SW container tomatoes tasting bland bland bland :0p

hasshoes · August 21, 2010

So far my Aunt Gertie's Gold and Cherokee Purples are tasting like the big red grocery store toms in the middle of winter. :0p

I've actually been worried about this because the medium looks wet all the time and like most informed growers I hold back on the watering when my toms are in the soil.

I'm thinking about just watering from the top from now on and letting the soil get a little dryer- would this work?

My concern too is that this would possibly kill the roots hanging down into the water reservoir. Would this significantly injure the plant?

I am growing in the self watering containers for tomatoes by Gardeners Supply.

Thank you SO MUCH in advance- I didn't get toms last year due to disease and would really, really like nice ones this year!!!! :0). I've even tried farmer's markets, but so far they've all tasted overwatered and bland- you can tell they're producing for quantity, not quality. Also it's been so hot and dry I think people are watering everyday. :0p. Thanks again!!!!

hasshoes · August 21, 2010

Ps - I used the gardeners supply container soil, and their organic tomato ferts and/or TomatoTone, and lime.

tam91 · August 21, 2010

Oh bummer, I'm sorry - sounds so disappointing. I don't know the answers - I've never used a self-watering container. But, my tomatoes are in containers - mix of topsoil, composted horse manure, and peat. I water pretty much every day, in the morning, and the soil is usually dry the next morning (it's been so hot). My tomatoes have tasted fine.

I hope you get it figured out, and get some great ones.

amideutch · August 21, 2010

Heather, I'm growing plants in 3 SWC's I bought here in Germany. I took out the water fill tube, drilled a hole 1" from the bottom of the unit on the side to lower the reservoir water level and water from the top. No problems and I have had roots grow down into the reservoir when I tore the unit down at the end of the season. I don't use the plastic mulch on top either. Ami

dice · August 24, 2010

I had a container mix in SWCs that held water extremely well
last year. I had mixed results:

Cherokee Purple: a little bland
Cherokee Chocolate: not bland
Spudakee: maybe a little bland (no point of reference)
JD's Special C-Tex: same as Spudakee
Azoychka x Shannons's F1: not bland
Black and Brown Boar: not bland
Persimmon: not bland

I used Tomato Tone, a little lime, gypsum, greensand,
various fixups during the season (Fertall chelated iron,
molasses, etc).

I think Ray's idea of mixing in more larger structured
materials and perlite into bagged container mix is a good
idea. I was amazed that he did not getter better results
using cactus mix in his Earthtainers. It seems like that
would be about the right water-holding capacity for a
tomato plant in a self-watering container without
mixing it with other materials. (Might be hard to find
in big bags, though. Buying a pallet of little bags of
cactus mix to get enough for one's SWCs would be
impractical.)

Wulfe · August 29, 2010

Your mix might definately be too wet. I'm by no means an SWC expert but my taste tests so far this year have been very good with the exception of a couple of early fruits which were a bit bland (though some earlies on the same plants had great taste).

hasshoes · September 2, 2010

Thanks guys.

I don't have the the top of the dirt covered, and was planning to start watering from above a la Ami.

Well, we got and inch of rain in two days, on the third day we got 1+, then on the forth day we got 2.5 inches. LOL!

Next year I think I'm going to make something to cover them if I need to!

Anyway, my seasons almost over so it's a learning experience for next year. :0)

On the upside- just a few days of watering from the top has helped a little, and the tomatoes do seem to have a lot more flavor if I cook them down.

Thanks again!

rsg2001 · September 6, 2010

Heather, I use the same container mix and virtually the same ferts for my SWCs. However, my tomatoes were absolutely delicious - not bland at all. I do think that the plants would benefit from covering them with a plastic mulch. I say that because I saw this year that the ones that were covered lasted longer - I had more diseases in the ones that were not covered. I watered them constantly through the terrible heat; most of the time via the reservoirs. My Cherokee Purples in particular were scrumptious.

