Fertilizer - Horse Manure Enough for Roses?

[estorms]

I put a pitchfork of rotted horse manure in each tomato planting hole. Should I still water with Miracle Grow or is the manure enough?

[Dillbert]

my grandfather had a theory. plant tomatoes in the poorest part of the garden.

okay. but it is necessary to understand he was a dyed in green-brown organic gardener type - so his idea of "poor" might not the same as "run of the mill poor"

too much nitrogen will result in a lot of leaf/stalk/plant growth - and some say "at the expense" of making fruit. plants are genetically program to bloom, fertilize and produce seed - otherwise they go extinct.

you may have noticed with, for example dandelions - you can whack the central stalk and it'll still set seed - all available energy is "re-routed" into making seeds . . . which in the case of tomatoes, come wrapped in a red round envelop.

I would not add more fertilizer.

[rainbowgardener]

I agree with Dilbert that more is not better. Tomatoes want good organic soil; they don't want too much nitrogen or too rich generally. And the manure and the Miracle Gro would be working at cross purposes. Adding composted manure, you are not just adding NPK, you are adding fiber/ tilth, lots of trace nutrients and a whole huge micro herd of bacteria and fungi that helped break the manure down, and will continue working to make all the nutrients available to plants, plus probably earthworms and other detritovores.

Adding the Miracle Gro you are adding NPK in chemical form as salts. (Not table salt, but salts nonetheless). The salts can build up in the soil and kill off the micro herd and break down the tilth. You can be an organic gardener or you can be a chemical gardener, but IMHO it doesn't work very well to try to be both.

[estorms]

Thanks. My whole garden has poor soil so I am safe to plant them anywhere. I will save the Miracle Grow for the four I have on the deck.

[PaulF]

I am one of those who advocate digging a hole for the tomato and putting in the plant and the soil from digging the hole ... nothing else. If you want to improve the soil in your garden, incorporate compost throughout the entire garden not just in the planting hole. Localized extra nutrients will force roots systems to stay where feeding is easiest. If the whole area is nutrient rich, roots will spread out better and make for healthier, happier plants.

For plants in a pot, every week or so water with a dilute solution of liquid fertilizer that has a low amount of nitrogen. The Miracle-Go for blooms would be better than the high N regular MG. As you water pots, nutrients are washed out so you have to replace what is gone. That goes for tomatoes or any other plant.

[rainbowgardener]

Thanks. My whole garden has poor soil so I am safe to plant them anywhere. I will save the Miracle Grow for the four I have on the deck.

well .... you don't really want (really) POOR soil for tomatoes or much of anything else (except desert adapted stuff and Mediterranean herbs). "Good organic soil." You can keep building up your soil with compost and/or well aged composted manure, worm castings, etc. Just not super-enriched.