[heirloomtomaguy]

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

I think I over-did it.

I have a massive whitefly infestation in my high tunnel. My dwarfs have it the worst. I am wondering if making the soil too rich has something to do with attracting pests.

My high tunnel plants that are supposed to be "compact determinates" are all 6-7 foot tall giant hedges. The first year I grew Taxi in unimproved soil, the plant got about 2 1/2 feet tall. Now my Taxi is a 7' tall bush. It is no longer a compact determinate, by any means. I planted one row of indeterminates in the high tunnel, and they are ridiculously gigantic. They are up to the high tunnel roof already.

My outdoor plants are getting so big that the rows are growing together. It's going to be one massive jungle of vines that all grow together.

But my giant plants are not giving me giant yields, at least not yet. It could be the whiteflies. It could be the weather. Or I could have too much nitrogen in my cow field dirt.

I don't exactly have any regrets. This has been a learning experience. Maybe when I expand my garden next year, I will grow a different crop where I have tomatoes this year. I'm thinking if I was growing many other crops besides tomatoes, I would be having a huge success. Unfortunately, there's not a market for tomato vines w/o fruit on them.

I too over did the nitrogen last year. I had these 6 ft tall beauties that had hardly a bloom. Then i found Earth Juice Bloom Master. It is water soluble 0-50-30 bat guano and steamed bone meal. I foliar sprayed my plants twice with this stuff at half strength and man oh man did the blossoms come. I had so many tomatoes after the application that i was sick and tired of picking them. I did the same to my peppers and had a bloom explosion. This stuff works awesome and as far as i can tell is the only Organic water soluble phosphorus around. An a little goes a way long way. I used a 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of water.