poncirusguy

That must be pretty strong roof - is it build for all that weight from beginning or did you reinforce it before planting your lush garden? (I am assuming that is your garden).
Love the plants & the fruit hanging down...

Rina

sorry for double post

Rina

This post was edited by rina_ on Sun, Jun 16, 13 at 14:06

I always do one tomato in a container on the back deck for snacking and quick harvest. This is the fourth year I've grown Sun Gold, and it is superb (lots of tomatoes already setting). I use a 15-gallon container, which I set in a plastic tub to protect the deck and also to allow for some wicking on hot days. I'm using a bark-based mix very similar to the 5-1-1. A little extra Perlite this year, on account of the potting mix being pretty fine. I always add a healthy dose of Osmocote, too...to get the plant off and running.

Josh

The 2 by 4 wall are now 2 by 14 walls all 3 stories up front. the 8 in concrete wall supports 2 floor of 2 by 13 walls The back is one floor lower and has 2 by 19 walls.

My kiwis will climb the south side to 35 feet an be espaliered to the roof guardrail. the figs and citrus will be potted in 55 gallon drums. The blueberries in a split 55 gall drums on the roof The peppers and eggplants will be in bottomless gallon food tins skyscraper-ed 3-4.cans high. in my basement will be peppers and eggplants in gallon food tins under CFL's for winter crops. Some of what I am doing may be comparable to others so feel free to browse trough pics for ideas and thanks for looking and posting pics where I finds ideas.

Stay away from citrus. It is expensive and very hard to grow with very low fruit returns.

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FIGS ARE AOK GIVE THEM A TRY

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ABOUT 50-100 PEPPER COMING ON --FEBRUARY 15--

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PEPPER STARTS FOR OUT DOORS

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12 PEPPER PLANTS WITH 5-10 FRUITS EACH IN GROW BOX UP AND DOWN
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greenman28 VERY NICE TOMATO PLANT

WHAT BROUGHT ME TO GARDENWEB. CLICK BELOW

Here is a link that might be useful: http://s1094.photobucket.com/user/wreristhechimney/slideshow/Seed%20grown%20Meiwa%20kumquat%20tree

Hey, thanks, Poncirus! :-)
Just wait another month or two...you won't be able to see the lattice behind that tomato. Oh, and I agree about Citrus....difficult, and low return. I grow a few, sure, but I think out of stubborness!

Josh

My sweet 100 is already over 10 feet, I would not put this tomato in any kind of container except a raised bed. The others should do quite well if you can keep the roots cool.

Well I picked up two small bags of perlite, garden lime and a bag of pine bark fines from Ohio mulch. Thanks for the tip OhioFem. I'm in Delaware and they were right across town on 42.

I made a small batch of Al's mix and it really helped me visualize and feel what a light airy potting mix is. The manure,hummus and perlite mix I have in the 18 gallon container is so much more dense and heavy.

I had to make some decisions and get my plants potted even if it was not the best way that it could have been done.

I put my super sweet 100 in a container that I would estimate at 7 gallons.I filled a 5 gallon bucket with peat then dumped that into the container that I put the super sweet in. I then saw that I had about 2 more gallons of room. So in that 7 gallon container I mixed a true Al's mix at 5-1-1 and added lime and tomato tone.

If you recall I said that I had to use what I had on hand in some way. So in the green 18 gallon container I put my Mr stripey and a modified mix. I first mixed up some 5-1-1 and then added some of my perlite/manure/hummus mix. Now that I knew what Al's mix felt like I used that as a reference point. I kept throwing in peat, perlite, pine bark and my manure/hummus mix and made sure to not make it too dense. It is of course denser than the true Al's mix that my super sweet is in but it is definitely a major improvement over what I had.

After filling my 7gal and 18gal I had a half bag of perlite and a quarter bag of pine bark. I dumped that into my original manure/hummus/perlite mix to amend it. I will be dumping that out tomorrow to add more drainage holes, and a liner. One of my early girls will be going into this container.

This leaves me with a problem. I still will have a left over early girl but only 5 gallon containers left. So should I just let that plant go or drive myself insane trying to make a early girl grow in it?

