Tomatoes in Containers Need More Fertilizer than in Ground?
I'm growing in 20" round plastic containers, any larger and I would not be able to move them. I'm in sth FL and decided to use containers so I could move then into some shade on very hot days and under some shelter when we have extreme rain. I have had to do both in the last 2 weeks. Do you need to fertilize more in containers? I'm using tomato tone 3-5-6. I believe the fertilizer is being flushed very quickly with the rain.
- tn_veggie_gardner
- Senior Member
- Posts: 175
- Joined: Wed Feb 17, 2010 1:49 pm
- Location: Hermitage, TN.
The answer is mainly a yes, but it depends on your potting mix & some other factors. Looking at your other post regarding the start of BER, I would say you might be better off with a fertilizer like Foliage Pro 9-3-6 which has a more accurate NPK ratio for tomatoes (and other veggies), and more importantly, it also has some other essential nutrients like Calcium, Magnesium, etc..
I grow mainly in containers & the fert can be quickly flushed out of them. I fertilize mine weekly with the above mentioned FP 9-3-6 and my veggie plants that are already blooming & producing fruit also get a dose of ProTeKt 0-0-3.
- Steve
I grow mainly in containers & the fert can be quickly flushed out of them. I fertilize mine weekly with the above mentioned FP 9-3-6 and my veggie plants that are already blooming & producing fruit also get a dose of ProTeKt 0-0-3.
- Steve
- rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Definitely. Growing tomatoes in Florida heat in small containers, you are likely to have to water twice a day in the summer. That means, as people have said, you are flushing the nutrients out of your soil very quickly. You will have to water and fertilize a lot more than if you were growing in the ground.
-
- Full Member
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2010 7:41 pm
- Location: San Diego, CA
- tn_veggie_gardner
- Senior Member
- Posts: 175
- Joined: Wed Feb 17, 2010 1:49 pm
- Location: Hermitage, TN.
martoo: It's an almost perfect match to what tomato plants can absorb, mineral wise. The studies I read (send me a pm if you want a link) regarding this show a 3-1.5-2 ratio to be ideal. If you offset any of these too much, you run into fertilizer burn, mineral deficiencies, etc.. Of course, like you mention, when the plants start flowering & fruiting, they need more Potash/K. I give them a dose of ProTeKt 0-0-3 when this happens. It has worked wonders for me so far & continues to produce very healthy looking plants and tomatoes with no problems.
- Steve
- Steve