| Ahh the best soil for tomatoes... here is a fun | | | | routines that you can adopt that will see you |
| topic. Go onto any gardening forum and post a | | | | having a very bountiful garden the majority of |
| question along these lines and look at the results. | | | | the time. |
| It would seem that everyone has a sure-fire | | | | However as I mentioned above the one area that |
| favourite recipe. Sometimes handed down for | | | | seems to be divided is that of nutrition. You will |
| generations or sometimes a miracle discovery, | | | | see very different sorts of advice given as to |
| but whether they really have the "best" solution... | | | | the correct nutrient balance for tomatoes. I would |
| well they certainly have the best solution for | | | | venture to say that both cannot be correct and I |
| themselves. | | | | will try and sort out as best I can the reasons for |
| Let me be very clear about this point before I go | | | | this division and where the correct solution may |
| any further there is no "best" soil for growing | | | | lay. |
| tomatoes in. | | | | Nitrogen is required by all plants to grow. A |
| There is an optimum pH balance, there is an | | | | tomatoes nitrogen requirements go up as the |
| optimum N-P-K ratio, there are optimum hydration | | | | season gets longer and the tomato grows larger. |
| levels and soil compositions... but all of these | | | | It is on this basis that the high nitrogen camp |
| factors can be a little different depending on | | | | suggests 3-1-1 ratios for fertilization needs. |
| exactly where it is that you live and some of | | | | On the other hand what we are looking to do |
| them, particularly nutrient requirements, will | | | | when growing tomatoes is to produce fruit not |
| change as the growing season progresses. | | | | green foliage and long vines. So on this premise |
| What you are trying to achieve with your soil is | | | | the 'balanced' camp suggest weighting the needs |
| to give the plant exactly what is needs to grow | | | | of the tomato evenly (1-1-1 balances) as |
| and bear fruit. The soil is where the plant receives | | | | phosphorus and potassium (the P and K) help |
| its hydration and its nutrients from. The soil is its | | | | more in fruit set and disease prevention. |
| kitchen table. | | | | Both of these arguments have merit and I would |
| The question of best soil for tomatoes is really | | | | suggest that each has its place. With this in mind |
| asking what are the factors that I need to | | | | the best feeding practice would seem to be one |
| monitor, what is the optimum for these factors | | | | that took both of these into account. |
| and how do I achieve this. Any attempts to buy | | | | Hence the following should be a good guide to |
| a miracle in a bottle are simply methods to avoid | | | | getting the best soil for your tomatoes. |
| the responsibility of producing the right conditions | | | | |
| yourself. | | | | 1. Start your tomato garden with any soils that |
| Fortunately the correct levels of all of the above | | | | are slightly acidic and that have a fairly neutral |
| necessary for tomatoes to grow healthy and | | | | balance. |
| happy in are very well known. | | | | 2. Feed your young plants with balanced fertilizer |
| - Tomatoes like a slightly acid soil, try for a pH | | | | at very low levels to start. |
| between 6.2 and 6.8 to start with and adjust as | | | | 3. At first fruit set feed again with balanced feed. |
| you see fit. | | | | 4. At second set and further through the season |
| - Adopt the heavy nitrogen approach or the | | | | gradually shift the balance to favouring more |
| balanced N-P-K approach as takes your fancy. I | | | | nitrogen and potassium eventually as high as 4-1-4 |
| will go further into these later in this article. | | | | towards the end of the season. This will keep up |
| - Keep the plant well hydrated but not swamped. | | | | with the increasing demands of the plant. |
| - Keep the soil (and plant) warm in the cooler | | | | 5. Monitor your crop and the results and adjust to |
| months so as to not retard growing rates overly. | | | | suit your local conditions until you have exactly |
| - Don't plant tomatoes in very dense clays or | | | | the right balance for your particular area. |
| overly sandy soils. | | | | Only in this way can we achieve the ideal |
| All of these points are simple and (with the | | | | conditions for our plants because gardening, like |
| exception of fertilization) universally agreed upon. | | | | life, is to a certain extent about trial and error and |
| What is more they are reasonably simple to | | | | experience. |
| produce. There are standard procedures and | | | | |