August 21, 2010	#1
hasshoes Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: MT Posts: 438	SW container tomatoes tasting bland bland bland :0p So far my Aunt Gertie's Gold and Cherokee Purples are tasting like the big red grocery store toms in the middle of winter. :0p I've actually been worried about this because the medium looks wet all the time and like most informed growers I hold back on the watering when my toms are in the soil. I'm thinking about just watering from the top from now on and letting the soil get a little dryer- would this work? My concern too is that this would possibly kill the roots hanging down into the water reservoir. Would this significantly injure the plant? I am growing in the self watering containers for tomatoes by Gardeners Supply. Thank you SO MUCH in advance- I didn't get toms last year due to disease and would really, really like nice ones this year!!!! :0). I've even tried farmer's markets, but so far they've all tasted overwatered and bland- you can tell they're producing for quantity, not quality. Also it's been so hot and dry I think people are watering everyday. :0p. Thanks again!!!! __________________ Sara

August 21, 2010	#2
hasshoes Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: MT Posts: 438	Ps - I used the gardeners supply container soil, and their organic tomato ferts and/or TomatoTone, and lime. __________________ Sara

August 21, 2010	#4
amideutch Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Germany 49°26"N 07°36"E Posts: 5,041	Heather, I'm growing plants in 3 SWC's I bought here in Germany. I took out the water fill tube, drilled a hole 1" from the bottom of the unit on the side to lower the reservoir water level and water from the top. No problems and I have had roots grow down into the reservoir when I tore the unit down at the end of the season. I don't use the plastic mulch on top either. Ami __________________ Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting ‘...Holy Crap .....What a ride!'

August 24, 2010	#5
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	I had a container mix in SWCs that held water extremely well last year. I had mixed results: Cherokee Purple: a little bland Cherokee Chocolate: not bland Spudakee: maybe a little bland (no point of reference) JD's Special C-Tex: same as Spudakee Azoychka x Shannons's F1: not bland Black and Brown Boar: not bland Persimmon: not bland I used Tomato Tone, a little lime, gypsum, greensand, various fixups during the season (Fertall chelated iron, molasses, etc). I think Ray's idea of mixing in more larger structured materials and perlite into bagged container mix is a good idea. I was amazed that he did not getter better results using cactus mix in his Earthtainers. It seems like that would be about the right water-holding capacity for a tomato plant in a self-watering container without mixing it with other materials. (Might be hard to find in big bags, though. Buying a pallet of little bags of cactus mix to get enough for one's SWCs would be impractical.) __________________ -- alias Last edited by dice; August 24, 2010 at 11:05 AM. Reason: sp

September 2, 2010	#7
hasshoes Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: MT Posts: 438	Thanks guys. I don't have the the top of the dirt covered, and was planning to start watering from above a la Ami. Well, we got and inch of rain in two days, on the third day we got 1+, then on the forth day we got 2.5 inches. LOL! Next year I think I'm going to make something to cover them if I need to! Anyway, my seasons almost over so it's a learning experience for next year. :0) On the upside- just a few days of watering from the top has helped a little, and the tomatoes do seem to have a lot more flavor if I cook them down. Thanks again! __________________ Sara

August 21, 2010	#3
tam91 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Crystal Lake IL Posts: 2,484	Oh bummer, I'm sorry - sounds so disappointing. I don't know the answers - I've never used a self-watering container. But, my tomatoes are in containers - mix of topsoil, composted horse manure, and peat. I water pretty much every day, in the morning, and the soil is usually dry the next morning (it's been so hot). My tomatoes have tasted fine. I hope you get it figured out, and get some great ones.

August 29, 2010	#6
Wulfe Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Edmonton Posts: 17	Your mix might definately be too wet. I'm by no means an SWC expert but my taste tests so far this year have been very good with the exception of a couple of early fruits which were a bit bland (though some earlies on the same plants had great taste).

September 6, 2010	#8
rsg2001 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: New York Zone 6 Posts: 479	Heather, I use the same container mix and virtually the same ferts for my SWCs. However, my tomatoes were absolutely delicious - not bland at all. I do think that the plants would benefit from covering them with a plastic mulch. I say that because I saw this year that the ones that were covered lasted longer - I had more diseases in the ones that were not covered. I watered them constantly through the terrible heat; most of the time via the reservoirs. My Cherokee Purples in particular were scrumptious.