What's The Best Fertilizer To Use For Tomato Plants In 2025?

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Few experiences can compete with eating a juicy, ripe heirloom tomato still warm from the garden. However, to reach that peak of perfection, you'll have to overcome many obstacles during the months between when you sow your seeds or plant your starts and when you harvest them. Too much water, too little water, unfavorable lighting conditions, and nutrient-poor soil can all derail your plants at any point along the way. Using the right fertilizer will go a long way toward alleviating many of these issues and ensuring you end up with a bountiful harvest instead of shriveled and diseased plants. You can also increase your tomato growing success by choosing from the easiest tomato plants to grow. 

Although tomatoes need certain nutrients to remain healthy and fight off blossom end rot, you'll need to know what's in your soil before you pick the best fertilizer. If your soil is already nitrogen-rich, you don't need to add a lot of typical all-purpose fertilizer to it. Before you start fertilizing your plants, take a soil sample to the extension center near you and ask for an analysis. They'll be able to tell you exactly what nutrients your soil contains and what fertilizer will work best to grow healthy tomatoes. For most gardens, there are some fertilizers that are clearly better than others, provided your soil needs what they have to offer. According to reviews, the best synthetic fertilizer for tomatoes is Miracle-Gro All Purpose Plant food, which contains vital nutrients plants need, and the best organic option is Burpee Organic Blood Meal Fertilizer, which deters pests. In addition to applying the right fertilizer, following the handiest hacks to remember for growing tomatoes will increase their production.

Miracle-Gro Water Soluble All-Purpose Plant Food is the best fertilizer for tomatoes because it reliably delivers stellar results. Miracle-Gro is an established and trusted brand of synthetic fertilizer. It provides the nutrients tomatoes need to grow and flourish, including nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, in one convenient product. According to satisfied customers, it's simple to use and has foolproof instructions for easy mixing. You can hook your hose up to the dedicated feeder for larger outdoor areas, or you can use it with any watering can for smaller applications. Users report that their plants thrive with the regular use of Miracle-Gro. One reviewer noted that they could see visible growth after every treatment.

However, critics of Miracle-Gro note that synthetic fertilizers may make it easy to grow hearty tomatoes, but they do so at the expense of soil health. If you're looking for an organic option, Burpee Organic Blood Meal Fertilizer is your best choice. Blood meal is a byproduct of the meat industry and is a powdered fertilizer made from animal blood. It's a high-quality source of nitrogen. However, when you use blood meal, or any other high-nitrogen fertilizer, make sure you avoid the common fertilizer mistake of using too much nitrogen, which can reduce your yield. You can mix blood meal into your soil before planting or top dress your tomatoes with it after planting. For smaller applications, mix it with water to make a liquid fertilizer. Customers have noted a significant difference in their plants. Blood meal can also reduce pest problems, since many animals that like to gnash on your tomatoes will be repulsed by the smell of animal blood.