Tomatoes require a significant amount of nutrients to produce healthy produce and gardeners often find that even nutrient-rich potting soil isn’t enough for tomato plants
Tomatoes, unlike many other fruits and vegetables, demand a substantial amount of nutrients to yield healthy produce. Garden enthusiasts often find that even nutrient-dense potting soil doesn’t quite cut it for tomato plants. These plants could greatly benefit from the application of fertiliser at various stages of their growth cycle.
The correct product can bolster healthy growth, promote flowering and fruit development, enhance fruit quality, and boost disease resistance. Underfed tomato plants will begin to exhibit signs of nutrient deficiency, either immediately or when the tomatoes start to form. Tomato plants flourish with fertilisers rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
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For those keen on avoiding the expense of commercial organic fertiliser, concocting a homemade version can be a more cost-effective and equally advantageous alternative, reports the Express.
For green thumbs uncertain about where to begin, gardening guru Susan Patterson from Rural Sprout has divulged her homemade tomato plant fertiliser recipe, which she’s “perfected over 30 years” to enhance the grit and yield a “bumper crop”.
Sharing her formula, she stated: “Over the years of trial and error, I have discovered a formulation for tomato fertiliser that seems to work best.
“Although there are many options for homemade fertiliser, this one has worked best for me.”
For the base, Susan prefers to use “high-quality compost”, derived from food and garden waste. Begin by combining a half-gallon of compost in a bucket, breaking up any clumps and ensuring it’s well mixed.
Next, the expert suggests adding two cups of vermicompost (worm manure) to the compost blend to “help provide beneficial microbes in the soil”. Additionally, incorporate two cups of powdered eggshells and two cups of rabbit or hamster droppings into the mixture.
For those who don’t produce their own vermicompost, it can be purchased on Amazon for £13.40, with customers praising its quality, value, health benefits, and appearance. They describe it as rich, easy to mix, and beneficial for plants.
Alternatively, Original Organics offers vermicompost for £21.97, with customers raving about its quality, value, and appearance, as well as its rich, almost black colour and lovely texture. Gardeners without access to rabbit manure can purchase it on eBay for £6.
To boost the potassium and phosphorus levels, add a cup of wood ashes to the mixture. Wood ashes have several useful applications in the garden, including aiding hydrangeas.
Finally, to introduce nitrogen to the homemade fertilizer, Susan recommends incorporating one cup of coffee grounds.
In a rather peculiar gardening fix, the expert has suggested that horticultural enthusiasts could add finely sliced pet or human hair to their compost mix.
Explaining the benefits, she stated: “Hair breaks down and adds nitrogen and also keratin – a protein which tomatoes will use well for strong growth.”
She went on to stress the importance of allowing the fertiliser to “cure for about a month” afterwards, and ensuring it is kept in a sealed bucket before use.