Now this is a big 'ol mator

[gixxerific]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IStH2lLlxWw

2.2 pounds it's a brandywine.

You would think if they knew how to grow such a large tomato they would know how to use the right tools.

[stella1751]

Wow! Gix, I think you may have sold me on Brandywines with this video. That looked like a seriously tasty tomato!

[gixxerific]

I wasn't planning on and brandywines either but I may have to now. They are supposed to be very good though not as productive.

[tedln]

Did either of you happen to notice how they were gowing those brandywines? I think they were planted directly into bags of Miricle Grow gardening soil. I've seen this done before with the cheap bags of top soil sold at Home Depot, Lowes, and Walmart. A friend lined one side of his driveway with the bags, made small cuts in the center of each bag, and planted his tomatoes. He grew some really nice tomatoes. I guess the better Miracle Grow soil grows bigger, better tomatoes.

Ted

[The Helpful Gardener]

Better? I didn't have any Brandywines quite that large, but a few one pounders anyway, and my organic ones would have better nutrient density, therefore better taste AND better for you. But those're big alright... Big fake ones might LOOK better but I like real ones...

HG

[tedln]

You are right Scott! Better would be open to interpretation. Maybe larger would be more accurately descriptive and definitive.

Ted

[gixxerific]

I didn't say they tasted good I just said they were HUGE!

They were probably grown with hormones or who knows what. I think they need to get some some good cutters and throw those dull scissors away.

[herchelle]

All that I could think about was that tomato sandwich...I am seriously drooling!! Growing a tomato in a bag of potting soil is a great idea!

[tedln]

All that I could think about was that tomato sandwich...I am seriously drooling!! Growing a tomato in a bag of potting soil is a great idea!

Ellen,

It works well. The concept is really under the catogory of container gardening and most of the "best practices" which apply to gardening in containers apply to growing in the bag. It just seems so simple to consider the growing mix bag as a container and use it as a container. If you looked closely at the video, I think you can see some plastic inserts which are inserted through the bag into the soil. They look like green plastic flower pots. These inserts provide an open planting surface for your plants and they also provide a method to add water as needed. I believe the folks in the video placed bags of mix against each other allowing each bag to support the one next to it. Another way to accomplish the same thing is to construct wooden frames sized to contain one bag. Each frame will only have four sides, with the bottom of the bag sitting on concrete or soil. The frame not only supports the sides of the bag, but offers some protection from accidental punctures or tears of the bag. The frame also protects the plastic bag from strong sunlight. The bags are not made from a plastic which contains an additive protecting it from the ultra violet light of the sun. Most of these bags will start to decompose before the end of summer spilling their contents out the sides. The frames protect against that.

It is a good, simple, method for folks who do not have a lot of room for a garden and who do not want to purchase a lot of pots.

Ted

[The Helpful Gardener]

It's a viable method, minimist in nature (which is certainly good for big N Nature), and easy. Start with the right bag of stuff though. I as always recommend something without ammonium nitrate ferts, but not everyone wants to go organic. To each their own... I think it does make a difference in flavor (which comes from the lycopene content, which is [url=https://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=44]higher in organic tomatoes[/url]. Higher nutrient density and it's an antioxidant. So better tasting AND better for you...

But it's a big mater...

HG

[tedln]

Most of the prepared name brand soil mixes do contain ammonium nitrate or ammonium sulfate or some comparable chemical fertilizer. I rarely purchase or use the prepared mixes in my garden or flower containers. I know a few folks that have purchased the cheap bags of common dirt at the big box stores and use that for their tomatoes instead of the prepared mixes. I know it has worked as "grow in the bag" containers. The only problem I have with it is the fact that I have no idea what the chemical content of the dirt is. I have no idea where the dirt was collected and bagged or what it contains. I do sometimes use it as a base filler to which I add organics to make a complete soil for containers. .I bought some early this year that was mostly sand and small rocks. I also bought some bags of composted manure which was also mostly sand and gravel with no manure. It worked for me by adding the organics. I bought some later this year that was the most beautiful, loamy, organic rich soil I've ever seen. You never know what you will get when you open the bags.

Ted

[The Helpful Gardener]

That's an issue Ted; I couldn't agree more. Finding quality products is difficult, which is why more and more of us prefer to make our own. That said, I do buy other products, ones I have come to trust or I actually know. There has been a trend of fertilizer companies getting into the bagged soil market that has led to a spate of fertilized soil products, which can be seen as a convenience, but markedly effects the inherent nutritional nature of the product. Bigger isn't always better...

HG

[tedln]

Yes Scott, If you read the fine print on the back of most of the cheap bags of dirt, you will find it is also packaged and marketed by a company owned by Scotts. Scotts seems to make more products and control the market for more prepackaged gardening soil and fertilizers than anyone else.

I am not a die hard purist organic gardener. I simply do things that make sense to me. I try to grow plants that produce well, and taste good, as inexpensivly and naturally as possible.

I do not avoid using chemicals in the garden. I simply believe if something can be accomplished naturally, why not do it naturally.

Ted

[The Helpful Gardener]

That all makes pretty good sense to me, Ted. Even [url=https://www.nofa.org/index.php]NOFA[/url] allows for the occasional use of stronger methods in it's program. Avoiding as much as you can just makes sense. I find that it gets easier with good organic products to get you through a quicker transition to a healthier chemical-free garden ecosystem. Nature looks after her own...

Can anyone believe it is possible to lay down such a barrage of poisons on the surface of the earth without making it unfit for all life? They should not be called 'insecticides' but 'biocides'."

Rachel Carson

HG

[gixxerific]

Well I'm glad this post took an intellectual turn. I just wanted to let you all see the big tomato.

I have been following along interesting stuff a usual.