did i do something wrong, or are there multiple varieties of early girls out there

no to the multiple varieties of EG. Don't know if you did anything wrong because without knowing all you did there is no way to know that so much more details on the growing conditions you provided is necessary. However, tough skin is caused by growing conditions.

In a container - what size, what soil-less mix used, how fed and how often, how watered and how often, left on the vine too long, etc.

Dave

dave, thanks for asking. prior to learning about 5-1-1 i planted the EG in miracle gro potting mix, with some extra perlite.

after 2 months, i started using MG 20-20-20 for a while, then when fruit started to appear, i swiched to jack's blossom booster 10-30-20. a weak solution was applied several times per week.

due to arid conditions i water daily.

the pot is 5 gals, which i have used before of cherry tomatoes successfully.

i hope you can help, because when you have to spit out the skin after a bite these are not worth the effort. plus i have some black russians i hope will bear that are in the same conditions.

susie

ac÷rid

/ÃÂakrid/

Adjective
1.Having an irritatingly strong and unpleasant taste or smell.
2.Angry and bitter.

no, dear, something can have a pleasantly acrid taste.

susie the tutor

Susie I would be really curious as to exactly what variety of cherry tomato you had success with in a 5 gallon. It would have to be one of the dwarf or container types I think as most cherry varieties are 8' tall and 5 ' wide at least and are notorious for doing poorly in any container less than 15 -20 gallons.

At any rate no regular sized tomato plant is going to do well in 5 gallons much less thrive without meticulous daily care. The root ball of an EG is easily 3' in diameter so it quickly becomes rootbound in such a small container.

That means there is minimal soil left in there to retain water and provide consistent soil moisture levels. You don't indicate your zone or location so I have no idea about your weather but even in the northern zones such a plant would likely need watering multiple times a day. Some can make it work by using a drip irrigation system on an auto timer so the plant receives a low, steady dose of water almost constantly

That frequency of watering almost guarantees minimal nutrients in the bucket for the plant as they will have washed out daily. Then when one adds to those problems with high dose N fertilizers and high dose P-K supplements the plant becomes root bound even more quickly.

Sorry but the growing conditions you provided are the cause of the problems with your plant and would be for most any plant. I strongly encourage you to do some more research on the Container Gardening forum, specifically on sizes of containers needed, for next year.

Dave

thank you dave, but is there no way i can get tomatoes with normal skin? i
m getting tomatoes, but just not good ones.
yeah i water daily with weak fertilizer and the cherrys were 6 feet tall and tasted good, just not as many as when in ground.

theres a 3 year drought here and i can't grow in ground.but i want tomatoes. i'm in eastern new mexico.

susie

just so you people know, i've been growing tomatoes in 5 gal containers for years. i get reduced yields, but i get tomatoes. by end of season roots fill the pot. it's essentially hydroponic gardening.

you are wrong.

susie

Hi, Susie,

If I can take from Dave's expert comments that running low on water and possibly nutrients is the most likely cause of your leathery skin, and from your comments that the plant is healthy and you have experience/expectations of success, I might suggest trying something like bottom watering - set the pot in a shallow bucket or tub and water/feed from there, so that you can be sure that the plant is getting all the water it wants or needs.

Yes, overwatering can be a problem, too, but it might be worth trying this to see if a lack of water is the cause of your leathery skin, and overwatering might not be too likely in your conditions.

If all else fails, I've read that a few seconds dip in boiling water will allow you to easily peel the tomato.

~emmers

finally a constructive comment!

thank you ever so much emmers. i shall increase watering. i'm still wondering if blossom booster may be the problem. this is the first time i used it on tomatoes, but people have been talking about micro nutrients and miracle gro doesn't have them,

susie

ps: it's kinda cute to find out that what i've been doing sucessfully for years is impossible.

Hi, Susie,

Dave said it first :)

Basically exactly what you said - that it's like hydroponics. When I experimented with hydroponics plants were getting watered every 15 minutes. That's an extreme end of the spectrum, but sort of the idea.

Dave was saying that plants in a 5gal would need "meticulous daily care" in the form of frequent watering or possibly drip irrigation. I don't know if you have the flexibility in your schedule for watering at frequent intervals so I suggested the bottom watering.

His answer to your question seems to have gotten a bit lost in suggestions for optimizing your system for next year, but there are many helpful and constructive tips in there. (Unlike the vocabulary critique, that's for sure!)

Good luck with tenderizing your tomato skins :)

~emmers

thanks emmers. i just get tired of hearing you can't grow in 5 gal pots. i've done this for 5 years with any early maturing indeterminate variety.
then i do something else impossible. just before frost, i take cuttings from mt best plant. i root these and one ends up in the same sized bucket. that goes in my kitchen window, and i get another crop in late feburary, or early march.

no supplimental lighting.

can't be done, right?

susie

Just for clarification I never said it was impossible so all the personal digs and little cutesy comments aren't warranted.

One can only reply based on the information provided. Incomplete information up front often leads to unwelcomed responses to your questions.

You asked if it was the variety or something you did wrong. I pointed out that while you did nothing wrong the growing conditions you were providing are less than ideal and were the source of the problem. If you didn't want to hear that then perhaps you shouldn't have asked.

The fact remains that what you consider successful methods and results is not considered so by most and is still far from ideal conditions. Ideal conditions are not defined as in ground only either, merely an adequately sized container.

I said it can be done with meticulous care and that it can be done using a drip irrigation system. I addressed both the watering and the nutrient issue problems in my reply. Sorry you apparently missed that info and that emmers had to rehash it.

When one asks for help those who offer it have the right to expect common courtesy in return.

Dave

PS: thanks emmers.

i will thank you for your attempt at help, dave. there was a rude previous comment that set me on edge. it felt as though i was unwelcome here. i thot you were a little bit condenscending but that's no excuse for rudeness on my part, so, i'm sorry for that.

i need no help with container gardening. as i have more than a dozen houseplants, three tomatoes in pots, and five potted trees..

the fault was mine, i misstated the question. it should have

been ''what causes tough skin in tomatoes''

i'd like to be your friend

susie