16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes

It can frost at 37 degrees. It may have taken a while for the frost damage to turn brown.

THANKS! Everyone was soooo helpful I could not find an image anywhere on the net to match my problem to. I am so excited that the issue is environmental. Nice to find some experienced green thumbs to help me!

I don't think it really matters too much what tomato you grow just "how" you grow it.
If you have the room and don't mind the extra hassle grow what ever you like.
If you prefer smaller plants, try Bush tomatoes like a "Better Bush".
I am trying "Dwarfs" currently and they seem to be doing well, will know for sure in about 3-4 weeks.
In fact they could be the ideal container tomato, plants that get no larger than 4 foot, strong bushy plants, can still get large tomatoes and there are many varieties.
Most important is no less than 15 gallon pots, growing medium is debatable, just don't use regular soil, make sure the potting mix drains very well and the pots drain very well.
Fertilize every 10-14 days, water usually every day, on hot days from 95+ water twice a day.
So IMO right now the ideal set up for container tomatoes is 15 gallon Smart Pots which should drain well as the whole pot drains, a good well draining potting mix.
Stick a standard tomato cage in it, grow what ever Dwarf plant that floats your boat.

Here are my 3 Dwarfs this morning.

Pretty tomato plants Nunyabiz!

So any updates? Any new experiments to report? Last year's varieties and results?

Thanks for all the responses. Very helpful!

Yes, I was hesitant to post a link, having heard Carolyn's comments on that topic before. I found the cite missingtheobvious notes via Drudge, and for everyone's sake I certainly hope it is sensationalism. But I have to say, I put nothing past big government. Life would not be fun if we couldn't save and exchange seeds for interesting varieties of plants :)

The European "White List" severely restricted the varieties of seeds offered by commercial seed houses in Europe, due to the cost of registering varieties legal for sale. As I understand it, the list was supposed to be a way to combat fraudulent misrepresentation of seeds sold across country borders.

The Thompson and Morgan catalogue was intriguing before it came out. A lot of their offerings disappeared when the law was passed. It would be a shame if even more restrictive laws were passed.

I think veggie container gardening in the Central Valley is a challenge in the summer, too. You can grow some nice winter greens in containers here without too much difficulty.

That said, I potted up 3 peppers in a large container (with marigolds) today. I will place it among a cluster of pots with (tough) flowering plants to shade the pot with the peppers in it. Don't think I'll be experimenting with containers for tomatoes soon, though.

I am also in the Central Valley (Modesto). I have a gardening page dedicated to container gardening on FB. Feel free to check it out.

Here is a link that might be useful: Growing Vegetables in Containers

My indeterminate is throwing out what looks to be many "main stems." How to prune? I've taken off all suckers ( as you can see one attempt removed the branch tip unfortunately). I'm using a trellis system this year but haven't yet tied up the main stem. should I tie up 3 or 4 ? This is my first year with the trellis! Thanks

It's difficult to tell what's going on there, dobieone, what with the mulch and the photo being upside-down.

But regardless, if this is a determinate, it shouldn't be pruned at all. Since I almost never grow determinates and cannot explain their growth pattern well, I will let someone else explain why.

Only indeterminates should be pruned (and only if there is a serious lack of space).

I agree with Dave. With 2ft and less spacing, plus short season, pruning is necessary.

But in general I prun lower part, pinching off sucher and leaves. I belive in having room underneath yo get air movement and preven some of the deseases and rotting.
Then you have to have good staking system. and tying up the the branches. I do like FLORIDA WEAVE type. that I learned here at GW few years ago.

So I am for pruning.

I use the Florida Weave method of support and I never prune.

That being said, I think even with heavy pruning, you are going to find that two feet between ROWS will be too close, unless you aren't planning on walking between the rows. Personally, I have my rows 4 feet apart and even then it is sometimes difficult to get down a row.

Betsy

This post was edited by bets on Tue, May 7, 13 at 13:26

Looks like early blight.

