A tomato plant has one fully focused mission in life, which is to produce as many tomatoes as possible before it dies. It therefore needs to grow fast, create more foliage, strengthen its supporting stems, produce trusses and flowers, and ultimately fruits. The fruits then need to swell, ripen and mature. All this activity requires energy plus an abundance of light, warmth, water and fertiliser.
The plant needs a variety of nutrients, which it absorbs from the soil, but very often demand outstrips the availability of essential nutrients, especially when the volume of soil is limited. Commercial tomato feeds are widely available, but a homemade tomato fertiliser is natural, effective, and in most cases costs nothing.
The best source of DIY tomato fertiliser ingredients can be found in the kitchen.
Taking to their TikTok page @phillyjlay1, a wellness influencer shared a video on how to make your own “natural tomato fertiliser from waste produce” for bigger and tastier tomatoes.
One of the two main ingredients is banana skins that she keeps in a bag that has already turned black and started to grow mould.
Banana peels make the perfect natural fertiliser that tomatoes “love” as they are packed with nutrients, including potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, and calcium, but contain almost no nitrogen.
To pair with the banana peels, Philly adds eggshells which are rich in calcium and also contain small amounts of potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium.
She then adds both ingredients to a blender. Once blitzed, Philly then recommends diluting the solution with water before feeding it to your tomato plants.
Taking to the comments section, one user asked if this fertiliser can be used on vegetable plants as well, to which Philly replied: “Best for tomatoes.”
The big advantage of liquid feeds like this is that they provide an almost instant hit. Liquid feeds are applied with water so the plant’s roots are able to absorb the feed very quickly.
Gardeners will have the greatest success from organically fertilising their tomato plants once a week during the growing season.
