growing tomatoes in a container -- tips?

Question

i bought a couple small organic tomatoe plants from a nursery and i need to replant them in a larger container (from what ive been told, the new container should be at least twice the size of the one i bought it in).
does anyone have any tips for replanting and keeping healthy tomatoes?

Answer 1

I worked as a grower producing tomatoes for restaurants. I would not recommend anything smaller than a five gallon container - unless it is a dwarf tomato like Micro Tom.



I usually plant in a mix of 1/2 potting mix and 1/2 composted manure. This gives the tomatoes a lot of nutrients for strong growth. You can find composted manure in bags at a garden center. It actually resembles soil and dosen't smell. Staking is a must and try to keep them moist. You'll be surprised at how much water a full size plant will require. Something like 2 gallons on a hot day.



As far as transplanting goes we bury the stem of our tomatoes about half way when we plant. It sounds odd but if you look at the stem of a tomato plant you'll see small clear/whitish hairs - those are actually root hairs. When they are buried they grow into full size roots and allow the plant to suck up water and nutrients faster, which makes them grow faster.



I have grown over 100 varieties of tomatoes and have experimented with removing the side shoots/suckers, it really didn't impact the production of fruit either way. Some varieties of tomatoes are prone to sun scald which is basically a sunburn - by leaving the side shoots the fruit was shaded more and scalding was prevented.



If you use the manure in the soil additional fertilizer is not really necessary but any balanced organic fertilizer can be used.



That's it - enjoy your tomatoes.

Answer 2

My experience with potted Tomato's is, You really can't grow organic tomato's in a container. You have to fertilize them or they stay scrawny little plants with only a couple of small anemic tomato's on them.



You will need a minimum size of a 5 gal. bucket to grow a tomato plant. Larger is preferable. Drill a drain hole in the SIDE of the bucket up one inch from the bottom. This gives the plant a one inch reservoir of water to draw from. You will still need to water at least once a day.



Use a mixture of potting soil and good garden soil. Mix in Bone meal to prevent blossom end rot on your tomato's and for fertilizer. Set where it can get plenty of sunshine and a light breeze. Tomato's are self pollinated by the breeze shaking the flower. If the flowers drop off, it means they are not pollinating themselves. Gently shake the vines so the pollen falls free and pollinates the flower.

Answer 3

Tomatoes really need some "elbow room". The pot should be as large as you can manage...at least 12" high and 12" wide. That size will also be large enough to accommodate a wire tomato cage, which you will need when the plant gets going.



The thing about planting in containers is that the fertilizer leaches out, since it must be watered so frequently---daily, in fact. I recommend fertilizing weekly with a water soluble tomato fertilizer .



Finally, be sure that the space where you will be growing your tomatoes gets at least 6 hours of sunlight per day.



Hope this helps! Good luck :)

Answer 4

Plant them deep, leaving just the tops of the plants above the soil - new roots will grow along the stem. You may need to plant them up in larger pots several times - the final container should have at least five gallons of soil in it. Water regularly, or use a self-watering container.

Answer 5

Young tomatoe seedlings are usually pricked out into small peat or plastic pots ready for planting out. I would suggest you use a pot container that's at least 3-4 times larger than the one its growing in. Buy specific pot growing tomatoe medium that already contains slow release fertiliser to nourish your plant through to fruiting. Insert stakes into the soil medium clear of your plants roots and secure main tomatoe stem to stake with light cord to stop the plant being buffeted by the wind. When watering make sure to avoid watering the main stem by watering evenly towards the outer edges and water regularly to avoid problems such as blossom end rot. Spray your plant with all purpose tomatoe plant spray to control aphids, caterpillars, brown leaf hopper, white fly and other pests as well as fungal leaf spots, spray with copper oxychloride to control tomatoe blight. If you do not want to use chemical sprays to control pests then try using a combination of dish washing liquid, cooking oil and the juice of a crushed garlic clove. Make up about 250 milligrams by mixing these ingredients together with water (240mil) and spray onto pests as needed. Remove laterals which are found between the angle of the leaf and the main stem before they become too large and spoil the develpoment of the plant. Use my suggestion here as a general guide to growing healthy and juicy tomatoes. And don't forget to remove weeds too good luck for a bumper crop.

Answer 6

You will need drain hole in bottom of container so plants don't drown. And so with water draining more rapidly, you will need to add water more often than if planted in the ground.Also you will need to fertilize more often because the water is washing nutrients out the bottom of the container. Try something under the container to catch the water and every so often pour it back in the container.

Answer 7

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