![]() I mix a couple of tablespoons of kelp into a one-gallon sprayer and use it on my tomatoes (as well as other vegetables and fruit trees) every couple of weeks. I also like to spray my tomatoes with a kelp spray. Growing tomatoes in grow bags? They soil might dry out a bit faster than in a solid container, so just keep that in mind.įertilize: Every two weeks or so, water your plant with a tablespoon of fish emulsion mixed into a gallon of water. To help retain moisture, add a layer of grass clippings or mulch on top of the soil. Water: Maintain the soil so that it’s moist but not too wet. Place your container-grown tomato plants in a place where they’ll have plenty of sun exposure throughout the growing season. Tomato plants thrive in full sun unless the temperatures are scorching. No matter what type of tomato plant you’ve chosen, you’ll want to provide support in the form of a wire tomato cage or stake. ( Go here for a visual on planting the tomato like this.) Push soil around the root ball and the stem, so that just the top leaves are visible above the soil and water it in. Remove the tomato plant from its nursery container and set it deep in the hole. Start by trimming off all but the top leaves of the tomato seedling.įill a large container with potting mix. Use a trowel to dig a hole large enough to fit the root ball of the tomato plant in the center of the pot. Once all danger of frost is past, you can plant them outside safely. ![]() Wait until you’re well beyond the last frost date of the year before planting tomatoes of any variety to avoid frost damage. Since tomatoes like a lot of calcium, incorporate some ground limestone, gypsum, or crushed eggshells into the planter mix.Ī lack of calcium can cause blossom end rot. I like Fox Farm products, because they assure me that they do not use biosolids in their product. Choosing SoilĬhoose a good quality potting soil to start with. Go here for details on growing tomatoes in buckets upside down for an even more space saving vertical garden. Which is kind of a fancy way of saying that plants grown in these pots don’t get root bound like plants grown in hard-sided containers. These grow bags are made of a porous, felt-like fabric that allows for air root pruning. I’ve had good luck growing tomatoes in grow bags like these. As long as the container is big enough, most anything can be upcycled for growing tomatoes in pots!Ī simple five-gallon bucket is an inexpensive alternative to other containers, though admittedly, they’re not as pretty. A half oak barrel is another good choice for growing tomatoes in pots.īe sure that any container you choose has good drainage. If you’re upcycling a bucket or other container, drill several 1/2-inch drainage holes in the bottom. You can use utilitarian black plastic nursery pots (five-gallon size), pretty ceramic containers, or galvanized metal buckets. Aim for one that’s at least 20 to 24″ deep, but larger pots will work as well. Tomato plants have a deep root system and will appreciate a nice, large pot. Choosing the Right ContainerĪs discussed here, planting tomatoes in containers means choosing the right type of pot. Rather than producing fruit all season long, the harvest ripens within a shorter window of time.Ī productive determinate tomato plant will provide a lot of ripe tomatoes in just a few weeks, so you’ll want to have a plan to use them up or preserve them.Īnd while it likely depends on the variety, in my experience, determinate tomatoes tend to be a better looking plant than their indeterminate cousins.Īll of these traits make them a great choice for a container garden.ĭeterminate tomato varieties include Roma, Celebrity, Better Bush, and Patio Tomato. These compact tomatoes, or bush tomatoes, top out at about three or four feet in height. Indeterminate tomato varieties include Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Early Girl, and most cherry tomatoes. Yellow flowers, green fruit, and red fruit hang side by side on the plant until a killing frost puts an end to the season. Indeterminate tomatoes bloom and set fruit throughout the summer. Those little tomato cages you buy at the nursery are rarely strong enough to hold a tomato of this size upright. Without support, they will lean and fall every which way. It’s common for them to grow to six feet tall, but some will reach as much as ten or twelve feet. Sometimes called vining tomatoes, indeterminate tomatoes will continue to grow and produce fruit all season long. Ready to grow fresh greens, no matter WHERE you live? Sign up for myįREE quick-start guide and start growing some of your own food!
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