tomato plants

[joyce dipippo]

has anyone had any luck in planting tomatoes in containers? if so, any tips?

[Jennifer Luxmoore]

I plant tomatoes every year in containers (we don't have a yard) and it works great! The larger the container the better, put in the tomato cages when you plant them and keep them in a sunny location. Water well... almost every day. By August you'll have a ton of tomatoes... but stick to the well known varieties, we tried a bunch of heirloom tomatoes last year and none of them worked...

[joyce dipippo]

thanks so much; any particular soil? this is my first time planting them

[Jennifer Luxmoore]

No... whatever is in the bag at Home Depot... outdoor potting soil I think.

[IANNOTTZ]

i have a tip for tomato planting in general works for potted and ground planting

the tip is to plant basil 4-6 inches away from your tomato plants on both sides by planting basil close by it attracts the pesty bugz to it ,so that they will eat the basil leaves and not your more valuable and harder to grow tomatoes

mangia mangia

iannottz

[Alz]

All good suggestions. If you have the room, I recommend buying an Earth Box container. Not only can you grow a bunch of plants at a time, but it has a reservoir in the bottom that holds extra water, so you don't have to water nearly as often. I have 4 of them and get excellent results for all kinds of veggies. www.earthbox.com

[joyce dipippo]

thanks, great suggestion. does it work with only seedlings, not the actual plants?

[Alz]

Oh, no...it's a big box. It's meant for the actual plants. Depending on your philosophy of how many plants per square foot (I tend to put more than less) you can fit about 8 tomato plants per Earth Box.

[Cornelia]

I have a few marigolds and petunia plants next to my tomato containers - to attract bees, mostly.
I've heard amazing things about the Earth Box - more yield than you thought possible! Apparently, once the roots reach down to the water reservoir, the plants just EXPLODE.

[Cornelia]

To clarify, tomatoes are actually self-pollinating. The bees are for other veggies - like cukes!

[joyce dipippo]

thanks for all the info. when do you start planting the tomatoes??

[Cornelia]

I saved seeds from the most delicious tomatoes last year, stored them in the fridge over the winter, started them germinating in early April, had seedlings by early May, transplanted them to larger containers (5 gallon buckets work great) in early June. It's now early August and the fruits are still green, but still look DEE-lish!
I had plenty of seedlings to give to friends, some of whom are already harvesting tomatoes. A lot depends on where you keep the plants, fertilizer (I use only organic, I suspect some use the blue stuff), and climate. Good luck!

[joyce dipippo]

what blue powder????