GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post - Is 10-10-10 appropriate fertiliser for tomatoes

Billy[_4_] · 07-06-2008, 04:20 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible

In article ,
wrote:

On Fri, 30 May 2008 18:18:24 -0700, Dan Musicant )
wrote:

:On Sun, 25 May 2008 23:52:37 -0500, Ignoramus22089
wrote:
:
::I was a little turned off by the prices of fertilisers sold for
::gardens (at home depot), but I have a bag of 10-10-10 fertilizer for
::lawns, the sort that does not have any herbicides (ie, not a weed and
::feed type, just feed).
::
::Would you say that this is approproate for garden with tomatoes and
:eppers and so on.
::
::Thanks
:
:I too was turned off by what I saw at Home Depot and bought nothing. I
:usually use a 5-10-5 or 5-10-10. Last few years I've used 15-30-15
:Miracle Grow, only 1/3rd as much. I'm looking around for alternatives
:now, but finding nothing I like. Used to be I could buy a 20 lb bag of
:5-10-5 for $8 or so in a local hardware store but I haven't been able to
:find anything like that anywhere. It boggles my mind, frankly.

I found an inexpensive source, being a 20 lb bag of 16-16-16 at Ace
Hardware. Brand is Shultz, and it includes micronutrients. They market
it as pretty much all purpose including vegetables (photo of tomato). I
figure it might be a little high on the N, but I think my tomatoes are a
bit N starved at the moment, anyway. I plan to use it very sparingly and
it will probably last me for a few years since I've determined to lean
on homemade compost very heavily. I figure with enough compost, very
little is needed in the way of commercial fertilizer (if any).

Dan

You may want to try to intersperse beans or peas among your
other crops or rotate them as a crop on different patches in
your garden. This will give you food and put nitrogen in the soil.
Additionally, you can avoid chemical fertilizers, which cannot help your
soil and risk damaging the micro flora and fauna that promote healthier
plants. Chemical nitrogen quickly accumulates in the leaves of
plants, which in turn attract plant pests to them.
--

Billy
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