Please guide me through Tomatos in containers

[BegoniaWarrior]

Ok I have some issues with the tomatoes I started this year.
I errantly potted them in potting soil and they aren't doing well.
Today I bought a large bag of Metro-Mix, bonemeal, peagravel and my husband has prepared some buckets to plant in with three good sized holes in the bottom.
I read that I should throw things in the bottom like banana peels, rusty nail, egg shells, ....lots of advice all over the place.
I would like the order of operations to get back on track with my tomatoes.
They are roma plants, and heimloom brown Kumos, and cherry tomatoes.

Thank you very much for any help!
Katie

[cynthia_h]

First, I recommend that you read *all* the Stickies at the top of the [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=15]Tomato Forum[/url].

Second, the advice re. banana peels, rusty nails, etc. is trying to get specific nutrients into the soil. Better and more reliable is to add compost to the potting mix, stir thoroughly, and plant the tomatoes.

What size are the buckets? Many tomato plants develop tremendous root structures and can outgrow a 5-gallon bucket easily. The pea gravel will simply make the bucket heavier without providing any nutrition to the tomato plant. (Only one per bucket; consider the mature size of the plant.)

You haven't provided your location, so I have no idea re. ambient temperatures, potential sun exposure, rainfall, etc.

Pls provide more info, and much more will come back from the forum! Welcome to The Helpful Gardener, too.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[hendi_alex]

Growing tomatoes in containers is easy, as long as the top growth isn't too large and temperatures stay well below 90 degrees. But IMO, when plants reach mature heights of over about 3 feet or more and when temperatures approach 90 degrees or more, growing tomatoes in containers become very challenging and is more of an advanced art developed with lots of practice. The easiest way to have success in containers is with very large pots of 20 gallons or more or with 5-10 gallon self watering pots. A friend of mine who is a gardening novice, had great luck growing two tomato plants each in a single self watering container that was about 12 inches W by 24-30 inches long and about 14-16 inches deep. I have my best success growing in containers that are about 25 gallon nursery pots. I've tried smaller 3 gallon pots paired with drip irrigation, but had pretty crummy results with that arrangement. I believe that if the drip rate/watering cycle could be perfected, that arrangement would work very well.

The biggest negative to container growing in hot weather is the high rate of evaporation and transpiration. I have to water my plants two or three times per day during those over 90 degree days. Needless to say, all of that water flow through plays havoc with the nutrients almost certainly requiring chemical fertilizers. Also, if a pot ever dries out too much, it is difficult to get the soil to re-saturate, usually requiring a slow drip for a couple of hours.

If you opt for small containers that are not self watering, my advice is to set drip up on a timer which is allowed to cycle on briefly once per day when temperatures are moderate (70-80). Then step up to maybe twice per day (ten minutes or so each cycle) when temps reach 80-88 or so. Finally at over 90 degrees let the water cycle on morning, noon, and late afternoon for 5-10 minutes per cycle. Obviously you will have to play with the duration and frequency depending upon how the plants react.

Finally, when growing plants in pots, they seem to be somewhat more susceptible to blossom end rot. So toss a moderate handful of pelletized lime or similar product, or make arrangements to give an extra supply calcium. I side dress with calcium nitrate sometimes, to give a shot of nitrogen plus a good dose of readily available calcium.

Good luck.

[growinggreennyc]

all depends on what you plant it in, what and how your feeding it. I use square pots hung on conduet using pvc. I plant in only peat moss or coconut core. water using drip irrigation. my secret ingredient is filtered fish water. I raise tilapia to eat in tanks in my apt. when I clean the tanks, I filter out the larger particles and place the water into my drip reservoir. peat moss helps to keep plants moist, while fish water supplies nutri. Plants and vegs love it.

[lakngulf]

Growing tomatoes in containers is easy, as long as the top growth isn't too large and temperatures stay well below 90 degrees. But IMO, when plants reach mature heights of over about 3 feet or more and when temperatures approach 90 degrees or more, growing tomatoes in containers become very challenging and is more of an advanced art developed with lots of practice. The easiest way to have success in containers is with very large pots of 20 gallons or more or with 5-10 gallon self watering pots. A friend of mine who is a gardening novice, had great luck growing two tomato plants each in a single self watering container that was about 12 inches W by 24-30 inches long and about 14-16 inches deep. I have my best success growing in containers that are about 25 gallon nursery pots. I've tried smaller 3 gallon pots paired with drip irrigation, but had pretty crummy results with that arrangement. I believe that if the drip rate/watering cycle could be perfected, that arrangement would work very well.

The biggest negative to container growing in hot weather is the high rate of evaporation and transpiration. I have to water my plants two or three times per day during those over 90 degree days. Needless to say, all of that water flow through plays havoc with the nutrients almost certainly requiring chemical fertilizers. Also, if a pot ever dries out too much, it is difficult to get the soil to re-saturate, usually requiring a slow drip for a couple of hours.

If you opt for small containers that are not self watering, my advice is to set drip up on a timer which is allowed to cycle on briefly once per day when temperatures are moderate (70-80). Then step up to maybe twice per day (ten minutes or so each cycle) when temps reach 80-88 or so. Finally at over 90 degrees let the water cycle on morning, noon, and late afternoon for 5-10 minutes per cycle. Obviously you will have to play with the duration and frequency depending upon how the plants react.

Finally, when growing plants in pots, they seem to be somewhat more susceptible to blossom end rot. So toss a moderate handful of pelletized lime or similar product, or make arrangements to give an extra supply calcium. I side dress with calcium nitrate sometimes, to give a shot of nitrogen plus a good dose of readily available calcium.

Good luck.

Great recap there, Alex. This is my first year to go full blast with container tomatoes, and I probably should have learned your truths above before I started. Did not think about the water washing out the nutrients, but the color and character of the plants in some containers had given me that hint. As I walked through the garden before work this morning I thought "I should give these plants some more fertilizer"

Thanks for letting us know about the BER in containters. I have definitely experienced that. Still I have some pretty plants, lots of fruit, and trying to keep them watered. I will add some calcium, and 15-0-15, and keep reading your advice.

Couple of pictures. This one is from first planting. The larger green containers have some healthy plants now. I will update the photo.
[img]https://i854.photobucket.com/albums/ab104/lakngulf/001_2012_April/IMG_0576.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i854.photobucket.com/albums/ab104/lakngulf/001_2012_April/IMG_0642.jpg[/img]

[lakngulf]

An updated picture of the container tomatoes.

[img]https://i854.photobucket.com/albums/ab104/lakngulf/001_2012_April/IMG_0657.jpg[/img]

I am even trying some container corn, with some beans planted alongside today

[img]https://i854.photobucket.com/albums/ab104/lakngulf/001_2012_April/IMG_0647.jpg[/img]