Quiltlady's Gardens: Recipe for Miss Pauletta's Perfect Tomato Food

The following recipe is a personal growing mixture developed by Miss Pauletta who shared it with the folks attending the Homestead Clinic held yearly. If you've ever followed Appalachian Homestead with Miss Patera (You-tube channel), you'll find that lady also has superb tomato plants each year. She gives this recipe a 'thumbs up' all the way.
For Robust, Healthy, Tasty Tomatoes from you own garden, try this.

TOMATO FOOD MIXTURE

3 Cups Good Compost
1/2 Cup Epsom Salt
1 Tablespoon Baking Soda
3 Cups Wood Ash a.k.a Potash
1/2 Cup Bone Meal
2 teaspoons Boron
1/2 Cup non-fat Dry Milk

Mix these well all together and set aside for use during the growing season.
1) When transplanting your young tomato, add 2 T. of this mixture to the planting hole and stir together.
2) When the first baby tomatoes start to form on the plant, add 1 T. to the soil around the plant and stir it in well.
3) Then every 2 weeks from that point on during the growing season, mix in a Tablespoon of mixture around each plant.

Another growing and disease-fighting point she assures will help, make sure no part of the tomato plant touches the ground from the very beginning. Cut away any branches that are tipping down to the ground. Cut away any branches and leaves that are close to touching the soil around the plant. Its the soil around the plant that can trigger tomato diseases so easily.

After transplanting, be sure to mulch around the plant except for the stem area where you need it free to water the plant. Use dry grass clippings, straw, or bark chips.

Another strong point, make sure there is enough room between your growing plants so that air can freely circulate around the plant. Loss of air circulation breeds spores and fungi.

Watering is also highly essential. Self-watering cones like those from Garden Supply, can regulate the amount of water your plant is drinking by giving it only what it needs and never letting it suffer from lack of moisture. Try www.gardeners.com and look for Aqua Cones.

Above: An Aqua Cone at work with its feeding spike buried in the soil.

I just learned of this tomato food recipe today and wish I had the makin's before I transplanted my own babies. But I did add Epsom salt and powdered milk to my hole along with some granulated sugar, before transplanting and I removed all the lower branches in order to bury my plant another 4"-6" deeper than they were in their starting pot.
I also never water from the top but rather I add the water around the base of the plant. Its enough that natural rain waters the whole plant, I don't wish to add to the chance of fungi developing.
My plants are both staked and caged so they can remain upright while they are growing.

I will be making up a mixture for myself today. I have most of the ingredients except for boron and bone meal. I'm sure I can get the bone meal at my local feed store and maybe they will also carry garden boron.

I hope to see my Patio tomato looking lush like this soon....