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Entry Date
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Nick Name
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Location
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Saturday, August 16, 2025
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Little Ketchup
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Grittyville, WA
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Entry 217 of 219 |
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Idiocy on display... There's such a big difference in how plump some tomatoes get vs others. I've had some pleasant surprises this year and some unexpected disappointments. I am trying to learn what factors lead to a plumper, heavier tomato. Using blackberries as an example, there are places where the berries never get very big or plump. There are other places where the berries do get much larger. So what are the critical factors that influence berry or fruit size?
The next thing I am wondering is... its one thing to know the soil is balanced, so the plant ought to have everything it needs, but what if it needs just a little boost of this or that at just the right moment to give it that magical bit of extra mojo. Or maybe this sort of sorcerous thinking is a dead end. Maybe the grower just needs to quit overthinking things & get out of the way & just let the plant and the soil do their thing. I never know if what I'm doing is helping or not. It often seems like there are 20 things a grower could do that would not help, for every one thing that would help. Even when its narrowed down to just a few choices, the odds are not good. For example, would it help to add ammonium sulfate? Would that give a better or worse result? What form of sulfer would give a better result than ammonium sulfate?
The grafted tomato gave a good result which means that root health is paramount... the nutrients could be in the soil, sufficiently, but without healthy roots those nutrients do not make it into the plant. Which then gives an appearance of a deficiency, though there isn't one. The plants that perform poorly... it might not be a nutrient issues. Which really confuses things.
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