General discussion regarding the techniques and methods used to successfully grow tomato plants in containers.
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#1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Somis, Ca
Posts: 649
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I am growing tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and beans in containers this year. While most of my stuff is doing good...I think I can do better. How important do you think mulch is? Is there other advantages besides conserving water?
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#2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Abingdon, Va
Posts: 184
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Weed suppression.
Keeps vegetable cleaner. Builds habitat for earthworms, arthropods, and soil-building microbes. |
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#3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: California Central Valley
Posts: 2,543
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Keeps feeder roots moister and cooler. When I pull away mulch in containers, I often see a mass of tiny rootlets. (I often use double pots to keep the roots from getting too hot in the sun -- so that the sun does not directly hit the container/roots.)
Gives worms a place to go when the pot is watered too much (or rained on). Keeps soil from getting compacted, since wind and rain do not hit it. |
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#4 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Somis, Ca
Posts: 649
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I keep hearing about pots/roots getting too hot in containers. I get that. However, every retail nursery I have ever been to uses black plastic pots. Wouldn't this industry shy away from these if they jeopardized plants? Perhaps I should just roll my pots with white paint...and eliminate this possible threat of over-heated pots???
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#5 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: USA
Posts: 1,013
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ED, when I worked in a nursery as a teen those pots were watered by overhead sprinklers throughout the day and we still ended up throwing away a LOT of stock.
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#6 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: California Central Valley
Posts: 2,543
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Sometimes I add mulch in the space between the planted pot and the double pot. I've done this with blueberries, where I intended to keep the blueberry plants in the pots for more than a season or two. |
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#7 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
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Protecting the pot from radiant heat (as in direct sunlight) would be far better than painting the pot and having it in direct sunlight.
Worth |
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#8 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Sterling Heights, MI Zone 6a/5b
Posts: 1,302
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I saw that the smart pot people published data about pots getting up and even over 120 degrees F. The fabric pots expell the heat. I myself will only be using fabric from now on. Not just for the cooler conditions, but for the air pruning also. I'm a firm believer in university and academic studies http://smartpots.publishpath.com/Web...nt-Science.pdf http://smartpots.publishpath.com/Web...-in-Fabric.pdf Last edited by drew51; July 16, 2014 at 01:59 PM. |
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#9 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 52
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Interesting discussion. I know I should have started with a larger container but what about the material? My tomato plant is in a 18 x 16RD molded fiber container. It says......
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#10 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Sterling Heights, MI Zone 6a/5b
Posts: 1,302
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No, I think any fabric container will be good. yes, the one drawback. it dries quickly. I use peat and compost to try and hold more water. I use Root pouches myself, very cheap!
I do have some pots, I will use till they break. You can notice plants are greener and larger in the fabric containers. The 4th pot down and all the rest are root pouches. Peppers at the end. i also have in ground tomatoes. Mulch is pine straw. The black pots are Carmine Jewell bush cherries (2nd year). The clay pot is 1 of 3 Tzimbalo, the other two are in fabric. That's Jesse the wonder dog keeping all forms of animals away from the plants. ![]() Last edited by drew51; July 16, 2014 at 06:03 PM. |
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#11 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 52
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Yes, I've noticed they dry out quickly. I'll get some sort of mulch on the surface of the soil. I won't need much for the one plant.
Thanks Drew... |
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#12 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: selmer, tn
Posts: 2,944
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Mulching is good for the plants and the ground. I have a raised bed garden and ALL beds are mulched . I recommend it.
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#13 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Somis, Ca
Posts: 649
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habitat....you make a couple of excellent points! Sometimes the practicality of an answer to a problem escapes me in my old age...hehe
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#14 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Sterling Heights, MI Zone 6a/5b
Posts: 1,302
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In the text of the links I provided it is discussed and demonstrated that the black nursery pots become extremely hot (130F* in the article).
* source - Michael A. Arnold and Garry V. McDonald Dept. Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX |
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#15 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Los Angeles County, CA
Posts: 258
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