16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
Your mistake lies not with pruning the leaves (though it's unnecessary) but with the spacing and number of plants in that bed. There is definitely not enough room for all of that. Especially with indeterminate tomatoes. You'll see what we all mean in a couple of months.
Caroline
I've kept my tomato plants completely trimmed, 18 inches from the soil.
Keeps area open and free from hiding pests.
I also trim my plant growth back, not allowing branches to touch each other of grow very long.
This has worked for me for many years, I will continue to do so.
Not planted in a SFG garden
Like MTO, I am not a container expert by any means, but I have grown some plants in containers, so here is some additoinal information:
Container plants will need watering more often than tomatoes in the ground, probably daily or more often in times of high temperatures. Dig down with your finger about 3-4", is the growing medium wet, dry, or just right? If it is wet, don't water, if dry then water. If it is just right, check again the next day. If the medium is very dry, normal watering may have no effect on it, the water will just run off the top and down the sides of the container then out the drainage hole(s). In that case a slower delivery method is needed to allow the growing medium to absorb the water. That is the principle behind those glass watering globes you see advertised. You can slow the delivery down by taking a large plastic container (a gallon milk jug, or even a 2-liter bottle, you'd just have to repeat more with a smaller container) and make a very small hole in the bottom so that it just drips and place it in your planter and fill it up. Repeat as needed until the growing medium is thoroughly moistened throughout the container.
Mulching the top of your container with compost, straw, hay, rotted leaves, grass clippings, even shredded paper or sheets of paper or cardboard helps maintain a consistent moisture level.
Plants that are grown in any kind of container will need feeding more often than plants that are grown in the ground because each time they are watered, the water run off carries away vital nutrients. Many container growers will use a dilute solution of a liquid fertilizer every week or two depending on the condition of the plant.
You can get more information on growing in containers over in the container forum.
Betsy
Here is a link that might be useful: Container Gardening Forum
Yaeli, how about containers on a patio or balcony, or on the concrete next to an outside door (if your own apartment has one)? That way the plants would have something better than asphalt to grow in.
If you have a really sunny window (south or west are usually brightest), you could try growing indoors also.
Hi chlobell,
Answers to your questions:
"1. Should I cover them and turn the heat mat back on?" No, they don't need either.
"2. Our outdoor temperatures are warm now (70-80 degrees). Should I bring them outside for a few hours instead of letting them sit all day under the grow light?" Your temperatures are warm enough that you could start that now. Begin with a couple of hours in the shade then gradually increase the time, moving them into filtered sunlight and finally full sun.
"3. Given that it is warm enough to plant outside now, how big do they need to be before I put them in the ground." Most of the time we plant out when the tomatoes are at least 6-8" tall, but that is for tomatoes that are started indoors before it is safe to plant them out. I'd wait until they get at least two sets of true leaves.
Now I have a couple of questions for you:
What medium do you have them in now? Is it a soilless seed starting medium? It looks pretty wet to me, but I could be wrong. Are there drainage holes in the bottom of that container? If the growing medium is too wet, that could account for the slow growth, particularly if it is also a "heavy" mix.
We usually wait until we have true leaves before potting up, but that medium may not be the best for growing seedlings, so you might consider transplanting them into a standard growing medium (potting mix, not soil). If you do that, then wait 4-5 days before putting them outside.
I hope that helps.
Betsy
Here is a link that might be useful: Hardening Off and Physiological Changes
Thank you for your response! I had just watered them when I took that picture. Should I let them dry out completely before I water them again? Yes there are drainage holes in that container. The growing medium is Hydrofarm Jump Start Biodegradable pellets. I can see another set of leaves coming in on at least one of the plants so I'll take that as a good sign. Thanks for the help!
I'm no expert.. But I would let the plants do it's thing... If the plants are to early, they wouldn't produce blossoms.. The plants know what they are doing better than us.. It's up to you... If you'll be sleeping on the couch because of a ripe tomato, hell remove it! Doesn't matter that much..
Orange county's growing a lot more than tomatoes, huh?
Joe
It's optional but I subscribe to removing early blooms/fruit simply because the odds are high that the first one like that on a small, young, plant will likely have BER anyway. I prefer to reduce plant stress as much as possible.
The goal at this stage is root development, not top growth, blooms, or fruit.
Dave
Yes, taste is very subjective, and you will no doubt get a myriad of answers.
Having said that, on your list, I have tasted Sungold, Yellow Pear, Rutgers, Marglobe, Big Rainbow, Brandywine, Gold Cherry, and Delicious. Of these, the only ones I find worth mentioning in terms of "best tasting" are Brandywine, Rutgers, and Sungold.
I haven't tasted many on your list but I have tasted:
Sungold Hybrid
Yellow Pear
Rutgers
Brandywine Pink
I think yellow pear is very boring and bland. Sungold is good in my opinion, but my household and neighbors would tell you there are divine! Do you have kids? If so, plant the sungold for sure...they love them! Rutgers is a flavorful canner type and it is a pretty reliable tomato, lots of people I know grow them every year, and Pink Brandywine is very, very good. I grow it every year.
Hope this helps :)
Lindsey
PS - I have two sets (4 bulbs) of grow lights. 2 "blue" and 2 "yellow" to hit both sides of the spectrum above and below green. I keep them on 18 hours a day. The tomatoes are fine, but the peppers are getting a little leggy. It's still not enough light... It is very difficult to simulate the sun in light intensity. IMO.
Spots aren't really any big deal, they happen for all kinds of reasons and 99 out of 100 of those reasons are no threat to the plant.
I'd be more concerned about the crispy edges of the leaves in the pics. That can indicate fertilizer over-dose and/or salt build up in the soil - which can also be white spot related.
So what is the mix they are in and what and how often have you been feeding them?
Dave
Johnny's Organic mix. I feed once every two weeks with diluted fish emulsion (1 T per gallon of water to all my seedlings).
I tried an experiment cutting back on watering this year, where I was bottom watering deeply twice a week only. The salt build up in the soil rings true simply because there may not be enough additional waterings to dilute?
The other 5 varieties of tomatoes aren't affected.
I will suspend all fertilizer and water alone from now on - but they only have a week and a half left of hardening off. We are going to transplant the weekend of the 27th.
Thanks for all the input! I am doing 1/2 in the bed and 1/2 in the buckets. this will help me compare.
Niallalea,
I'm in San Jose, CA. I have never grown tomatoes before, so I couldn't compare. But I had great luck. I have almost too much sun and some of the fruit seemed to get burned or bleached. My raised bed is in a little less intense area of the yard. Here is a picture of the home bucket garden! I used 1/2 potting mix and 1/2 manure compost, some fertilizing on a regular basis with fish emulsion and ? I think something else, cannot remember. I had tomatoes through to November almost.
That is a nice setup!! And some nice looking plants! That's exactly what I want to do with some of mine. I was trying to decide between SWC buckets and ones placed on the ground - I read the ones with ground contact are more forgiving because they act more like raised beds. I think I will try it, since I'm gonna have more plants than beds. :)
I have not used the 200 cell plug trays, but I wouldn't worry about root damage since transplanting and damaging the intitial roots encourages the growth of a stronger root system. (See number 8 in the link below.)
I hope that helps.
Betsy
Here is a link that might be useful: How do I start tomatoes from seed?
What's the white powdery looking stuff around the base of them?
edweather - it is Sea-90 from Boogie Brew...Sea trace minerals, similar to azomite...