Tomatoes that will be left alone

[Chucker]

I was thinking about what to do with my extra seedlings (I know, I can give them away) and I have some land available that is a few hours away that I only visit once or twice a month during the summer. What if I planted my extras there? Then when I'm there, maybe there will be fresh tomatoes

I have only ever grown tomatoes in containers, so I have no experience growing in the dirt. If you were going to plant tomatoes in the ground, and then leave them with no care and no watering, what would you do to the ground when you planted to give the best possibility of success? Or is it just a bad idea?

[RebelRidin]

Not too expensive to try. Till it up with some 10-10-10 or 12-12-12 for the early growth and also something of an organic fertilizer, say tomato tone to kick in later. You could then straw it after you plant. Let nature takes its course for water and the plants take their course as they sprawl.

That's pretty much what my folks did when I was a kid. They fed a family of six and many for neighbors too. You might be surprised...

P.S. That was in MO just west of St. Louis...

[Vespertino]

You've got nothing to loose. Go for it, you never know

[KarenO]

give it a go, they are meant to grow in soil, not containers in a good year, there will be enough rain. I would incorporate a good big spadeful of compost or composted manure into each planting hole and mix in a couple tbsp of epsoms salts. perhaps a handfull of slow release organic granular fertilizer. water VERY well at planting and mulch well to help retain moisture. water well whenever you are there and hope for some rain showers in between. I bet you get your best tomatoes of the season from your plants surviving out on their own. I think sometimes we all actually fuss too much. Tomatoes are tough plants.
KarenO

[nancyruhl]

Well, I used to do what you are talking about doing. It would go fine for about a month, and then we would go up and find that we couldn't find the plants for the weeds. We would dig out what we could but it was a lot of work for a few tomatoes essential growing in the shade of some mighty tall weeds (my, they grow tall so quickly.) Then, a relative moved into the old house on the property and watched the weeds grow taller than the tomatoes, even though we put down landscape cloth for the rows of tomatoes. Last year, I brought Preen for inbetween the landscape cloth and we finally had a beautiful garden. We do use drip tape irrigation, but in the early days, we did nothing.

Go for it and see what your experiences are.

[barkeater]

Don't waste the effort, unless you bring a hoe and use it each visit. What Nancy said!

[KarenO]

clearly one would keep them weeded as well, same as anything else you plant. Why is that an issue?
KO

[ddsack]

I think the problem was visiting the site only once or twice a month. I used to plant my extras in the horse corral behind their winter barn when they got moved to their summer pasture. Just stuck the plants in the ground (which was well fertilized by the horses) and left them. The weeds did overwhelm them, but when I remembered to check on the tomatoes, it was easy to pull the weeds from the sandy ground and just toss them around the tomato plants as mulch. Luckily, there was little grass there, which would have been harder to deal with. The tomato plants did fine with neglect, but it was hard to see the ripe tomatos since they were all sprawling on the ground hidden by leaves and weeds. I damaged them also by trampling on them, since it was hard to find a spot to stand in the tangles. It was worth it for me, since these were extras I would have tossed anyway, and I spent little time and no water on them. This was before our big deer explosion. They would not last there a day now.

[Chucker]

Thanks all, enough positive responses here to make me want to give it a go. I was not thinking about the weeds at all. Definitely a great idea about the Preen and the landscape cloth. Also was not thinking about letting them sprawl, but I think I will do that also.

The tomatoes I remember from my childhood were grown in that very soil, so that's one of the reasons I want to try it. Something magical about that soil

[RebelRidin]

Good luck with it. I'll be interested to hear how you make out.

[bughunter99]

Originally Posted by Chucker

Thanks all, enough positive responses here to make me want to give it a go. I was not thinking about the weeds at all. Definitely a great idea about the Preen and the landscape cloth. Also was not thinking about letting them sprawl, but I think I will do that also.

The tomatoes I remember from my childhood were grown in that very soil, so that's one of the reasons I want to try it. Something magical about that soil

The ones in the soil will likely end up tasting better than the ones in the container.

Landscape fabric will need to be weighted down. You can also use old carpet scraps or throw rugs or old plywood to lay down between the plants to keep the weeds down and make the plants easier to find. Easy Peasy.

I'm jealous you have such great space for your extra plants.

Stacy

[RebelRidin]

Originally Posted by bughunter99

The ones in the soil will likely end up tasting better than the ones in the container.

...
Stacy

Oh OH! Now you've started something!

[bughunter99]

Originally Posted by RebelRidin

Oh OH! Now you've started something!

LOL. I grow them both ways and the self watering container NEVER is better than the soil for me. In some years they may have no noticeable differences but in others, they are big. It all depends on the rain level. And of course whether I actually get tomatoes from the soil plants because the bambi's didn't get them.

[ScottinAtlanta]

Go for it. I planted some leftovers amidst mature pine trees in loam and red clay - they got 6 hours of slanted sun a day. Got many good tomatoes from them. No care at all except cages to keep the deer away.

[Deborah]

I think it sounds fun-like a treasure hunt !