How can I find my old pictures?

[Luvachicken]

On Gardener's World last year, Monty Don was going to do an experiment with tomato plants.

He had seen some guy plant them in small pots and give them plant food and water every day with a good success rate.

So Monty was going to do that and plant some more in normal pots or growbags to see which was best.

I never saw the outcome.

 

I wanted to try the tomatoes in small pots because it will use less soil and take up less space and am happy to water them with whatever they need every day.

Does anyone grow their tomatoes in this way ?

[Olly]

I used to grow mine in growbags, but for the last couple of years I have used large pots and found it takes up less space in the greenhouse as they can be put closer together - I don't know what size the experiment used, but I put mine in plastic pots about 10"-12" diameter. I think regular food and watering is essential whatever you plant them in, I certainly didn't find any reduction in yield from using pots rather than growbags but I haven't tried small pots.

[Luvachicken]

Yes, I usually grow them in big black pots - similar to the size you describe Olly.

The ones on Gardener's World were pretty small and would take up less space than the ones I have.

It was more the fact that compost is pretty expensive and I would need enough for 6 large pots - obviously smaller pots would need less and cost me less to fill.

 

I sometimes wonder if it is actually worth growing your own

[sjp]

10 inch round pots are the smallest I use they hold about 2 gallons of compost any smaller and they dry out to fast unless they are deep pots. last year I was given some 9" square pots that are 12" deep (they'd been dropped of at some of the allotment sites by the Police after they'd raided an illegal cannabis factory) and they worked out alright it also meant I could get an extra 2 pots in each side of the green house

the depth of the pot is the thing that is more important true tomato pots were about 14" deep and I think 9" or 10" dia

[Daphne]

One year I used deep pots that you buy containerised roses in. They didn't work too well, but that might be because I am not very good at growing tomatoes in the UK

[Luvachicken]

Daphne, those Rose pots were the kind they were in I think.

Not very wide but quite deep.

I think the guy watered and fed them every day and got good results.

 

Maybe I'll have to stick with the pots I've got for now as it'll cost more in the long run to get new ones.

Or I could just get a few Roses

[sjp]

you don't really want to start feeding until the first fruit has set otherwise you end up with to much plant and not enough tomato a few years back I added fertiliser to my potting compost as I potted the toms up ( working on auto pilot potting up my spuds followed by toms) big mistake lovely big green plants next to no toms that took for ever to ripen now I grow them with next no feed and keep them a bit on the dry side until the flower and only feed every other week until mid August when I stop feeding if the plant thinks it's dying it'll start to ripen the fruit as it's only goal in life is to keep it's DNA going

[Luvachicken]

Thanks for that sjp

I think I'll stick to the way I usually do tomatoes then.

[chickencam]

I grow mine in bottomless pots set down into the greenhouse soil. I have spent all day setting them out and putting excess plants into 8 in pots. I have also put my Tumbler tomatoes into hanging baskets and big pots, I love this variety because you get loads of fruit from a small plant in a small space.

 

I tend to feed mine a couple of times after I have moved them into their big pots, which I do when they are quite small (about 6 inches high) then feed them once a week when they have started to set fruit. It has worked well for me.

 

I also plant marigolds and basil in the soil around the pots to deter whitefly and it seems to work, it also looks pretty and you end up with plenty of basil to go with the tomatoes.

 

I grow cucumbers in the same way, the greenhouse ends up like a jungle by August a tomato side shoot can become a triffid within days.

[Space Chick]

I do mine in bottomless pots into grow bags (2 pots per grow bag)

[BlueSilver]

The only luck I have had with to a is putting them in semi raised bed, under cover. Without them being undercover even in a south facing location I only succeed in a bumper crop for trophies green tomatoes as they never ripen. I scored a mini grow bed with a PVC cover and the plants are huge and forming flowers -just have to remember to open the bag during the day to allow pollinator access. Here's hoping!

[Luvachicken]

I love tomatoes, especially home grown ones.

My all time favourites are Sungold and Losetto - yummy

[chickencam]

My favourite are. Rosada, which is a sweet small plum tomato which grows in long trusses. The plants are a nightmare though, they grow very tall before setting fruit and produce side shoots very quickly, they take over the greenhouse. Unfortunately I couldn't find any seeds this year for them.

[Valkyrie]

And pinch out sideshoots, stick in compost, water and leave to get more plants

[Daphne]

I spotted my first small green tomato on one of the plants yesterday

 

I also bought another 10 small plants for 27 cents each

 

Its amazing what a bit of sun can do