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b54red · June 5, 2018

I know for a fact that the TTF makes a huge difference in fruit set and proved it this year without trying to. I fertilized with TTF at the 1 TBS per gallon rate every 5 to 7 days up until we started getting that rain every day for about two weeks. My fruit set for the blooms that came out before the rain was almost too much and I had to cull a lot of small fruit. I had little to no fruit set starting about 3 days into the rain and lasting til about a week afterwards and I didn't feed the plants any TTF for that two weeks. I started back with the TTF three days after the rains stopped and gave them a heavier than normal dose of TTF and within three days I started seeing much more fruit set. I have noticed this before when I lay off the TTF for over a week blossoms start dropping and fruit set goes down. It is especially noticeable when it is very hot and dry.

I don't know if TTF really helps a lot with blossom end rot but since I have been using TTF regularly I have rarely seen BER. I have had a few fruits get it when I didn't adequately water during a dry windy time but nothing like I used to see . I think using the heavy layer of cypress mulch does a lot in mitigating BER also because it keeps the soil more evenly moist. Since I have been using raised beds for over 35 years I have had some real problems with BER in the past due to the beds drying out too much and then having to heavily water them. My use of TTF started about the same time I started using the cypress mulch so I guess it is a chicken and egg question.

I set out 26 plants on March 16th and another 27 on March 25th. Since the middle of May I have picked 140 tomatoes with the bulk of them coming from the first bed but the second one is starting to put out ripe fruit now. I plant only medium to large varieties and the fruit set on almost all of them has been very heavy. I lost several large clusters that pulled away from the stems in those two rainy weeks but have not had any splitting problems so I don't guess I got too much rain. After using TTF for several years I am extremely happy with the results and will continue using it as long as I can get it. It isn't the cheapest fertilizer out there but neither is it close to being the most expensive. I feel for the amount of fruit I get it is a good value for the money. I used to spend just about the same amount on Miracle Grow but without the same results.

Bill

June 5, 2018	#668
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I know for a fact that the TTF makes a huge difference in fruit set and proved it this year without trying to. I fertilized with TTF at the 1 TBS per gallon rate every 5 to 7 days up until we started getting that rain every day for about two weeks. My fruit set for the blooms that came out before the rain was almost too much and I had to cull a lot of small fruit. I had little to no fruit set starting about 3 days into the rain and lasting til about a week afterwards and I didn't feed the plants any TTF for that two weeks. I started back with the TTF three days after the rains stopped and gave them a heavier than normal dose of TTF and within three days I started seeing much more fruit set. I have noticed this before when I lay off the TTF for over a week blossoms start dropping and fruit set goes down. It is especially noticeable when it is very hot and dry. I don't know if TTF really helps a lot with blossom end rot but since I have been using TTF regularly I have rarely seen BER. I have had a few fruits get it when I didn't adequately water during a dry windy time but nothing like I used to see . I think using the heavy layer of cypress mulch does a lot in mitigating BER also because it keeps the soil more evenly moist. Since I have been using raised beds for over 35 years I have had some real problems with BER in the past due to the beds drying out too much and then having to heavily water them. My use of TTF started about the same time I started using the cypress mulch so I guess it is a chicken and egg question. I set out 26 plants on March 16th and another 27 on March 25th. Since the middle of May I have picked 140 tomatoes with the bulk of them coming from the first bed but the second one is starting to put out ripe fruit now. I plant only medium to large varieties and the fruit set on almost all of them has been very heavy. I lost several large clusters that pulled away from the stems in those two rainy weeks but have not had any splitting problems so I don't guess I got too much rain. After using TTF for several years I am extremely happy with the results and will continue using it as long as I can get it. It isn't the cheapest fertilizer out there but neither is it close to being the most expensive. I feel for the amount of fruit I get it is a good value for the money. I used to spend just about the same amount on Miracle Grow but without the same results. Bill