Tomatoes

Violettia

I have sown tomato seeds (Gardeners Delight). They have grown into lovely plants.  My question is what compost to grow them? 

Another query, I wonder if any of you lovely gardeners, adds any magic ingredient into the compost?  For example chicken pellets or something similar.  I ask because I overheard a chap in the local GC recently, discussing the merits of adding chicken pellets to the pots.

edhelka

Chicken pellets are high in nitrogen, which would give you a lot of leaves and a small number of flowers. I use MPC, sometimes with a little bit of manure or sprinkle of BFB or slow release fertilizer, if this isn't in the compost already (or if I use a mix of old and new compost) and then later tomato feed.

Kili

Hi Violettia, as lantana says. Just use MPCcompost and as soon as you see the first flowers start a weekly fed of Tomrite . I believe most MPC has enough nutrients to last approx 3 months so that, with a weekly feed of Tomrite should be enough . That's all I do every year and it seems more than enough to produce plenty of tomatoes.

Hope you get loads.

Kili

Hostafan1

edhelka said:

Chicken pellets are high in nitrogen,

I'm afraid you're wrong there. They're actually  low in nutrients.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=297

"Poultry manure is a useful source of nitrogen, the main nutrient that plants need for green leafy growth. It also contains smaller amounts of other important nutrients.

However, poultry manure is low in nutrients"

Nollie

Chicken manure does have a much higher proportion of nitrogen, for leafy growth, to other nutrients but as Hosta says, the overall levels of nutrients are mich lower than most other fertilisers, plus its a pretty slow release fertiliser, so by the time the nutrients are released the tomatoes are probably fruiting and need a high potash/tomato feed more. So although it won’t do the toms much harm, I can't see it being of much value either. 

Violettia

Well that seems unanimous.......chicken pellets are not very useful, in this situation.  Thank you all :-)

edhelka

@Hostafan1 I meant in proportion (N to P a K).

According to this site, the NPK is 1.1:0.8:0.5, according to RHS it's 4:2:1. The proportion is more important than the total amount of nutrients.

GardenGrower11

edhelka said:

@Hostafan1 I meant in proportion (N to P a K).

According to this site, the NPK is 1.1:0.8:0.5, according to RHS it's 4:2:1. The proportion is more important than the total amount of nutrients.

Agreed. The Westland product also gives an NPK of 4.5-3.5-2.5 plus trace elements.
https://www.gardenhealth.com/westland-organic-chicken-manure-pellets

I don't use chicken pellets either, but they could potentially be used in small quantities early season as a general feed in the growth stage before switching to specialist tomato feed with higher Potassium later on.

Tomorite is overpriced and like many things you're paying for the brand name. I'd suggest a trip to Wilko for some of this:
https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-concentrated-tomato-feed-1l/p/0466490

Lyn

I’ve only ever used chicken pellets as a soil improver, just until I had learnt to make sufficient compost.  
I use tomato feed for  tomatoes, the one from the £ shop or Wilco is just as good I found. ,