The DIY Fertilizer Hack To Try When You Prune Tomatoes

If you've grown indeterminate tomato plant varieties, you know how important it is to prune them. It helps create air flow and limits fungal diseases from spreading among the leaves. Removing the suckers ensures the plant focuses on fruit production instead of growing more stems and foliage. But, instead of tossing tomato clippings on your compost pile, what if you could use the greens themselves to create DIY fertilizer? Think of all the different types of plants and organic matter you use to feed and nourish your garden; could tomato cuttings be the next nettle leaf or comfrey tea?

It's no secret that these vegetable plants are heavy feeders, requiring consistent fertilization to flower and fruit. It would be amazing to get more than your money's worth by using the green waste to give back to your garden, including on your tomato plants. Gardeners on YouTube and social media platforms are sharing how they use pruned tomato foliage to pour nutrients back into the soil and feed their vegetable plants — but does it actually work? While there isn't scientific evidence that tomato leaves can act as plant food, it's certainly worth a try.

Since you already have to prune your tomato plants on a regular basis, there's no harm in trying something different with the cuttings. After all, turning tomato leaves into plant food costs you nothing and is super simple to do. Savvy home gardeners have been taking to the web to share their successes with using tomato foliage as a liquid plant feed. You can experiment by creating a tomato leaf tea to use alone on some plants and the homemade tea plus a lesser amount of store-bought fertilizer for others to see if you notice a difference. The ultimate goal is to reduce the amount you have to spend on store-bought fertilizer.

Internet gardeners each have their own methods, but the basic formula is as follows: put all the leaves and cuttings into a bucket, fill it with water, and stir the mixture occasionally over the course of the week. After 5 to 7 days, you can put the soggy plant matter in your compost heap and use a 1:10 ratio (similar to other fertilizer teas) to combine one part tomato leaf liquid with 10 parts water in a watering can. To bolster the formula, add half the recommended amount of an all-purpose liquid plant food to the can. Then water and feed your plants. 

Whether you're repurposing tomato cuttings for compost or fertilizer teas, remember that you shouldn't include any cuttings that have pest damage or diseases. You don't want them spreading throughout your garden or going back into your soil!