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central Nc

Does anyone have an ideal soil test example for tomatoes? I'm assuming more Mn than kins, and probably a lower ph but other than that I'm not sure

10/9/2018 5:44:29 PM

Grittyville, WA

I don’t know of any differences at all. I would venture to guess that tomatoes like a lot of humic whatever, but so do pumpkins. I can tell you that in my new area, throwing down a bag of 15-15-15 helped but overall it was totally insufficient in terms of what they actually need.

I did have much better results from an area that had a lot of very old organic matter (the humic whatever) and better balance of all nutrients.

Based on my limited experience they are similar to pumpkins and excess nitrogen is rather unhelpful. Excess nitrogen seems to set you up for blossom end rot and maybe pollination failures, too.

Hopefully someone else will share more expert advice I’m just blabbering because no one else responded.

10/10/2018 1:41:21 AM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

At the end of a growing season a question like yours is something that could prove exhausting to answer and probably a chapter in a book could be written about. I would say that if you try to match what growers are doing for pumpkins you would be okay. The pH of the soil should be somewhere between 6.4 to 6.7. Early in the year they need more P and N. Cut back on N as the soil warms and when the blossoms appear and then bump up the K. If you do that and have good weather and don't screw up on the other things like germinating, planting outside, pruning, watering, pollinating, if needed, not planting too close together, supporting the plants properly and starting with the right seeds, you should be okay.

10/12/2018 8:25:03 AM

central Nc

Thanks guys. I was just curious if any micronutrients stood out particularly. I think I'll put them in my slightly acidic section. I go from 6.9 (future pumpkin home) to 6.4 (maters).

Side note, figured out why my melon patch #2 didn't do squat. It was next to my house with a tin roof. Crapload of zinc is sitting in that soil! The agronomist was surprised I even got one to set on that plant. Good info to know, but limits my planting area even more.

10/12/2018 9:37:02 AM