Here is a picture of one of the fourth of july's i have growing in 5 gal bucket and a tabasco.
4th of july and a tabasco
thats a healthy looking plant
I'm trying. It's so big and it's so hot here i'm having to water it 3 times a day lol. i have 3 of them just like it .
Have you tried using water crystals?
no. what is water crystals? i have to go out of town soon and pick my son up and bring him back here. Been trying to think what i could do for two days without being about to water them.
They're water soluble polymers and sold at all the big box stores and most nurseries. Not cheap but they last a long time. They look like really big colorless/whitish grains of salt. When water is added they swell up and hold the water - if you took three grains and put them in a saucer you'd see how they swell and look like clear jello! They release the water when the roots go looking for water.
At this point, since you have them planted and you want the water to stay at their roots, poke the soil at the extreme outer edges of the container with a long narrow stick (like a pencil diameter but long so it gets down to the root area in the barrel you have them planted in). Then get a funnel and take a pinch of the crystals and drop them through the funnel. Then go back to each hole and add water to each hole.
If you add water immediately after the gel the funnel would be wet and the crystals would stick inside of the end of the funnel. Do it quite a few times around the edges of the barrel.
They're supposed to last for five years but you could reuse the soil and incorporate it in your other beds and provide fresh soil to your tomatoes every year. That is if the purists allow you to reuse your soil! Also, a few people have negative things to say about them, like they're cancer causing, etc. If the air doesn't get us then I'm not worrying about the crystals!
Arlene