Well, you could try growing the Early Girl in the 5-gallon pot and learn why many of us say 5 gallons is too small. I did that several years ago and only got a few gnarly tomatoes before the poor thing died from being repeatedly knocked over by summer storms. Even watering it every day did not keep it from wilting on hot sunny days. More recently I grew an EG in an 18-gallon container I got on sale at the hardware store for $7. I spent a lot less time watering it. That plant produced more than 40 tomatoes. If I take into account the value of my time, the one in the bigger pot was cheaper.

congrats! We all learn from the sharing that takes place here. Ditching the small/fine particles in a container mix is what we are after.

i grow early girls in 5 gal paint buckets indoors. i got those at the hardware store for $5 each. i think that's equivalent to a 15 ''gal'' trade container.

i get tons of tomatoes indoors, in an east window.

i know this contradicts other posts, but that's my experience.

I was curious about what you meant by trade gallon. According to Wikipedia, trade gallons are used for sizing standard plant containers in the horticultural industry. "A trade gallon is equal to approximately .71 U.S. liquid gallons, and it should not be confused with the British Imperial gallon (equal to 1.20095 U.S. liquid gallons) or the British grain gallon (equal to .9375 U.S. liquid gallons)." So a 5-gallon paint bucket is equivalent to a 7-gallon trade container. Thanks for tipping me off to that.

Yes, when adding Lime, I always take into account the actual gallons of mix I've made, as opposed to the designation of the nursery container/can.

Josh

My plants look terrible. They were healthy and green until I potted them. I expected them to look even better after getting potted in the fertilized containers.

My super sweet 100 really went south

The green container is my early girl. The orange container is mr stripy which looks some what good though not as good as it did before I potted it.

The green container is my early girl. The orange container is mr stripy which looks some what good though not as good as it did before I potted it.

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did you leave them in the sun right after repotting?

Yeah, they should have taken off like crazy, especially having their own large container. How much food is in the mix, and how much are you feeding/watering them? The Mr. Stripy in the orange container looks underfed. To me the problem might be in straying from the classic mix and going with the manure/humus mix. If the mix you are using drains fast then the roots should have no problem growing. I have a feeling that the density of the mix is the problem. When your container mix is damp, you should be able to put a quart of water in the top, and almost immediately see a quart of water come out the bottom when its draining correctly.

The Super Sweet 100 is in a true Al's mix the other containers are modified al's mix amended with the original manure/humus/perlite mix that I had because I needed the volume to fill the container. They looked like this the day after I potted them. Could it be severe transplant shock?

I don't recall the exact amount of tomato tone I added but I did follow instruction and added an appropriate amount for container size. I also added a small amount of tomato tone around the root ball when I potted them. As for the drainage they are not draining that fast. Each of the large containers have 30+ 1/4in holes in the bottom.They are in full sun for at least 8 hours a day before I put them in the garage. Perhaps I should dissolve some tomato tone in then watering can?

That sounds like an awful lot of tomato tone. Is it organic, and slow-acting? I wouldn't add any more until addressing the issue of the slow drainage and moisture-retentive mix.

A plant shouldn't go downhill so quickly, really. The Super Sweet 100 mix looks quite a bit heavier than my 5-1-1.

Josh

tomatoes should be kept in the shade for 1-2 days after transplant. no direct sun at all.

try shading them.

i don't believe bad drainage would hurt them so quickly , though that product you are using may have hurt if in direct contact with the roots. i've never seen this much transplant shock in tomatoes.

This post was edited by susieqz on Sun, Jun 23, 13 at 9:03

As mentioned above the fertilizer in direct contact might have had an effect. I might try digging 'one' up, flush the roots a little and replant it without any fertilizer near the roots. They are surviving though, and I've seen worse plants than that....they might recover.

I've used miracle grow potting mix in the past in 5 gallon buckets. That mix didn't drain as fast as this mix does. Even the heavier stuff. I don't know how I would have used too much tomato tone. I followed the instructions to the T.

I didn't know about the shade tip. I will remember that for future reference. I can go get a bag of pine bark fines to make the mix in the larger containers even lighter.

The super sweet really is in 5 parts pine bark, 1 part peat and 1 part perlite.

The whole fertilizer thing is becoming mind numbing. I thought tomato tone was a well rested product?

I've used miracle grow potting mix in the past in 5 gallon buckets. That mix didn't drain as fast as this mix does. Even the heavier stuff. I don't know how I would have used too much tomato tone. I followed the instructions to the T.

