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General discussion regarding the techniques and methods used to successfully grow tomato plants in containers.

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Old April 23, 2011   #1
GoldenQueen
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Default Growing in 5 gal Buckets

I currently have 15 tomato plants growing in 5 gallon buckets. They, so far, are doing great! The occasional rain seems to make them perk up more. Now the concern is the roots crowding and the fruit not coming in. There are a lot of flowers on the 2 larger plants (KBX & Ledoux Special) that I would love to see come in. I've been waiting so LONG for them. Should I worry? Can I transplant them into the ground in another month?

Thank you for any help and suggestions.
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Old April 23, 2011   #2
sprtsguy76
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I grow many new to me varieties myself in 5 gallon buckets, about 25. Here is what I would suggest about addressing the overcrowded root system; keep them pruned to 2-3 vines max. This will help with the overcrowding and help ease the constant water demand. If you let them just grow you will have to water them 2-3 times a day eventually. JMO, and good luck!

Damon
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Old April 23, 2011   #3
amideutch
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GQueen, not to worry. Have you been giving your plants supplemental fertilizer applications and if so what. I have never pruned my container plants whether they be in 5 gal ot 10 gal containers. As long as your plants are caged or staked you should be OK. By feeding the plant periodically your roots will stay in the container no problem as they won't be looking for nutrients which you are providing.

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Old April 23, 2011   #4
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Thank you! I just feed once a week with miracle grow tomato food. Nothing else.
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Old April 23, 2011   #5
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Oh, and I do have them staked. Plastic coated metal stakes from the garden center and a bamboo stake that the plant is loosely tied to for support for when it starts to get heavy.
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Old April 24, 2011   #6
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GQueen, sounds good. You can also add some Blackstrap Molasses to your feed solution. Add about a 1 tbls per gallon to the feed solution and mix well. Ami
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Old May 24, 2011   #7
Rainforest Tom
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Default Most of my Tom's in 5 Gallon buckets

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Originally Posted by GoldenQueen View Post
I currently have 15 tomato plants growing in 5 gallon buckets. They, so far, are doing great! The occasional rain seems to make them perk up more. Now the concern is the roots crowding and the fruit not coming in. There are a lot of flowers on the 2 larger plants (KBX & Ledoux Special) that I would love to see come in. I've been waiting so LONG for them. Should I worry? Can I transplant them into the ground in another month?

Thank you for any help and suggestions.

Yes Most of my tomatos I grow in 5 gal buckets and dont really have a rooting problem as the tom's grow I keep adding soil I pre=mixed with manure and some crushed sea shells for Calcium. I also never plant more than 2 plants in them unless I use the big cement 20 gallon pots. I need the buckets because of the high number of cutie cutie down here, thy love to cut down the tomato plants that are directly in the ground... I took a picture of a tomato that ripened today along with the swarming killer bees on one of my my Guava trees.
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File Type: jpg Killer bee size good 2011.JPG (270.8 KB, 107 views)
File Type: jpg Tomato May 24 2011 potted.jpg (89.6 KB, 103 views)
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Old June 2, 2011   #8
GoldenQueen
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Thank you Tom for sharing your pictures. I'm trying to attach my photos here, but can't seem to get them to.
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