I think I overfertilized... will my plants recover?

[slick_wilson]

Hi all,

I think I screwed up here. I used some Fox Farm liquid fertilizers (Big Bloom, Grow Big) mixed to the right concentrations per their instructions, or so I thought.

I think I did about 5x the dosage I needed, and I noticed what appeared to be fertilizer burn within a few days. Did a deep watering in attempt to flush them, followed by a couple good rains.

Can anyone tell me if these plants are cooked / a lost cause? I would hate to have to replant them because they are some of my favorite varieties I grew from seed. Definitely going to pay far more attention to dosages in the future and use more solid nutrients going forward.

Thanks.

P.S. I posted a picture of a single black brandywine I transplanted after this event, while the rest of the plants show overfertilization damage.

 

[YumYum]

Did you use both products per gallon of water? How much per gallon of water did you use?

 

[slick_wilson]

Hi there... I believe I actually just used Grow Big at a dosage of 3 tsp/gallon. However the Fox Farm feeding schedule calls for less than 2 tsp/gallon.

It looks like N over fertilization to me, which sucks for sure. But if I can replant with new tomatoes and learn a lesson here then I am not entirely against it.

Thanks

 

[Meadowlark]

@slick_wilson , I've seen a lot worse. Even if you choose to replant, I would proceed with these as they have a very good chance of pulling out of it.

The best, most valuable lessons of gardening are those we learn from our own mistakes.

 

[YumYum]

Hi there... I believe I actually just used Grow Big at a dosage of 3 tsp/gallon. However the Fox Farm feeding schedule calls for less than 2 tsp/gallon.

It looks like N over fertilization to me, which sucks for sure. But if I can replant with new tomatoes and learn a lesson here then I am not entirely against it.

Thanks

You definitely didn't burn them with nitrogen then. Don't wash the soil out anymore. That is actually what it calls for:

https://foxfarm.com/product/grow-big-liquid-fertilizer/

That kind of looks like sun scald or not hardening them off properly to me or transplant shock. Also looks like those are slightly deficient in nitrogen but wait a few days to fertilize again. I agree with @Meadowlark they will probably pull through but the messed up looking leaves will probably stay messed up looking which shouldn't hurt anything.

 

[slick_wilson]

Awesome, thank you both for all the great advice.

Trying to strike the right balance with the nutrients, after the initial (possible or non-) overfertilization, I did the wash. Then after about a week I did hit them with a light (50%) mix of Grow Big and Big Bloom, and watered it in well to dilute it a tad further.

I guess my last question is, going forward do you generally recommend solid nutrients rather than liquid ones? Liquid nutes seem like the dark side in that they work very quickly but can be overapplied easily for amateurs like me.

In my situation / setup, would you recommend something like a liquid fish fertilizer for nitrogen? Or a good old fashioned side-dressing of some solid nutrients like the one below? Also I do keep a garden journal but will be more diligent with "lessons learned" so that I don't forget these things and can build my knowledge and wisdom going forward.

Thank you!

 

[YumYum]

I don't see anything wrong with using the Grow Big. It isn't all organic. I'm not an all organic gardener. It does have micronutrients. Doesn't contain calcium although so you could get enough through city or well waterings but not through rains unless your soil already contains enough calcium.

I can't find exactly what is in the fish fertilizer but it is ground up fish parts. It is organic. It should also contain all the nutrients but I haven't any data on it.

 

[big rockpile]

The Fertilizer you used is Organic Low numbers it would take a heck of lot to burn.

If you are worried about Nitrogen you might try just Blood Meal.

big rockpile

 

[slick_wilson]

Hi all,

I wanted to post an update after the original post. I took the steps below after everybody's advice. Here is a picture of the same plants as of this morning (they are doing way better!)

Steps I took:

1. I weeded the bed
   
   
2. I trimmed off the burned leaves and some leaves with brown spot. I believe the brown spot is a fungus that affects leaves if left wet too long, some plants still have a touch of it but will prune these soon
   
   
3. I did a side-dressing at about 60% strength of the Marine Cuisine fertilizer, and mixed it in with the soil around the base of each plant
   
   
4. After fertilizing I watered in each plant well
   
   
5. Then I hit the entire box with a layer of gorilla hair mulch

Thanks everybody for the advice! Happy gardening to you all