Tomatoville® Gardening Forums


Notices

Member discussion regarding the methods, varieties and merits of growing tomatoes.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old May 6, 2018   #16
Worth1
Tomatovillian™
 
Worth1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
Default

MG is like a shot of whiskey
Nice to have around but you dont want to make a habit of it.

Worth
Worth1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 6, 2018   #17
Nan_PA_6b
Tomatovillian™
 
Nan_PA_6b's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 3,194
Default

If it is a woodchuck, they don't need a smelly fert to attack a garden. They eat everything and a tomato plant is always in jeopardy.

Nan
Nan_PA_6b is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 6, 2018   #18
pmcgrady
Tomatovillian™
 
pmcgrady's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Central Illinois
Posts: 1,836
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nan_PA_6b View Post
Osmocote is pricey if you're planting a zillion plants. I put osmocote in my potting-up soil, then water a couple times after plant out with Miracle Grow Tomato food. That's it. No smell.

Nan
I just bought a big (1/2 gallon?) jug of Osmocote at WM for $14. Looks like I will get about 200 or so tomatoes and peppers planted with it.
pmcgrady is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 6, 2018   #19
Worth1
Tomatovillian™
 
Worth1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
Default

I had some but ran out, it was good stuff.
Cant remember which one.
Worth1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 6, 2018   #20
Nan_PA_6b
Tomatovillian™
 
Nan_PA_6b's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 3,194
Default

I use -14-14-14 Osmocote.

Nan
Nan_PA_6b is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 8, 2018   #21
greenthumbomaha
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Omaha Zone 5
Posts: 2,514
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by zipcode View Post
I'm not familiar with the expression. Does it mean they look bad or it's the colour, or?

In any case, your soil should not be able to become sodic since commercial fertilizes don't contain sodium (or at least they shouldn't), I would buy the things that are fully soluble (sometimes called for drip, hydro, etc), who knows what waste is in the other parts (even the hydro ones still have some deposits).
About the tree, my generation grew up watching Charlie Brown at Christmas time. He had a sad little short tree with practically no foliage. Not sure about the color.

As to the build up of salts over time. my neighbor at the lake has under size plants with little foliage, poor branching and very little fruit. I only have book experience with this. He had a beautiful garden when I first saw it and then it went downhill. He changed where he buys his plants but that didn't help. Luckily he didn't take my offer of plants that year.

I used t.t. in my suburban backyard yesterday and by this morning some little creature had knocked over the cage and up rooted a new plant leaving it for dead. The unknown culprit also started digging next to a larger tomato plant but didn't get the plant. I don't think we have woodchucks here in town, just turkeys, raccoons and squirrels. The occasional mountain lion comes into town too.

- Lisa
greenthumbomaha is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 8, 2018   #22
greenthumbomaha
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Omaha Zone 5
Posts: 2,514
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by pmcgrady View Post
I just bought a big (1/2 gallon?) jug of Osmocote at WM for $14. Looks like I will get about 200 or so tomatoes and peppers planted with it.

WOuld be interestsed to hear how that works for you. I assume with 200 plants you grow in the ground? I see the N is very high in Osmocote in the pink jar. Amazon has a formulation for vegetables with a green label . Will have to check it out for the country garden.

- Lisa
greenthumbomaha is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 8, 2018   #23
Nan_PA_6b
Tomatovillian™
 
Nan_PA_6b's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 3,194
Default

I gave my sister a bag of Tomato Tone. She put some in the soil of her tomato containers, and planted. The next morning, the plants were intact but the soil had been dug up. Hopefully the critters (probably raccoons) learned there's nothing yummy in the dirt & leave it alone.

Nan
Nan_PA_6b is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 8, 2018   #24
nbardo
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Posts: 78
Default

Im testing out growing in a straw bale this year and tried using blood meal instead of MG as my nitrogen source when i started conditioning it for planting. My dog was way too interested in it and even started digging and chewing at the straw. So i switched to the blue stuff for now. I also put down some tomato tone a few weeks before planting and he dug at it and rolled around in it so i had to put up a garden fence. I dont know if it has blood meal or not but the poultry litter probably smelled good to him too. I figure if he likes it, raccoons and other scavengers probably will too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
nbardo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 10, 2018   #25
greenthumbomaha
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Omaha Zone 5
Posts: 2,514
Default

Well, I finally completed the third row of 9 plants each. I used Osmocote 15-9-12 (wish I had Nan's triple 14) very sparingly. Hope to get chicken wire cages cut and add tomato tone next week. It's gotten so hot suddenly and it's stressing me and the plants still in containers. I took a layer of straw off the garlic and put it around each tomato. They are tolerating the 85 degree heat much better now. I am not!

