16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
I know that this thread is getting a bit dusty, but I'm just curious as to how many tomatoes can planted in the storage containers. Two heirloom's seem about right.
Lastly, how would these compare to black 15 gallon growers pots. I've been told that black is a no-no. Opinions?
Thanks
I agree with DICLEMEG and :
I would suggest that if you decide to trans-pot them, do it to containers like those shown in DICLEMEG's post and do it as soon as you can. So the plants do not suffer double shocks BOTH from trans-potting and moving. The reason I like those in DICLEMEG's photo is that it will be much easier to organize the roots in those than in a 5gal bucket.
Also , if you decide to do it, think of some kind of support to protect them both during and after the move.
I have done once a similar thing: I dug up my tomato plant, wrapped it in some tarp, loaded onto the truck, took it to the new location and planted. I harvested a lot of tomatoes from that plant till frost and never had even wilting problem with it.
It will be much simpler if you are going to keep them in the pots for the rest of the season.
Good luck !
These are Minnie Bussell tomatoes. They are large, deep-pink heirlooms that can often have rough looking tops but make up for it with amazing flavor. My mother-in-law received her seed from a wonderful lady named Carmie Grinder, who got it from the original Mrs. Minnie Bussell (now both deceased). These plants can be purchased at our family's nursery (look us up on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/MartinsCoutryGreenhouse).
Here is a link that might be useful: Martin's Country Greenhouse
I've got these too. It took a little looking around , but I found, on mine, it's Septoria Leaf Blight. I've cut and bagged any affected looking leaves (don't compost them!). The good news is, if it's Septoria, it shouldn't affect your fruits, just leaves, and your plant may be able to out grow it.
It's from all the damp weather. Try to increase air circulation around the plants. Leaves that remain wet are very susceptable to blights and fungi. Removing the infected leaves will be a two-fer.
Hi Bob,
You don't have your zone or location listed, so it's going to be hard to know for sure what is happening to your tomato plant. Also, a clear picture or two would help. That being said....
It is normal for the older leaves on a tomato plant to die as the seaon progresses, but you may have other issues.
To be able to suggest what might be wrong with your plant, it would be helpful to know more about the environment it is in. So, here are the "usual" questions:
What growing medium are you using? How large is the container? Is it self-watering or do you manually water it? Is the container in full sun, part sun or shade?
How often do you water? Have you checked the moisture of the growing medium or soil 3-5" below the surface? Is it dry, just right, or soggy? Are you feeding the plant? How often? What are the NPK values of any fertilizers you are using to feed it? What has the weather been like in your area?
The more information you can give us, the better the chances that someone can give you an accurate diagnosis.
Betsy
Great news. We picked our first 2 red tomatoes on Thursday of last week. They came from the plant that's apparently a cross between last year's "regular"-sized big tomatoes and last year's cherry/grape tomatoes.
Even better news. Those 2 tomatoes taste dee-lish! They're so juicy and flavorful. I was surprised how good they are, after reading I might be disappointed. I hope their seeds produce true next year. Wow, that 84-count plant (it probably has over a 100 toms on it now I guess) not only produces tasty tomatoes but it produces them fast. We have another 4 toms ripening red right now, and, although we have lots of toms on our "regular," big-sized tomato plants, they're all still green as of today I think.
By the way, the size of the first 2 red toms on that 84-count plant was about 1.5 inches tall and 1.5 inches wide. They're pretty round. I guess each tomato is about the size of 2 ping pong balls.
It is now on my grow list for next year. I always grew Sweet 100 and last year it really wasn't great, but I think that was because if the intense heat we had. Anyways, I didn't grow it this year b/c I wanted to try other cherries, but I think SM will be a definite for me.
the sweet pea can be grown in a basket. That's pretty much what i did. let it grow up 2ft high from the pot and it waterfalls over the container. I have the planted pot sitting about 3 ft off the ground. I won't grow them next year. I thought my children would like them, but they like the super sweets and sungolds much better.
When you transplanted them at that advanced stage - normally not recommended - they were what is called "set back". Plus they had the added stress of fruit already on the plant.
They need time to develop new roots, adjust to the new location, and trigger new growth. Until they are fully adjusted to the transplanting they won't make new blooms. They concentrate on just surviving and making new vegetative leaf growth for 4-6 weeks instead.
As long as they continue to look healthy they will very likely develop more blooms in time. You just have to be patient.
Tomato plants grow in cycles of approx. 6 weeks in length depending on the type (determinate or indeterminate). And that is without the added stress of transplanting them. So it will take time to get your plants back into a blooming/fruit set cycle.
Dave
Thanks for the message Dave, that is what I had hoped. I did have some BER on a few of the plants and was hoping that was not the culprit. I will continue to keep them growing and taking care of the plants and hopefully I will start to see some new activity in a few weeks. Next time I will make sure I take them out sooner. Joe
You might want to try Moravsky Div. Plus a few other tomato varieties which are adapted to your climate. Indian Stripe is a little earlier than Cherokee Purple (noted above).
Here is a link that might be useful: Tasty early tomatoes.
JD's Early Black is a 50-60 day tomato with flattened irregular red/black fruits in the same size range as Early Girl. They are sweeter with more depth of flavor than Early Girl but are more prone to cracking. In my garden the plants are more compact with less foliage and produce about three tomatoes for each one that Early Girl makes. Like you I do not plan to grow Early Girl again.
Based on your numbers I'd call all of them "prolific". :)
Some folks do it by number of fruit, some by total weight of fruit produced for the season. some go so far as to weigh each individual fruit and calculate weight by size (small, med., large).
Over the years I have done all 3 many times but now days I tend to rate performance of a variety by what I call "proportional to the plant size/health" (for want of a better label). It's a stand back and evaluate the plant as a whole approach, a "just me" thing.
In other words if it is a good weather year and I have done my job well so that I have a healthy plant of good size then I expect to see fruit in various stages evenly distributed throughout the plant to call it prolific. If not then it is just average production or poor production depending on the number of fruit and how they are distributed on the plant.
I can't control the weather but I can compensate for it in many ways so my approach means I have to take into consideration my performance as a grower, something many fail to do. They'd rather lay any shortcomings off on the variety itself.
Dave
Thanks labradors! You made me laugh. No, I don't have any missing plants. I know the signs of hornworm damage on tomato plants, and the plant is fine. With that amount of frass, you're right, entire plants should be missing!
I swept up all of the evidence and separated the plants. I will check tomorrow for any new poo. It has to be hornworms (large ones) but I can't tell what they could be eating!! I googled slug poo b/c I know there are slugs out there. But not a match. And parsley worm poo is green, and the parsley is intact, too. It's driving me crazy.
I don't know what slug poop looks like!
I hope you saved all that poop to fertilize your garden (G).
The caterpillars that feed on Parsley (Queen Anne's Lace, Fennel, Dill, Rue and Carrot) are the lavae of the the beautiful Swallowtail butterfly. They don't get as big as the hornworm. I try to restrict them to one plant, and share because I think they are so beautiful.
Linda