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redforever · 09-24-2009, 01:07 PM

I did mention this in another thread, but since this thread is specifically about tomatoes, I will explain again how I grow my tomatoes. I grow about a dozen plants every year....so lots for fresh eating, I make copious amounts of salsa and can some as diced tomatoes as well.

I plant all of them in large tubs, and they are all situated on my garage pad. Some are on a wagon my husband built. The wagon has wheels of course, and rope handles on each end, so I can turn it around to vary sun exposure, or bring it inside the garage if weather is going to be inclement or frost threatens.

And I plant some tomatoes in pots, right up against the house, so well protected, still on the concrete garage pad, but also up against the bricks of the house. The concrete and bricks help to hold the heat at night.

My garage pad faces sun, so it gets east sun in the morning, lots of hot south and west sun in the afternoon. Tomatoes like "warm feet". Having raised pots helps towards that end, and my pots have been painted a dark brown, which intensifies the heat as well.

I have found that for the area I live in, this is the only way to consistently grow tomatoes that produce well and ripen on the vine.

Edit: I should mention that all of the tubs I grow tomatoes in do have drainage holes. And I put trays under the tubs. When I water my tomatoes, I like to make sure I soak rather than sprinkle. And I try to avoid getting too much water directly on the tomato plants themselves. So the trays catch any water that might flush through. But I don't water so much that the tomatoes are constantly sitting in trays of water.

If the weather turns to stretches with a lot of rain, I remove the watering trays because tomatoes do not like to sit in water for long periods of time.

I fertilize regularily with tomato fertilizer, that is what it is called on the container. And when I plant my tomatoes, I put some bonemeal below the roots. I cover this with a bit of dirt before I put the tomato plants in. You could also put in calcium vitamin tablets instead of bonemeal, basically both provide the same nutrient.

09-24-2009, 01:07 PM	#21
redforever Franchise Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Exp:	I did mention this in another thread, but since this thread is specifically about tomatoes, I will explain again how I grow my tomatoes. I grow about a dozen plants every year....so lots for fresh eating, I make copious amounts of salsa and can some as diced tomatoes as well. I plant all of them in large tubs, and they are all situated on my garage pad. Some are on a wagon my husband built. The wagon has wheels of course, and rope handles on each end, so I can turn it around to vary sun exposure, or bring it inside the garage if weather is going to be inclement or frost threatens. And I plant some tomatoes in pots, right up against the house, so well protected, still on the concrete garage pad, but also up against the bricks of the house. The concrete and bricks help to hold the heat at night. My garage pad faces sun, so it gets east sun in the morning, lots of hot south and west sun in the afternoon. Tomatoes like "warm feet". Having raised pots helps towards that end, and my pots have been painted a dark brown, which intensifies the heat as well. I have found that for the area I live in, this is the only way to consistently grow tomatoes that produce well and ripen on the vine. Edit: I should mention that all of the tubs I grow tomatoes in do have drainage holes. And I put trays under the tubs. When I water my tomatoes, I like to make sure I soak rather than sprinkle. And I try to avoid getting too much water directly on the tomato plants themselves. So the trays catch any water that might flush through. But I don't water so much that the tomatoes are constantly sitting in trays of water. If the weather turns to stretches with a lot of rain, I remove the watering trays because tomatoes do not like to sit in water for long periods of time. I fertilize regularily with tomato fertilizer, that is what it is called on the container. And when I plant my tomatoes, I put some bonemeal below the roots. I cover this with a bit of dirt before I put the tomato plants in. You could also put in calcium vitamin tablets instead of bonemeal, basically both provide the same nutrient. Last edited by redforever; 09-24-2009 at 01:21 PM.