My tomato experiment

My hope is that I can, using BB's fertilizer, sustain 2 healthy, productive plants in one container.
I planted 2 heirloom seedlings that are 4 weeks old into one bucket of coir. I settled them down to their latest leaves and will continue to clip and bury as they go. Our latest frost date is the mid of April so these guys will have to go in and out on good days and spend other time under the lights.
Since they are indeterminate and will be staked high I feel that they shouldn't crowd each other.
I will post progress once a week.

Devota: Looking good. Since my last ones died, I decided to try again with the chocolate cherries, romas and vilmas. I wound up with 40 tomatoes again, this time I planted them in the 7 grow bags (5 gallon ones) and in the HE buckets. I wound up having to put 4-5 in the 5 gallon grow bags temporarily for lack of something to put them in, I have 10 more of Bob's bags, the lay flat ones coming though, so, I can free up some of the 5 gallon grow bags and also use it for my 40 heads of lettuce and 50 spinaches. I will feel like superwoman the end of this Spring and Summer. LOL
joy

Hey, D!

Those are nice healthy heirloom tomato seedlings!

Now the bad news...it you want them to stay that way, only ever plant one tomato seedling per 5-gallon bucket. They develop pretty broad root systems, and more than one to a bucket will crowd out the roots. Additionally, depending on what variety that is, The foliage can get massive, too -- then they'd crowd out each other!

P.S. I dismantled 7 eBuckets this weekend and used the potting mix to repot 25 or so Sago Palm puppies and patio plants. I'll clean and RETOOL those eBuckets with the new wicking sleeve design to get 'em ready for my okra and maybe some green beans.

Linda

This message was edited Mar 9, 2009 2:40 PM

Linda: I am ordering some more of Bob's bags as I'm short of things to put mine in. I temporarily planted 4 and 5 in the grow bags for now; but in the next couple of days they will be transferred. They sure are pretty aren't they?
joy

Thanks, Linda but I am commited now...or should be, huh?
I saw on another site where someone had 2 pre gro bag. Well I hafta try.

I wondered what you did about all your ebuckets. Good work

Linda: Where do you get the energy you super bunny? LOL I'm dragging in the seater already, got things set up for 6 EBs and then I will have the picnic table to put Bob's layflat grow bags on to start some tomatoes in, lettuce, spinach. I see new green in the canna beds too. That means they are coming back already. Wish I had more of the 5 gallon buckets, I really like them.
joy

how's the temp's inside that plastic bucket? Try and make sure it gets good air circulation

araness,
It is warm but not too warm. We are having spring like temps just now in TN...70 degrees, but that won't last long so I will have to moniter it all the time. Still will be fun since tomatoes can't go out here for another month.

Devota: You are on the same schedule as me apparently, it was warm today, I sweated my behind off working outside; but, it's cool now.
joy

Joy, except you will have real spring before me.

Devota: Being I live in the coldest city in Florida I wouldn't be so sure about that. LOL My cukes that are in the seed starter kit up under the lights are about 3 inches tall already. These are the new ones I just planted in Bob's coconut coir starter kit, man, they look green and healthy. Course, if I remember correctly, I said that before I murdered the last ones right? I'm tempted to plant them in the hanging basket; problem is, it's getting cold out again in the eves and I can't hang it in the greenhouse no place, I've been looking around in there though. Knowing me, I'd try that and the whole thing would come down with me in it.
joy

I had 2 plants in a 4 gallon pot last year. One made tomatoes and one didn't. Didn't get a lot off that one either, but I did everything so wrong. Planted too late, the rabbit had eaten those plants down to the nubbins 2x before that was over with, I didn't prune and it was about 100 degrees a lot of the time. They didn't get proper watering and I think I practically starved them to death to boot. Even so I got a few toms out of the one plant.

So, Devota, have fun with your little experiment, you can't have any worse results than I did. LOL!

Those plants can put up with a lot and still spit out some fruit as long as the bugs or diseases don't get to them first.

Pugzley: That's the spirit.
joy

Pugsley..."little experiment?" I thought this had lasting value for all mankind...Tee hee.
I think if I avoid planting too late, remember to prune, and see that these little Toms get what they need, I may benefit the planet.


This message was edited Mar 11, 2009 3:09 PM

LOL! You just might. It would be neat if you got a bumper crop out of that.

Devota - saving the world 2 tomato plants at a time!

