Earthboxes for tomatoes

[Balr14]

I haven't posted in a number of years. I moved to a different house and had to start my veggie garden over. Growing conditions and container location are not nearly as good as they were at the old house. So, it took a few years to figure out what works best.

Awhile back, somebody asked me about growing tomatoes in Earthboxes. I apologize for not responding... I just saw the message now.

Anyway, here's what I know after about 15 years of growing tomatoes in Earthboxes:

1. They are expensive ($35) but they are worth it. They last a long time. Mine are between 10 - 20 years old and show no signs of damage. I have tried other plastic containers and they get brittle and fall apart in 2 - 3 years.

2. You can grow any kind of tomato in an Earthbox and get outstanding results. The biggest issue you will have is supporting the plants. I typically grow about 60% heirlooms. But I have a variety of cherry, medium sized and large tomatoes in my containers.

3. You can grow 2 or 3 tomatoe plants in one Earthbox container. Putting 2 in an Earthbox requires no special preparation or planning. For 3, you need to plan a little. You don't want 3 high yield plants in one container. One high yield plant and two lower yield plants works pretty well.

4. Tomato plant roots will reach the water reservoir pretty quickly. I put a cap full of Miracle grow in the water every two weeks. During the most active growing period, you will need to refill the container every day.

5. Once the plants are established, if there isn't as much room in the container as they would like, they will grow vertically... a lot!

That's it for now. Feel free to comment or ask questions. Here's a picture taken in June.