Potted Tomatoe/Garden Questions

[Matt In Oklahoma]

I need to rely on the wealth of knowledge here and I need/want your opinions and comments.
My situation is unknown as far as moving is concerned right now so I was thinking of growing a "portable" garden for the next few years until we are able to settle in. I've always had a place before and gardened so this is gonna be interesting. I have succesfully grown a few cherry tomatoes in pots but that's about it, I just never had a need. Are there any other types that do well? Has anyone had those "tomatoe trees". I know corn and other things won't do well so it will be a modified garden. I'm thinking squash, zuchinni, tomatoes etc.
I'm also still trying to hash out a community garden with someone who was wanting to from church so hopefully that will pan out too. The bad part is it's about 16 miles away and I can't protect it should something happen and would just have to call it a loss but I like my odds of nothing happening so if we can get it going I will continue with it.

[Triple-sod]

Over here in the England most people grow there tomatoes in pots in the greenhouse because we don

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Over here in the England most people grow there tomatoes in pots in the greenhouse because we don’t get much sunshine. I reckon them and peppers are the easiest things to grow that way. I started about 3-4 years ago, and I’ve always done O.K. Variety wise though you probably are better going for the smaller ones. I haven’t tried one of those tomatoes trees but I’ve got some early cherry tomatoes this year so I’m going to give it a go. My cousin was telling me he has got good results with them.

Thanks, no greenhouse either though:(, the cherries I did worked good I think because they take less water being potted than the other varieties.

[arcangel911]

Matt- Tomato trees are only good once, and they will produce a crop, but the seeds will not grow again (experience and what I was told by others...). Also, depending on where you are, you may want to build a large chicken coop or barrier around them. Birds are the worst when eating your crops... although a .22 would more than be effective too. ;)

However... I am up to my hand with what these guys are trying. Since I am into hydro- and aqua-ponics, I find this site very interesting.

http://remotegardener.com/?cat=11

http://www.veggiegardener.com/watering-tomatoes-using-2-liter-sod-bottle/

[dilli]

from my experience,container maters do best when they are a determinate variety
in containers here, i grow squash, cukes, maters, herbs,greens of all sorts,peppers, radishes, beans and peas
the biggest issue is watering followed by leaching of nutrients... both need to be kept up for good growth

[Cimarron]

My FIL is the master gardener in my family and he's a tomato growing nut..lol
Last year we had 15 different varieties and most of them was doing OK until this weird little hail storm.
We start all of ours in the green house which you stated you won't so I don't know what results you will get.
This year's selection is a little smaller so far and these are the one's that do good in OK.

Big Boy ----big tomato, like as big as hamburger bun
Better Boy---same as above
Beefsteak--ditto above
Super Boy---can you tell we like tomatoes on our burgers? :)

Celebrity--mid sized tomato
Early girl--mid size ( this plant is short, most only get about 18" high with high volume of tom's)
Jelly bean--not sure, I think mid size
Rutgers "select"--not sure of size
Roma

Red cherry, large
Super sweet 100 VF---cherry tomato with the tomatoes grow in bunches kinda like a grape

That's all the variety's right now with ( I think) a total plant count of 116 plants

[Matt In Oklahoma]

@arcangel911 cool thanks, something to look into for sure
@dilli beans and peas huh, I was wondering if I could keep enough moisture to make them
@Cimarron wow you raise all them in pots!? I didnt know if I could keep enough water in there to raise the big maters but looking at arcangel911s ways it gives me some ideas
Thanks for the input

[arcangel911]

Matt- A word of caution on hydroponic tomatoes, or hydroponic anything...... they grow larger and somewhat faster than they do in the soil. Meaning you will have more produce and larger plants, so be careful.

The last 6 tomato plants i did on a hydro with water I used from my fish tank and a nutrient based solution supplied me with a lot of tomatoes (I would say around +300lbs per plant (Go Beefsteak!!!!), but my patio became out of control, since I was used to gardening out in a raised soil bed (3ft by 8ft) of the same area of square feet. I also learned that a wire netting kept a decent amount of problems away (mainly birds) and the larger bugs.

Am I saying that gardening outside is bad? Hell No! Just be wise and read up. After a succesful experiment, I learned from the failure to plan too- lots went to the food bank or the compost heap since I didn't have time to can or the knowledge of how to can. If needed let me know and I will either send you some hydroponics books by email or recommend the ones that I have in my own personal collection.

[Cimarron]

Matt: These will be planted in the ground not buckets. The only time we used buckets was when we grew them in the bucket for a family member and then took them to them. I would use a small variety, one that says 2" and about 5 oz.
Seems like we also used pig fencing (4X6 squares) and made a tube out of it that just fit the inside of the bucket. It went from the very bottom of the bucket to about 18" above the rim. If you make it a tight fit that wire won't budge. Fill in your dirt/potting soil and you should be good to go.
we had some spill over on the trip and there was no damage to the plants at all.

I hope this helps and you can understand any of this. lol

[610Alpha]

I did the redneck topsy turvy and it seemed to work pretty well, except some sort of blight or fungus hit a lot of tomato plants in my area. I would recommend using a 5 or 6 gallon bucket and use a compost material (cotton burr compost, peat moss, and rice hulls as the compost material). The main issue is that you have to water every day. I would recommend some sort of drip bottle or something along those lines on the really hot days to keep the roots well hydrated.

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Thanks Elittle, i'm looking at the drip bottle stuff Arcangel911 sent and my mom has some big 6-20gl pots I'm gonna try I think. I dont have my compost anymore:( however my landlord has 2 horses here on the backside of the place so that may help and I think I can get some of that type compost

[Bearman202]

One other consideration you might think about. There was a store here that sold hydroponic supplies. Apparently, the local police and sheriff's dept. had eyes on it all the time. I know you're not growing anything illegal, but they don't. Might prepare yourself for a surprise visit if you get your supplies from there. Just a thought.

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Yeah Thanks Bearman202 I would shy away from that, from the attention from both sides of the fence. I want my maters with no drama

[arcangel911]

Bearman has a point, with some forms of technology it can be used for illegal activities.

But, you can usually get the same stuff cheaper and easier off Amazon.