How To Plant Tomatoes In Pots Faq
Paul asks…
How should you plant tomatoes?
I bought the small plants from the store and they came in a kind of a plastic support, with soil in it. To plant them in a larger pot (I have to grow them on my balcony) should I take them out from the plastiv thing or just put the plastic support in the soil in the larger pot? The "thing" is open at the botom so that the roots can some out.
Staff Member Answers:
If your tomatoes came in a multi pack, then you need to plant each one in it's own planter. They need a lot of room to grow properly.
Be sure to get a tomato cage as well, because if they do not have the support they need to grow upward, then they will die.
Definitely take them out of the plastic support dish as that will make it impossible from them to seat properly in the soil.
Make sure they get a good watering every other day for the first two weeks, then you can back off to once every 3-4 days.
Tomatoes....mmm mmm good!
Betty asks…
how 2 plant tomatoes in a hanging pot?
Can anyone give me good ideas about planting tomatoes in a hanging pot. I've seen the upside down plants on tv and would like to try it myself. What type of tomato plants work best?? Thanks!!
Staff Member Answers:
Any kind of tomato,I plant mine in a 5 gallon bucket with small holes in the bottom,the vine will grow out and down producing beautiful vines and tomato's.I also use miracle grow potting soil mixed with peat or garden soil.This works great and i have been doing this for years before they came out with those info mercials.Hang at least 5 ft. Or you'll have vines on the ground....good luck....
George asks…
how do u prevent black rotten spots on tomatoes when ripening?
ea year I plant tomatoes in big pots on my patio. when they begain to ripe or develop fruit, the all have black rotten spots on them. how do I prevent them?
Staff Member Answers:
What you have sounds like blossom end rot which is caused by a calcium deficit. The following info is cut and pasted from hgic.clemson.edu info sheet number #1323
Blossom-end rot can be a serious problem with tomatoes. The main symptom is a dark-colored dry rot of the blossom ends of the fruit. It occurs when there are extremes in soil moisture, which cause calcium deficiency in the fruit. When rain or irrigation follows a dry spell, the roots cannot take up calcium fast enough to keep up with the rapid fruit growth. Blossom-end rot also occurs if the delicate feeder roots are damaged during transplanting or by deep cultivation near the plants.
The following measures will help prevent blossom-end rot:
Test the soil and maintain a pH between 6 and 6.5 and an adequate calcium level by liming or applying gypsum.
Mulch with 2 to 3 inches of materials such as grass clippings, pine straw and leaves. Mulching prevents rapid soil drying and allows roots to take up available calcium efficiently.
Do not overfertilize plants with nitrogen or potash. Excessive amounts of these nutrients depress the uptake of calcium.
Keep moisture levels fairly uniform by regular watering and by maintaining a mulch layer around the base of the plants. Water plants during extended dry periods. Tomatoes need 1 to 1 ½ inches of water per week.
Add organic matter to the soil. This will help "loosen" clay soils and will improve the water-holding capacity of sandy soils. In either soil, organic matter will increase plant uptake of water and calcium.
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There is also a spray for blossom end rot you should be able to find at a garden center or a box store's garden area. Just tell them your tomatoes have blossom end rot and you need spray to fix it.
Good luck
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