Growing Tomatoes in Containers...

[ChrisInNC]

We are going to be in the process of moving out of our house and building this year, so unfortunately I have to give up my traditional garden this year and will be doing tomatoes in containers.

Last year I grew Peppers in containers and was very pleased with the results. I used a 5 gallon nursery container with a soil mix consisting of 1 part perlite, 1 part garden soil (maybe pro mix or something I can't remember) and 3 parts potting soil (well that's what I call it...it's a pine bark mix we use in the nursery industry).

I was wondering for those who are experienced in growing tomatoes in containers if a similar soil mix would work?

Generally what size containers do you use and whats your ideal soil mix?

I have access to nursery containers from 3 gallon up to as large as 25, I'm thinking 5 or 7's would be sufficient, but can any of you tell a difference by using a larger container? If I can get by with 5's I'm thinking that would be best, saves $ on soil and space in the yard!


Thanks for the help!

[Cole_Robbie]

1 part garden soil (maybe pro mix)

Can you elaborate on that one? No actual dirt, right? If container peppers grew in it, you can probably grow tomatoes in it.

Your container size question is largely determined by the variety of tomato you want to grow. Indeterminate varieties require the largest containers. I have good luck with Terrenzo in 5-gallon containers, but it is a compact determinate that has been bred for container growing. With Early Girl, which is a semi-determinate, the 5-gallon bucket works great at first, but then the plant gets root-bound, and the fruit start ripening at a smaller and smaller size.

[Fred Hempel]

Hi Chris,

Anything smaller than a 10 gallon container and you are risking death due to dry-out, in my experience.

5 gallons are OK, if you are very very diligent about watering -- and if you are growing cherry tomatoes.

[Lee]

You can use 5 gallon containers for dwarf sizes. But as indicated, you
will have to water daily and most likely 2x day during our July/August heat in NC.

I typically use 15 gallon pots I have for any size plant, and 7 gallon for my dwarf/cherry plants.

For best results, stick with a potting mix for the majority of your "soil". I've mixed "top soil" with a potting mix in the past, an it was still to heavy/compacting for the roots.
I think my ideal mix would be 8 parts metromix 360 with 2 part cow manure on top....

Lee

[Lorri D]

I used between 3-10 gal size containers last year and I really didn't notice a difference. I did put the larger varieties into larger sized pots and the smaller varieties into the smaller pots.

And, they all grew about as tall and fast as their in-ground counter parts. I did start topping the container tomatoes 2/3'rds into the growing season, because I didn't want them overly root bound and stressed. Lorri D

[amideutch]

5 gal containers will do fine. As said above during hot weather you will probably be watering twice a day. Supporting your plants will be the big challenge especially if growing indeterminates. Initially add some lime, azomite and some slow release ferts to your aggregate.

Once the plants mature and start getting fruit set you will need to apply ferts a couple times a week to replace what the plant has taken up and do to leaching from watering the plants.
I would also add Myco's either to the aggregate or as a dip to put your seedlings in prior to planting.
If you can get containers without drain holes in the bottom make them on the side about 1 1/2 inch up from the bottom. This will create a small reservoir in the bottom of the container which will help during hot spells. BioBizz BioGrow, General hydroponics Flora Nova and General Organics from General Hydroponics are some good ferts for feeding your plants as mentioned above.

Ami

[ChrisInNC]

Thanks for all the responses.

Cole:

I'll have to get back with you about what I used exactly when I get home and can look back on my notes. I really can't recall off the top of my head, too many different things going on last year so I don't want to tell you wrong.

[elight]

As others have said, 5-gallon pots/buckets will support tomatoes just fine. Production may not be quite as high as with larger pots. But the main reason to use a larger pot is because the soil holds more water. If you are able to use a drip irrigation system or make a self-watering container with an automatic watering system (or water probably twice daily), then 5 gallons should be plenty.

[AKmark]

I have used pots from 2-20gallon, and I had the biggest plants in 20 gallon, some over 30lbs a plant. With that said, I did have good results with anything 10+, meaning yields over 15- 20lbs per plant. Smaller pots 5-7lbs seems to be about the norm for me, others may do much better though.

[Urbanfarmer]

You can grow 8' tall, heavy-yielding tomato plants in a 2.5 gal bucket, but only if you're willing to water 6 times/day. For handwatering it's much better to go 15-20 gallon containers for the moisture retention in between irrigations.

If you let a container plant dry out, ie, inconsistent watering, you'll invite BER, no matter how much calcium is available. The bigger the container, the less likely it will go bone-dry between irrigations.

All we do anymore for containers is a mix of roughly 40% peat, 20% coir, 25% perlite, 10% sand, and the final 5% is a mix of old cow manure, worm casts, and BioActive. Then we feed with our liquids every 3rd or 4th watering.

The ideal setup is with an auto-drip on a timer so you can go on vacation. Lack of automation means you're glued to the manual irrigations.

[MelsGarden]

That is great news re: using 2.5+ gal containers if I water many times each day. Getting ready to grow out 50+ dwarves and counting. How tall of a plant can be planted in 1 gal max? Thank you.

[lexusnexus]

Beautiful maters Lori. What kind of temperatures do you see there? Here in the East and Southeast we can get weeks of 90+ during the summer. I've got lots to learn over the next few weeks about container growing of tomatoes and peppers.

Dan