Jobe tomato stick fertilizer
 

I am growing my tomato plants in containers using soil from a bag only. I bought some Jobe tomato sticks for tomato plants. Has anybody used these and how did your tomato plants react to them. I don't know much about fertilizers for container tomato plants...any suggestions. Thank you.

I used them on two of my plants - did fine. I have since started using Jobe's organic tomato/veg fertilizer as I am sure after two months, the sticks have gone on, but I could completely be wrong.

One of my friends who grows tomatoes in his garden swears by em, I put them in my grow bag tomatoes 2 Jobe tomato sticks in each bag, so far so good. Good growth & the fruits are growing well, but I'm also applying foliar sprays of calcium nitrate and Epsom salt to the tomato & pepper plants to help with blossom development and to help prevent BER. Here's what they look like so far.

Thank you. I will know soon and post again. Nice photos!

I've used them for peppers in nursery pots, and for tomatoes in 5 gallon buckets.

I am curious, how well did they work for your plants?

Psalms441, if your asking me I've been very pleased up to this point, lets see how I feel about it after harvest. But I think I'll be happy.

Hi Jetstar, I think that I made the right decision buying them, no complaints so far. Just have not heard much about them. They must be new to the market? I put them in my containers that have Caspian Pink, Tiny Tim, and a Purple Dog Creek seedling a few days ago. They seem to have straightened up. Their branches are lifted up instead of swaying laterally. I am keeping my fingers crossed. I want some fall tomatoes. Thanks to everybody for your input.

Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, early in the season, had packs of 9 Jobes tomato spikes for $1.00. sometimes I can find the 18 spike packs for around $2 or $2.50 but more like $3 to $3.50 is what most local stores are charging. Most people here don;t plant out until at least mid May, if not early June. Early birds get the $1.00 spikes. ;-)

Were they fresh?

I got a "deal" on some j-spikes one time at a garage sale. 100 for $1. Even though the packages did not have an expiration date, they were past their prime and could not see much improvement.

Despite still being in the wrapper (bag, box, etc...), I guess fertilizer can go bad after a period of time if stored outside. I dunno, but good luck to you. Certainly won't hurt anything.

I think the one variable is where exactly they are applied. I always try to push mine down near the root zone. It is a tough call as to how effective they are. It depends on how fast they decompose.

I just transplanted a small Purple Dog Creek into a large pot with a couple of these fertilizer sticks for a fall crop. Time will tell. Jobe also sell a different version of this product in the form of small pellets which I may try next year.:wait:

I changed fertilizers this year. I used Jobe's and other time release ones for the last 7 or so years. I picked up Espoma Organic Tomato-Tone to fill my Amazon order. Ugh. It's a pain. Every two weeks feeding them. But WOW they are super healthy for once. They are so tall and setting fruit. They look better than any tomato crop in the past 10 years. I'm on my second bag for the season and I have one more bag in waiting. At this point, I'd rather mark my calendar and give them a few scoops of Tomato-Tone than use a time release fertilizer like Jobe's.

[QUOTE=My Foot Smells;575570]Were they fresh?

I got a "deal" on some j-spikes one time at a garage sale. 100 for $1. Even though the packages did not have an expiration date, they were past their prime and could not see much improvement.

Despite still being in the wrapper (bag, box, etc...), I guess fertilizer can go bad after a period of time if stored outside. I dunno, but good luck to you. Certainly won't hurt anything.[/QUOTE]

I think they worked great in peppers. Last year I had only 1 tomato in a 5-gallon bucket, but it thrived right up until frost got it in November. This year's cheap-o spikes appear to be working just fine. They dissolve and all that. Peppers are super deep green and very prolific. Peppers really like the extra K in these spikes. My tomatoes in small pots really greened up after getting spikes. No regrets on my purchase.

I gave these a try this year in my containers. I think they made a difference. My plants were very, very productive and overloaded with flowers. I did not have as much blossom end rot ether. I put a spike in at planting and then added one monthly. I did my other dry ferts but this seemed to make the most difference.