|
In growing organic tomatoes, you need to have good soil, enough sunlight, adequate watering and
fertilizer. In general, there is really no single best organic tomato fertilizer because this plant
is not very picky. However, it is only appropriate that you use organic fertilizers for your
organic tomato garden instead of the regular, chemical-based variety.
Tomato plants need lots of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in order for it to produce plenty of
leaves and fruits, and to fight diseases. Organic tomato fertilizers also have micronutrients which
are crucial for the plants' growth.
Check the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium ratio of the organic fertilizer that you wish to
purchase - it must be at least 8:10:10 or 10:10:10. Buy natural and less-refined organic
fertilizer, or compost it if you have a good organic tomato fertilizer recipe at hand.
Here are the two major types of organic tomato fertilizer and their
sub-types.
Animal-based:
Manure - This organic fertilizer is old-school and it uses excrements from grass-eating animals.
Don't use your pet's excrement because it usually contains pathogens and toxins which are harmful
to the tomato plants, as well as humans. Horse or cow manure are the best choices and they should
be aged or composted first.
Fish emulsion - You can easily make your own fish emulsion if you don't want to purchase it. Mix
fish parts or canned fish with carbon-like sawdust and let it decompose.
Blood and bone meal - This may be new and weird to you, but the combination of animal blood and
bone is a great source of nitrogen and phosphorus. This can be found in garden shops.
Vegetable-based:
Weeds and grass clippings - Anything green in the garden is a great source of
nitrogen and this includes grass and weeds too. You must first compost the weeds in order to
destroy the seeds.
Seaweed - Seaweed may be low in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, but it is
loaded with up to 60 trace elements that are excellent for tomato plants.
Alfalfa meal - Alfalfa is complete with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, and
it is loaded with hormones and micronutrients. You can find alfalfa meal in the form of rabbit food
or hay bales.
Whichever organic tomato fertilizer you prefer, the key is to combine at least two types to
provide maximum nutrients for optimum development. There are tomato farmers who pamper their plants
in a good way by using the best combination of organic fertilizers.
|