When to fertilize tomato Plants?

One of the most common questions that home gardeners commonly ask is – ‘When to fertilize tomatoes?’ There’s no hard and fast rule that says tomatoes need to be fertilized ‘X’ days after planting. But, experience does help you determine when you need to fertilize them as per your soil conditions – since the soil in every home is different.

Of course there are plenty of different theories when it comes to fertilizing tomatoes. But, all I can say with confidence is – It would be better to never fertilize than add excess! Therefore, this article would help you determine how much fertilizer to use so that you don’t over fertilize your precious tomato plants.

So when is the best time to fertilize tomato plants?

As already mentioned everyone does it differently and the fertilizers used vary as well. But, the best times to fertilize your tomato plant would be:

Before planting the seeds 

Before you plant your tomato plants (Seedlings or seeds) in your nursery, you should add a bit of fertilizer. But, how much should you add? That’s the question we all want answered right?

This is what I'd do - No matter what fertilizer you're adding (Organic or Chemical) just sprinkle a bit on the soil a whole layer not more than half a centimeter (Length Converter). I'm considering the fact that you're planting the seedlings in a container or pot as that's what most people do before transplanting into their garden a few weeks later. 

Now that you've sprinkled the fertilizer, you should mix it up well with the entire soil in the pot. Sprinkle a bit of water to wet the soil and then plant the seeds/seedlings - If you're interested in knowing how to grow and nurture tomato seedlings read the article I wrote about it (I've linked to it).

Before Transplanting your tomato plants

Before you transplant your tomato plants, you would need to get the soil ready. In order to do this, dig it up well as this makes it lose. Now if it's dry you would need to moisten it by sprinkling water using a hose. Once this is done, add the fertilizer and mix it up with the soil. Don't add too much of chemical fertilzier as only a bit would do.

Once you've successfully transplanted the tomato plants, you should put some organic waste around the stems of the plant (leaves, vegetable waste, fruit peel or something else). This would act as a slow fertilizer supporting the plant as it grows. That's not all - Since it acts as mulch it would also keep the soil nice and moist. 

When to transplant tomato plants?

After a few weeks (Usually 2) when the plants are grown a bit and have a strong stem it's time to transplant them into the main garden. But, if you don't have a garden, you could always leave them in the pot. However, make sure that the temperature outside is right and there's no frost - you may need to undergo the process of hardening tomato plants first. Check out the Guide to planting tomato plants in your garden or container to know exactly what you need to do when transplanting the tomato plants.

When the plant bears flowers

This is another time wherein you would need to fertilize the tomato plants, but don't add too much - just sprinkle a bit around the stems and lightly dig it up (Don't damage the roots). 

If you've got any other questions, feel free to post a comment and share this post with your fellow gardeners if you found it useful in any way. Hope you have a great harvest this time!