Help! I think my tomato plant is dying. :(

[tlintx]

Generally, the way I understand it, and not technically speaking at all, determinate get to about 4' tall, set a bunch of fruit, and die. Indeterminate keep growing and growing and growing and set a few fruit at a time, until killed.

That's just a generalization, of course. There are short indeterminates and determinates that put on two crops. To make things even more confusing, there are two Early Girls, one determinate and one indeterminate!

And there's semi-determinate. I haven't figured that one out yet.

Basically, the less optimum the growing conditions (ie, the smaller the container), the more precise you have to be with supplying nutrients and water. So the goal for us beginners is to hone in on the sweet spot. It can take some time.

Your container is about 2' by 2' by 6", which is similar to what I've got some of mine growing in - one per 2' square. I find the ones in the shallower beds definitely seem to get overwatered quicker when it rains, compared to ones in deeper but narrower pots.

I would put one of your two identical plants in a separate pot, maybe a 5 gallon bucket from Home Depot. That way all of your tomatoes aren't all in one basket.

Of course, I would also buy two more plants while I was there buying the bucket. If you do, look for an indeterminate heirloom you can prune and baby in a bucket.

For some idea of what's possible, look at Virtex's threads in the photo forum.

And Vespertino's garden.

[Rockporter]

Originally Posted by SmittenGarden

I found the word determinate covered in dirt in small print. I didn't know there was two types so I didn't think to go looking for it.....does this mean I planted the wrong type of tomato? The container was touted as for growing tomatoes. And it didn't specify a type. I never thought to check. I'm that clueless.

Determinate tomatoes grow in a bush about 4' tall or so and usually put out a flush of tomatoes at once.

Indeterminate tomatoes grow like a weed with lots of branches, this plant will put out tomatoes thoughout the season.

Two determinates in your city picker will be ok but only 1 indeterminate in the city picker because the root size of the plant needs room.

A city picker is shorter by a couple of inches than an Earthbox but is wider than an earthbox by about 9 inches. This will allow for the two determinate tomato plants to grow in it like an Earthbox allows.

You can get another city picker or you can use a five gallon bucket. I had some indeterminate tomatoes that someone told me were determinate in a 5 gallon bucket but they grew huge and the buckets were imbalanced. Make sure if you grow them in a 5 gallon bucket that you can anchor them somehow.

I would remove the little pots the plants came in, they really are not optimal for your plants. I also wonder if the miracle grow you have is regular potting mix or is it the moisture control? If you have moisture control then you have a problem because it holds too much water in a self watering container.

[SmittenGarden]

Thanks your replays are helping a lot. I shall check the miracle grow bag leftovers. I don't remember moisture control. But it has little beads in it that I thought were bug eggs. But they are slow release food things.

[SmittenGarden]

Not moisture control... I just checked. It's got slow release plant food in it that feeds for 6 months.

Also when I lifted up the mulch cover and peeked all the other potting soil is dry looking except for the bit around the plant the size of the biodegradable pot. That's looking very wet.