Looking for container and staking recommendations

[derden]

Hi! I have tomato seedlings growing, and I plan on transplanting them into planters on my patio in New York City this summer. 2 summers ago I grew determinate tomatoes, and it went ok. I'm now researching planters and cages, and am trying to decide what kind of planter is best. My considerations are:

1. Reasonably cheap, which limits me to plastic/resin or fabric planters.
2. Not DIY - I don't have the space or tools to build something, unfortunately
3. Large - 20 gallons or 20" diameter, for indeterminate tomatoes.
4. Can support a cage or support (looking at the Titan cage or Tomato ladder here: https://www.gardeners.com/buy/plant-...mato-supports/)

I like the look of fabric containers (smartpots is the brand), but am worried about people saying that they need extra-frequent watering. I am okay with watering every day, but if it needs to be watered 3x/day, that can get challenging. I've also heard that earthbox is good.


Looking forward to hearing from all the experts in this forum! thanks in advance

[Evan Lewis]

I was in your boat earlier this season trying to figure out what to do.

I went to the local bakery and asked for their empty buttercream buckets. They usually give them out and don't ask questions since they don't want them in the first place. Clean them out and drill holes in the bottom.

For stakes I am in PA and there is a lot of bamboo growing that I was able to harvest. It gets invasive and people just want it gone.

I use old strips of cloth and twine to tie everything up.

At the end of it all I have 60 buckets and a lot of bamboo for stakes. My cost was the gas I used to collect it all which was little to nothing.

I hope that helps.

[KarenO]

Staking a large Indeterminate plant just into the potting mix in a pot or large bag won’t hold up a tall plant heavy with fruit. Caging and tying the cages together will help
Choosing determinate, dwarfs or smaller indeterminate varieties may be most successful
KarenO

[Yak54]

Originally Posted by derden

Hi! I have tomato seedlings growing, and I plan on transplanting them into planters on my patio in New York City this summer. 2 summers ago I grew determinate tomatoes, and it went ok. I'm now researching planters and cages, and am trying to decide what kind of planter is best. My considerations are:

1. Reasonably cheap, which limits me to plastic/resin or fabric planters.
2. Not DIY - I don't have the space or tools to build something, unfortunately
3. Large - 20 gallons or 20" diameter, for indeterminate tomatoes.
4. Can support a cage or support (looking at the Titan cage or Tomato ladder here: https://www.gardeners.com/buy/plant-...mato-supports/)

I like the look of fabric containers (smartpots is the brand), but am worried about people saying that they need extra-frequent watering. I am okay with watering every day, but if it needs to be watered 3x/day, that can get challenging. I've also heard that earthbox is good.


Looking forward to hearing from all the experts in this forum! thanks in advance

In reference to your comment about watering, I can tell you my experience using 15 gal. fabric grow bags filled with ProMix BX as the growing medium requires watering twice a day in the months of July & August for my N.E. Ohio summer growing conditions.

Dan

[asaump]

Is there anyway to attach strings overhead? I use tomato rollerhooks in my system. I use bags but have a self watering system (hybrid rain gutter grow system). Strings work great with tomato clips. I keep my indeterminants to 1-2 stems.

[kurt]

I gave up on bamboo,it rots at in ground portions.Then the interior hollow cells harbor crud,and bugs.We went to the fiberglass stakes.We use the propylene pull line for our cherrys.The tomato clips fit nice and don’t slip.Growers here in Homestead are painting those black containers white,and using white reflective on the ground for the inground maters.Amazon has the poles to 5 foot.Good luck.

https://fiberglassstake.com/product/...ltural-stakes/