I didn't know about the shade tip. I will remember that for future reference. I can go get a bag of pine bark fines to make the mix in the larger containers even lighter.

The super sweet really is in 5 parts pine bark, 1 part peat and 1 part perlite.

The whole fertilizer thing is becoming mind numbing. I thought tomato tone was a well rested product?

If I were you, I wouldn't do anything for the first week after transplanting. Don't water unless the mix is dry and don't add any more fertilizer. Tomatotone is a popular choice in the tomato growing forum. It is a slow acting organic fertilizer that is very unlikely to have burned your plants. I add a cup to each of my 20-gallon tomato containers every two weeks until I have good fruit set. I also supplement with a soluble fertilizer once the plants are going strong.

How long were your tomato plants in small nursery containers before you put them in the larger pots? Were they root bound when you transplanted? They look awfully small. If root bound when transplanted, that could set them back for several days, but they should bounce back. They may have been shocked by the full sun on the first day, but they will get over that as well.

noone said you used too much fertilizer. but you said you also added some touching the root ball. it's best not to have the roots in direct contact upon transplanting.

meanwhile, why not improvise some shade over 1 of the plants and see what happens? i bet 2 days in more shade will show results

Well I ended up scrapping all but one plant, an early girl. I'm surprised it survived. My son broke of the central stem and picked at it constantly. All of the growth is from a sucker and a side branch. let it grow a bit and would tie to the the dowel to make it frow straight up. I did not fertilize on a regular biases. I worked in a bit of tomato tone every two weeks or so. At one point my sons were playing in the garage and mixed about half the bag of tomato tone with some peat moss. As you can see form early pics my green container was not filled to the top. So I worked the tomato tone and some more peat Moss into the top layer of mix to fill the container. It really took off after that. Now that I'm getting fruit what sort of fertilizer should I be using? Can you recommend a particular brand? I think mater magic is one I've heard of.

OhioFem

That plants were in the nursery containers for about two weeks after I bought them. They we pretty well grown when I bought them. I put them in full sun the second week that I had them and yes they were root bound. I think part of the problem was that I broke the biodegradable container apart and loosened up the root ball quite a bit.

poncirusguy

I'm going to think about doing what you suggested about adding a pepper and basil plant to the container. Should I prune the tomato into one central stem next summer? Also I will have larger cages. As you can see 99% of my tomatoes are going to be above my cage and will not have much support. What I am curious about is how does adding basil improve the flavor of the tomato?

I'm also considering adding a marigold to the pot as I've heard that aphids hate them and will help keep them from my tomatoes. I did not have any issues with bugs this year. When I first tried this a few years back I had some nice fat green caterpillars.

I've been reading about growing dwarf varieties of corn in my 18 gallon pots. I want to try growing the "three sisters" together. I think it would be a nice lesson for my kids about native culture as I'm a history buff plus we would get some nice veggies to boot.

I'm hoping next year to get a jump on the season by starting some heirlooms from seed.

My goal next year is to grow some things that I can actually make a good part of a meal from. Like corn and bean salsas and maybe some salads. I have limited room so any suggestions about what to grow would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all so much for helping me get at least one of my plants growing good. I've learned a lot about what a container mix should looks like and now I know where to get all of the components.

Here you can see where the original main stem was snapped off by my knuckle headed 4 year old.

Another view. You can see how much growth I have that's above the cage

Dan
I noticed in your photo of broken tom plant that very bottom is tied to the stake very 'snugly' - it looks like the string is now cutting into stem. Tomato plants (from my limited experience) are pretty resilient & it may not cause any problem, but it could. Girdling is a way to kill plants...
I try to use a softer type of material to tie, and also make it like a #8 - not sure how to explain - and not too tight. Will try to get a close-up photo tomorrow if you are interested...Rina

The plant has grown over the string a bit. I do understand what you mean by tying in a figure 8. This is the first year that I've had any good growth mainly because I used a better potting mix and a much larger container. I would still be interested is seeing you plants though. A lot can be learned just by looking ata picture.

Dan,
my tomatoes ended up in pots this year, and not large enough I am afraid. Pots are only 1 to 3 gal, but still have lots of fruit. They were supposed to be all planted in beds, but it didn't work out that way...there is just 2 planted in ground, will post photo too.
Potting mix is 50/50 of soil & perlite (thinking that would be temporary-mabe a week or two). If I planned for pots, would have used 5-1-1 and larger containers. I fertilized with MiracleGro12-4-8, liquid. I did put small amount of time-released fert in the mix.

