressing becomes. I try to set out new plants several times in the long season because no matter how well I tend the plants the diseases, pests and hot humid conditions will take a toll on the tomatoes over time and it can become more work than it is worth to keep them going. Another reason is for me the best production from tomato plants almost always comes from the first five or six bloom clusters with fruit set usually dropping off rapidly as you go up the plant. I plant for continuous production so I use the single stem lean and lower system which automatically prevents me from taking full advantage of the first or lower clusters because of the single stem. When I want a lot of tomatoes early and still good sized fruit I will grow a bed of tomatoes with 3 to four stems on a trellis but as I said I have a very long growing season and have found no way to keep up with all those stems or any way to keep them healthy when they become a giant hedge of tomatoes. I grew one bed with multiple stem plants early in the season and it was super productive and pretty much filled up the freezer with a good supply of sauce and quite a few jars of canned salsa for use from now til next summer. I pulled what was left of the bed back in late June as it was ravaged by early blight and was an unmanageable mess that was just too much work to maintain and my single stem plants which were planted a month later were producing much better and larger fruit by that time. Bill

August 29, 2021	#4
SharonRossy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Montreal Posts: 1,140	I grow in raised beds with Pro Mix and use a lot of initial amending - lime, Epsom salts, fertilizer - at planting. Then I fertilize 7-10 days with a water soluble fertilizer and CalMg. Because watering is more frequent in a raised bed with a peat base, fertilizing on a regular schedule is critical.

August 30, 2021	#5
zipcode Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6 Posts: 1,582	Fertilizing every week sounds good, it all depends how much you use. I don't think that formula is that good though, even as general purpose. P should be applied often but in small amounts. It becomes quickly tied up in the soil so it's not only wasted, it can cause some other problems after some years.