Urban Farms Texas Tomato Food

[emcd124]

I'd second the opinions that the product is awesome and the pour/measure system sucks. It would be nice at a minimum to have a cap that was taller than necessary and marked with 1 and 2 TB measures. I like the baster idea though and may have to get a dedicated baster for this project!

[b54red]

I just use my Ortho dial a spray. I put in 12 to 16 ounces of product after shaking well and then fill with water so that it is thinned 3 to 1. I then set the spray at 1 to 1 1/2 ounces and soak the ground under my plants. I am now working on my fourth gallon of the product because I have a good many plants and some are quite large and need much more than a tablespoon at this point. I have had the best fruit set this year I have ever had on my tomatoes but I have applied the product every 7 days or so since the plants went into the garden. The continuous feeding seems to be the trick to getting very good fruit set down here in our hot and humid climate. I was unable to give them any of the TTF for about 3 weeks and during that time the blossom drop was very high so I went back to the regular feeding and despite it being midsummer when tomatoes don't set well at all, decent fruit set has resumed. The one drawback to the dial a spray type feeder is the product will sometimes clog the filter on the siphon unless you thin it and shake it up fairly often while applying. If you are feeding more than a dozen tomatoes this is a good way to apply the TTF without too much bother.

Bill

[TNTiger]

I'm going to try it with a Hudson Wet/Dry and Liquids Hose End Sprayer (Model #2204 ). I bought one last summer but it came without the feed tube and I never got around to returning it. I contacted the manufacturer and they are sending me a replacement. Hopefully it will work well for me - I was going to purchase a new sprayer but Hudson was very quick to answer about a replacement part.

I plan to try it with undiluted TTF so I can return the unused portion to the jug. Hopefully this is going to work!

[b54red]

Originally Posted by TNTiger

I'm going to try it with a Hudson Wet/Dry and Liquids Hose End Sprayer (Model #2204 ). I bought one last summer but it came without the feed tube and I never got around to returning it. I contacted the manufacturer and they are sending me a replacement. Hopefully it will work well for me - I was going to purchase a new sprayer but Hudson was very quick to answer about a replacement part.

I plan to try it with undiluted TTF so I can return the unused portion to the jug. Hopefully this is going to work!

If it has a fine filter like the one on the Ortho it will probably clog up. I tried using TTF full strength but found I was just applying plain water most of the time as the tube filter was clogged very quickly and I had to keep removing the siphon tube to clean the filter. I go ahead and just use up any extra and have never had any ill affects from doing so.

Bill

[TNTiger]

Thanks Bill, I'll watch for that - I may do a bucket test first by carefully measuring what I put into the jar, spray out 1 or 2 gallons and then measure what's left. If it clogs then I'll start diluting like you are doing. I'll just have to do the math to figure out the application rate for the diluted mixture.

[Salsacharley]

Hi Bill,

When you say some of your plants need more than a tablespoon, do you mean a diluted tablespoon in a gallon of water?

Thanks,

Charley

[edweather]

I ordered a quart earlier this year, and I agree that it's probably one of the best fertilizers out there. Unfortunately my budget doesn't allow me to really use all that I'd like to. Went throught the quart very quickly, and surely could have used a gallon or more. Every year I usually treat myself to something special related to the garden, and this year it was a quart of TTF. I'm saving the last little bit to use later this month when less nitrogen is needed.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by Salsacharley

Hi Bill,

When you say some of your plants need more than a tablespoon, do you mean a diluted tablespoon in a gallon of water?

Thanks,

Charley

When I apply my solution it is usually diluted to one tablespoon to the gallon but on larger plants I may apply as much as 2 to 3 gallons if it is dry or if the plants look like they need a boost. When I mean large I am talking about plants that are over my 7 ft trellis. They are very large and thus need more fertilizer especially if they have more than 2 stems.

Bill

[SharonRossy]

I'm guessing I can't get this product in Canada???

[tnpeppers]

...perhaps a measuring cap like Algoflash would be in order?

[Urbanfarmer]

Originally Posted by tnpeppers

...perhaps a measuring cap like Algoflash would be in order?

When we were first introducing our products several years ago we began with pumps. They leaked badly and we couldn't make them work out. Then we tried squirt flip-tops.....too much potential for leakage from them as well. Finally, we had to settle on fixed caps. It was the safest option, especially since we ship so much via USPS and UPS.

For quarts we've seen no pour problems, but the larger sizes can be clumsy. Decanting into a squirt bottle, like a sport water bottle is handy. You can measure out a tbls easily without spillage.

If you are measuring for several gallons or more, it is much better to use a measuring cup @ 1/2oz/gallon. For instance, if you set up a 32 gallon trash can as your nutrient reservoir, just pour in 16oz. Give a stir and then dip in your watering can whenever you want. Or install a small pump and run a drip line out of it.

Like all our formulas, a 5 second shake immediately before pouring is essential. Because of the concentration, organics, and calcium, settling occurs rapidly. For this reason, we've never been able to use it full-strength in a hose-end sprayer.

We are extremely grateful to all of you. Your results validate what we set out to do every day.

Best regards......

[TNTiger]

Oops - I just started using it and am putting it full strength into a hose end sprayer. Granted, I'm only using about 10Tbs total so it's not like I'm walking around with it for an hour! I wonder if I'm keeping it agitated enough during the time it takes to spray out that much.

[b54red]

I just went out and checked my plants today. It has been about 5 days since I last fed them and I thought I might have been overdoing it. Due to the heavy rain I had been unable to apply any TTF for ten days so I used an ounce to the gallon because the soil was still fairly wet. Wow I had a tomato fruit set explosion. Some of my large plants that were no longer setting much at all were given at least 2 ounces or more and all of a sudden they are fruiting again. I did not give my young plants that heavy dose because I feared I might burn them; but for some of the older plants I really didn't care as they seemed near the end of their productive life. I'm sure the wetter soil helped further dilute the TTF that I applied at one ounce to the gallon on the largest poorest performing plants. It is amazing how much better those old plants now look. I was getting ready to pull most of them up so I could get that bed ready for fall crops like broccoli and cabbage so now I'll have to wait and see how the tomatoes develop.

That was a rather costly experiment using so much of the fertilizer; but I learned something I can use in the future to help revive a fading plant if I want to. I may even do it again on a couple of my favorite tomatoes but not on the ones that are just so so. Between grafting and this product tomato growing is a lot more fun than it was. Now if someone would come up with a fungicide that worked and didn't wash off things could really run smoothly.

Bill

[TNTiger]

I've been using TTF for a couple of weeks now and About 7-10 days after first use my plants filled up with blossoms and I'm seeing lots of new little tomatoes. Most of my plants were doing well already but this did provide a big boost to them. Two plants were being very stubborn and not blooming at all but currently they are covered with blooms - of course the blooms and baby tomatoes are 8 feet off the ground but I imagine eventually they'll droop down where I can reach them. (These plants were already healthy - just not blooming).

I will continue using TTF this year and make sure to have it on hand much earlier next year!

[Rockporter]

I have fixed my problem with the heavy gallon container. My husband likes the little 8 ounce chocolate milks we buy at sam's club and I decided I had a use for one of them and it works perfect.

I washed one out with hot soapy water and let it dry completely. After if was dry I shook my gallon container as per instructions and then filled up the 8 oz container, it comes with a great lid and it was very easy to measure out 1 tablespoon of mix from it and I can store the rest in the container. I did remove the wrap that was on it and it exposes the mix to the light, if this is not a good idea then I will cover it with paper and tape. The container is lightweight and doesn't hurt my arthritic hands either. Win win for me.