Good old compost even if it is from a bag. Add some eggshells, a
banana peel, and keep a fish tank for homemade "fish emulsion". Every
2 weeks, I clean my tanks and pour the water onto my potted plants.
My babies did very well except that I have fusarium wilt on several
tomato plants. Not sure how I got it, but it's there. Luckily I have
some resistant varieties too so it's not all lost. The eggshells are
for calcium to prevent blossom end rot and the banana has potassium.
Also excellent for rose bushes. Mine bloom quicker when I stick a
peel under the soil around the plants.

I make a small heep of grass clippings, leaves, newspaper shreds,
apple peels (son hates those), strawberry tops, pine needles, rabbit
droppings (with tree shavings), and whatever plant scraps I can get
out there. Just keep piling it up on the ground where you want to
plant next year. The worms will take care of it. Get a shovel after
a month or two and dig into the pile. Toss it around a little. Next
year you will have a nice compost area to plant in. I have "Bush
Goliath" tomatoes in last year's pile and they are the only plants
that are still green and have not got the wilts. They have tons of
fruit while the rest of my friends have no tomatoes and just vines
what few haven't got the wilts. My bunnies love to nibble the plants
and they haven't destroyed them yet. In fact, they nap under these
nice bushy tomato plants. The other plants aren't so lush but they
are also in pots and I used bagged compost from WalMart. Not nearly
so good as the homemade stuff.

Carla




"Stephen Younge" wrote in message news:4HrOa.2327$OZ2.943@rwcrnsc54...
At the beginning of this season, I purchased some "Sta-Green Tomato &
Vegetable Food", 12-10-5. I was wondering if this would be suitable for my
tomatoes, some of which are in 20" pots and some of which are in the ground.
I used the recommended amount at planting time (late May), and I'm getting
ready to add a little more in the next few days.

I've seen some messages on this newsgroup that suggest calcium is important
for tomatoes. The Sta-Green fertilizer has no calcium -- it has nitrogen,
phosphate, potash, boron, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, and zinc.
Will this do the trick, or should I use something in addition? I've heard
too much nitrogen can hinder fruit production.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Stephen Younge
Boulder, CO