I have one less row of tomatoes which is going over to peppers. Those will go in this weekend between the raindrops. Most likely with Osmocote until I get caught up with making cages. I have a glorious few days off after tomorrow!



Row 1:

Matina
Stupice
Esternia
Chef's Choice F1
Pbtd + 3 crosses
Tarasenko 6

Row 2:
Sarnowski Polish Plum
Cuore de Bue
Mikhalych
Purple Russian
Hughs BL X Azoy 3x-f3Y
Gold Medal
S. Shedevyr
Genuwine F1

Row 3:

Sakharnyi Pudovich
Andies Horn
Amish Paste
Wes
? PL
Elgin pink
George Detskas
Dona F1

More to go ... somewhere

- Lisa

Last edited by greenthumbomaha; May 10, 2018 at 10:44 PM.
greenthumbomaha is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 11, 2018   #26
Nan_PA_6b
Tomatovillian™
 
Nan_PA_6b's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 3,194
Default

My sister used tomato tone this year for the first time, and something keeps digging up the soil around her plants.

My 14-14-14 Osmocote I got at Home Depot.

Nan
Nan_PA_6b is offline   Reply With Quote
Old May 25, 2018   #27
greenthumbomaha
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Omaha Zone 5
Posts: 2,514
Default

I had a few concrete mesh cages with chicken wire wrapped around the lower two feet, so I went ahead and applied a small handful (I have small hands for an adult anyway. so not that much) of Tomato Tone to the protected plants when the cages went in.


Now that almost two weeks have passed. I don't see any difference in the leaf density, branching or blossom set between the Osmocote and Tomato Tone fed plants. Still early in the season for any definitive results, but the weather is crazy and I'm not following my usual regimen anyway.



Plants are loving the heat, but with record breaking mid 90's forecast for the next week (20 degrees above average), I may be back at the starting point with blossom drop. Undecided what to offer them for their second meal when the heat breaks.


- Lisa
greenthumbomaha is offline   Reply With Quote
Old June 12, 2018   #28
greenthumbomaha
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Omaha Zone 5
Posts: 2,514
Default

I'm not seeing any difference in the vigor of the tomato plants with Osmocote vs Tomato Tone at this time. However, the tt peppers seem to be stronger, but it is still early in the season here.


The odd weather is throwing off my usual fertilizer regimen. Its been over 90 almost every day for a month, and that coincided with the transplants getting established. It was very dry which was a strain in itself, and now we settled into a pattern with heat soaking rains every few days (with the occasional twister about - hope all is well with you PaulF).

Is the Osmocote all gone? Burnt through in relentless heat or washed out? Tons of blossoms but I'm seeing a pause in fruit set due to the 100's for extended periods. More heat and every 4 days a downpour comes passing through.

A welcome change - no early blight this year. I thought it was the dry heat, but others are having a mild year. I believe Carolyn says it blows in. I usually have palm trees by now.

- Lisa
greenthumbomaha is offline   Reply With Quote
Old September 18, 2018   #29
greenthumbomaha
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Omaha Zone 5
Posts: 2,514
Default

Some hail producers blew through south of the city today, headed towards PaulF, Hope all is well in that area.

The above post referenced my country piece of paradise, but these photos are of my suburban Omaha backyard taken today, before and after a storm blew through. The 90's will be gone soon, it was a fun year.



Mother nature helped prune some stems off the pepper pots that I plan to overwinter, indoors. A double rainbow formed above the bright single rainbow, and lasted a good 15 minutes.


- Lisa
Attached Images
File Type: jpg 2018 deck2.JPG (78.3 KB, 26 views)
File Type: jpg 2018 deck1.JPG (96.2 KB, 26 views)
File Type: jpg 2018 deck3 (2).JPG (72.1 KB, 27 views)
File Type: jpg 2018 deckwindy.JPG (58.8 KB, 27 views)
File Type: jpg 2018 deckdoublerainbox.JPG (123.4 KB, 27 views)
greenthumbomaha is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 11:58 AM.


★ Tomatoville® is a registered trademark of Commerce Holdings, LLC ★ All Content ©2022 Commerce Holdings, LLC ★