Hey there........savior of the planet.....Tomato Queen of Tennessee.......I bet you can make that work. I think Crickett at Crickettsgarden over on the Market forum grows two toms to a five gallon bag in her greenhouses, trims them to a single stem, etc, etc. My grow pole tomato's did pretty good last year.......the ones I planted around July/August......and lasted untill Dec 10. They did much better than the ones in 5 gallon nursery pots sitting on the ground. The grow pole toms were in a fast draining grow mix, similar to coir that could be watered once or twice a day without danger of waterlogging. The ones on the ground were in a different slower draining mix that could be overwatered or underwatered if I wasn't carefull.

Jay! Thar's hope fer me? How is my ole stobbin' buddy?

I potted all my baby toms in coir in the Gro bags and Ebuckets. We have perfect weather just now but it isn't really spring here yet so I have them sitting in trays and trash can lids so I can bring them in at night and cold weather.
I put many of them, 2 to a bag, but some singly, sooo we shall see at harvest time.
I didn't take pix. I'm really dead now. May I rest in peace for awhile. D

This message was edited Mar 17, 2009 4:41 PM

This message was edited Mar 17, 2009 4:42 PM

Devota: Some of the toms I forgot to thin out when I planted the seeds and there are two plants now growing together, I don't have the heart to seperate them though. So; I got a few twins. My little sister had these huge pots, you know those peat pots that dissolve when you put them in the ground? She had about 4 of them, they were nice sized so I asked for them and have toms in them now. Just got the bloommaster full of cukes, about 50 of them, as I had planted the seeds in the coconut coir seed starter kit, and some of them have more than one strong looking cuke in the basket, can't seperate them now, the bloommaster has 30 holes in it for putting 30 plants in it, so I actually have bout 50 cukes in that thing. I used coconut coir as the medium; but mixed in some perlite and some granular fertilizer as the coir gets heavy when it's wet and there is no way to cover it, you water it from the top. It still was heavy and had to have my daughter help hang it. That I think will be the downside of the topsy turvys and revolutionary planters also, as it takes two people to hang those babies up, they are heavy to begin with.
joy

If you need to separate something and you can't do it without damaging both plants, just take some scissors and cut the extra one off.

Thinning was hard for me until this year, I finally figured out that if I don't do it, then I won't get much, if anything off the plants that are overcrowded.

It is painful the first couple of times, but I've become quite ruthless about it this year.

Pugzley: Well, then I will just have to take a deep breath and do it I suppose. They have all popped up so well this year compared to last year, and I never will use peat pellets again either. Thing is, my daughter has figgered out the difference too, and now has me using coir for the flowers too.
joy

I never used those peat pellets, but a friend of mine who gardens and my sister used them last year, they both said they don't like them and won't use them again, either.

It's hard to kill the babies, but if you don't chances are neither will survive or you'll be disappointed after all the work of trying to take care of them.

I have thinned 3x this week. LOL! I FINALLY got them down to where they should be, but it took me 3 different thinnings to do it. It's the same thing when I'm cleaning out my closet, I have to go through it several times to really clean it out, too.

This is my makeshift "greenhouse," a 5 x 5 foot section of the deck that gets warmth from the house and has a large heavy duty plastic cover for nights. I decided to stop babying these things unless and until we get a severe cold spell when they can come inside. We are having 60 - 70 degree days and 40 -45 nights.

Joy you have 50 cucumber plants in that Bloom Master thing? I only have one cucumber plant per 5 gallon grow bag.....

Devota, your temps are exactly what mine are for the next several days. I've left everything outside in 35 to 38 degree weather for weeks and weeks, tomatoes included. It's a wonder they didn't die on me, but everything is ok.

Nice greenhouse you got there.

Thanks... Isn't it odd that I had a greenouse all this time and didn't know it? I actually built this little jut off the main deck for a table and chairs because the hot tub took up so much room. Now I know I was just preparing for the future of gardening.

That's funny! :) I have done things before and the original use I intended wasn't nearly as good as what I ended up using it for. I'm looking at that and thinking I have a couple of areas I can use that way, too. All I need is a plastic cover! Thanks for posting that, you're giving me new ideas.

Darkmoondreamer: It has 30 holes in it on the sides for sticking in plants and 3 nice drain holes in the bottom. I managed to fit in 50 of the national pickling cukes in the sides. It's supposed to work; but, time will tell.
joy

Pugsley, that's my job.