Red-fruited plant is Principe Borghese, and it is 69" from the soil line right now. Immediately to the left (with green-orange tomatoes) is only 56" tall, but in only 1gal pot. I already picked 2 very large tomatoes from it, it is
Malakhitovaya shkatulka (great name...!)
Next left is Sungela, 62" tall. Picked at least 10 tomatoes from that one.
I am sure they all would be taller if they were planted in larger containers.

I pinch off just about all side shoots, mainly because I wasn't ready with proper supports, and I ended up with too many potted tomato plants (you don't want to know how many...)

This post was edited by rina_ on Mon, Aug 26, 13 at 19:56

Here are 2 planted in ground. Taller one is Yellow pear, it is very prolific and I grow it every year. It is now 9'2" from soil line, and very sturdy stem.
Next to it is Garden lime, 76". Just regular triple mix, and fertilizing same as potted plants.

All of these were (unfortunately) planted out or potted-up very late (they spent too much time in smaller pots). Considering, I am very happy with their growth and amounts of tomatoes I am getting. Have to beg my kids to take some...and I am eating tomato salad every day.

One more photo - here are some of the 'babies'; I started all of them from seeds in 72 cell flats, potted up to 3" pot, then again into 6" & 7" pots (as in this photo).
Rina

Wow I am surprised at the height that those ones in 5 gallon container reached! I've never saw anything near that in the past. Then again I didn't do a good job of water and fertilizing in the past.

This year I've not had to water so much thanks to the 18 gallon container. It lets me slip a bit if I'm very busy.

Are there tons of hole in the bottom of those buckets? Like enough for the Roots to grow into the ground?

I will have larger tomatoes cages next year. I'm also thinking of pruning to one central stem as you have.

I can't get too crazy as I like in a town house complex. I was thinking of placing my pots out side my back door next year, there is a spot about 5ft long and 3ft wide. I think I could get a great lil container garden going there. A lot of other people have patio furniture out back and I don't so the property shouldn't have a problem with it. Although if there is a storm I'm able to pull my one plant into the garage so maybe ill keep them out front. Who knows...

This post was edited by DanJohnsonIs on Wed, Aug 28, 13 at 23:41

Dan

I think I had some luck...I water them every day, otherwise they really suffer. The weather was so weird this year, with late spring, then too much heat and humidity all of sudden. I had some blossom end rot, but wasn't really bad.

The containers have 4 or 5 holes, they are recycled nursery pots. Roots would grow into ground, but I have them in driveway on asphalt, or on wooden deck.
In area you are describing, I would probably squeezed 10 pots, in 2 rows. I have made stand/shelve abt. 16" tall, and some plants are on it, another row in front of the shelve.
You could see little of it in photo attached.
Not sure what you mean by putting your plant in garage in case of storm?

Rina

Some of the tomatoes from potted plants.

Wow such a beautiful plate of tomatoes!

I was thinking of just using 18 Gallon containers. I want to make a "three sister" container with corn, squash and beans. From what I've read about corn though I need at least 12 plants to guarantee pollination. I'm not sure if I want to dedicate that much space to one crop. Ill snap a pic of the space I have. I also don't want to push it with the property manager.

Wat I was saying about the garage is that if there were a storm I could drag the containers inside the garage if I kept my containers in my driveway. If I move them outback that's where they have to stay.

I got it staked up a bit better by taking the handles off of my snow shovels.

I'm finally getting some fruit. It was planted more than 59 days ago but as I said previously the main stem was snapped off by my son.

That is still a healthy looking plant. Hopefully fruit will ripen for you. Few yrs. ago I picked green leftovers (from planting beds) and kept them in the kitchen, looked funny but they eventually ripened.

(I never grown corn, but am wondering how it will grow in the container - since you want to plant that many?)

sorry, double post.

This post was edited by rina_ on Thu, Aug 29, 13 at 23:25

Very nice, both of you!
I'm glad that the one plant survived for you. I think you have enough time for a harvest. Rina, the plate is lovely.

