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General discussion regarding the techniques and methods used to successfully grow tomato plants in containers.

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Old July 10, 2013   #1
feldon30
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Default I'm a convert!

After 2 years living in Denmark, I was anxious to get back to gardening, but instead of rehabilitating and renewing my raised beds, I found myself with only a driveway to grow tomato plants in.

After initially deciding that I could go another year without tomatoes, I was coaxed into giving container growing a try. So I downloaded Ray's Earthtainer instructions, and then I made several trips to Lowe's* and spent over three hours of cutting and fastening. I also bought two 18 gallon containers with 2" water reservoirs at the bottom because they were cheap, and I suppose as a control. Surely, I thought, the time to make just one Earthtainer just wasn't worth the effort. I was wrong.

So far, I have harvested over 40 tomatoes from a Cherokee Purple and Big Beef I planted in a single Earthtainer, and there are another dozen tomatoes still on the plants. The tomatoes have had a great flavor and while most have been on the medium size, a few have been nice and big. I am blown away by the results and would absolutely recommend this setup to others in the future. Although I'd say -- build 3-4 Earthtainers at the same time, as it won't take much longer than it took me to build one!


Thanks, Ray!!
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Old July 10, 2013   #2
greyghost
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That's a great harvest from just a few square feet! Beautiful tomatoes!!
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Old July 10, 2013   #3
cythaenopsis
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^ Congrats!

I imagine with all of your tomato growing experience, you got a major boost in doing container growing right. Very impressive yield. The SWC (self watering container) has certainly transformed container gardening. I learned about them this year and finally decided to give it a go. I'm getting very close to reaping my first tomatoes. I'm completely inexperienced with tomato gardening, so it has been quite a learning curve for me. But I'm enjoying it and it's all thanks to sub irrigation.

Next year, I may try building Ray's Earthtainer. I just have to make sure I've got enough room!
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Old July 10, 2013   #4
feldon30
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I'm just astounded at how much "plant" and fruit is being supported by such a small amount of soil, and that the flavor is not impacted at all. Who knows where I will be gardening next year, but even if if I am back to growing in the ground, you can bet I will grow a few of these Earthtainers.

Thanks all.
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Old July 10, 2013   #5
Zana
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Been container gardening now for more than 10 years. And I'm continually surprised how much fruit can be grown in "smaller" pots than what you'd think of using for a SWC. One huge advantage here in Canada, is you can work the soil in a pot/container earlier in the spring than the ground....and move them closer to the house to take advantage of radiant heat...or use driveway/concrete patios too for radiant heat to extend your season. I've had plants still producing into mid November in containers here in southwestern Ontario!

Welcome to the "dark side", Feldon!

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Old July 10, 2013   #6
rnewste
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Feldon,

That's great news to hear! When you have the location and time to move up to the 31 Gallon design, I think you will be very happy with the results.

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Old July 10, 2013   #7
Worth1
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Now you need to change your location to something besides "Between Gardens".

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Old July 11, 2013   #8
feldon30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rnewste View Post
Feldon,

That's great news to hear! When you have the location and time to move up to the 31 Gallon design, I think you will be very happy with the results.

Raybo
I made my Earthtainer out of the 31 gallon Ruggedtotes, and then I bought two 18 gallon pots to grow alongside it.


In the smaller containers are a Brandywine, and what was supposed to be Black Cherry. The Brandywine have been small, but still I got over a dozen fruit which was surprising. And the "Black Cherry" came out totally off-type -- it's a revolting, tasteless teardrop shaped brown tomato. Oh well, 3 out of 4 ain't bad.
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Old July 14, 2013   #9
TexasAngel
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Very well done! Lovely photo. I may have to work on making an earthtainer.
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Old July 14, 2013   #10
Vespertino
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Congrats on the tomato bumper crop!!!! I love how easy earthainers are, and how it makes it possible to garden with in small spaces or problem-prone climates. It's so much fun, too
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