5 Best Tomato Fertilizers 🌳 How to Choose! | Friendly-Home.net

Like any other annual plant, tomatoes are heavy feeders meaning that they’ll only do well when they get plenty of nutrients throughout their growth cycle. Even though both organic and inorganic fertilizers boost plant growth right, finding the best tomato fertilizer is still a big challenge.

Huge, sweet, juicy, and delicious tomatoes are the epitome of any home garden, and this doesn’t just happen. It takes a great deal of soil care, nutrient supply, and diligence to grow them successfully.

The International Plant Nutrition Institute highlights tomato nutrition as a primary factor for great flavor and quality. You have to fertilize your tomatoes for better yield.

Overall, tomato fertilizers usually enhance plant growth, general plant structure, flowering, fruit development, and resistance to diseases. It’s important to note that the best tomato fertilizer should have all the necessary macronutrients such as potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorous as well as important micronutrients like zinc, calcium, magnesium, and boron.

Unlike most of the other plants in your garden, you should note that tomatoes usually require varying ratios of these nutrients as they grow from one stage to the next. Whether you are a newbie or an experienced tomato grower, you must always prioritize soil nourishment.

For those looking for a one size fits all solution, sorry to disappoint but there is none. If there was a single fertilizer for tomatoes that works in all gardens throughout the year, then tomato growing would have been a walkover, right?

Since this isn’t the case, we have compiled a thorough roundup list of the best tomato fertilizers in this article. We further provide you with a keen review snippet for each product. This is based on first-hand experience as well as reviews from other verified users.

We hope that our 5 best tomato fertilizer reviews will not only help you choose the best pick for your tomatoes but also help improve the yield of your fruits year after year.

Let’s get to it…

Best Tomato Fertilizers

Tomato-tone Organic Fertilizer

Pros

• Eco-friendly
• Well balanced macronutrient ratio
• Prevents blossom end rot
• USDA approved for organic gardening
• Highly effective
• Organic

Cons

• Has a relatively short shelf-life
• Has odor
• Occasionally burns other leafy plants

The Tomato-tone Organic Fertilizer is a four pound organic tomato fertilizer that also supports growth of several other vegetables such as cucumbers. The beauty with this product is that it doesn’t force growth spurts at the expense of great yields.

The Tomato-tone Organic Fertilizer has a well-balanced NPK nutrient ratio of 3:4:6 and an additional complex mix of 15 essential nutrients.

Also, the Tomato-tone Organic Fertilizer contains 8% calcium and a proprietary blend of active microbes which will help prevent your tomato plants from getting blossom end rot. This only means that you are guaranteed of getting well-nourished plants with healthy juicy fruits at the end of the season.

Furthermore, its formula is university-tested, the content is environmentally friendly, and the fertilizer is USDA approved for organic gardening.

That said, the Tomato-tone Organic Fertilizer granules have a slow-release mechanism that prevents leaching in the soil and burning of tomato plant foliage. It is perfect for any kind of tomato and should be applied after every 10 to 14 days then twice every month afterward, preferably between May and August for maximum yields.

Being organic and all, it’s very important to note that this product is safe to use around kids and pets.

Jobe’s Tomato Fertilizer Spikes

Pros

• Great for soils with high nitrogen levels
• Perfect for root development
• Time-release mechanism for constant nourishment
• Very rich in phosphorus

Cons

• Not organic
• Only good for soils rich in nitrogen

Despite not being a certified organic product, the Jobe’s Tomato Fertilizer Spikes is yet another wonderful formulation by Jobe. Its content has a well-balanced ratio of all the necessary nutrients for tomato nourishment and is perfect for root development.

The Jobe’s Tomato Fertilizer Spikes features a time-released mechanism that ensures a timely and continuous supply of nutrients to your plants while preventing runoffs and other similar issues.

The Jobe’s Tomato Fertilizer Spikes formulation is designed in such a way that each spike is capable of feeding your tomato plant for up to eight weeks. Due to varying conditions and several other factors, you might need to use more spikes per plant.

Therefore, make a point of going through the brief manual attached to the container before applying it.

The Jobe’s Tomato Fertilizer Spikes has a macronutrient ratio of 6:18:6. This means that it has similar amounts of potassium and nitrogen, but has more phosphorus making it ideal for soils with high nitrogen levels.

To apply the Jobe’s Tomato Fertilizer Spikes correctly, you will need to push two spikes an inch below the soil and at least eight inches away from the stem.

Miracle Gro Water Soluble Tomato Plant Food

Pros

• Features a 1.5lbs and 3lbs options
• Doesn’t burn plants when applied directly
• Great for other vegetables too
• High in potassium

Cons

• Is low in calcium

The Miracle Gro Water Soluble Tomato Plant Food comes either in 1.5lbs or in a 3lbs bag and is very popular for good reason. Its soluble nature makes it ideal for constant and immediate plant feeding that results in bigger and healthier tomato plants.

It’s advisable that you only use this product in a span of one to two weeks and it is additionally good for other vegetables in your garden making it a very economical choice.

