Best way to increase Nitrogen quickly.

 
Prompted by poor size on the tomatoes...

I bought a soil test kit and found that PH is 6.5 7.0 = Generally Acceptable.

P and K were high but N is depleted.  Which explains the poor fruit sizes?

   My romas are the size of a large marble, tomatillos too.
Other tomato varieties size are less than expected...

This is the first time this ground had been set up as a bed.  Previously is
sat covered with plastic and tan bark for ten + years.  In preparing this 160
square ft. bed I started with
about 3 cubic yards of compost added and rototilled in.  Put some lime in the
soil and tilled that in with the compost...

Without having to resort to chemical fertilizers, what would be a good
way to increase N so the remaining growth cycle of the vegetables will
benefit?  Reading up on it I find info that says to add 28 - 30 oz of N
fertilizer per 100 sq. feet.  But what I'm not sure about is if the granular
stuff in the box at the garden center is most beneficial.

Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks,

Jeff
San Jose, Calif.
z 8.

 jhultman wrote:

First of all, the home soil test kits are notoriously inaccurate in the
nitrogen determination. The most accurate is probably the pH test.

Second, you don't necessarily want to boost the nitrogen to your
tomatoes too much. You will get lots of leaf growth and little fruiting.

The best thing to do is to send a soil sample to your local extension
service with a cover letter telling them what you are trying to grow.
They will be able to make specific recommendations for fertilizer. Call
your local extension agent to find an address for their test lab. A soil
test should cost around $10-15 for the basics. They will tell you how to
take the sample and dry it (no point in shipping water at postal rates).

 

I'm sort of fuzzy on this, but legumes (peanuts?) and some other plants
have root nodules that harbor nitrogen fixing bateria.  I've seen other
seed packets (snow peas?) that say you can also innoculate with nitrogen
fixing bacteria (available at "better" stores, never seen it myself).  So
if you're in long term, think about companion planting one of those or
use something similar as a cover crop.  Beans also come to mind, but like
I said, I'm hazy.

(I also agree with Dwight Sipler - from what I've read, adding too much N
will make the foliage lusher at the expense of fruiting.  But if the test
is accurate and you are N deficient then it shouldn't hurt to raise the
balance.)

Do you know if there are any residual pesticides/chemicals in the plot?  
"Covered with plastic and tan bark" makes it sound like it was either a
well kept flower bed or a wood pile.

- Salty

 
My understanding is that N will always show low on soil tests. Plants use
lots of it and what's left over eventually leaches out of the root zone (and
possibly into the groundwater). Others are correct about taking care not to
add too much nitrogen to tomatoes or you'll get lots of green and little
fruit.

You can add nitrogen back to the soil by fixation or fertilization. Legumes
take atmospheric nitrogen from air in the soil and convert it to a form
plants can use. That might not help you right now though. You can use
organic fertilizers like fish emulsion or fresh manure if you don't want to
go with a processed fertilizer. Best suggestion is to contact an extension
agent for advice since they are familiar with your climate and soils.

 

Never heard of that, but it's actually quite fascinating, as indeed it
includes many of the same rendering-plant gross-out garbagy ingredients
that are elsetimes used as fertilizers, except a half-peg higher in the
chain so not quite as leached of nutrients as would be fish or bonemeal
for gardens. And not inconceibably better as a fertilizer than as a
dogfood.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
   -from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/