Grow beautiful tomatoes with this homemade, all-natural fertilizer.
This recipe for homemade vegetable fertilizer is excellent for tomatoes, according to gardening-book author Steve Solomon. Tomatoes like lots of organic matter but do better without too much nitrogen. Since all ingredients in the formula are natural, you'll not only grow nutritious tomatoes, you'll also keep the soil rich and safeguard your health.
Instructions
1. Measure the square footage of the area where you'll grow your tomatoes. You'll need five quarts of homemade plant food per 100 square feet of cultivated soil. So, if your tomato plants will take up 10 square feet of your garden, you'll need to make one-half gallon, or eight cups, of natural fertilizer.
2. Measure out the ingredients in the following proportions: 16 parts of seed meal to one part each of agricultural lime, gypsum, dolomitic lime. If you prefer, you can double the amount of agricultural lime and omit the gypsum. These ingredients will make the basic fertilizer. But you can make it even more potent by adding the following optional nutrients: one part bone meal, rock phosphate or high-phosphate guano and one part kelp meal or basalt dust.
3. Put everything in a clean bucket and mix it well until the ingredients are evenly blended.
4. Prepare the soil to receive your tomato plants. In the spring, spread a 1/4-inch layer of cow manure or compost and sprinkle the tomato plant food over the soil. Apply five quarts of the natural fertilizer mix per 100 square feet of ground. Use a shovel to dig them into the soil. Water thoroughly.
5. Dust the soil at the base of the plants once a month. After you've planted the tomatoes and seen new growth, apply a thin layer of your homemade tomato plant food to the soil. Sprinkle it over the area toward which the roots are spreading. Expand the treatment area as the tomato plants grow and their roots develop. Continue to water the plants as usual.
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