Pot size for Dwarfs

[SueCT]

Today I planted two plants, one Tasmanian Chocolate and one Rosella Purple, in a single 10 gallon fabric grow pot. Is that OK, or should I re-pot into separate pots? Is there a general guide about how big a pot is needed for one Dwarf plant? I haven't done much growing of tomatoes in pots until last year but had pretty good luck with 1 plant per 20 gallon pot for the larger varieties and 1 per 10 gallon pot for some of the smaller like Sophie's Choice. I think the year before I had put 2 Sophie's Choice plants into one 10 gallon container and they did OK but I thought a 7 gallon with one per pot would have been a little better, so it was a little tight. Since I have never grown dwarfs before, I wasn't sure how they compare.

I planted Dwarf Summertime Gold in the garden so I can see how much of a difference, if any, it makes. Won't be a direct comparison since they are different varieties. Is there much difference in plant sizes between Dwarf varieties?

[Gardeneer]

I don't know about the growth habit of each of those mentioned.
I would've planted 3 true dwarfs in a 10 gallon container. But when you do 3 different varieties one might take over the space and dominate the others.
BTW: I am growing my dwarfs in 4 gallon pot. Couple of them are double ( 2 per pot)

Gardeneer.

PS:
Just a curiosity, why are you planting out so late ? Where in CT are you ? I have lived in CT for about 12 years.

[Lee]

You will be best served to keep even the dwarf plants one per container.
The main reason is to maintain good air circulation and spacing.
The size of the container can be as small as 5 gallons for the varieties you've mentioned. (I've grown all of them, FYI.)
I personally use 10~15 gallon containers.

And yes, the dwarves are more productive and easier to grow (generally speaking) in ground vs in containers.... in my experience.

Lee

[zipcode]

These indeterminate dwarfs can get quite big. 5+ gallon would be good. I have personally grown them in 5-6 gallon, and they did well but they were pruned to one stem.

[digsdirt]

As Lee said, 1 plant per pot - regardless of the size of the pot. An ind. dwarf can be grown in 5 gallons but will require more work so bigger is better. One ind. dwarf in 10 gallons would be a happy camper assuming you use a good soil-less potting mix to fill it. What growing medium is IN the pot is just as important as the size of the pot.

Is there much difference in plant sizes between Dwarf varieties?

Yes there is. 18" to 4' depending on the variety.

Dave

[Salsacharley]

I'm growing dwarfs in 3 gal pots (one per pot) with no problems so far. My dwarfs in the ground are so wide that there is no way 2 could fit in a 10 gal pot. I have them 2 ft apart and they are already into each other.

[SueCT]

OK, no problem, it will be easy to repot at this point. My only reason for trying 2/pot is to save on potting mix, which I spent a fortune on last year. I was able to can tomatoes from just my potted plants last year, which saved my year. I have no desire to make my own potting soil so I use Miracle Grow. The plants did great last year. This year I am reusing the old soil but putting 30-50% new soil on top and I will have to fertilize since I am sure there isn't much left in the old soil. I haven't decided what to use for that yet.

I am planting these out so late because I have had major changes/renovations going on in the yard and garage and did not have a place for the pots or the time. I planted my garden with 12-16 tomatoes, can't remember exactly how many right now, several weeks ago. But I never got the rest into the pots. The Dwarfs still look great, very healthy. The others obviously need food, water and pots to spread out their roots but I am sure they will recover. If not, I have a full garden of plants.

[Cole_Robbie]

I have a few plants in what are, I think, 4-gallon nursery pots. That was a mistake. The plants are so big and loaded with fruit, even though they are staked and tied, they still fall over, pot and all. The center of gravity is just too high. The first gust of wind knocks them over.

[jmsieglaff]

I use 5 gallon buckets with 1/2" holes drilled 1.5" up from the bottom (2 per bucket). I fill them with mainly Pro-Mix, but also include a couple layers with some composted manure and composted chicken manure. I fertilize every about every 2 weeks. This has worked well for me on our deck. The center of gravity issue can become a problem, since these are on my deck I'll tie them to the deck rails with some twine to prevent tipping late in the season.

[digsdirt]

This year I am reusing the old soil but putting 30-50% new soil on top and I will have to fertilize since I am sure there isn't much left in the old soil.

