Borek said:
Borek said:
That's one of the things I was considering, the current pot is plenty big for it, it's just not tall, I found this really weird tall and skinny pot. I'll check to see if the current pot will fit inside, you just know it's going to be too big.turbo-1 said:If you don't want to disturb the existing root system, get a much bigger pot, put the plant (pot and all) into the bigger pot and then fill the large pot with soil heaped up against the lower stem. The buried portion of the stem should throw out more roots. If you do that, lugging that plant inside just got a lot tougher, though, and we don't need you with herniated disks in your spine...
Evo said:
Oh, tomato plants will grow roots along the buried stems, it's always good to bury most of the plant when you transplant it, it makes it stronger.Redbelly98 said:
Thanks!p.s. glad you're doing better
Evo is right. If you have thin, stringy tomato plants, strip off lower leaves and bury them deep - the plant will throw off roots from the buried stem and help them develop faster and beefier. I have a neighbor who starts his tomatoes from seed and buries them sideways in rows. They turn up toward the sun and get tougher because of the stress. I get more tomatoes, though.Evo said:
I've never grown tomatoes in containers, which is why I am concerned about transplanting. In my garden, I would just let the plant trail onto the ground and grow roots along the stem, I don't have that option in a pot. It's already a good foot taller than the tallest plant stakes I could find and with the amount of fruit it appears to be putting out, I'm afraid the vine will snap.Moonbear said:
I would put the existing root ball and dirt in the new pot and add soil around and above covering up the stem. I also would let tomatoes trail on the ground in the garden so that they would produce more roots. Tomatoes take a lot of nutrients from the soil. Is it possible to find 6 ft steaks or more?Evo said:I've never grown tomatoes in containers, which is why I am concerned about transplanting. In my garden, I would just let the plant trail onto the ground and grow roots along the stem, I don't have that option in a pot. It's already a good foot taller than the tallest plant stakes I could find and with the amount of fruit it appears to be putting out, I'm afraid the vine will snap.
It's skinny enough that I can still fashion a cage around it. But that means I won't be able to move it anymore.
Evo said:
Astronuc said:
Gorgeous Moonbear! I wish my patio wasn't covered, but at the same time with the baseball sized hail and 70MPH winds we get here so often, I'm glad that they are covered.Moonbear said:I got out and got some photos about a week ago, and now am getting a chance to upload them.
Here's my mostly container garden (I've just stuck stakes right into the pots and have put twist ties around them to hold up the tomatoes).
This is a close-up view of the corner with the flowers, basil that's really hurting from all the rain (for some reason, the pots the basil is in just aren't draining right, so the poor basil is drowning), behind it I have zucchini planted in the little patch of ground I turned into garden.
I'm actually surprised at how well my tomatoes are doing in planters. I didn't have so much success planting them in the ground, but then I also generously treated the potting soil with lime before transplanting them (thanks to turbo for reminding me how important the soil pH is for tomatoes and that potting soil is not usually right for them). I had good success with seedlings too, this year. I must finally be getting my green thumb back (ended up actually throwing away seedlings because I didn't have enough planters...I tossed them all onto the ground and one is actually growing in with the zucchini...not growing as well as the others, but I was surprised the little guy hung on after the abuse).
I have a LOT of flowers and decent sized tomatoes already. For the tomatoes, I've been getting just the right amount of rain. It basically has saved me from having to water them every day. Once in a while I have to supplement the watering, but for the most part, we get rain just about when they're getting dry again. The deck gets full morning sun, but then is shaded in the afternoon, which is great for growing plants.
No signs of critters eating them yet either (knock on wood and keeping fingers crossed).
I'd settle with eating just a 1 foot steak right now.Astronuc said:
loseyourname said:
I'm making and canning salsa as soon as tomatoes and chilies are available, making pickles as soon as cucumbers, dill, and sweet peppers are ripe - you'd have to spend several months here to experience the harvest, processing, canning, etc that I do. I extends right up until the threat of hard frost.Evo said:
The secret is to increase the organic content of the soil. You would need to mix in compost, composted manure and perhaps peat to keep the clays in the soil from clumping/compacting in the heat. Soil that is heavy in clays, silt, and other inorganics can act like concrete in hot weather. This is not a little project - it will take some investment in time, materials, and labor to improve the soil.loseyourname said:
Lots of peat moss will help. Since peat moss is acid, you might need to add some lime. Also, if the soil has clay, gypsum will break that down into decent soil.loseyourname said: