I have 4 Roma tomato plants growing in containers, and I'm just wondering about the final size of the tomatoes. The bushes themselves are fairly small but they each have 10+ fruit. We have eaten a bunch of the tomatoes, and they are very tasty, but they're incredibly small, even for Roma variety. My only experience to compare them is supermarket tomatoes, so maybe I should not use them as a basis of comparison due to the chemicals they use? Here is a picture of the bushes. This picture is 2 weeks old, and right now maybe more than half of the tomatoes are red with maybe 1/3 of those a deep red.
Besides that, will this be a common trend for me in home gardening, trying to be mostly organic, that my veggies will be smaller but better tasting?
[img]https://www.drewelise.com/garden/garden3_88.JPG[/img]
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cheshirekat
- Senior Member
- Posts: 264
- Joined: Mon May 12, 2008 11:13 pm
- Location: Denver, CO (zone 5)
Are you using any fertilizers? Tomatoes like to be fed. I'm using organic fish emulsions and worm casting tea for mine. I also have some organic food specifically for berries and tomatoes that I will use when I see more fruit on the plants I have.
Also, how often are you watering? Some companion plants, like basil, will help your tomatoes be more healthy.
Also, how often are you watering? Some companion plants, like basil, will help your tomatoes be more healthy.
The last time I grew Romas was 1994 (the year before The Car Wreck). I'm growing them again this year.
My Romas were in the ground and grew to about 6 to 7 feet tall! The tomatoes were approx. 2-1/2 to 3 inches long and 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inches wide. There were loads of them; dozens on each plant. Very red. Bigger than at the store. Very tasty (*after* being cooked; see my post elsewhere under "Best Variety?").
We had mixed in our homemade compost--and that patch had had compost mixed in for several previous seasons--and maybe liquid kelp when we first planted them. I remember random applications of kelp throughout the growing season.
What are yours planted in? Are the buckets 1 gallon? You could be restricting the plants' growth by restricting their roots.
Other HG'ers may have other ideas...
Cynthia H.
USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 17
My Romas were in the ground and grew to about 6 to 7 feet tall! The tomatoes were approx. 2-1/2 to 3 inches long and 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inches wide. There were loads of them; dozens on each plant. Very red. Bigger than at the store. Very tasty (*after* being cooked; see my post elsewhere under "Best Variety?").
We had mixed in our homemade compost--and that patch had had compost mixed in for several previous seasons--and maybe liquid kelp when we first planted them. I remember random applications of kelp throughout the growing season.
What are yours planted in? Are the buckets 1 gallon? You could be restricting the plants' growth by restricting their roots.
Other HG'ers may have other ideas...
Cynthia H.
USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 17
I fertilized them 3 or 4 times with miracle grow before I knew better, and I have since switched to a semi-organic mixture. They're growing in bagged soil, kind of loose and chunky, not fluffy like potting soil, and I did not mix in anything. After reading some of the soil cocktails people on here use, I suspect my bagged soil just needed some extra stuff mixed in. So will these plants eventually die so I can take the dirt out and mix in some extra stuff? Do tomatoes have roots that run close to the surface? Like little skinny spidery roots? Because when I added that new fertilizer, it said to try to mix it in 2-3 inches deep, but when I tried it, it felt and sounded like roots tearing, so I didn't go that deep.
I water every day or every other day, but we have had a long dry spell here, so they're getting the hose exclusively, and we have fairly bad water. Very hard, and chlorinated. I'm getting ready to install a rain barrel, and I have been advised to put a big screen top on it so I can fill it with tap water and let the chlorine evaporate. How much impact will my tap water have?
They are growing in 5 gallon buckets with a 2-3 inches of rocks and then dirt. What could one realistically expect from that constraint, assuming they were originally potted in better soil?
Anyway, the 7 foot high roma bushes with 3 inch fruit tells me what I needed to know.. btw, I know they're sauce tomatoes, but I could use romas exclusively, including eating them raw on burgers and salads.
I water every day or every other day, but we have had a long dry spell here, so they're getting the hose exclusively, and we have fairly bad water. Very hard, and chlorinated. I'm getting ready to install a rain barrel, and I have been advised to put a big screen top on it so I can fill it with tap water and let the chlorine evaporate. How much impact will my tap water have?
They are growing in 5 gallon buckets with a 2-3 inches of rocks and then dirt. What could one realistically expect from that constraint, assuming they were originally potted in better soil?
Anyway, the 7 foot high roma bushes with 3 inch fruit tells me what I needed to know.. btw, I know they're sauce tomatoes, but I could use romas exclusively, including eating them raw on burgers and salads.