Return to the Container Gardening Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
Fertilizer usage
| | |
Posted by colokid Co/Z6 (My Page) on Sun, Jun 28, 09 at 11:13
| How much fertilizer will a tomato plant use up in its life time? I am refering to the fact that as a wheat farmer, I knew that if I removed 40 bu of grain, I had to replace about 40 lbs of nitrogen. So in my container, that I am re-using, how many Tbs. of say 10 percent nitrogen do I have to add over the life of the plant? Will one Tbs. at the start last it or do I need to do it every now and then? Too late to mix in dry fertilizer, but how much did people put in for a tomato? In my case, I assume that I used up all the potting mix fertilizer the first time around. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Fertilizer usage
| | |
| For tomatoes it's recommended that you add lime or dolomite to your potting mix. I'm also struggling with the tomato-in-container fertilizer issue because I'm using the Earth Box which deviates from normal fertilizing practice. I don't think potting mix necessarily has fertilizer. You should add fertilizer even the first time around, I believe. Anyway, for tomatoes, the K of NPK - potassium, must be as important as the nitrogen since you want to grow large tomatoes and not just leaves. At your gardening center you'll find fertilizers recommended for tomatoes with instructions. |
RE: Fertilizer usage
| | |
| Thanks. My question was kind of a crazy one to start with. Trying to decide if I should dose it good at the start with XXX and then add a TBS of XXX every week, 2 weeks, or monthly. Or even more often. Guess the plants will let me know if too much or too little. FWIW, I grew two 6 foot tall tomatoes with MG potting mix with NO added fertilizer. That is contrary with standard opinion around here. |
RE: Fertilizer usage
| | |
- Posted by tapla z5b-6a MI (My Page) on
Mon, Jun 29, 09 at 8:58
| In conventional containers, low doses at more frequent intervals are MUCH to be preferred to extra high doses at any time. The amount of fertilizer (actually, the total amount of solubles in the soil solution) has a DIRECT effect on how easy/difficult it is for the plants to take up water and the nutrients they need that are dissolved in the water. Too much fertilizer and your plants will die of thirst in a sea of plenty. I looked at your original question, but decided it was kind of like asking, "How much gas will my car use in its lifetime." ... tough to answer. Al |
RE: Fertilizer usage
| | |
| Thanks Al. I want to bring this discussion to and end. I would however say that most farmers any more, do exactly that. They know how much crop they shoot for, how much fertilizer is needed and even use a GPS to distribute it so not to waste what is not needed. |
RE: Fertilizer usage
| | |
| That's true, but they are working with a soil that for the most part retains nutrients. They also have the benefit of field/crop studies showing how much of a nutrient is removed from the fields by a crop, yield curves at various nutrient rates etc. In a container I don't know how to calculate the same thing. Most of the nutrients added are lost with watering. To the extent the nutrients are water soluble they run out the drain hole with the drain water. If one is using SWC, it's a little different in that there doesn't have to be any run off loss. |
Post a Follow-Up
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Container Gardening Forum
|
|
|
