I few years ago I found a newspaper article about growing huge tomatoes, and lots of them. You first put up chicken wire in a circle about 8 ft. across. Then fill it in the middle with 10-10-10 fertilizer, mulch, peat moss, then layer it again the same way, also add cow manure in the layers. Then you plant your tomatoes just outside the cage and can use it (the wire) to tie them to later as they grow. When you water, you just water inside the cage, all the nutrients go down to the roots . We had the biggest tomatoes ever and more fruit than usual.
My problem is , I can't find the exact recipe for the layering, but I think any of the above would work.
I'm gonna try that again next year!
Let me know if anyone has ever done this before.
Thanks,
Joan/Georgia
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bunge
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opabinia51
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Yes, 10-10-10 is the commonly used fertilzer for tomatoes. However, I have found that using compost and manures instead of synthetics produces lovely, tastier tomatoes than the tomatoes that my neighbour produce(d) using synthetics (I put the "d" in brackets because they now do what I do).
Also, with peat; peat contains little or no nutrients and has some issues regarding getting it wet to provide moisture to your plants. And the harvesting of peat from peat bogs has become a bit of an environmental nightmare. Anyway, as an alternative people might consider trying cocoa bean hulls which have a good NPK value and also contain some other trace nutrients.
They only place that I have found cocoa bean hulls is at the big box stores but, if someone has some information on where else to find them, it would be much appreciated.
Also, growing large tomatoes depends a lot on what cultivar you are growing some large varieties include; beefsteak, some black tomatoes.... you know, I am coming up with a mental blank at the moment. I'll post more cultivars later.
In the meantime, does some else have any recommendations for large tomatoe cultivars?
Also, with peat; peat contains little or no nutrients and has some issues regarding getting it wet to provide moisture to your plants. And the harvesting of peat from peat bogs has become a bit of an environmental nightmare. Anyway, as an alternative people might consider trying cocoa bean hulls which have a good NPK value and also contain some other trace nutrients.
They only place that I have found cocoa bean hulls is at the big box stores but, if someone has some information on where else to find them, it would be much appreciated.
Also, growing large tomatoes depends a lot on what cultivar you are growing some large varieties include; beefsteak, some black tomatoes.... you know, I am coming up with a mental blank at the moment. I'll post more cultivars later.
In the meantime, does some else have any recommendations for large tomatoe cultivars?