"I was thinking about buying some of this to try this year. It's a 5-1-1, which seems to be very close to what tomato (and many other container veggies) need for NPK ratio. Anyone used this before? Success? Failure? Any & all opinions & thoughts appreciated. My thought is to buy a nice quality potting mix, but one w/o any added fertilizer and to just use this to give the correct NPK ratio to the potting medium. Thanks! - Steve"

Al

- Steve

Josh

You'll go a long way before you find a better plan than starting with a 3:1:2 ratio until the plant is well-established and then reducing the dosage and including the ProTeKt 0-0-3 when it starts setting fruit. As you see, there ARE things you can do to make it work, but I was just trying to make it easy on you. You can also start with a 3:1:2 and switch to a 1:1:1 after the plant is established if you have something like 20-20-20 or 14-14-14 (most common 1:1:1s) on hand.

Al

What worked for me was Foiliage Pro and Pro-tek at each watering all summer long.
What's weird is that while my neighbors lost theirs to a serious case of blight, mine withstood that.. Not sure why?

I did get a whole bunch of tomatos, and the plants were as healthy as could be until they out grew their pots and the cold moved in.

Mike..::-)

Al

Thanks! - Steve

Good luck

Mike..:-)

As an example, if you apply FE when it's cool, nutrients will be unavailable, even though the FE is carried over in the soil. You might be tempted to fertilize a second or even third time because the plants haven't appeared to react to the application. As soon as the soil warms and soil microbial populations multiply, all or nearly all of the fertilizer you've applied can become available and cause issues you'll likely blame on other cultural factors. It's really much more difficult to use fish emulsions and other forms of organic soil amendments as nutrient sources in container culture than it is to use soluble fertilizers, but if you are limited by a particular ideology, I understand.

Why would you feel like you butted in, Mike? ;o)

Al

So in my opinion, I should of read the thread, question, a bit better, and shown that respect and withdraw from my excitement to help.

It was directed for you, and I felt rude for interrupting.

So the opology.:-), and yet the "goodluck" in good faith, because I fully understand. I myself have directed many questions specifically for you too.

Mike..;-)

It appears as though, in this situation, the article I read & my impulse buy of the FE were lost causes...lol. No big deal though. I'll see if HD will take it as a return. If not, i'll keep it for use down the line on something else....but I will look for a fertilizer I like and/or some recommended here to get the proper ratio of nutrients for my container plants. It's not something that needs to be solved immediately, as I don't start fertilizing my seedlings until they reach about 4 weeks old & even then, it's a diluted/light application. My mater plants are only a little over 2 weeks old (from seed) right now.

Anyway, great info to know about the FE, Al. I'm glad I didn't learn all this down the line & have a horrible year with my veggie plants. I just got tired of the typical Miracle Grow Tomato fertilizer last year & figured i'd look for something better this year. =)

- Steve

Damon

- Steve

Josh

I have been using it for months, and it is the best fertilizer I have ever used for my plants..

Mike..:-)

- Steve

I shall have to read more, thanks for that!

Mike:-)

Al

Damon

- Steve

I like that..:-)

When you say hibernation, explain the conditions you are giving it for me..How does it look? If you want, you can e-mail at mikerno_1@yahoo.com or ask this same question over at the citrus forum so we can keep this thread focused on your original question.

I would find it a joy to help you, since we are both 5.1.1 partners!

Mike..:-) :-)

- Steve

Home made bbq sauce with all those goodies sounds pretty delicious!!!

All that stuff your growing, amazing.

I forgot, what state do you live in?

Mike.:-)!

Josh

- Steve

I should of seen or remembered that...oops

Mike..:-)