Boost your tomato growth with 'best' homemade fertiliser made from kitchen scraps
Tomato plants can benefit significantly from the right fertiliser, which can lead to larger and healthier fruits - and it's possible to make your own cheap and easy feed from kitchen scraps
Tomatoes are notorious for being heavy feeders, needing a rich supply of nutrients to thrive. But the right fertiliser can significantly boost their growth, yielding larger and healthier fruits and it can be found using scraps from your kitchen.
It's vital to consistently feed tomatoes during their growth period, as under-nourished plants may display yellowing leaves, stunted growth and produce smaller or poor quality fruit. For optimal tomato cultivation, they require a fertiliser rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
It's possible to create an economical homemade feed from kitchen waste that delivers the same benefits as commercial fertilisers.
Feeding your tomatoes banana skins can provide a burst of potassium and phosphorus, while coffee grounds are the secret ingredient for growing larger and more abundant tomato plants.
Gardening expert and co-founder of I Grow Tomatoes, Jim Competti, has revealed that one of the most effective natural fertilisers for tomato plants is used coffee grounds, reports the Mirror.
He explained: "Did you know that one of the best ways to naturally fertilise your tomato plants is by using spent coffee grounds?
"Not only can the grounds be used to power plants at the time of planting, but they can also be used throughout the entire growing season as well!
"Coffee grounds are full of the vital nutrients that tomato plants need in order to grow healthy and productive.
"Tomato plants need a fair amount of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous - which, of course, are key nutrients found in commercial fertiliser products. But they also happen to be in coffee grounds too!"
Creating a liquid feed from coffee grounds is hailed as one of the superior techniques for nourishing tomatoes - you simply need to keep your surplus coffee grounds each time you make a cup.
Jim explained: "After you make an initial pot of coffee, all that remains are the weak grounds.
"If you simply run an additional pot of water through the maker, just like that, you have a perfect, all-purpose fertilising tea.
"Once cool, you can then use this tea to water your tomato plants to provide them with a quick boost of nutrients. You can even do the same with any leftover plain coffee. Just dilute it with equal parts water and your tea is ready to power your plants."
Another approach is to scatter a modest amount of coffee grounds at the foot of your tomato plant before watering, which The Express notes could assist in bolstering its nitrogen levels.
Jim added: "Every three to four weeks, sprinkle on a few tablespoons around the base of each tomato plant.
"This helps to provide plants with a low and steady stream of nutrients every time it rains or you water."
Not only will this leftover kitchen scrap help feed your tomato plant to help grow bigger fruit, but coffee grounds are also a natural way to keep slugs and snails out of your garden, so you can save money and deter pests with this simple gardening trick.
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