Tomato Feed

[NattieG]

Hope this is the right place to post this query!!

I'm wondering if Tomato feed is suitable for all vegetables?
We're growing (or trying to anyway!) toms, cucs, corgettes, aubergines, peppers, radish, onions and spring onions, and lettuce.

Thanks in advance! Nat x

[Snadger]

Hope this is the right place to post this query!!

I'm wondering if Tomato feed is suitable for all vegetables?
We're growing (or trying to anyway!) toms, cucs, corgettes, aubergines, peppers, radish, onions and spring onions, and lettuce.

Thanks in advance! Nat x

Tomato feed is balanced fertiliser,with the onus being on Potassium. Potassium assists flowering,fruiting and has a hardening effect (ie not causing lush soft growth!)

It will be fine on all your veggies but may be a little Nitro and Phosphate defficient for the onions (don't worry about it!). The lettuce are in the ground for such a short time it shouldn't matter for those!

[Cutecumber]

I know it's unseemly to pick, but...

a balanced fertiliser is one in which the main nutrient exist in equal ratios, e.g. 5:5:5

Tomato feed is not a balanced fertiliser, because, as you say it is heavy on the Potassium.

But you're right not to worry too much about it. In the long term, it might be sensible to have a balanced fertiliser and a tomato one.

Feeling pedantic this morning, sorry

[Dobby]

we use growmore and
blod fish and bone
and tom food for toms

[moggssue]

Sorry to be dim (again!) but i thought growmore WAS blood fish and bone, just under another name? I tend to use it all over the garden but now have tom food as well which I was thinking of liberally applying to all fruiting veg?

[Dobby]

it looks diferant I dont know maybe some one else on hear will know
it was but one get one free so we got one of each
Ill have a look

[Cutecumber]

They are not the same, but do an equivalent job.

Blood, fish & bone is an organic equivalent to Growmore (which is partly, if not entirely inorganic).

[SarzWix]

Sorry to be dim (again!) but i thought growmore WAS blood fish and bone, just under another name? I tend to use it all over the garden but now have tom food as well which I was thinking of liberally applying to all fruiting veg?

No; Blood, Fish & Bonemeal is a balanced, slow release fertilizer of natural origins ('organic')
Growmore is a chemical version of B,F & B., invented/formulated to mimic B,F & B around the time of the Dig For Victory campaign. Lots of companies sell their own version; just like the John Innes formulations for compost, it's a recipe not a brand name.

Tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, aubergines and peppers will all benefit from 'tomato feed' once they're flowering, before that a weak 'general purpose' food will do. The others either need nothing (quick growing crops) or a general purpose like 'growmore' or pelleted chicken poo once or twice.

(Sorry Snadger - I know that's pretty much what you were saying)

[NattieG]

Great advice - thanks everyone xxx

[Snadger]

I know it's unseemly to pick, but...

a balanced fertiliser is one in which the main nutrient exist in equal ratios, e.g. 5:5:5

Tomato feed is not a balanced fertiliser, because, as you say it is heavy on the Potassium.

But you're right not to worry too much about it. In the long term, it might be sensible to have a balanced fertiliser and a tomato one.

Feeling pedantic this morning, sorry

I should have written a 'soil balanced fertiliser' which is balanced towards the crops needs (tomato feed?)
To do this right,it would be ascertained by a soil analysis to find out what was already existing in the soil. The requirements of the crop would be ascertained and a soil balanced fertiliser would be made up to bring the soil nutrients up to specification.
Appologies if I misled anyone!