16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes

They look OK other than seemingly suffering from :

---- Insufficient light
---- Insufficient nutrients
---- Maybe getting too much water

OR ANY COMBINATON OF THE ABOVE.

Thanks Seysonn.... definitely not too much water... I learned my lesson from last year...

but I am probably guilty of the other two... I have added more lights but probably will need more

As for nutrients I always thought if I grew them in 30-50% compost I would be ok but I have just bought some fish emulsion and liquid seaweed and plan on making a dilute solution to feed them today. Hopefully its not to late.. I have one more month to go.

None of your dwarf or determinate plants can be grown well in any container smaller than 5 gallons. Larger containers - 7.10,12, gallons etc. containers - will produce healthier and more productive plants assuming proper potting mixes and all other growing conditions are provided.

That has discussed here and on the container gardening forum hundreds of times and is true for any variety regardless of the source or the name of the variety.

Dave

Thanks Dave - I know indet need much larger pots, had found 1 thread where you mentioned dwarf plants might be OK in 5 gal, that is the smallest I would go for final size on any of these, didn't know which if any of these particular varieties might be OK in 5 gal, and which might need *larger* before I go buy some.

For example, the first 2 - Benewah and Bonner - not described as stalky or dwarf, in particular Benewah with the "prostrate" habit - not good for 5 gal containers?

Latah I might try in a larger container or separate area, or tag just so I can compare with the ones I started from seed exchange.

But the rest *are* described as "dwarf" so can I assume that a 5 gal pot or bucket (I know deeper is better, and larger is better) will be adequate? I do have to buy some since I don't think I have any (unless they're outside instead of the basement). I don't want to grow a lot, just want to try them so I know if I can start more next year and sell the extras as container plants, and how large the *minimum* size I recommend should be (since I would likely sell them in 4" to 1 gal size, no larger)? People in the suburbs around here are looking for patio plants, I've had people ask if they could keep a tomato plant in 1 gal pot before!

If you are that worried about them then bring them in to your garage. It should be warmer than outside. I left a few out when it hit around 40 just to see if they would make it. They did. Though they were sewn from seed, and started indoors. I left three out just to see. They were fine.

The larger ones I bought, and planted I covered with 5 gal. buckets when temps dropped to the freezing to mid 30's. The next day when temps were at 55 I pulled the buckets off. Note if it gets windy like it does here then put something heavy on the buckets. (20 mph is light breeze most times.)

Thanks all. The garage it is. Not that much warmer, but better I guess.

And yet it gets quite windy here.

Thanks again.

Top of plant

Very top leaves of plants... Spots that precede the shriveling...

Should you add calcum ?
It depend on what your potting medium is. If it came in a bag, read the label to see if it already has calcium. If it does not, then you will need to add calcium. The most common source of calcium for containers is dolomite lime.

For more info you may want to visit "Container Gardening" forum here in GW..

As Cara said, garden soil is not recommended for containers, for the reason being that it can get compacted, causing drainage problem.If your plant is still small you can re pot it into soil less medium.

This post was edited by seysonn on Mon, Mar 31, 14 at 22:55

I will second the advice to avoid garden soil in a container. I learned the hard way myself. Take the plant out and gently wash the roots. Then either plant it in the ground, or fill the container with potting mix.
For fertilizing dilute the fertilizer to half strength. Apply in the time directed. If it says every 7 to 10 days then go with every 7 or so.

If you are in an area that gets days of over 100 degrees then planting them on the south side of the tomatoes may be of some help. I know they say tomatoes should grow in full sun. In areas that get over 100 if something is on the south end to give a bit of shade in the evening it can help tomatoes. The two plants that gave me the most tomatoes last year were shaded in the evening. The plant was still getting 10 hours of direct sunlight.

I think, as long as their(sunflowers' and tomatoes' ) roots do not get tangled up, it should be fine. Probably 1.5 apart is good enough.

^ I grew those a couple of years ago, wasn't all that impressed by them to be honest. They were bigger than Sungold and not nearly as tasty.

sweet baby girl loads up well larger than sungold, grows well in cooler climates, can be rained on when red ripe without splitting ,dosn't do as well in a cold frame too much foliage,5 ft. outside and ease of harvest. the best red cherry I have found in 30 years. I am trying cherry falls,sakura,and suncherry this year.

Calcium Chloride by Southern Ag.
Thanks Carolyn. I respect your experience.
Here is mine: When I don't use the spray, I get BER. When I do spray regularly, I seem to not get it at all or very little.
I have never had my soil tested. I know I should. Oh well.
I mulch with wheat straw to keep weeds down and to retain an even moisture content. I use drip irrigation from a lot of soaker hoses, so my moisture content is fairly consistent, except for the rain storms.

Calcium is one of the essential elements that most garden vegetables need, aside from BER problem.

So as Carolyn has explained it well, its existence in the soil is not a guarantee to prevent BER.

I'd give them half-strength MG. You'll see the difference.
And if you can foliar feed, even better. I'd do that for
a couple of weeks and then go full strength.

Loved the organic gardener/MG hater comment. You're
a man (I think) after my own heart.

I agree with you seysson. All of those in your list are chemical elements. N is N is N, period!

I've heard mixed results, but I'm giving it a shot. I have peppers and flowers out there too.

I'll be interested to see if the winter sowing works out for you. I had several volunteers last spring from the previous year's garden. Until then, I didn't realize it was possible to winter sow tomatoes.

Pineapple is advertised and pictured all over the net as a bi-color. I grew it a few yrs back but didn't see the yellow/red size like I do in Mr Stripey. Still it was more productive for me than Big Rainbow but not as large. Hillbilly is another one that comes out as mostly yellow in my experience but the net pics always show lots of red. Maybe I pick them a little too soon. Both are nice plants and set lots of fruit. I only grew BR one time and didn't have any luck with it but will try it again.

Not to hi jack the topic, (Hoping OP to be able to make a decision),;
I have bought several HEIRLOOM tomatoes from store (NO NAME) that looked like MR.STRIPY, BIG RAINBOW and PINEAPPLE. I am growing seedlings from them right now.

I like colorful tomatoes on the juicy side. I can always take care of the flavor by vinegar, lemon juice , salt, pepper and sugar. Rarely I eat plain tomato except cherries.

I use a special planting stick, an ornamental one made for me by my son when he was small, to plant seeds. I used the planting stick for the last few years, and haven't gotten BER.

Good one Lucille! :)

Dave