Best not to layer soils. You end up with water tables and drainage issues. Next year dump the old soil out on a tarp and mix the 30-50% new stuff in with it very well then refill the pot.

As to fertilizer, if you will be using a water soluble one or one of the many liquids, no problem. Just be sure to use it regularly every 7-10 days. But if you want to use a granular then top water the pots and make a 2-3" deep trench in the soil all around the pot about 3" out from the base of the plant. Fill the trench with the fertilizer and cover with soil. That way you are feeding every time you water. Mid-season add more to the trench.

Dave

[SueCT]

Originally Posted by digsdirt

Best not to layer soils. You end up with water tables and drainage issues. Next year dump the old soil out on a tarp and mix the 30-50% new stuff in with it very well then refill the pot.

As to fertilizer, if you will be using a water soluble one or one of the many liquids, no problem. Just be sure to use it regularly every 7-10 days. But if you want to use a granular then top water the pots and make a 2-3" deep trench in the soil all around the pot about 3" out from the base of the plant. Fill the trench with the fertilizer and cover with soil. That way you are feeding every time you water. Mid-season add more to the trench.

Dave

Thanks, Dave, when I re-pot those I will mix the soils together in the pot well with a trowel before putting one back in. I may add a small layer on top of new soil or mulch. I did not have terrible disease problems in my pots last year but I want a barrier between the old soil and the plants just in case some disease wintered over in the new pots. I have some left over water soluble but the granular sounds easier. What would you recommend for a granular? I have heard/read that organics don't work well for container gardening.

This is a little off topic for this post, but I have used fish emulsion and tomato tone in the garden occasionally in previous years. I put a really thick new layer of compost and well composted manure in the garden this year, though, and mixed in as well as I could with the Mantis. So it is very high in organics again. Would you fertilize the garden more than that? I must admit I have not done much fertilizing of the garden in past when I was using a lot of compost and this is the first year I have used manure there.

[SueCT]

Originally Posted by jmsieglaff

I use 5 gallon buckets with 1/2" holes drilled 1.5" up from the bottom (2 per bucket). I fill them with mainly Pro-Mix, but also include a couple layers with some composted manure and composted chicken manure. I fertilize every about every 2 weeks. This has worked well for me on our deck. The center of gravity issue can become a problem, since these are on my deck I'll tie them to the deck rails with some twine to prevent tipping late in the season.

Wish I had Promix available to me locally, but I do not. Miracle Grow kind of has a lock on this area.

[Gardeneer]

Another reason that small pots are ok in your case is that you have a very short grow season ahead. Depending on where in CT you are located , you have about 3 more months to the end of your season. Therefore, neither the plants roots nor their top can outgrow small pots.

Gardeneer

[digsdirt]

I may add a small layer on top of new soil or mulch. I did not have terrible disease problems in my pots last year but I want a barrier between the old soil and the plants just in case some disease wintered over in the new pots.

That sounds good in theory Sue but doesn't work in practice. If any soil in the container contains some disease then all the soil in the container contains the disease. There isn't a line in the sand that it cannot cross.

What would you recommend for a granular? I have heard/read that organics don't work well for container gardening.

It isn't that dry, granular organics don't work. it is that they can't work since there is no active soil microherd in the pot of potting mix to convert them, to eat and poop them, unless you add it and keep it alive and happy. Which is difficult to do in a small container Liquid organics work fine.

Granular non-organic? Any plain old 10-10-10 granular fertilizer is as good as any other.

you have about 3 more months to the end of your season. Therefore, neither the plants roots nor their top can outgrow small pots.

Seriously?? In 3 months time most any tomato plant and its rootball can easily quadruple in size and max out any genetic size limitations it may have.

Dave

[SueCT]

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

Another reason that small pots are ok in your case is that you have a very short grow season ahead. Depending on where in CT you are located , you have about 3 more months to the end of your season. Therefore, neither the plants roots nor their top can outgrow small pots.

Gardeneer

Zone 6, barely. However, if I keep them disease free, I can frequently go into late October still harvesting so I probably have more like 4 months. In a short season or one with a lot of rainy weather and disease, especially if I am not using fungicide, yes it would only be 3 months.