16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes

You should invent a compost blower, something like they use to do blown in insulation. As long as the compost is pretty dry it should work fine. If you are the inventing type that is. Otherwise, just use your hands.

Good idea about the scoops MTO! By the handfuls works for me as I can work it in with my fingers at the same time. Especially when I can get the grandkids to help.

Otherwise it all depends on what kind of cages you are talking about and what the opening size is. I find that the grandkids' kid-size gardening tools are quite handy for many things adults do in the garden.

Dave

My roma was similar. Found it at walmart. Someone had deliberately pinched it to have 3 main stems, perfectly spaced. I kept those and have rooted most of the suckers. I never saw this done this way before.

My roma was similar. Found it at walmart. Someone had deliberately pinched it to have 3 main stems, perfectly spaced. I kept those and have rooted most of the suckers. I never saw this done this way before.

I had a bad experience with Burpee some years back. Sweet potato starts arrived nearly dead (dry). Most of the soil for a potted astilbe had escaped from the pot; the pot was loose in the box, not secured in any way. The astilbe was way too tiny, and I don't remember if it survived.

I will buy seeds from Burpee if it's something I can't get anywhere else, but not plants.

I only ordered plants from them once, and actually it's
the ONLY time I ever ordered plants from anywhere, but I was mad.

They had introduced what they called Red Brandywine Hybrid, this back in the 90's and I'm sorry, but I don't like OP heirlooms being converted to hybrids, and especially back then b'c it was the first time it happened.

So I ordered seeds and a 6 pack of plants, started some from their seed, started plants from my heirloom Red Bandywine and put out a few of their plants.

There was absolutely NO difference in my RB plants as compared to their supposed hybrid.

They changed the name several times and I think ended up calling Buck's County Hybrid.

I agree with the suggestion to buy plants from Darrels website Selectedplants.com it comes right up when you GOogle it. Prices are reasonable as compared to many other plant sites I know and packing and shipping are very good indeed. And a huge selection, but of course at this time of the eyar I have no idea what he might have left. You can e-mail him off his website about that or I think he may even give his phone number as well/

Another place with a good reputation is SSE ( seedsavers exchange). Go to the PUBLIC catalog at seedsavers.org and take a look. Not as many varieties as Darrel usually has, but plants are good as are prices and shipping.

Carolyn, who thanks you for tweaking her memory about her one time plant buying experience. LOL

It could be that the tent isn't getting enough air flow, I have some hydro stuff going on in the tent too, so humidity could definitely be an issue. BUT all the other plants in the tent (mostly chillis) are doing really well.

I'm growing in a tent because it's winter in Australia.
Game plan is to move things out of the tent as soon as the weather permits.

I'm growing in a tent because it's winter in Australia.

Okay, it's winter and they're indoors. But an indoor tent would seem to be overkill. I assume you put the tomatoes in the tent to share the hydro lights?

Anyway, humidity is not the friend of tomato plants once they've sprouted. Why not add one of the little 5" fans? Mine were cheap but are real workhorses.

Lovely short stems: I assume they're dwarfs.

I am growing Guernsey Island for the first time this year. It is a neat looking tomato and a lil bit larger than a cherry with great flavor.

It's pretty late for a response now, but Ildi is a good yellow oblong shaped cherry tomato that all my friends like and I think kids would too. So you could mix that one in with a red, etc. I also love black cherry, so that would make a good 3 way mix
Did you ever find any at the farmer's market? I like the idea of mixing 3 plants together, might do that and sell at the market next year.

Just to be clear, the "first two photos" I was referring to were the first two in Lesuko's most recent post, not the first two when counting from the top of the thread.

Thanks Carolyn and everyone.

I am now seeing leaf curl/roll on my cherries. Humph. I rarely use chemicals and if I need to it's something organic. So, no roundup. And I doubt my neighbors are using it too- though I'll ask. No manure and my straw bales are from last year which didn't seem to cause any problems to plants- and I only just mulched yesterday (We're late but were putting in an irrigation system).

I have flowers but no fruit forming yet- that I can see. Of course I don't know if our 95 degree saturday rendered the buds pollenless? If thats what happens when it gets too hot- when they can't fertilize.

At a closer look, some plants are curled on top, some in the middle. It's not consistent. I guess I'll wait some more to see what happens. It's going to be hot this year so I imagine it will stress my plants out even more.

Thanks again!

This stuff becomes unbelievably hot and cooks the plants!!! I have 4 enormous ornamental planters in my gardens, which I have planted with purchased annuals for over 20 years. I am very experienced, and these planters have excellent drainage. This year, I switched the potting soil out for Miracle Gro Moisture Control. I flooded the planters before putting the plants in - several times. I planted them, and was surprised to have to water every single day. This soil product felt moist, but none was shared with the plants - their soil root balls stayed bone dry. The 2 planters in full sun had dying plants. I plunged my arm at least 25 inches down into the planters and the soil was hotter than beach sand, all the way down. This product somehow retains heat and was cooking my plants. When I removed this soil, I was surprised to find big pockets of it that were dust dry. The 2 planters in shade did a little better, but no plant growth whatsoever. Maybe if the plants grew in this from seed, they would do better, but you can't put plants in root balls into it - this soil just won't let the moisture leach into adjacent soils. And it cooks them. If your plants are still alive, rescue them and replace the soil. I don't know what this stuff is, but I would definitely not eat anything grown in it.

It is all I have used for years with excellent results.

Number one the only way it will retain too much water is if the pot doesn't have really good drainage.
The only way it might get too hot is if you don't have 2-3" of good mulch on top.

For tomatoes make sure you use absolute minimum of 10-12 gallon pots for Determinate Bush type plants and 15" gallon pots for Indeterminate's that grow to over 8'.

Drill about a dozen 1/2" holes in the bottom of pot, use a whole 55 quart bag of MGMC and add about 1/2 bag of so of Moo-Nure cow manure and compost mix.
Plant the tomato deep, put either 2-3" of your favorite mulch on top or use a red plastic sheet.

After that water the plants every day, all excess water drains right out the bottom, the plants take a nice big drink and the soil stays moist until the next day.

My tomatoes are growing like weeds in it right now.

I also have 380 quarts of it and nothing else in my Vegtrug.
With Bok CHoy, Lettuce, Basil, Rosemary, Cilantro, Lemon Thyme all growing so fast I can hardly keep up eating it all.

Yes, roots will grow into the soil beneath the pots.

The spring I had my appendix out, I had too many seedlings and the raised bed and trellis were never completed, so I had a bunch of seedlings in 16 oz. cups that were never planted in the ground. Some had a significant root system in the soil below the pots and even produced some small fruit before the Late Blight killed everything in early or mid-July.

Hmm, I posted last night but don't know what happened. Even if roots grow into the soil it will only be what can get through the drainage hole. I'd plant the Big Beef in the ground and use that pot for the second Big Boy if it's a bush type.