Fertilizing tomato containers....

[Ed of Somis]

I have been hesitant to add too much fertilizer (liquid or pellets) for fear of burning up the tomatoes. I am hearing over and over to not worry....just fertilize. So, I am full speed ahead on watering daily and ferts at least every other day (fairly weak applications). Am I doing right??? My growth is good on some and slowed to nothing on the older ones (2 month transplants).

[cythaenopsis]

Hi Ed, it's true that you can over fertilize. The excess nutrients can "burn" the roots. It's much better to provide a little fertilizer than too much or none at all.

How many separate containers do you have going? You could do a little experimentation and alter the amount of fertilizer for a few of them, observing and recording (write it all down so you can keep it straight) for a couple of weeks and note the differences.

[BennB]

A few photos would be helpful. What variety of kind of plants are you growing? Also, what kind of fertilizer are you using and what type of soil and containers are you growing in?

Based on what you describe, I doubt the growth rate, or lack thereof, is a result of not enough or too much fertilizer. Last year was my first year growing mainly in containers and I definitely did not fertilize my plants enough, but I still had a lot of tall plants. They were not particularly productive, sad looking, and I lost a lot of leaves on the lower half of the plants until I realized what was happening and uppeder the fertilizer. Even with the abuse, they still kept growing throughout.

My guess is that your growth rates are more related to the variety, growth habit (determinate or indeterminate), and where the plants are in relation to fruit production.

I am growing mainly in 5 gallon buckets with about 3.5 gallons of high porosity soil-less potting mix that I amended with complete pellet fertilizer and lime before transplanting the starts. Up until fruit set in early June, I watered with full dilution balanced water soluble liquid fertilizer every week (Miracle Gro). Right when they started setting fruit I added more "complete" slow release fertilizer and lime around the outer ring of the buckets and switched to half-doses of liquid fertilizer once a week. Once flowers started forming I also added some dilute kelp extract to the fertilizer mix every other week or so. All other days, they are watered well with plain water via drip irrigation to keep salts from building up.

All my container plants have been on the same fertilizer regime, but have vastly different heights and growth rates. I have several determinate plants that stopped growing up about a month ago and are about 2.5 to 3' tall. I have indeterminate varieties in my hobby greenhouse that are over 7' tall.. mainly because I keep cutting them back... I have some indeterminate varieties outside that have heavy fruit set that seem to be topping out at about 4', although they keep sending out side shoots. So it really can vary independent of fertilizer regime....

[Ed of Somis]

B...I appreciate your thorough answer. I am trying different mixes and different sizes of pots. So, it can be confusing as to what does and does not work. My Brandywine and Early Girl are super healthy and producing. My Big Boy, Cherokee Purple, and Black Krim are doing pretty good. My Beefmaster is struggling with Early Blight and slow growth. I have treated/sprayed it. It sure seems the ones getting the most sun (7-8 hrs) are doing best. I am trying to learn all I can....

[BennB]

I hear you. I have been growing tomatoes pretty successfully in Seattle for the past 20 years, but I was always limited to a few plants due to raised bed space and focused on the tried and true (and largely tasteless) varieties that grow OK in the Pacific Northwest. Last year I decided to branch out. But I was all over the place ...a lot of varieties, a lot of one of each variety, a lot of different sized pots, some on drippers, some not. My fertilizing was spotty. I made no notes....my results were, predictably, unpredictable....

This year I decided to standardize my methods (more or less) and focus mainly on new varieties. So I have mainly stuck with 5 gallon buckets for my containers, soil less medium, and the same watering and fertilizing regimes for all plants. (I still have some in raised beds and other planters...as back ups...)

What I have found is that sometimes you just get a bad plant. I have 3 Abe Lincoln in the same containers and soil medium. Two are growing side by side in my greenhouse and one is in my driveway. All started on the same day from the same seed package. One of the greenhouse plants is thick, robust, and highly productive with clusters of fruit evenly spaced and dense. The other right next to it set some early fruit, but has been spindly and has had few flowers. The one in the driveway is much shorter than both of the greenhouse plants, but seems to be holding its own as far as its productivity to plant size ratio.

Sounds like your Beefmaster is just a sad plant. It happens. I had a two like this last year, except my problem was gray mold. I cut them all the way to the ground and set them aside and ignored them. Both of them ended up sprouting new shoots that looked healthy and I ended up putting them back in production and got a few tomatoes off each before the season ended.

[Ed of Somis]

B....thanks again. I seldom hear anybody say what you did regarding a bad plant. I bet you are correct! I think sometimes when you are so focused on learning and getting better...your radar is turned up too high. This equals sometimes becoming confused and making false assumptions. I do this sometimes. Either way, it is fun to learn and get our little "rewards" once in a while. I am much more knowledgeable about the fruit trees I have grown over the last 40 years. Certainly I have learned the importance of growing the correct varieties for my area. I am guessing this is true for tomatoes???