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Maximizing Tomato Plant Growth
Tomatoes are one of the most widely cultivated vegetables, and if you want to harvest the largest and most flavorful crop possible, it is imperative that you provide your plants with the proper nutrition. Only four to six weeks is the amount of time that nutrients can be preserved in compost or a growth bag. And even controlled-release fertilisers have a lower level of potassium, which is needed for the development of fruit, than tomato feeds, and they will run out of it by the time tomatoes are ripe. Tomato feeds have the optimal level of potassium. Because the use of a quality liquid feed can provide you delicious, ripe tomatoes for a longer period of time than controlled-release fertiliser alone, we decided to investigate which of the already available products would be the most effective in accomplishing our goal. Tomato feeds are also an excellent choice for fertilising floral patio plants that are grown in containers, such as petunias and begonias.
When should tomato plants be fed?
Providing your plants with the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) they require for healthy growth can be accomplished by incorporating a controlled-release fertiliser into your compost at the time of planting; however, it is possible that these nutrients will be depleted by the time your tomatoes begin to ripen. Once the first truss of fruit has formed on your tomato plants, you should begin providing them with a liquid feed if you haven’t already put a controlled-release fertiliser to the soil.
How frequently should tomato plants be given fertiliser?
Check the product label for the recommended dilution and application frequency, and remember that the majority of products need to be applied at least once per week, with the frequency sometimes rising after the second truss of fruits develops.
Is the fertiliser for tomatoes good for all plants?
Tomato feeds aren’t just for tomatoes; most have more potassium in relation to the nitrogen and phosphorus, which helps to promote flowering and fruiting. Therefore, you can use a tomato feed on any container-grown plants that produce a lot of flowers or fruits, such as fuchsias, clematis, aubergines, cucumbers, peppers, courgettes, and chillies. This is because tomato feed contains phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium.
Methods for evaluating tomato meals
We chose to evaluate a total of nine different tomato feeds, including eight that are readily available and one that is more specialised and does not require feeding. Midway through the month of April, we potted up tomato ‘Shirley’ plants in a Best Buy peat-free compost in order to provide three plants for each feed treatment. Midway through the month of May, we planted these tomato plants into their final 10L pots with the same compost.
Tomato plants were transplanted into 10 litre containers filled with the specialised compost that was being evaluated. Around the middle of June, we started feeding our tomatoes at the rates that were described on each package. The plants in the specialist compost were given only water.
After six trusses of fruit had formed, we stopped the plants’ growth by pinching out the growing point of the cordons that we used to cultivate our tomatoes and grew them in an unheated polytunnel. We assessed how vigorous the plants were, as well as the quality and quantity of fruits produced by each meal. In addition, we evaluated how simple it was to use each product.
