This is a very long thread and I didn't have time to reread all of it but I agree with those who said they put nothing in the planting hole except the plant, and here's why I also do that.
Tomatoes have two cycles, the vegetative cycle of forming new stems and branches and leaves and the sexual cycle of blossom formation, blossom set, growth and maturation of fruits.
Tomatoes have their own DNA which tells them what to do and when, so why not let them grow naturally.
Too many amendments in the hole or growing them in too rich soil or contanier mix keeps them in the vegetative phase which delays the sexual phase.
My rows were 250 ft long. I'd crawl on my knees place my trowel and pull back and insert the seedling, ideally ones that were 6 to 9 inches tall. Then water well to remove any air pockets that would prevent the roots from making close contact with the soil.
About two weeks later I would sidedress with granular fertilizer and work it in. Plants in a row were spaced 3-4 ft apart and rows were 5 ft apart.
When blossoms would set I'd sidedress once more, and that was it until late in the summer when I felt if they needed a boost, but by that time there was no way to place fertilizer at the base of the plant so I sprayed with either seaweed or fish emulsion.
So that's what I did, as did some earlier in this thread did in terms of not putting any amendments in the planting hole and I tried to explain the reasons why I did so,
Carolyn
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Carolyn
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