Sparrow's picture

Phosphates for tomatoes

Submitted by Sparrow on Tue, 10/10/2006 - 9:17am.

I have a book that says tomatoes need lots of phosphate, that they use it up quickly. I usually mix some triple phosphate in their beds when I'm breaking up the soil in the spring. May not be an organic product, though. And of course they also love compost, but it sounds like you have no shortage of that! Smiling My neighbor told me to mix some sand in with our heavy clay soil to help the cucumbers and cantaloupe, and that's given great results, too. The first year (before I did that) all the vines died. The last two years, I've had more cucumbers than I could eat!

I've been a lazy gardener this year, at least since the spring. It was a combination of the excessive heat, terrible mosquitoes, and being pregnant and not wanting to be out in either of those things. I've still got a lot of tomatoes and peppers out there, though. The tomatoes haven't given me a lot of canning-quality fruit, though--a lot of it is cracked. I think I've only gotten a couple of pints canned. I have bowls and bowls of cherry tomatoes, but my husband won't eat the sauce I've been making with them because he doesn't like the skins in it. My pumpkins look like they're on the way to giving me only flowers again this year. I still don't know why I'm not getting any fruit from them. They do seem to be under attack from something, though.

Sounds like you've got a terrific fruit yield, Anhata! I'm sure you'll enjoy it all winter long! Smiling


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