Container for Paste Tomatoes

Greatgardens · February 6, 2022

I'm a hobby gardener -- so I'm not really interested in how many pounds of tomatoes I can get per square foot or per unit of inputs. It's a hobby, and I'm older, so I want it easy! I've been growing in containers for about 20 years. I got started with containers because I have Verticillium in my garden soil, and could not grow eggplants reliably. But then I moved on to growing tomatoes in them. My first containers were about 15-gallon totes with holes drilled in the bottoms of the side walls for drainage. Worked OK for several years.

Then after pooh-poohing EarthBoxes, I tried a couple. Wow, what an improvement over my totes! Smaller, much more durable (against UV degradation), and with a nice reservoir so that I didn't need to a) have a huge container, or b) keep watering all the time due to a small container. I definitely recommend you try one or two. For me, I can grow 2 dwarfs or (crowding) 2 determinates. I have grown two indeterminates, but I find that for most varieties, one ind. works better. I water no more than once a day -- and much of the season once every two days -- or less.

There are of course, knock-offs. Tried one, and found it had poor construction. And do avoid the "EB Junior" model -- they are not really suitable for most tomatoes. I now have 9 of the original EarthBoxes (many have far more boxes than me). I am also experimenting with grow-bags, but they get back to the watering issue -- or my plants suffer from BER. I have not found it practical to set up a drip system. Drip irrigation would solve most of the issues of small containers. But having said that, a 10-15 gallon grow-bag works pretty well for most varieties.

www.Earthbox.com

February 6, 2022	#18
Greatgardens Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Indiana Posts: 1,124	Consider an EarthBox! I'm a hobby gardener -- so I'm not really interested in how many pounds of tomatoes I can get per square foot or per unit of inputs. It's a hobby, and I'm older, so I want it easy! I've been growing in containers for about 20 years. I got started with containers because I have Verticillium in my garden soil, and could not grow eggplants reliably. But then I moved on to growing tomatoes in them. My first containers were about 15-gallon totes with holes drilled in the bottoms of the side walls for drainage. Worked OK for several years. Then after pooh-poohing EarthBoxes, I tried a couple. Wow, what an improvement over my totes! Smaller, much more durable (against UV degradation), and with a nice reservoir so that I didn't need to a) have a huge container, or b) keep watering all the time due to a small container. I definitely recommend you try one or two. For me, I can grow 2 dwarfs or (crowding) 2 determinates. I have grown two indeterminates, but I find that for most varieties, one ind. works better. I water no more than once a day -- and much of the season once every two days -- or less. There are of course, knock-offs. Tried one, and found it had poor construction. And do avoid the "EB Junior" model -- they are not really suitable for most tomatoes. I now have 9 of the original EarthBoxes (many have far more boxes than me). I am also experimenting with grow-bags, but they get back to the watering issue -- or my plants suffer from BER. I have not found it practical to set up a drip system. Drip irrigation would solve most of the issues of small containers. But having said that, a 10-15 gallon grow-bag works pretty well for most varieties. www.Earthbox.com