Josh

Tomatoes are just very hard to grow for a long season in containers. I find they grow very well and generally get to maturity faster, however they will become root-bound unless the container is 20 to 30 gallons minimum, and even then, in a Mediterranean climate you may run into problems late in the 2nd season. I transplanted a late Blue Chocolate (F-1 heirloom hybrid that is supposed to be decent for containers) in late June in a 10 gallon terracotta and it is already well over 6 feet with a net yield of around 20 tomatoes. Very impressed with it, however it has wilted entirely in the last few days despite consistent watering, and I believe it is because it has become root-bound in a 10 gallon pot in small amount of time. I had also heard that terracotta should help to prevent root-binding to a small degree. It is in standard 5-1-1 and the weather has been hot so it is nearly impossible to overwater.

I think a heavier mix than standard 5-1-1 may be beneficial for container tomatoes so that roots do not spread out as fast and maybe grow more densely in a smaller area instead of rushing to the sides of the pot and beginning to spiral.

I also know people that plant in 5 gallon buckets with the bottom removed (easily done with a hammer or hack-saw) so that the roots can grow out into the native soil, it also provides a wicking effect that will help avoid over watering if you dig the base of the bucket into the dirt a couple inches.

Great info and advice, Phil!

It has been hot this Summer, and I've had to shade the 15-gallon container for my backdeck Sun Gold. As usual, this plant has produced well beyond what I can possibly eat. Hard to see in the photo, but the vines are far up into the Liquidambar. It's raining today, so the lighting is a bit gloomy.

Hi

Let me say a couple things here please:

I grow tomatoes in containers outside every year and each one produces way more fruit than my neighbors outdoor in ground tomatoes do. Here are dome tips:

1. must get min of 6 hrs full sun

2. You need to start with a premium peat based soil mix and add some extra perlite. Look on line for making soil mix for growing weed (MJ) indoors. If u don't care about organic growing, use miracle grow potting soil with already added fert...not garden soil, not top soil, not dirt from ur yard and no cheap potting mixes. /Soils with already added fert work great for tomatoes but apparently not for weed so u will notice those sites don't recommend it. For tomatoes it will work outstandingly

3. I use 7 gallon plastic trash cans. 1 plant per can. I have used 5 gallon buckets but they are NOT big enough. This probably relates to number 4...

4. I never grow determinate tomatoes or tiny grape sized tomatoes or bush tomatoes or tomatoes bred for container growing. - WHY? - because I want the biggest and most tomatoes.

I grow large 1 lb and up varieties of indeterminate tomatoes. I get tons of large fruit. Any plant will produce slightly smaller fruit in containers so start out with BIG varieties!

5. ALSO - I don't get why people recommend determinate tomatoes for containers - they only produce for one shot and then they are done.

6. Obviously you need to pay attention to proper watering, feeding etc. If you use grow soils with fert already in you will not need to fert for the first 5-6 weeks. Then only if needed and only in 1/4 to 1/2 strength.

7. If you go organic, and know how to make a good mix, you will not need to fert at all. Again, If u don't know how to make an indoor soil mix look at a weed (MJ) growing site.

DONT FORGET - weed growers are the top professionals at growing indoors. Don't be afraid to look at these sites for expert information on indoor growing.

I use a bark-based mix, with only 15% peat-based potting mix as an amendment.

Josh

I use about 50-60% bark. I think you can grow in just about anything if you understand the properties of the soil, plant, and other factors, location, pot size, etc.

I don't get why people recommend determinate tomatoes for containers - they only produce for one shot and then they are done.

Well if you want to make fresh sauce, you're going to need a lot of plants to have enough at any one time. With determinates it makes it easier to have a bunch of fresh tomatoes at once. Their is nothing like fresh sauce from tomatoes picked that day. It just doesn't get better.
Most of my sauce is not made fresh as I don't grow many determinates, but have no objection to them and understand why people would grow them. Other reasons too. In some locations disease is inevitable so best to produce all at once as long term the plant will succumb to disease. More bang for your buck. So in areas with high pest or disease pressure determinates make more sense.
The long life of indeterminates bring diseases into your growing area, pot or garden. Using determinates prevents contamination as plant is removed before it attracts, say septoria, early or late blight. Once there, is staying there. See it again the next year. Very possible some can survive.
Using determinates you have less chance of this happening.

This post was edited by Drew51 on Wed, Nov 26, 14 at 13:13