Its formulation features an NPK ratio of 18:18:21 meaning it’s perfect for soils with well-balanced nitrogen and phosphorus levels or soils lacking potassium.

Although it’s recommended that you use the Miracle-Gro Garden Feeder, your everyday watering can is perfect during application. Just make sure that you mix the Miracle-Gro Water Soluble Tomato Plant Food with the recommended amount of water before applying it.

For those worrying too much, this product doesn’t burn plants. So, feel free to apply it directly to the plant after mixing it well.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac Organic Tomato & Vegetable Plant Food

Pros

• Features both quick and slow release mechanisms
• Great for a variety of other plants
• Comes with an easy to apply bag
• Environmentally friendly

Cons

• Grows molds easily

Unlike the other fertilizers for tomatoes, the Old Farmer’s Almanac Organic Tomato & Vegetable Plant Food is designed for those growing tomatoes in a bigger garden. Despite it being designed for optimum flower and fruit production, the Old Farmer’s Almanac Organic Tomato & Vegetable Plant Food works well with brand new plants.

This fertilizer only contains organic components and has zero artificial additives that would harm either the soil or your precious tomatoes. This environmentally friendly fertilizer is widely known for significantly boosting tomato-ripening rates.

To apply the Old Farmer’s Almanac Organic Tomato & Vegetable Plant Food, you only need to disperse its pellets into the soil. If you have sensitive skin, we suggest that you put on gloves when distributing the fertilizer.

Its formulation blends with the soil ecosystem for healthy plant growth making it perfect for both indoor and outdoor gardens.

Furthermore, it is OMRI-listed and is great for tomatoes, herbs, shrubs, trees, and all sorts of vegetables. This means that you no longer have to incur extra costs buying separate fertilizers for those plant species.

The formulation features an 8:4:8 NPK ratio, which is ideal for colorful healthy plants with strong roots, juicy fruits, and great blooms. Just remember to apply it at an interval of 6-8 weeks for better results.

Purely Organic Products Tomato & Vegetable Plant Food

Pros

• Easy to use storage bag
• Organic
• Well-balanced NPK ratio
• Supports a variety of plants
• No odor

Cons

• Not OMRI-Listed

As the name suggests the Purely Organic Products Tomato & Vegetable Plant Food is entirely made of natural components and is great for tomatoes, vegetables, herbs, and even trees. It’s purely organic and has no odor nor harsh chemicals.

Its formulation contains a balanced NPK ratio of 8:8:8 and is perfect for all types of soils. For application purposes, it’s important to note that a typical package is enough to cover up to 250 square feet.

Once applied, the Purely Organic Products Tomato & Vegetable Plant Food will continue to nourish your plants for up to 6-8 weeks. Its triple 8 formulation guarantees fast-acting results and ensures that your plants start with stronger roots, maintains steady growth, and fruits better.

It is an excellent choice for both indoor and outdoor applications. Once you are done with it, just reseal its pouch and store it in cool dry conditions.

What to look for when buying tomato fertilizers

Easy to Use

Gardening is quite fulfilling, especially when done right. One of the main points that most tomato growers often have in common is finding an easy to use fertilizer.

By easy to use, we are referring to those that don’t require lengthy preparations and complicated application schedules. These usually make their usage confusing and you might end up burning your plants.

From experience, we suggest that you should always go for picks that are either water-soluble or are pellets/granules in nature.

Effectiveness

The only reason we are all looking for the best tomato fertilizer is that we want better yield, right? This can be translated to mean that we are solely interested in the most effective fertilizer for tomatoes.

Therefore, effectiveness is a key consideration that we should keep in mind. But how can you tell that one pick is more effective than the other?

Well, the simple answer lies in what it is made of. For increased production, we suggest that you consider the NPK ratio.

Depending on your soil properties, fertilizers that address the elements that are deficient in your garden soil are more effective compared to those with a flat ratio.

Ingredients

From our round-up list, you can already tell that there are organic and inorganic fertilizers but experience has taught us that the former yield better results. Tomato fertilizers that are made of organic components tend to degrade faster and leach less.

Moreover, these fertilizers are often made of naturally occurring ingredients as opposed to synthetic chemicals that could be harmful to the environment as well as your plants.

Value for Money

Value for money is the only concern that gives sense to the things that we buy. With regards to the best fertilizers for tomatoes, you must go for economical picks.

By this, I mean that your preferred choice should help you save money. But how? You could be wondering.

While testing out the above products, we liked those that supported other different plant species more. In this case, such picks are great for all of your gardening needs and you don’t have to shop for more fertilizer for specific plants.

By doing so, these picks can help you cut on additional expenses as they work to improve your overall yields. This way, you are guaranteed great value for money.

Summary

As you can see, the only secret to sweet, yummy, juicy homegrown tomatoes is finding the right fertilizer. To help you find the best pick fast, we recommend that you go for the ones that are water-soluble and have high nitrogen and phosphorus levels. Otherwise, feel free to use this review as a guide in finding the best fertilizer for your tomatoes. Good luck!