ballplayer 2
Active member
Hi guys just wondering what a good fertilizer strategy for fruit bearing tomato plants would be.
I had been using the fertilizing strategy of feed, water, feed, water. Slowly raising the EC from 1.0 to about 1.6-1.7 once they got to be a couple feet tall.
At this point they started to flower cluster and I figured they might need more fertilizer, and so I quit with the plain water flushes in between, and just fed with every watering. EC was staying around 1.4-1.8 during this time.
Things progressed nicely, I have two 4 ft cherry tomato plants in a 4x4 space under 800 watts MH light. They have 3-4 branches of nice sized tomatoes which have set, and as many as 10 flower clusters waiting to set.
However, some of the bottom leaves have begun getting some brown/black spotting, and some (not many) of the leaf tips have some blackening. The problem is not particularly widespread, but it is moving up the plant a bit. I cannot tell whether the problem is a result of overfeeding or underfeeding. Because I have seen people say they feed their tomatoes at an EC of up to 2.5-2.8. I did not approach that level until my very last feed, which was yesterday (2.05-2.1). However, it has been about 3 weeks since I used the alternating feed, water cycle.
My setup has enough heat and good airflow to allow me to water until significant runoff. My runoff has basically matched my input, usually just about 0.1-0.4 EC higher than my input. The dolomite and worm castings I added to my Sunshine Mix seems to be keeping my pH steady at between 6.3-6.7.
For water I use a tapwater mix with rain/snow water or RO water to a starting EC of 0.2. I then add Earth Juice Microblast to bring the solution to 0.3. Then I add Liquid Karma until EC hits 0.4-0.5. Then I add some Cal-Mag Plus until EC reaches 0.6. Then I add Pure Blend Pro Grow until Ec reaches the desired level of between 1.5-2.0. Since the fruitload has increased I have been mixing in Pure Blend Pro Bloom as about 0.3 EC of the final total.
So like I said things have progressed, but seem to have slowed just a bit lately. I can't figure out if they are underfed or overfed. I think my next watering, which will take place on Saturday, will likely be plain water. If it helps, a couple of the very small sucker branches on the bottom of the plant have had their growing tip turn a black color and are crispy. Though none of the top parts of the plant show any of the symptoms. I would think that might suggest an overfertilized plant, but I dont know what an underfertilized tomato plant looks like.
I hope I have provided enough information to help with a proper estimated guess by those with more experience than me. I am appreciative of any advice, suggestions you might have. Thanks for your time.
BP
I had been using the fertilizing strategy of feed, water, feed, water. Slowly raising the EC from 1.0 to about 1.6-1.7 once they got to be a couple feet tall.
At this point they started to flower cluster and I figured they might need more fertilizer, and so I quit with the plain water flushes in between, and just fed with every watering. EC was staying around 1.4-1.8 during this time.
Things progressed nicely, I have two 4 ft cherry tomato plants in a 4x4 space under 800 watts MH light. They have 3-4 branches of nice sized tomatoes which have set, and as many as 10 flower clusters waiting to set.
However, some of the bottom leaves have begun getting some brown/black spotting, and some (not many) of the leaf tips have some blackening. The problem is not particularly widespread, but it is moving up the plant a bit. I cannot tell whether the problem is a result of overfeeding or underfeeding. Because I have seen people say they feed their tomatoes at an EC of up to 2.5-2.8. I did not approach that level until my very last feed, which was yesterday (2.05-2.1). However, it has been about 3 weeks since I used the alternating feed, water cycle.
My setup has enough heat and good airflow to allow me to water until significant runoff. My runoff has basically matched my input, usually just about 0.1-0.4 EC higher than my input. The dolomite and worm castings I added to my Sunshine Mix seems to be keeping my pH steady at between 6.3-6.7.
For water I use a tapwater mix with rain/snow water or RO water to a starting EC of 0.2. I then add Earth Juice Microblast to bring the solution to 0.3. Then I add Liquid Karma until EC hits 0.4-0.5. Then I add some Cal-Mag Plus until EC reaches 0.6. Then I add Pure Blend Pro Grow until Ec reaches the desired level of between 1.5-2.0. Since the fruitload has increased I have been mixing in Pure Blend Pro Bloom as about 0.3 EC of the final total.
So like I said things have progressed, but seem to have slowed just a bit lately. I can't figure out if they are underfed or overfed. I think my next watering, which will take place on Saturday, will likely be plain water. If it helps, a couple of the very small sucker branches on the bottom of the plant have had their growing tip turn a black color and are crispy. Though none of the top parts of the plant show any of the symptoms. I would think that might suggest an overfertilized plant, but I dont know what an underfertilized tomato plant looks like.
I hope I have provided enough information to help with a proper estimated guess by those with more experience than me. I am appreciative of any advice, suggestions you might have. Thanks for your time.
BP
