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Why feed tomatoes?

B3B3 Posts: 27,505
in Fruit & veg
Do you get more?. I don't need any more.
Do they taste better? That would be good
Does the fruit get bigger? Not that bothered.
In London. Keen but lazy.
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Posts

  • strelitzia32strelitzia32 Posts: 758
    More nutrients so the plants set more fruit and grow "better". I find taste is more about correct watering - stress the plant slightly to get sweeter, more intense flavor.

    Mind you, I'm convinced some tomato growing accepted technique isnt really that useful. I forgot to pinch out a bunch of my cordon plants, now I have giant bushes and offshoots everywhere. Still got more tomatoes than I could want, all ripening, so I'm not going to bother pinching out next year.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    One of the benefits of picking out the side shoots is that it allows for better airflow around the plant ... if the plant is congested it is more likely to be affected by blight if the blight spores are in the air.  

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    And if planted in MPC or grow bags, there are no nutrients left in the compost after about 6 weeks.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    If planted in the ground in fertile soil, you can probably get away without feeding.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    If the fruit has set and is ripening, does it need any additional nutrients as I wont keep the plant after harvest?
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • edhelkaedhelka Posts: 2,351
    In pots, the plant starts yellowing quickly without feeding. In the ground, it could work without feeding but vegetable beds are often quite depleted by intensive growing.
    If you don't need/want more, you could grow fewer plants than you do now if they are well fed. More efficient use of space.
    Ripening tomatoes still need nutrients, they stop needing them when they are blushing (the point when they can be harvested and ripened elsewhere).
    I don't know how people do it but I never have enough. Never enough to even make pasta sauce or anything to store.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    I'll continue to feed them now and again, then. Thanks for replies all
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • strelitzia32strelitzia32 Posts: 758
    edhelka said:
    I don't know how people do it but I never have enough. Never enough to even make pasta sauce or anything to store.
    I don't bother with storing. All that freezing and blanching and pickling and preserving is too much trouble for the lazy gardener club. I do freeze herbs and some chillies, but that's it. 

    I grow 15 to 20 tomato plants per year, lots of cherry and some others such as beef etc. I get enough tomatoes to feed us for 3 months, and I'm excited every August when the tomatoes start coming.

    In general I don't need to buy much or any supermarket produce etc for climate-compatible fruit and veg, unless I fancy some tasteless tomatoes in February...

    I'd definitely need a change of approach if I was going to preserve and store to feed through the winter etc though.
  • TackTack Posts: 1,367
    edited August 2020
    Just saw this as I am making tomato sauce for the freezer. With only 2 of us this is too many tomatoes. 2 plants and the first big picking. We have 6 more plants (varied types, given all sorts this year). The big one is exactly 1lb in weight 453gm.Grown in pots with feed twice since the tomatoes set
  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    I don't feed my tomatoes in a raised bed.  Too lazy for that.  They produce great, far more than I can keep up with in late summer.  I pit compost near where I will be planting in the spring, and add FBB to the soil in that general area before planting.  I also rotate them between my two beds every other year.  
    If you are growing them in a pot or a grow bag, then you will need to feed.. but in ground with good 'fed' soil, you are just fine.  
    Utah, USA.
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