Well, they provide some general information which is fine. But concerning soil/potting material, It is widely recommended not to use compost or garden soil. Due to relatively small volume compost can become compacted, thereby depriving the roots system from oxygen and becoming slow drainer.

Having said that, according to most container growers soiless and compost less mix is preferred. So use of soil less potting mix with good structure and perlite is better.

If you are interested , visit "Container growing" forum.

This post was edited by seysonn on Sat, Jan 10, 15 at 23:54

I see several points made there that are open to lots of debate among many "experts". Why not share here rather than just redirect to your personal site. That way many of the points you make can be discussed and debated? And I see you reside in the UK so unfortunately much of your info wouldn't work for those of us in warmer climates.

Dave

I totally agree with the two above comments. I noticed a couple of "recommendations" that were very shaky. Thinking I won't spend much time there...

"It has been reported that tomato seeds found in an Egyptian tomb that were over 3000 years old were planted and germinated into fruit producing plants."

Curious as to your source of this information, since tomatoes are native to the Americas and didn't reach the eastern hemisphere (I.E. Egypt) until AFTER the Spanish explorations/conquests of the 16th century (500-ish years ago).

We would really appreciate your involvement in the forums, as Dave said, unless you are just fishing for traffic (well, I guess you got a couple of us...)

"Seed Preservation
Seeds have longevity, depending on the type. It has been reported that tomato seeds found in an Egyptian tomb that were over 3000 years old were planted and germinated into fruit producing plants."

Zack, ROFL, that made my night. Did you know there really is a conjecture in Mexico that Egyptians and Mexicas are descended from the same people? I haven't checked whether the Mexican pyramids are at the same latitude as Egyptian ones as claimed in that, but that's what proponents told me...

Gary "Tomato Growing Expert", or "G" for short has mixed up an old hoax about wheat and pea seeds in the 1830's and 1840's that were found in Osiris Trays, in the dead clutches of mummies' hands. The ancient custom was to entomb the prepared mummy with a silver tray with seeds to "germinate" in darkness after it was set to rest. Through this germination and renewal, the spirit of the deceased would be resurrected and released to the next level.

The trays were removed during the study and desecration of the tombs by some of the early British adventurers and hoaxes soon thereafter were circulated by unscrupulous scammers that the Pharoahs' heirloom grains were germinated and varieties were better tasting and 100 times more productive and you could buy the seeds for X shillings each.

It reached the American public by 1855 in this poem... extracted from TO MUMMY WHEAT:

Was she devote to Isis or Osiris,
Friends of spring budding, and the ripening corn?
And (we abjure impertinent inquiries)
How old was she? ===and to what fortune born?
Where, and how long before the morning twilight
Of Gospel day, first breathed the baby Nilite?

Was she of Ceres once a preistess, making
Glad sheafy offerings to her diety;
Then to the shades, with power vicarious, taking
The grain, tight clutched, whose heart embosomed thee===
The cunning life within the germin wheaten,
The long, lone night in death's dark house to sweeten?

Later it was studied that wheat had a half life under the best pyramid conditions of 25 years meaning that in 500 years not a single seed in 1,000,000 under optimal conditions in a dry pyramid would remain viable.

BTW, when the poem above was written, corn was used in the British sense to mean a major grain, or simply a seed (like peppercorns), so that's not another American seed error but it kind of illustrates how the written word could cause confusion through the ages if one didn't realize it.

UK Gary has made this sort of error based on the hoax.

PC

There is also conjecture that the Mayans and Ancient Egyptians are descended from space aliens. Unfortunately for Giorgio Tsoukalos, conjecture makes for great television, but not great science. At least the Instad's had the decency to unearth L'Anse aux Meadows after making their claims.

As for the seeds, well, there are still retailers today bandying about the old chestnut that the Anasazi bean was sprouted from a seed found in a cave dwelling. I guess not much has changed in a century and a half.

In the end, though, Mr. Expert is just parroting some gobbledygook he read on the internet, and so we can't fault him for anything more than a poor choice of references.

I'm the one who subscribes to four archaeology magazines and no way am I going to comment on some of the above which would lead to some contentous comments, for sure..

But I'm telling right now it was the Minoans who did it. LOL

Carolyn

I think that the seeds viability issue is irrelevant as how to
grow tomatoes.
The main issue is how to grow tomatoes successfully in containers. That includes container size, potting mix and routine care.

Seysonn

I can't get too contentious, Carolyn. The only archaeology I regularly delve into stars Harrison Ford and Sean Connery ;).

I'll comment. Tomatoes, potatoes, corn, squash, and beans are all New World veggies, never seen in Europe, Asia, or Africa before 1492.

"It has been reported" that the pre-Columbian Vikings' problem was that they didn't bring back stuff. They did. Gave it to the Egyptians, they did.

That Egyptian thing is still there, along with some too-great-to-be-real reviews on site. TomatoGrowingExpert (who registered the day of his/her single post) hasn't been back and probably won't be back since his/her spam run is done.

Please, oh Powers That Be, don't delete this thread as spam. It's very enlightening.

The Vikings were worn out about 1200. They never met Egyptians. Sorry, History minor.

You DO know I just maybe might have made that up, doncha?

Had to add this Pearls Before Swine comic.

Rodney

The diseases page does not cover Septoria or Early Blight, totally ignores nematodes, and leaves off Tospoviruses like Tomato Spotted Wilt. I won't critique the rest of the pages except to say that anyone using the suggested website to grow tomatoes is in for quite a few disappointments. G should spend some time learning about tomatoes and build a more useful website.

"G should spend some time learning about tomatoes and build a more useful website."

LOL! These sorts of semi-spammed postings of reputedly up to snuff websites can be fun in an evil way.

Are root knot nematodes or other soil dwelling nematodes a significant problem in the UK? (Agree posting here should cover it, but just curious)

PC

Grubby Me, I've visited discussion sites where people say things like that very seriously. I don't even blink twice anymore... ;)