Maintaining Tomatoes by Utilizing Natural Tomato Fertilizer

Sunday, February 7th, 2010 at 10:38 am

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Tomato gardening is simple, but there are more than a few methods to make sure your crop yield is constantly high. The first thing you must think about is the cultivar you will be using. The old fashioned sweet-type variants are recommended, but some of the newer hybrid varieties are known to be more tolerant to pests and a range of fungal disorders. Some cultivated selections are also sweeter and juicier than the rest, while other varieties rely on soil type and climate factors for their over-all quality.

Next, make use of one or a number of techniques for growing your tomatoes. Some farmers tweak out the suckers, while others prefer not to. Select a good support system for your tomato crops, or you can simply let the plants trail if you have ample space.

After you’ve chosen a type and a plant training technique, the next thing to do is determine which fertilizer to use. Tomatoes need a continual supply of minerals. Because of this, you are required to choose a fertilizer that has a high quantity of the needed minerals, such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

The ratio of these minerals are evidently printed on labels. The numbers you will see there will correspond to a specific N-P-K formula. A label with 5-5-5 on it tells you that equal proportions of N, P, and K are present, while 5-1-1 means the tomato fertilizer holds five times as much nitrogen as phosphorus and potassium.

These nutritional elements each play an important role in enhancing the growth and development of your crop. Nitrogen contributes to greener foliage. Phosphorus can promote blossoming and fruiting. Potassium improves root elongation and growth.

If you’re set on going organic all the way, you can use fish suspension liquid fertilizer instead of chemical fast-release fertilizers to provide the needed nutrients to your tomato crop. An organic fertilizer in liquid form can easily be absorbed by your plants, and is perfect for a fast developing plant like tomato. You can spray this organic tomato fertilizer directly on your plants, or you can apply them to the soil in granule form.