A week ago I purchased a patio pickers box at lowes 24"x20"x10" and a bag of Miracle Gro Potting Mix (not moisture control) to try our hand at container gardening.
The miracle gro bag states that it feeds for up to 6 months and I also added a handful of pelletized lime to the mix before planting 1 indeterminate and 1 determinate tomato plant.
Would it be overkill to add Tomato Tone to the container?
I bought the Tomato Tone as more or less an all in one so that next spring I do not have to worry with lime/calcium/fertilize.
Thanks for any insight.
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SunnysideUp
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CharlieBear
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The MG potting mix contains slow release fertilizer and gets most plants through the first 3 months at least. You usually don't have to add lime. If you read the label, I think it either says pH balanced or that lime has been added already.
I start my tomato and pepper seeds in community pots and transplant up to 4 inch pots. I do the final transplant into the 18 gallon containers with MG potting soil. I sometimes will add a band of fertilizer to the pot about a 1/2 cup of citrus food or tomato food if it is on sale. After that I only do side dressings of about a tablespoon once a month. Over the life of the tomato, I probably use about 2 cups of fertilizer (6-4-6 plus micros.)
Nitrogen is a volatile element so it should always be divided and given in smaller doses in side dressings. If you are using a higher number in your fertilizer you would use about a third of what I am using.
Since you have added additional lime, the pH will start to rise, it may not be noticeable depending on how much lime you have added.
The city picker is shallow and probably can only support one tomato and not two. Tomatoes have extensive root systems.
I start my tomato and pepper seeds in community pots and transplant up to 4 inch pots. I do the final transplant into the 18 gallon containers with MG potting soil. I sometimes will add a band of fertilizer to the pot about a 1/2 cup of citrus food or tomato food if it is on sale. After that I only do side dressings of about a tablespoon once a month. Over the life of the tomato, I probably use about 2 cups of fertilizer (6-4-6 plus micros.)
Nitrogen is a volatile element so it should always be divided and given in smaller doses in side dressings. If you are using a higher number in your fertilizer you would use about a third of what I am using.
Since you have added additional lime, the pH will start to rise, it may not be noticeable depending on how much lime you have added.
The city picker is shallow and probably can only support one tomato and not two. Tomatoes have extensive root systems.
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SunnysideUp
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