Container Productivity VS In Ground

Yak54 · October 24, 2019

I started growing tomatoes in grow bags 4 yrs ago. My 1st year I didn't water correctly and suffered BER issues. The 2nd year I overcompensated and had mold issues. The 3rd year I started using a meter to monitor the moisture level in my Promix and was reasonably successful. Now for my 4th year I switched fertilizer to 4-18-38 to water my grow bags and I am amazed at the amount of tomatoes they produced. For example my Box Car Willie plant produced 85 tomatoes, my Nepal plant produced 47 tomatoes, my German Head plant produced 75 tomatoes, my Mimi Koch plant produced 66 tomatoes, my Polish plant produced 72 tomatoes, my Cherokee Purple produced 32 tomatoes, AND my Momotaro plant produced an amazing 111 tomatoes. I wouldn't have believed I could get such productivity from containers. All the many years I grew my tomatoes in-ground I would be lucky to get 35 tomatoes per plant (depending on the variety of course). So I attribute the 4-18-38 fertilizer to the increased productivity for me. I am curious as to what other tomatovillians have experienced as far as productivity in containers. And I know that this fertilizer is used by greenhouse growers in 5 gal bags like our friend AKmark and their productivity is out of this world. Just curious what you more ordinary gardeners have to say on this subject.

Dan

October 24, 2019	#1
Yak54 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2009 Location: Madison, OH, zone 6 Posts: 461	Container Productivity VS In Ground I started growing tomatoes in grow bags 4 yrs ago. My 1st year I didn't water correctly and suffered BER issues. The 2nd year I overcompensated and had mold issues. The 3rd year I started using a meter to monitor the moisture level in my Promix and was reasonably successful. Now for my 4th year I switched fertilizer to 4-18-38 to water my grow bags and I am amazed at the amount of tomatoes they produced. For example my Box Car Willie plant produced 85 tomatoes, my Nepal plant produced 47 tomatoes, my German Head plant produced 75 tomatoes, my Mimi Koch plant produced 66 tomatoes, my Polish plant produced 72 tomatoes, my Cherokee Purple produced 32 tomatoes, AND my Momotaro plant produced an amazing 111 tomatoes. I wouldn't have believed I could get such productivity from containers. All the many years I grew my tomatoes in-ground I would be lucky to get 35 tomatoes per plant (depending on the variety of course). So I attribute the 4-18-38 fertilizer to the increased productivity for me. I am curious as to what other tomatovillians have experienced as far as productivity in containers. And I know that this fertilizer is used by greenhouse growers in 5 gal bags like our friend AKmark and their productivity is out of this world. Just curious what you more ordinary gardeners have to say on this subject. Dan