Well that's what I thought - but then I read that EB only sets in in humid and warm temps after fruit set. We have had chilly temps, not a lot of rain and my plants are only about 3 weeks old. So is EB even possible??

Personally, I'd do it the other way around. Drop Sungold
and Black Cherry.

Big help, huh?

Everyone has different tastes. But I think if you've got one
you're happy with, like Sweet 100, keep with it.

My vote would be exactly as Dave's. I'm one of those people that didn't care for Black Cherry, but you should try it yourself. Some people love it.

Thanks Raybo for sharing this excellent grow system!!! Im only growing one or two containers this year (hopefully more next year) so ordering a Burpee pea fence would cost me a lot more than 4 tomato cages (around$16). Looks like a Burpee Pea Fence would cost $34 for two: http://www.burpee.com/gardening-supplies/garden-growers/supports-ties-and-fences/pea-and-cucumber-fence-2-pack-prod001250.html?catId=2320&trail= is that the right fence? If so how many
Earthtainer cages could I fashion from the order of two in the link above? I found it nearly impossible to use a bedliner (to block roots from reaching water reservoir) using 3 legged tomato cages (all I had) so I had to improvise by mounting the two outer legs of each cage to the side of the inner Earthtainer, see pic:
[URL=http://s1183.photobucket.com/user/Remodeller/media/Gardening_plus_WaterPurification/473138_10201002348249591_630854343_o.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x468/Remodeller/Gardening_plus_WaterPurification/473138_10201002348249591_630854343_o.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
The center legs just sit on top of the bedliner, and the top ring of the cages are joined together by a wire rope clamp. This also adds further support to the aeration bench since the side mounted wire rope clamps go through both layers of rubber, I used washers on the outside of the Earthtainer for these side mounts:
[URL=http://s1183.photobucket.com/user/Remodeller/media/Gardening_plus_WaterPurification/472690_10201002451252166_1920797485_o.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x468/Remodeller/Gardening_plus_WaterPurification/472690_10201002451252166_1920797485_o.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
It seemed really sturdy when it was all done, also I cut a round hole in the bedliner for the wicking basket- then I realized you didnt specify doing that- did I defeat the purpose of the bedliner? See pic:
[URL=http://s1183.photobucket.com/user/Remodeller/media/Gardening_plus_WaterPurification/472338_10201009822476442_1146976258_o.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x468/Remodeller/Gardening_plus_WaterPurification/472338_10201009822476442_1146976258_o.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
Also- I saw on another forum that panty hose (lol) works great for keeping the mosquitoes out- youll notice a piece on my watering tube in that last pic above. I also used pieces of pantyhose on the overflow holes for added insect protection:
[URL=http://s1183.photobucket.com/user/Remodeller/media/Gardening_plus_WaterPurification/IMG_20130506_190733.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x468/Remodeller/Gardening_plus_WaterPurification/IMG_20130506_190733.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
Im new to this forum so some of this may be old news, if so sorry!- but let me know if there is a cheaper way to get a pea fence for a small amount of containers or if you think the side mount cages are the way to go for 1-3 Earthtainers, thanks again for all your info!!

Sorry my images did not post to my last reply, not sure why, here is a pic of two 3 legged stands side mounted

Here is a link that might be useful:

Thank you, Dave. I was hoping you'd weigh in (and soon), as I'm doing the transfers right now.

Gary

i have a shade cloth over mine and they do fine from the lights to greenhouse.

Thanks everyone.

I too found the Yellow Brandywine a great producer. I'm hardening off a few of these right now. Beautiful heirloom.

It is always fun to see what everyone is growing. I just realised that I planted my tomatoes in ground this year earlier than I even went to buy my plants last year. Already there is a slight amount of growth on the seedlings.

This is my first year gardening. Yesterday I planted:
4 Supersweet cherry
4 LaRoma II
4 Health Kick
4 Beefsteak

I realized later that at least 2 of them are hybrids, which as I hear does not bode well for saving seed, but oh well. They were cheap and happened to be near where I was grocery shopping which saved me a 3hour trip to the nursery I had intended to go to. I'll have to be a little more prepared next year!