Tomatoes are heavy feeders which need more nutrients to thrive, but you can help them grow bigger and healthier fruit by feeding them the right fertiliser
Tomatoes are known as heavy feeders, requiring a rich supply of nutrients to flourish, and the right fertiliser can significantly enhance their growth, yielding larger and healthier fruits. It’s crucial to consistently nourish tomatoes during their growth period, as underfed plants may exhibit yellowing leaves, restricted growth and produce smaller or inferior quality fruit.
For optimal tomato cultivation, they require a fertiliser abundant in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, and it’s possible to concoct an economical homemade feed from kitchen scraps that delivers the same benefits as commercial fertilisers. Feeding your tomatoes banana skins can provide a surge of potassium and phosphorus, while coffee grounds are the secret ingredient for cultivating larger and more plentiful tomato plants.
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Gardening expert and I Grow Tomatoes co-founder Jim Competti has revealed that one of the most effective natural fertilisers for tomato plants is used coffee grounds.
He explained: “Did you know that one of the best ways to naturally fertilise your tomato plants is by using spent coffee grounds?
“Not only can the grounds be used to power plants at the time of planting, but they can also be used throughout the entire growing season as well! Coffee grounds are full of the vital nutrients that tomato plants need in order to grow healthy and productive.
“Tomato plants need a fair amount of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous – which, of course, are key nutrients found in commercial fertiliser products. But they also happen to be in coffee grounds too!”
One of the top methods to utilise coffee grounds to nourish tomatoes is to convert them into a liquid feed, and all you need to do is save your leftover coffee grounds each time you brew a cup.
Jim stated: “After you make an initial pot of coffee, all that remains are the weak grounds. If you simply run an additional pot of water through the maker, just like that, you have a perfect, all-purpose fertilising tea.
“Once cool, you can then use this tea to water your tomato plants to provide them with a quick boost of nutrients. You can even do the same with any leftover plain coffee. Just dilute it with equal parts water and your tea is ready to power your plants.”
You can also directly apply a small quantity of coffee grounds around the base of a tomato plant before watering it to help give it a nitrogen boost, reports the Express.
Jim stated: “Every three to four weeks, sprinkle on a few tablespoons around the base of each tomato plant. This helps to provide plants with a low and steady stream of nutrients every time it rains or you water.”
Not only will this leftover kitchen scrap help feed your tomato plant to help grow bigger fruit, but coffee grounds are also a natural way to keep slugs and snails out of your garden, so you can save money and deter pests with this simple gardening trick.