I did 12 of these. That's quite a lot of compost that I had to shift! I used mostly my own home-made compost that I extracted from the bins back in January. It had been "cooking" for about a year, so it ought to be good. I mixed in a small proportion (maybe 10%) of commercial multi-purpose compost, just to bulk it out a bit, and I gave each pot a handful of pelleted chicken manure.
After doing the big black pots, I also put four "Maskotka" tomato plants into a pair of plastic crates which fit neatly into my tall wooden planter.
"Maskotka" is a trailing type, and it will enjoy having the height of the planter, which is about three feet tall.
I also planted two "Montello" plants. This is another trailing bush variety, so I have given them some height too, by standing each pot on top of another one of similar design, like this:
I have 12 of those terracotta-coloured square containers. Until this year, this is what I had used for growing my big tomatoes in, but I found them less than satisfactory. They were never really big enough for the larger Beefsteak type tomatoes, and the self-watering feature was not very good. I think they are OK for smaller tomato plants, particularly the less top-heavy bush varieties.
This is the full list of the types of tomato I'm growing this year.
In 35-litre black plastic pots.
Monserrat
Mountain Magic
Ferline
Alaskan Fancy
Bumblebee Sunrise
Tango
Super Marmande
Larisa
Cherokee Chocolate
Dwarf Caitydid
Dwarf Beauty King
Dwarf Barossa Fest
In black plastic crates in the tall wooden planter.
Maskotka x 4
In the square "balconnieres".
Montello x 2
Your tomatoes look so healthy! Bumblebee Sunrise, fun name.
ReplyDeleteHow deep are the black plastic crates?
I have found the square pots just the perfect size for one summer squash plant.
Jane, I think the black crates are about 25cm deep - it's not a lot, but just enough for the Maskotka toms. They did very well in this setup last year.
DeleteMy Husband can not grow tomatoes in a pot. I will have to watch what you do. When I was younger one year it rained every Thursday my husband was off on week ends. So I had him put the plow on our lawn mower tractor, I went out early and I plowed that garden plot, It was the size of a back yard in the city. Some men stood an watched me plow. I had never plowed in my life one told my Husband it looked a mule had plowed. We had our garden planted before the rain, but barely. WE were just putting in the last seed when the rain came.
ReplyDeleteJuanita, the key to growing tomatoes in pots is to keep the compost evenly hydrated. Don't let it dry out completely and then flood it. Watering little and often is better. This is helped by having big containers, because small ones dry out very quickly.
DeleteWe planted up most of our tomatoes this week in our greenhouses. The leftovers will go outside later. Believe it or not we have already had a blight warning !
ReplyDeleteThe planting of the tomatoes is such a milestone in the garden. Your plants are looking very happy. I haven't grown a single variety you've listed, goes to show you how huge the world of tomatoes really is.
ReplyDeleteseven gallon containers, wow that's huge Mark.
ReplyDeleteHi, are you planting outdoors, in the UK?
ReplyDeleteYes. I always grow my tomatoes outdoors - I don't have a greenhouse.
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