Tomato feed quality

Simple question really. I've noticed very large differences in the price of tomato food products. Ok some you need to use different amounts which goes some way to explaining it but is there really much difference between brands? And does it make your tomatoes better for using an expensive one?

 

Here i have two bottles, one from Sainsburys and the other from Wilkos, (the latter much cheaper) both 1 litre bottles, similar dilution rate.
Both contain 4% nitrogen.
Wilko's has 12% potassium,
S'brys 9%
Phosphorus in Wilko's 4%
S'brys 5%
Magnesium oxide is. 0.1% in Wilko's and 0.2% in S'brys.
Which one is better?.. I haven't got the foggiest, but I'd guess they will both give tomatoes a reasonable feed.
Someone with a chemistry degree might know a tad more!

 

Hi,

As @Jymi riddler says it hard to know which , if any will give better results.

The only thing that gets repreated on the web is that Levingtons Tomorite feed is the best, NPK 4-3-8 , though sure many will dispute that, having their own favourite.
Its often on offer so not that much dearer than the supermarket brands.

Its really down to you and what you find gives good results, but with many plants, the thing that affects a plants growth most is the weather which can be so variable year to year, makes it hard to do any true comparision of such fretilizers.

 

And also the soil you have, will make a different's i allway test our soil then i top up with fert to what i'm about to grow

 

I've used various makes of tomato feed but still think that Tomorite is the best for plants in pots as well as tomatoes.

 

I've always stuck to tomorite, whenever I've looked around for alternatives I've never really seen much difference in price per litre but maybe I haven't looked hard enough.

 

Back to basics. N.P.K.
N=Nitrogen > This is required to produce stems and leaves = foliage.
P=Phosphorus > Required for the formation and growth of roots.
K=Kalium > Generally termed as Potash. > This is used to promote flowers and fruits.

Therefore the respective quaintities provide in the case of the two respective brands of tomato feed relates in brief as. Low percentage of N, due to the fact the plant has achieved it's required growth so just 4%. P. > A minimal amount 4% & 5% simply to sustain root feed.
K. Kalium Better known as Potash. This is to feed and boost the general production, quantity and quality of the fruit. Here Wilko have been generous giving 12% against Sainsbury's 9%.

The addition of Magnesium Oxide is a freebie. So depending on the price difference. I'd say Wilko's is probably the best buy out of the two.

 

From online

My Wilko tomato feed, bought end of season for no more than 30p/Litre (I have enough stored for about 10 years, but I also use it on flowers and other veg crops) doesn't have the N-P-K on the label, but Googling suggests it's 4-5-10.

I also add some B,F&B (end of season reduced) when planting, plus give a dose or two of expensive full price liquid seaweed fertilizer (but bought in 4 or 5L containers to keep cost/Litre down).

Never seen any improvement using tomorite.

 

With the bonus of your BFB and sea weed feeds, I'd expect that any plant wouldn't DARE to fail to produce!
Wilkos does me, and even their stainless steel spades are very good at £17...(proper ash Y handles and nicely weighted)
I like to shop around for gardening gear and recycle whenever possible.

 

I use "organic" molasses for everything, the type they feed to horses.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01G8Q7HUK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
At this rate, the cost is less than £10 per season.
I found about it in a James Wong book.
Application is slightly more fiddly than a typical liquid feed, because it is very dense. Normally I fill an half jam jar with it, top it with hot water and stir. Each jar is enough for 18 litres of water, every two weeks.

I also tried specific strawberry feeds and, last year, seaweeds extract for a month or so. The taste of strawberries and tomatoes was better with the molasses in my opinion, but I did not run any rigorous comparison.
I think molasses classifies as a "balanced" fertilizer. If you need to promote foliar growth perhaps something higher in nitrogen would be better, but it is the only thing I useand my plants seem to grow quite tall every year.

 

Morning @Aldo I’ve checked out the link, a customer question asked was...

Question:Hi,if i buy 14kg can you send in 2x7kg cans
Answer:I will send it in 28x500g cans.

Once the can is open, is it resealable?

Thanks.
Tink.

 

Hi, I was sent a single large Jerry can with a screw cap, so it is resealable.
But it was a few years ago, perhaps you could contact the seller beforehand, to be safe?

 

Morning @Aldo , thanks for your reply. Yes will do, not buying for this year so will add it to my “to-do list” come the dark months.

Have a good weekend out there!
Tink.