We use a LOT of tomato fertilizer so we decided to make our own this year. It's fairly easy and inexpensive to make your own, actually. And since we raise chickens, we have the majority of the ingredients on hand, such as the compost and the eggshells. There are different ingredients you could use, but this is what works for us using what we have on hand.
So here is our recipe for a gallon of tomato fertilizer.
1/3 gallon chicken manure compost
12 baked and crushed eggshells
1 cup of coffee and/or tea bags
1 cup wood ash
1/2 cup Epsom salts
Water
Water
First, in a gallon sized bucket we filled it 1/3 of the way with chicken manure compost. You could use rabbit pellets or any other compost that you might have on hand.
Next, we crushed and baked a dozen eggshells and added that to the mix.
These photos show the steps I used. Wash the eggs, crush up as best as you can (I used a meat mallet), then bake them at 450 for about 10-15 minutes, and then crush again.
Barefoot in the garden! Ha! Excuse the foot!
Next, I added the coffee grounds and tea bags.
Yummy, starting to look delicious! If you're a tomato, that is. :)
Next, we added the wood ash(straight from the fireplace!)
And lastly, the Epsom salts. This gives the tomatoes much need magnesium!
Fill it to the top with water and stir like crazy!! I let it sit for a few days before using it on my veggies. It is quite thick, so add some more water as you use it to make it a little easier to spread. I use it on all my nightshades, which are tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, eggplant, and okra.
I just pour a small amount around the base of the plant, water it in, and watch your plants grow really healthy and produce more fruits!
