Re: [tomato] Re: Low Nitrogen
margaret lauterbach (Tomato@GlobalGarden.com)
Sat, 08 Apr 2000 11:06:33 -0600
At 09:13 AM 4/8/2000 -0700, you wrote:
>I finally got around to doing a soil test. granted it was nothing fancy,
>but I did discover that my soil is low in nitrogen. Could this be why my
>legumes start browning at the lower leaves, unitl the whole plant is
>consumed? The top of the plant grows strong, giving off plenty of peas or
>bean as the lower leaves get so brown they're crispy. Finally of course
>those upper leaves go too. Should I add nitrogen before I plant my
>tomatoes? Last year I did pretty well by adding compost and steer manure.
>I've already prepared the beds with compost (skipped the manure) and am now
>thinking of adding a good layer of steer manure to the top few inches. Any
>ideas? I am as organic as possible, so I'm not going to go out and buy a
>chemical feritilizer. Organic may be slow but thats fine with me.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Justine
>
Use alfalfa meal, soymeal or corn gluten meal to beef up your soil
nutrition, but do not put corn gluten meal where you're going to plant
seeds. They won't germinate. It's fine for transplants, though. Margaret L