[Errol]

Larry is right on about manure tea!! I use manure tea made from horse manure. And he knows what he is talking about with llama manure not burning when used fresh and you can do the same with rabbit poop. But with the horse manure I make it in a 5 gallon bucket byr filling it 1/2 full with manure then finish fillinf with water. let it sit for 3-4 days, then using a piece of screen, pour it off into another container. then I put 1 part of the tea to 10 parts water. that usually weakens enought to not urn foliage. After the plant is up and growing, about every 3 weeks I will pour 2 "cups" of this mixture on the soil around the roots. The reason I make such large amounts I have to keep neighbors & friends supplied after they seen what it would do. Garden tone is good as Larry suggest, but miracle gro would be safe to use also, but like Garden tone it is to spray on foliage, and to get a quick boost, but neither takes the place of correctly perparing the soil before planting with plenty of compost, and composted manures. use some bone meal, epsom salt, blood meal, and rock phosphorus (rock phosphate) which willstrengthen root system and promotes "flowering" which means more fruit!

 

[Errol]

Hey Froglet, thats a great idea, I never thought of using comfrey leaves! Maybe some others will let us know their special brand of "tea" for organic fertilize.

 

[Errol]

Jack you are doing good, thats the way some of the commercial tomato growers do up in this part of the country. the get more tomatoes and seems most are all about the same size. I have never top my plants but have been given some thought of trying afew. do you use determinate or inderterminated tomatoes? And do you think there is a certain types of tomatoes that this would work better on?
thanks
Errol

 

[Errol]

Livestock manure is just as safe to use as anything you can get. I used it on the farm for years. If people think that livestock manure is a bad thing and that it should be banned, then the cattle, and all livestock will have to be banned, for if their manure is unsafe then what about all that meat you eat? after all farm animals are vegetarains, they only eat green. even the drylot cattle. So if you can get livestock manure then get it.