De Forest, WI | MaineFarmer - 6/9/2023 16:58 The key is to stake and remove all the excess suckers.Leave only enough foliage to shade the fruit.They will love nitrogen.In our indoor tomatoes they receive diluted calcium nitrate(46-0-0) every 6 th day.Every third day a 5-11-29 hydroponic mix.It has all the micros.
That is only really true for indeterminate tomatoes. Determinate tomatoes should NOT have suckers removed or yield will be reduced. For indeterminate we only remove suckers up the 1st main sucker. You will be able to tell as it will be much larger than the others. After that we let them branch. Yield is much better and there really is no need to keep suckering unless they are being grown in a greenhouse and trellised using drop wires from the ceiling.
Calcium Nitrate is 15.5-0-0-18 not 46-0-0 (which I assume is Urea). The P is high for tomatoes. K is low. N is about right for a normal year. I usually put on 100-40-100-18S for tomatoes from AMS, DAP, Urea and Potash. During the growing season we inject calcium nitrate when fruit starts to set along with additional KCL or Potassium Nitrate. Potash is cheaper to spin on at the begining of the season. We lay plastic on the ground and transplant through that so barring an irrigation mistake it stays put.
I am guessing you will be just fine. Most ground that has not been mined will have enough available K even with little being applied. N is usually the issue. Despite what most people think, blossom end rot is usually NOT due to a lack of calcium in the soil. It is usually due to a lack of water. Calcium is transported in water. When the plant is water stressed it will divert calcium to new green growth and not supply enough to developing fruit. This leads to thin skins on fruit which crack or don't develop correctly. Using a tensiometer to measure soil moisture will help to let you know when you need to water. Many people will be surprised how quickly plants will use water when they are larger and it is hot out. It is not unusual to apply 2" per week in late July and August.
Kocide, which is just copper, is a preventative. It has to be on before blight shows up. Once plants are infected, depending on the disease, it won't do anything only slow it down. Tanos, Bravo and other fungicides should be selected based on the anticipated pressure. Blightcast is your friend here. Choose varieties that have resistance to Late Blight, Early Blight and if possible Septoria. Those are the big three that take down most tomatoes. Bacterial diseases are less likely to kill plants and fruit quickly. Ditto for virus unless you grow tomatoes near cucumbers or tobacco.
As mentioned above, prevent soil splash as much as possible. This is how most tomatoes get infected with soil born diseases. Mulch around them to prevent soil splash. Trellis or cage them to keep the new growth above the old.
Edited by moon1234 6/11/2023 03:05
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How will my tomatoes do?
