TTF and Rain
 

Hey All,

The garden is going great (thanks especially to those here)! Had a quick question. We've had a TON of rain here in Georgia over the last week. It seems that whenever I want to get started on drenching my Tom's with the TTF the weather turns on me the following day for the next 3 days. :x

Would you continue to apply the TTF even with the rain? My plants are doing great and there are TONS of flowers and Tom's (Tom's on some) and my plants simply LOVE the TTF. I really want to apply it, but not sure if I'm essentially 'flushing' money out of the container. :o

They don't really need it, but they certainly take off like rocket ships when they get 3 days of constant TTF drenching.

Thanks!

Zeus

Heavy rains and a small volume of soil in containers will result in nutrients being flushed out if there isn't enough time between the application and the rain for the plants to absorb the nutrients.

If we're having a long stretch of heavy rain, or if we go away for more than a week as we tend to do every June, I switch over to a granular/slow release fertilizer (Tomato Tone) until the rainy period ends or until we get home from our trip. This way they are still being fed without me having to continue dumping more water and fertilizer on them to keep them healthy and avoid stuff like BER.

Where you're drenching them daily during rainy stretches, there may be enough nutrients remaining in the container long enough for the plants to take it up, but a typical TTF feeding schedule for containers is once a week.

If they look good, then it's your call.

I do the same. A bit of slow release during a rainy week. TTF a bit after a good soaking rain when
the pots are saturated and no rain for a clear day forecast. Just guessing the TTF will disperse more
evenly and not flush through.

Our drought here in SE Georgia took a nice hit with about 2" of rain since Sat nite. Others have gotten more rain than us, but we'll take it. This is about the first two days of the year I haven't had to water by hand, it's been so dry and sunny and hot. The recent clouds and rain gave me a break. Will probably follow your lead and give them a dose of fertilizer when the rain stops.

I "like" to fertilizer and the end of a heavy rain, when it is still raining. Thinking that the fert will permeate the soil mo better and let the rain bring the fert to a nice soil depth. however, in container, I often use osmocote or slow release (as suggested above), to limit the fert runoff.

Just gave the containers a nice drink of fertilizer laced with a little Calcium Nitrate :yes: