Tomatoes Love the Beach: How Seaweed Can Improve Tomato Growth, Yield and Flavor
By Danny Thompson
Okay, I don’t know if that’s actually true . . . I’ll look into it and get back to you.
But apparently, they like a little seaweed.
Regular use of kelp sprays on your tomato plants has been shown to make plants heartier and healthier, and even improve the soil conditions and flavor of the tomatoes.
In fact, Erika Jensen combed through a dozen scientific papers, and found that:
“The use of seaweed as a growth stimulator is widely supported by scientific studies. There is also some evidence to support the idea that kelp is useful in helping plants through times of stress, including drought, disease, and cold weather.”
Her report, published over at The Organic Broadcaster back in 2004, is ripe with info about seaweed and it’s application to agriculture (in case you were wondering, it seems that auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins and alginic acid are the things that do the trick).
If you’re interested in ways to improve the yield of your tomatoes (or, apparently, just about anything else that grows), you should take a few minutes and read it.
Now my only question is, who was the first person who saw a clump of seaweed floating in the surf and thought “ya know…I bet this stuff’d work wonders on my garden!”?
July 31st, 2007 at 9:14 am
very interesting… tomatoes and…seaweed. just browsing blogroll sites so just stopping to say hi.
April 19th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Yep, seaweed in the garden, good stuff.
Deb
May 27th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
I use seaweed. First use it to bank the base of your house for the winter. It stops a lot of heat lose. Then in the spring it has been washed by the rain and snow melting. I use it on my garden. It seems to work for my tomatoes.
May 30th, 2008 at 12:46 am
[...] talked about how seaweed can improve your tomato growth, yield, and flavor here, but did you know that simple seawater can also help your [...]
June 1st, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Once a tomato plant is planted can you replant it again? I would like to replant several tomato plants deeper. Is that possible?
July 8th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
A combination foliar spray of seaweed and concentrated fish extract (diluted) sprayed on the top AND the bottom sides of leaves of almost any plant will improve its health and performance.
But the seaweed extract works on the leaves. It has some compound that benefits growth, yet once it hits the soil that vanishes. So its benefit is on the leaves.
It’s all very common. You can find this at any nursery, or even buy the stuff through the mail.
Mike Varady
July 8th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
I should have added this: Yes, you can transplant tomatoes several times. Garden experts and nurseries recommend the final transplant being after at least two of them.
The first time should be only after two (or more) true leaves have appeared, if you’re growing from seed.
Later, you can clip off the bottom leaves and transplant into a pot, say, gently bending the stem and covering it with soil. If you look at the stem, there will be little bumps on it; these are incipient roots. (They may not develop, but probably will.) At a slight angle, you give the plant more base to grow roots and hold the soil. Never let the leaves touch ground, as the plant might get diseases from the soil.
And, if you smoke, thoroughly wash your hands before touching the plants. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, potatoes, and melon pears (a.k.a. pepinos, pepinos dolces) are closely realted to tobacco and can pick up different tobacco viruses from your hands. If you’re really strict about it, wash your hands in nonfat milk (I don’t smoke, so I don’t know if this is true.) You will think you’ll remember this, but it’s very easy to forget at the time of handling, so I suggest putting a sign right by the plants, saying WASH YOUR HANDS IF YOU SMOKE!!!!!!
There is, of course, more; no one knows everything. But you can look up tomato growing online, or read books about it, or whatever. I’ve never passed up an article on tomato-growing. As much as I think I know, there’s always more I can learn.
July 8th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Oh, lordy —
I guess I could go on and on.
!
If you buy your plants (tomato, pepper, pepino, eggplant) at a nursery, take off all the flowers and the buds when you transplant. Nurseries have found that having the flowers in bloom helps sell the plants.
But the plant itself needs that energy to grow more roots. If you don’t clip off the flowers and buds, they’re the ONLY fruit you’ll get that season; but cutting off and letting the roots develop will promise many more.