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    I have been reading that the best way to get great tomatoes is to fertilize them with Epson salt (Magnesium) and Saltpeter(Potassium Nitrate). Use a mixture of two parts epson salt to one part saltpeter. Plant them real deep and put one TSP around the roots and cover them with dirt. If you have already planted them sprinkle a TSP around the stalk and cove it. What I have read said you could spray them with an epson salt mixture, one TSP disolved in a gallon of water. Has anyone tried this?

    Everything I have read said you have to keep the sucker broke out between the limbs and stalk. Does this really make a difference?
    Bill
    sigpic"Nothing could be finer than to live in Caroilna"

    "Pessimism never won any battle"

    "PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN"
    "PROUD TO BE A VETERAN"


  • #2
    Lots of debate on Epson salts....The GardenWeb has tons of debate...Never used myself either one.I foliar feed kelp extract and fish emulsion for all the trace minerals and plant in aged leaf compost mixed in garden soil...

    Espoma makes a product-SulpoMag that has sulfur,potasium,magnesium all in one.I use 1/2 teaspoon per planting hole.

    I used to sucker all the way up plants,but last 10 years i stop suckering around 3-4 foot mark and the plants are big enough to produce good fruit on the suckers...I get multiple tops that hang down over cages...

    My mom is 5 feet tall




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    • #3
      Originally posted by smokin_tarheel View Post
      Everything I have read said you have to keep the sucker broke out between the limbs and stalk. Does this really make a difference?

      Mike McGrath from Gardens Alive and the show "You Bet Your Garden" says that only suckers remove suckers

      Personally I have in the past because when I didn't the plants would grow out of control and it was too hard to keep them contained if not using a cage.
      This year I'm not sure, still working on getting my thumb all the way green.

      Wish I could just hire Alex to come and take care of my garden so I would be confident it will kick ass
      There is a cure...http://phoenixtears.ca/

      sigpic

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      • #4
        Well I'm here to learn. What are you guys talking about when you refer to suckers on the tomato plants?
        https://youtu.be/ZcqprrIlbcIli

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Meat Hunter View Post
          Well I'm here to learn. What are you guys talking about when you refer to suckers on the tomato plants?
          Check this link out, it describes what they are and has a pic.
          Once you see the picture you will know right away what "suckers" are.
          http://gardening.about.com/od/totall...to_Suckers.htm
          There is a cure...http://phoenixtears.ca/

          sigpic

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          • #6
            The way I always heard it was that you removed the suckers from the determinate varieties and didn't worry about them on the non. This is the first year I've done a determinate row so I'm removing them, but maybe I'll leave a couple of them "plain" and see what the difference ends up being.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Fire it up View Post
              Mike McGrath from Gardens Alive and the show "You Bet Your Garden" says that only suckers remove suckers

              Personally I have in the past because when I didn't the plants would grow out of control and it was too hard to keep them contained if not using a cage.
              This year I'm not sure, still working on getting my thumb all the way green.

              Wish I could just hire Alex to come and take care of my garden so I would be confident it will kick ass
              Jim...I remove all branches up to two feet as they die off.When i leave the suckers 3 foot or taller up plants my 4 foot concrete wire cages act as a brace and i am constantly pulling branches back into cages until everything cascades over top of cage...The top branches will crimp a bit,but never die and produce lots of tomatoes...Kind of the shape of a mushroom....The foliage then protects the tomatoes from scald/sunburn etc..

              I am doing what your link said about leaving some to increase yield...By taking all the early ones the stems and other early branches get much bigger and can handle the extra fruit from not suckering the top of plant...Strong early plant with more yield at height of growing season
              Last edited by ALX; 04-15-2010, 05:09 PM.

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              • #8
                Thanks there FIU, very very helpful
                https://youtu.be/ZcqprrIlbcIli

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by ALX View Post
                  When i leave the suckers 3 foot or taller up plants my 4 foot concrete wire cages act as a brace and i am constantly pulling branches back into cages until everything cascades over top of cage
                  Where did you buy the fencing for your cages?
                  I'm not using what I had last year and am having extreme difficulty even finding a cage with anything but 2x4 openings.
                  Well I did find some fencing for goats that would have worked but I'm not gonna spend $350 for tomato cages when I know there has to be another cheaper but as effective alternative.
                  There is a cure...http://phoenixtears.ca/

                  sigpic

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Fire it up View Post
                    Where did you buy the fencing for your cages?
                    I'm not using what I had last year and am having extreme difficulty even finding a cage with anything but 2x4 openings.
                    Well I did find some fencing for goats that would have worked but I'm not gonna spend $350 for tomato cages when I know there has to be another cheaper but as effective alternative.
                    Its concrete re-inforcing wire...Lowes,home depot carry it....I can buy it here in 50-150 foot lengths.The width of roles is 5 feet,which is excellent heigth...Last forever and is strong as heck...I cut the ring on bottom and this makes 6 inch spikes that i drive into fresh spring soil...i hill up a little dirt for a shallow water bowl and i have NEVER had one fall over....


                    Worth the investment and you can make any size you want...I use them on peppers as well...

                    These are same tomatoes as i posted earlier,but beggining of last year...










                    I just pull branches up and they rest nicely on wire....I also tie off my large clumps of tomatoes to the cage to prevent main stem with tomatoes from breaking under weight...
                    Last edited by ALX; 04-15-2010, 06:58 PM.

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                    • #11
                      Wow Great thread!

                      First....The epsom salt thing...Notice the word salt...Salt is NOT good for healthy soil or for the plants that grow in them...PERIOD! Tomatoe plants do benefit from extra magnesium more so than most garden plants....but putting epsom salts into the soil to achieve this will have a negative effect...If you feel the need to use epsom salts on your tomatoes, use it as a foliar spray...

                      Second...Mike McGrath ROCKS... This man knows gardening (organic gardening in particular) and what he says is probably right on...

                      Third...the cages that Alex is showing you will last for decades and will contain the most vigorous plants with some effort to keep them inside. Tomatoes and peppers alike...

                      Next...............??.. Sucker them suckers only as a last attempt to keep them under controll. I dont sucker till the plants reach 4-5 feet to try to keep them in the cages...and it doesnt work...they grow right out the top...
                      Craig
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                      • #12
                        When I lived in a place that I could raise a garden, I always found that Miracle Gro was my friend. When setting out new plants, I would pour a cup or so in the planting hole. Then once a week throughout the growing season. I never had a garden that looked like Alex's, but I did grow some nice veggies.
                        sigpic
                        Smoke Vault 24

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                        • #13
                          I'm with Keith - I grow some decent tomatos, but nothing like your's ALX.

                          I am enjoying the pictures and this little pissing contest!

                          ALX - I'm guessing you must sell your produce? By the looks of those plants, that's like a pick-up load of 'maters a week!

                          I can't keep up with half a dozen!

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                          • #14
                            Nice tomato forest ALX.
                            I do basically the same. Till in some 19/19/19 then roll out a weed barrier, plant my tomatoes, place my cement wire cages over the young plants. Here I vary a bit. No suckering and I spray every 2 weeks with a fertilizer and fungicide. We have bad septora leaf spot, my tomatoes are the only ones in the area that don't get it.
                            Happy gardening.







                            pics are last years garden.
                            Last edited by Big Guy; 04-16-2010, 08:03 AM.
                            Col. Big Guy

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                            • #15
                              Alex, Your Mom only looks 4'11" in the pic. LOL. You do have a hell of a garden.

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