Question about Fertilizing....

[splat42069]

Are my veggies not blooming very fast because I keep giving them a 24-8-16 All Purpose Fertilizer?

[TZ -OH6]

Yes, high nitrogen (the first number) promotes vegetative growth and inhibits flowering.


What do you meant by "keep giving"? How oftern are you fertilizing?

[splat42069]

Well they have been out for over 2 months now and I have fed them 1/2 the strength 4x since then.My sweet 100 cherry plants looks real lush dark green but the same cherry tomatos that popped up a month ago still look the same.I have a Diary goin on the forum under PA grow diary you can see what I mean.My big beef plants are throwing out some tomatoes but not at the rate id like. And my peppers plants and showing white flowers and have been for a month but no fruit has started yet?

[TZ -OH6]

Yes, way too much fertilizer. Plants need fertilizer in proportion to the plant size and growth rate. Generally, tomatoes are fertilized with a high phosphoruse (middle number) +moderate nitrogen fertilizer when they go in the ground and then nothing else until they set fruit , at which time they might be given a high nitrogen fertilizer to offset the needs of rapid growth.


Crystal fertilizers (blue die) are designed for use with container grown plants growing in potting medium that does not have any nutrients. The ratio of root space to plant volume is low (small pots) and the pots are completely flushed out so there is no fertilizer build up. This is one reason box instructions may have higher concetrations and application rates than are good for plants grown in the ground. Soil has its own nutrients, and holds onto any fertilizer you add to it, and roots have the ability to go searching a wide area for more nutrients.

[splat42069]

Ok, so should I give them a flowering fertilizer in a week or 2? And will that make them start flowering faster?Originally my plan was to keep giving them the high nitrogen 1 til they were a descent size. Now they are well over 4ft tall.

[Gary350]

It is getting hot. Better not feed your plants much nitrogen in hot weather. You should have given them nitrogen in the spring when it was cooler. Different plants need different fertilizers. Root crops need a lot of potash and phosphate. Top crops need nitrogen. Corn is a stripper crop it need a lot of nitrogen. Tomatoes need lime and 15/15/15. Beans and squash 15/15/15 is fine maybe a little extra nitrogen. No lime on Potatoes other wise they get scabs, potatoes like phosphate and potash not much nitrogen.

[rainbowgardener]

I'll just speak up to represent the organic crowd. I plant my tomatoes in very rich organic soil, with compost in the hole. Once they are getting big, I top dress them with more compost and then mulch well and then do nothing more.

I'm away on vacation now since Sat, but I picked three ripe tomatoes to bring with me (YAY!!!) and when I left the plants were pretty covered in tomatoes, some of them closing in on baseball sized and several more starting to ripen up.

It can be done without all the blue stuff....