Miracle Gro "Speacially For Tomatoes"?

[Melissa569]

I was browsing around the store yesterday, and I spotted a line of miracle gro products. One was specially for tomatoes... In the past, I have decided not to use miracle gro (the regular blend) on my tomatoes, because I've been told its too high in nitrogen, and causes mostly leaves and very little fruit.

But I checked the nitrogen content on the blend for tomatoes, and it was (I think) almost half the amount of regular miracle gro. So I got to thinking maybe that blend was not so bad?

Has anyone used the tomato blend of moracle gro? Does it work well?

[AnnClaire]

Hi Melissa,

The problem with using MG or any synthetic fertilizer is the accumulative damage it does to the soil. While it will help your tomatoes grow this year, it will also deplete the natural microorganizms that help keep your plants healthy and provide disease resistance.

While I am an organic gardener, it is because I have found that a healthy soil produces a healthy plant. While my corn failed last year, it was not because of a problem with my soil, it was because the hybrid seed I had to use didn't pollinate. My tomatos were great! The sweet 100 cherries, the grape and the beefmasters were all tasty and the only problem I had with any pest was when the hornworms invaded LOL

I would suggest that you can get the same fertilization benefits from home made compost tilled into the soil, used as a side dressing, and as a tea for watering.

YMMV

[lorna-organic]

It is true that tomatoes will produce more fruit without the use of too much nitrogen. I gave up using chemical fertilizer a long time ago when I learned that chemical fertilizer feeds plants but it does not feed soil. (I joined an organic community garden in Berkeley.)

Plants which are fed by good soil rather than fed by fertilizer are stronger and more productive-- healthy and resistant to pest insect infestation, fungus and disease. Soil is a living ecosystem which needs to be fed so that it can thrive and produce healthy plants. Soil is fed by the addition of various things, such as compost, manure, grains, stale beer, leftover tea, molasses, minerals and fish emulsion.

[Longtail]

Over the years I have found that the chem ferts alone arent advantageous in the long run, but when used with other methods such as good manures, mulches and the like plants will yield very good crops. I use them sparingly, more as a supplemental .

[carolyn137]

The problem with using MG or any synthetic fertilizer is the accumulative damage it does to the soil. While it will help your tomatoes grow this year, it will also deplete the natural microorganizms that help keep your plants healthy and provide disease resistance.

*****

While I elected to cut and paste the above there were several of you who said essentially the same thing.

Let me start by saying that I grow organically unless faced with a dire situation as I was last year in terms of Late Blight, being in the target area in the NE and then the decision for me was to use a synthentic KNOWN to help prevent it or risk losing all of the tomatoes.

The same comments about how bad chemical fertilizers can be have been posted forever, so several years ago I decided to to look into some of the claims.

And what I found out was that most of them were true but NOT for homegrowers. They were true as assayed on large commercial farms where irrigation was not possible and rains were scanty.

I can't name one of my gardeing friends who would not water their plants if they were dry, or didn't have enough rain.

it's true that salts can build up and they can change the microbial flora of the soil, but only when there's no water to flush away those salts.

I hope this helps at least one or two of you to reconsider comments made about chemical fertilizers and the negative aspects of them as used by home growers as opposed to commercial farmers who can't irrigate their fields and don't get enouigh rain.

Carolyn

[Sam I Am]

It's not a "Miracle" stick with the tried and true!

[lorna-organic]

Your opinion doesn't sway my opinion, Carolyn. I grow organically because I am chemically sensitive, as well as because I like to promote the natural order (aka nature). Chemical fertilizer (including MiracleGro) causes me physical pain and dysfunction, triggering my rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. Many people in modern times suffer from autoimmune dysfunction, and it is not because of organic produce gardening.

[dirty girl]

Compost, compost, and more compost! Mulch with straw if you are very dry, save water in rain barrels, and compost!

Stale beer? Never gets stale here. (hiccup)

[dirty girl]

Oh, and don't forget to make sure there is plenty of calcium to ward off blossom end rot. I raise hens for free range eggs. You can crush up the egg shells and sprinkle them around the plants.....

[bughunter99]

Originally Posted by lorna-organic

Your opinion doesn't sway my opinion, Carolyn. I grow organically because I am chemically sensitive, as well as because I like to promote the natural order (aka nature). Chemical fertilizer (including MiracleGro) causes me physical pain and dysfunction, triggering my rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. Many people in modern times suffer from autoimmune dysfunction, and it is not because of organic produce gardening.

I'm with you Lorna. I can't stand to go into box stores anymore with all their "miracle" products. The smell, smells like poison. It does not smell healthy or natural or good. I grow to recover product that is better than I can get in the store. Purely non-scientific but in my opinion if it smells and looks like drain cleaner crystals, I'm sure not going to feed it to my plants.