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Add This To Your Garden For Better Quality Tomatoes
BY WILL FORD
To improve your garden's tomato output throughout the season, add potassium nitrate to your fertilization routine to cultivate a healthier and more abundant harvest.
Potassium and nitrogen are essential nutrients that can help many physiological processes in tomato plants, from nutrient absorption to water retention to fruit production.
Potassium aids in water uptake, enzyme activity, nutrient circulation, and bolstering cell walls, enhancing resistance to drought, disease and pests while aiding fruit development.
Nitrogen supports chlorophyll synthesis, the pigment necessary for photosynthesis that fuels energy production and carbohydrate formation and leads to growth and fruit production.
When combined, these nutrients will help your plants become frost resistant, use water more efficiently, and produce bigger, plumper, and more nutritious fruits.
Don't fertilize your plants until they have a few sets of leaves, usually around four to six weeks after transplanting. This is when they are fully ready to embrace the fertilizer.
To make the fertilizer, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of potassium nitrate per gallon of water. Stir it to ensure everything dissolves before pouring it around the base of each plant.
Reapply every two to three weeks during growing season, and hold off if rain is in the forecast to avoid the nutrients being swept away in the downpour.