Fertilizing tomatoes

I'm sure this has been asked and answered before, but none of my searches have been successful and I have more than one question.

I planted my storebought tomato plants 3 days ago. When should I fertilize them? Now or later? I use organic fish fertilizer.

Is cedar mulch ok for maters? I had some here, so I used it so I wouldn't have to buy mulch right away.

Thanks!

Since no one else has spoken up, I'll give you my opinion, though I'm not an expert. They say not to fertilize tomatoes too much, or you'll get a lot of leaves and no fruit. So I put a shovel of compost in each hole, and maybe water with a little fish fertilizer. But there are several varieties, I try to get the one where the second and third numbers are higher, so there's not so much nitrogen. Not sure on the mulch question, cedar may be a little acidic, but I've never heard anyone say to lime tomatoes so they should be ok with it.

Thank you. I'll have to check the numbers on my fish fertilizer.

You could also use bone meal at planting time. This is very slow release, however, so I wouldn't bother once you start to see a lot of flowers.

Bone meal will promote blooming and root growth. Make sure you have a bee attracting plant nearby (I have lavender), as this will really increase your yield.

Happy gardening!
Jeff

I agree--tomatoes are actually one of the least demanding vegetables, fertilizer wise. If you don't have many bees in your area, you can just shake the plants every time you pass them (but don't bother if its still windy there).
Debbie

Debbie, is correct. Tomatoes are pollinated by the wind, although having bees visit the flowers will increase the yield. Shaking the plants works, too.

I don't have to worry about blooms yet. They were just planted and are only about 6 inches tall.