Toms to feed or not to feed!

[jackyspratty]

I went to a talk by Bob Flowerdew the other week, mainly about the things we are recomended to do i gardening books that no longer make sense (as devised by head gardeners at old estates) and my friend reminded me he also spoke to tomatoe feeding.

Bob (as I now call him!) said that you should not feed tomatoes, as not feeding them encourages them to set seed/fruit, and you therefore get more tomatoes sooner.

Wondering what your views are and what you do?

[binley100]

I feed once a week only when they have started to set fruit . The ones at the lottie get comfrey tea and the ones at home get a seaweed feed.

[Alison]

The first year I ever grew tomatoes I didn't feed at all (well I didn't know!) and the plants were pathetic and a funny colour. By feeding you give them enough energy to carry on. Was Bob saying not to feed at all (if so I totaly disagree) or not to start feeding until fruits have started to set. If it's the latter then he has a point, you start feeding when the first truss is there, his reasoning could be that those fruits will be delayed otherwise, not sure.

[King Carrot]

It really depends on whether your growing in containers and pots or in the soil /greenhouse border and the overall health and fertility of that soil. Plants need a minimum level of many nutrients and compounds to grow into what we want them to. Smaller pots and containers compared to the plant size would probably need more feeding than larger containers. I've bought a bit of tom feed this year for the first time as I have some toms and peppers in buckets and pots - even then its seaweed juice with added things, hopefully it's not too nasty.

[Davyburns]

I use a capful of Tomorite in 7 litres of water, and feed em twice a week, and I have no problems with cropping. I have already had a few pounds of red toms from 3 different varieties

[rustylady]

I don't feed until the first truss has set, but I do move them on gradually on into bigger pots with fresh compost (and obviously more nutrients). I find that if you keep them in fairly small pots the first truss appears and sets earlier but you do obviously have to make sure they have enough water.

[jackyspratty]

Hmm from what I remember, he was suggesting not to feed at all, but was talking about border greenhouse planting as opposed to tom buckets which I am doing. I may do a wee experiment and see how a non feed regime goes, but as you say, they will quickly run out of nutrients! I have used tom feed in previous years once first truss has set too.

[Potstubsdustbins]

If you are growing in buckets I opinion is that by not feeding you will just be wasting a good tomato plant.

Colin

[womble]

Hmm from what I remember, he was suggesting not to feed at all, but was talking about border greenhouse planting as opposed to tom buckets which I am doing. I may do a wee experiment and see how a non feed regime goes, but as you say, they will quickly run out of nutrients! I have used tom feed in previous years once first truss has set too.

It's a std suggestion he's made quite often re plants grown in the soil. He states something like the soil should be in good enough condition anyway, all the extra nutrients do is make the plant sappy and prolong the time till you get ripe tomatoes.

He tells a story about a neighbour who has massive green toms and foliage coming out of the roof of the greenhouse, but no ripe ones, while he has ripe lovely tomatoes, with plants that look not so good.

I agree with him fully, but I still give my plants a bit of a comfrey liquid feed

[Two_Sheds]

Bob's talked about this before. He basically really neglected his tomato plants, they went really weedy & sickly looking but this forced them into fruiting early. Whether or not he got more fruit than if he had've fed them, he didn't say

Someone needs to do a trial

[rustylady]

Bob's talked about this before. He basically really neglected his tomato plants, they went really weedy & sickly looking but this forced them into fruiting early. Whether or not he got more fruit than if he had've fed them, he didn't say

Someone needs to do a trial

I suspect he got nice early ripe tomatoes, but not very many of them. I'd rather feed and wait.

[Zenithtb]

I have not fed mine at all (bar fertilizing the ground on first dig as it had not been 'used' (except for weeds) in years. The plants are now 6' tall, the 'right' green, tomatoes almost like apples, eight to a truss and have already had sandwiches with them :-) I also frequently hack them to death to allow light onto the tomatoes (remove half the leaves each time). Now I know my weather means I can grow them outside and they have more light, but my soil is probably 'worse' than yours... We counted and I have 138 tomato plants (as of today, so far). I could not afford to fertilize them all! They get given soil and water and if they don't like it, they'll be replaced ;-)

Also, some of them are planted amongst sweetcorn and melons (lack of space) so they have to compete for water to survive. Tomatoes are tough little cookies!

[Lotsaveg]

This year I've been visiting a number of commercial tomato growers as part of my job. Learning how they manage their plants, I decided to really try and look after mine properly this year.

The seedlings were planted into a small amount of compost at the bottom of Sainsbury's flower buckets (two plants per bucket) and as the plants grew I added more compost until it was about 2 inches from the top. This has ensured that I have roots growing from the stems all through the pot.

Every day I water to fill the top of each pot. Every week up until the first green fruits appeared, I fed with Miracle grow all purpose plant food.

Once the fruits appeared I alternated between Miracle grow and Tomorite. Now that fruits are setting on the third trusses I'm feeding Miracle Grow every Wednesday and Tomorite every Saturday.

The tomatoes on the first truss of my MoneyMakers are now almost fully formed but still green and I have at least 10 fruits per truss. Plants are all about 6 ft high and the 6th flower truss is just starting to appear. I'll be taking out the tops and stopping growth once these flowers open.

To be honest, these are the best tomato plants I've ever grown and so I totally disagree with what Bob Flowerdew has said. Regular feeding does make a difference and is certainly essential when growing tomatoes commercially.

[reetnproper]

Please can I add another question into the mix (rather than start another tomato based thread)? My OH saw a news article the other day which was based in a commercial growers hot houses and that grower seemed to take most of the foliage of the plants.

I believe that the principal is that the plant puts more energy into the fruit, it allows for better ventilation and lets more light into the trusses. I've heard about this before but have never had the courage to try it, as I thought the foliage was essential to healthy fruit production (although I do remove side shoots and lower branches to aid ventilation and conserve plant energy).

Any thoughts on this particular approach?

Thanks
Reet
x

[scarey55]

All the tomatoes grown here are very big and they are supported by thick wooden steaks rather than sticks. The French seem to strip nearly all the leaves from the plant once the fruit starts to get big but I don't know if that is to do with energy or ripening. It seems to work for them but, like you, I don't really have the courage (or even enough tomatoes) to try. Perhaps I'll do a test this year and just do half.