General discussion regarding the techniques and methods used to successfully grow tomato plants in containers.
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February 13, 2021 | #1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Eastern/Coastal NC 8b
Posts: 192
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Homemade Fertilizer Supplement
Need advice and thoughts on using this homemade suppliment to my 5 gallon container media (last years batch) for tomatoes, peppers and okra. The mix is as follows:
3/4 pint of egg shell powder (shells washed and sterilized in the oven before pulverizing in the blender) 1 Tablespoon of garden sulphur 1 Tablespoon of Epsom Salts Will 4 Tablespoons in a 5 gallon container a month or so before planting be sufficient to amend the media? Considering additional ferts like MG Tomato Fertilizer when planting in late April. |
February 15, 2021 | #2 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Wasilla Alaska
Posts: 2,010
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Quote:
Last edited by AKmark; February 15, 2021 at 09:11 PM. |
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February 16, 2021 | #3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: SE PA
Posts: 972
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Does your media only shrink about 1 pt for 5 gallons over the course of the year?
My rain gutter buckets shrink and pack down a bit over summer to fall. That little bit of mass added would not replace it all for me. It might be that my medium shrinks so much due to the wicking? I add in probably 20-30 percent new each year. Since it is mostly compost added, it seems there are plenty of micronutrients that make it in, plus I add fertilizer and epsom salt. I do this when the long season crops are going in. Over winter, the buckets are covered with leaves. In spring they are seeded or transplanted with spring crops without any repack at that time. |
February 16, 2021 | #4 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6
Posts: 1,582
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20% seems a lot in one season. But it also depends on the media. The more coarse peat you have, the less it compacts. I also assume a constant watering will decompose it faster. I lose about 10% with top watering.
@MuddyBuckets, unless you have ph issues (pH going up during the season), I would skip the sulfur. The eggshells I guess can be useful, what could also be useful is some stone flour for extra minerals. Both of these will take a while to be available, hard to say when. And you can always supplement with epsom salts during the growth. |
Tags |
egg , epsom salt , fertilizer , sulfur , supplement |
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