Best soil for Cucumbers and Tomatoes

[Dynamite]

Hi there. Can anyone advise me as to what the best soil mixture for Toms and Cuces is please.

I was thinking 50% Manure, 50% Multi Purpose Compost for both.

Anyone's advice would be much appreciated as I am a relative newcomer to this growing Mallarky!

Kind Regards in advance...........Rob.

[Bigmallly]

Any bog standard compost should be fine, just add a bit of feed once they start flowering.

[Dynamite]

Any bog standard compost should be fine, just add a bit of feed once they start flowering.

Many Thanks Big Mally.

[Dynamite]

Surprise at response

Hi there, I'm really surprised at the very low response to this one. I thought it would be a hot topic. Or is it that nobody wants to give any secrets away?

I was just interested in some general advice, being an amateur.

Regards......Rob.

[BUFFS]

They will grow in virtually any soil, but you want the best out of them , so a good multi purpose compost if grown in pot and some blood, fish, and bone dug into soil if you plant them in an allotment or garden, about a month before so it feeds the bugs that feed the plants. You can start to feed them some tomato feed once a truss has set or you see one or two tiny cucumbers. They reckon 4-5 trusses on a tom plant but I found that the ambrosia tom kept going in the greenhouse, up, over, and most way down the other side, just an experiment that payed off, try something different, it makes it more fun when you don't know what you will get...good luck..

[Baldy]

To be honest I expect no one has done any major investigation into this - most people would probably buy a growbag and slap them in.
I find cucumber to be mostly prone to suicide no matter the growing medium (probably just downto me and my specific circumstances) - toms on the other hand seem to do well for me whether in growbags or a mix of soil and home made compost. My troubles are with blight on outside toms and watering on toms in the GH - I work away a lot and Mrs Balders is a lot 'meh' about watering...

[ESBkevin]

Like Buffs says, plenty of organic material mixed into the soil, a bit of Fish blood and bone meal too if you like. The plants will consume most of that in the first couple of months and require more feeding but the water retention and air giving properties remain a benefir. You can use 'nettle tea' in early growth as it promotes greenery, then switch to 'comfry tea' once flowers and fruit appear. If you can't make either then buy unbranded tomato feed and dilute as directed. Like Baldy I've become adept at murdering a string of cucumbers in greenhouses but had decent success last year and the year before with outdoor plants on the plot!

[Penellype]

I buy the big tomato grow bags and use the compost from those to pot up my tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.

I think most of the problems with suicidal cucumbers are due to the stem rotting having got splashed with water. If you put a piece of plastic tube (part of a drinks bottle or a plant pot minus its bottom) round the stem and water outside this it helps, or water from the bottom (although they don't much like standing in water). I usually put a piece of copper tape round the plastic tube which helps keep out any slugs.

[maverick451]

Ive always used B&Q verve compost

Ive seem some people mix in vermiculite or perlite too

[Muddy_Boots]

Hi Dynamite

Welcome to the forum, I just use normal MPC mixed with perlite (you can use horticultural vermiculite as well) for added aeriation and drainage to the roots. There is no need to added any extra feed in the first couple of months as there will be sufficient nutients already in the MPC. You need to start feeding soon as the first fruits are forming on the Tomato plants according to the instructions on the Tomato feed bottle.

You can get bottles of Tomato feed (and Vermiculite) in Poundland for you guessed it ...... £1, you don't need to buy the most expensive as they are all similar for nutrients and contents. You can add something extra like Charge (a fertilser made from the pooh of Beetles) for an extra boost, I use Charge on my chilli plants which made them grow to monster sizes last year.

Don't ask me about Cucumbers as I've never been succesful and manage to kill them every time I try to grow them.

Above all have fun growing them and hope you have a good year with plenty of fruits.

[MarkPelican]

For tomatoes, make sure the compost isn't too rich in Nitrogen. This encourages growth & leaves but discourages flowers and fruit (which is after all why you're growing them). I did a little experiment a couple of years ago and put a generous handful of chicken manure in the hole when I planted some of my plants (I grow in the borders of the polytunnel). The plants grew taller which meant I had fewer trusses before they reached the top of the polytunnel.

Swings and roundabouts.

This year I'll be growing in standard MPC compost in the greenhouse and will use BFB as the fertiliser.

[forgetmenot]

Verve compost in B&Q £1 buckets with some chopped up comfrey in the Base as you plant the toms in. Then nettle tea, comfrey and / or seaweed feed once a week when you water. Got great yields last year from this.