Over did it...pot size - Page 2

Nematode · September 14, 2015

Not the same as your containers, but I do 2 pruned indeterminates in a 3 gallon Bato bucket with perlite. When full sized they are automatically fed 4oz/plant 7 times a day, about 28 oz/plant/day.
if its really hot they show some moisture stress at that level.

if i remember correctly full sized toms in greenhouse production will use 1 quart/day/plant.

Gerardo · September 14, 2015

10 gallon plastic grow bags have been working great lately. Outside, no shade, heavily mulched.
1 plant, 2 main stems.

Experienced most of the issues mentioned before with fabric bags. They dry faster, from all directions.

PS I second "watered and fed" being the important parameters.

zipcode · September 15, 2015

Before the end of the season my 5-6 gallon pots are completely hard from roots. It's basically a root mass. So I think your root size estimation is a bit low. Of course 30 galllon is a lot more, and probably overkill.
There is also the problem of root distribution unfortunately. They are not evenly spread and they tend to get crowded in certain area of the containers (surface if top watering, bottom and sides). I really wonder how more effective those 'spiky' containers are with spikes sending roots back toward the middle of the container.

AKmark · September 15, 2015

Zipcode, the pulp 14 inch flower baskets, that are bumpy on the sides, grows the biggest pepper plants I have ever grew. When our main problem was breaking branches, it's a good year. The wife uses that stuff for flowers, which look good, so I had to try.

Tight root ball? I grew 10 Brandywines in 4 inch containers last year, the fruit was perfect and so was the taste, of course yield was affected, as expected, but... 4 inch

I would say most of my 10 gallon were filled to about 8 gallon, 600 containers, 110+ varieties, no problem, we are going to 7. We also think we can come darn close to that world record tomato next year, we got two over 5lbs this year, and certainly have adjusted a couple of ideas since. All 6 of our giants this year were grown in 10 gallon containers, we also had a few plants that I would bet topped 50lbs per plant, two vines.

Ya-all,Eggplants do well in 5-6 gallon containers, except aphids love them up here.

Nematode, we will water some large plants on hot days 3-4 times a day, which adds up to about 1.5 gallons per day, evaporation alone is huge. These are 18-20 hour days we are dealing with though, 15 hours of direct sunlight on my greenhouses.

Ricky Shaw · September 15, 2015

I'm just too chicken at this point for the 7 and 10 gallon pots for tomatoes. In my tomato twisted mind, more media gives me extra buffer for moisture loss on zero humidity +90 days.

Is there a downside in using too much media, other than cost inefficiency?

Nonetheless, I'm totally sold on the idea of HG 4-18-38 and will be mainlining that stuff in some form of controlled irrigation.

September 14, 2015	#17
Gerardo Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: San Diego-Tijuana Posts: 2,598	10 gallon plastic grow bags have been working great lately. Outside, no shade, heavily mulched. 1 plant, 2 main stems. Experienced most of the issues mentioned before with fabric bags. They dry faster, from all directions. PS I second "watered and fed" being the important parameters. Last edited by Gerardo; September 14, 2015 at 08:09 PM.

September 15, 2015	#19
AKmark Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Wasilla Alaska Posts: 2,010	Zipcode, the pulp 14 inch flower baskets, that are bumpy on the sides, grows the biggest pepper plants I have ever grew. When our main problem was breaking branches, it's a good year. The wife uses that stuff for flowers, which look good, so I had to try. Tight root ball? I grew 10 Brandywines in 4 inch containers last year, the fruit was perfect and so was the taste, of course yield was affected, as expected, but... 4 inch I would say most of my 10 gallon were filled to about 8 gallon, 600 containers, 110+ varieties, no problem, we are going to 7. We also think we can come darn close to that world record tomato next year, we got two over 5lbs this year, and certainly have adjusted a couple of ideas since. All 6 of our giants this year were grown in 10 gallon containers, we also had a few plants that I would bet topped 50lbs per plant, two vines. Ya-all,Eggplants do well in 5-6 gallon containers, except aphids love them up here. Nematode, we will water some large plants on hot days 3-4 times a day, which adds up to about 1.5 gallons per day, evaporation alone is huge. These are 18-20 hour days we are dealing with though, 15 hours of direct sunlight on my greenhouses. Last edited by AKmark; September 15, 2015 at 02:09 PM.

September 14, 2015	#16
Nematode Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2012 Location: massachusetts Posts: 1,710	Not the same as your containers, but I do 2 pruned indeterminates in a 3 gallon Bato bucket with perlite. When full sized they are automatically fed 4oz/plant 7 times a day, about 28 oz/plant/day. if its really hot they show some moisture stress at that level. if i remember correctly full sized toms in greenhouse production will use 1 quart/day/plant.

September 15, 2015	#18
zipcode Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6 Posts: 1,582	Before the end of the season my 5-6 gallon pots are completely hard from roots. It's basically a root mass. So I think your root size estimation is a bit low. Of course 30 galllon is a lot more, and probably overkill. There is also the problem of root distribution unfortunately. They are not evenly spread and they tend to get crowded in certain area of the containers (surface if top watering, bottom and sides). I really wonder how more effective those 'spiky' containers are with spikes sending roots back toward the middle of the container.

September 15, 2015	#20
Ricky Shaw Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Zone 6a Denver North Metro Posts: 1,910	I'm just too chicken at this point for the 7 and 10 gallon pots for tomatoes. In my tomato twisted mind, more media gives me extra buffer for moisture loss on zero humidity +90 days. Is there a downside in using too much media, other than cost inefficiency? Nonetheless, I'm totally sold on the idea of HG 4-18-38 and will be mainlining that stuff in some form of controlled irrigation.