Quote:
Originally Posted by venturabananas
Hey tomato guys and gals, when you start tomatoes from seed, at what point do you start fertilizing them? I started seeds a few weeks ago in a coco coir and pumice mix. I'm new to the whole seed starting thing. They are growing slowly but steadily, on a heat mat and with a hydrofarm jump start light right over them.
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Even prior to germination I'm feeding them water-soluble 10-20-30 (or 20-20-20 is ok too). The dosage is 1/6th teaspoon per gallon of water. Just keep the mix around and use it every time you water them.
Historically, after a true set of leaves have formed, I'm using 20-5-30 at 1/3rd teaspoon per gallon -- again, continuous feeding. When the plants reach fruit-bearing size, meaning big enough to hold a crop and perhaps already flowering and setting some fruits -- I will give them a one-time dosage of 10-20-30 or 6-30-30 at 1 tablespoon per gallon of water, then a week or two later resume with 20-5-30.
Then there are the trials I've been documenting:
Towards an optimal Tomato food
Note: this is for fruiting annual vegetables in soil. I'll take a different approach with vegetables grown for leaf; e.g., Lettuce and Kale.