I thought found the best potting mixture for growing tomatoes!
Early in the spring of 2009 I had a plan for growing tomatoes in pots. Last year I used the same pots in the same spot and had what I thought was wonderful success. (See the photo below from last year)
The potting soil I used in 2008 was a mixture of top soil and manure with some garden calcium mixed in. I was constantly fighting blossom end rot! However, as said before, it was a good year and I made lots of tomato sandwiches !
I am trying to repeat the growing "success" of last year's tomatoes, but am changing up the potting mixture to one developed by Classic Gardens and Landscape in Center Point, AL. Their Tomato program is famous nation wide! It is a secret formula, so I cannot give you the exact recipe here. I will tell you as much as I feel comfortable with. If you live in Alabama, you can visit this garden center and get the ingredients. I imagine that Mr. Pender would ship you the products if you asked.
Read about Mike Pender. He is Classic Gardens and Landscape!
An Alabama Native should know how to grow great tomatoes!
If you need to know exactly what tomato plants I used, please visit My Vegetable Garden.
One of my "successful" tomato plants from last year.
What I used this year in the pots for growing tomatoes:
(I am telling you what I used in my two square pots)
Mix all the Ingredients listed in the recipe below. Put it in your pots. Plant your tomatoes -- usually one or two plants per pot. I am trying two plants. I water daily.
Remember, this is Classic Garden and Landscape's formula.
I spent approximately $50 on the potting mixture.
I got my tomatoes from a local supplier. They were under $4 each.
At a "tomato seminar" I attended on May 2nd, Mr. Pender stated that one should use 1/2 a bag (about 4 cups) of Fertilome Tomato and Vegetable food per pot after the third week. I used 2 cups per pot. I am cheap.
Update: June 12th: I also have cut the fertilizer back to 1/2 cup each week per pot. I water it in really good.
I also bought blossom set. One uses this only when the nights are cool. After real summer sets in, tomatoes will not need it.
I am using a Blossom-End Rot Control spray.
Here is a great product for the gardener: Laminiated gardening guides.
Click here to visit Laminated Garden Guides website!
As promised, here is the recipe for the containers:
- 40 lb bag Ultimate Potting Mix
- 1 1lb container Start N Grow by ferti-lome
- 1/2 4lb bag Tomato & Vegetable food by ferti-lome
- A Gallon size Baggie of Classic Garden and Landscape secret mixture (It looks like a mixture of fertilizers.) THIS IS THE REALLY SECRET PART
- Calcium for gardening(use your own judgment or bag instructions for amount)
- 1 Soil Moist Granules (use instructions on the container of Soil Moist)
- Pine bark mulch
Fresh Food From Small Spaces
An alternative method for growing vegetables in pots
I read this book and it has a lot of great ideas for the small vegetable gardener. It actually disagrees with the method I am using now.
I don't mind, though. I consider this year's crop from pots a "growing" experience. I am learning something new every day about vegetable gardening. I am also being open-minded. After all, I am no expert.
Fresh Food from Small Spaces: The Square-Inch Gardener's Guide to Year-Round Growing, Fermenting, and Sprouting
Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 12/23/2009)
This book shares some great ideas for growing vegetables in the city. There are ideas that people with yards can use, too.
For the 1st 7 weeks, you can follow the progress week by week! Here is the 1st pot -
Click on each picture to see the progress of the 1st pot week-by-week:
April 14th
2nd pot of tomatoes during the first 7 weeks - April thru May
Click on each picture to make it larger
The Two Pots of Tomatoes: June thru September
After 7 weeks they are getting so big, I must put them in the same frame:
June 4th
My Relevant Tomato Lenses!
Read all about this great fruit!
I am quickly becoming a tomato expert!-
The Best Tomato and Cheese Sandwich
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Nothin' says SUMMER better than a homegrown tomato! The BEST way to eat that tomato is to sit on the back porch steps with a salt shaker and go to town. My Mom taught me the following method when I was 5 years old: lick the tomato in one spot, shake...
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My Small Vegetable Garden
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This lens chronicles my small vegetable garden and its progress for one summer growing season. The photo galleries cover the months April until September. Last year I had a great year for tomatoes and ate lots of tomato sandwiches! It was an experim...
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Tweeters who plant tomatoes!
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When these tomatoes are ripe and ready to pick, I will tweet my followers to come and enjoy! But, no one will know! I am a real dummy when it comes to twitter. I bet the people (Tweeters? Twitterers? Twits?) on the list below will have hoards showi...
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My Raised Bed Garden
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There are only a few other activities that I enjoy more than gardening: reading and being around my grand babies. As you might guess, gardening and those two are often combined! This page will simply show the interested reader (You!) the weekly prog...
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Green Tomato Recipes
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What if: Your kids get overzealous and pick all your lovely green tomatoes before they ripen. A summer thunder storm knocks your loaded tomato plant over before the 'maters turn red. The weather turns chilly and you still have tons of beautiful gr...
I Have added a 3rd Pot!
Click on each picture......
Top view of the New Pot planted on May 3rd. A very small tomato plant is in the middle. I put bush squash seeds in three spots around the edge.
Tomato Gardening Supplies:
Here is a list of products I would recommend that you use for growing tomatoes in pots. You might have a particular brand you like better (ex. Ferti-lome) is not available on Amazon.
Jobe's 6005 Tomato Outdoor Fertilizer Food Spikes, 18-Pack
This is the closest formula I can find for the Ferti-lome (7-22-8)
These Spikes are 8-24-8.
Amazon Price: $4.99 (as of 12/23/2009)
Bonide #543 8OZ Ready-to-Use Tom/Blossom Set
Amazon Price: $4.08 (as of 12/23/2009)
Green Light 14816 Blossom-End Rot Control
Amazon Price: $4.33 (as of 12/23/2009)
The third Pot on September 22nd:
Not doing so well. It did not have the "secret sauce".
Compared to my raised bed garden, this pot is a failure. The tomato plant has produced maybe 6 nice tomatoes. The squash only produced one fruit then died! But, remember, I did not add the "secret sauce"!
I have planted some lettuce and hope that maybe I might get one good salad from this loser container.
Love This Lens?
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What Is Your Secret Formula?
How does your tomato garden grow?
What I learned about growing tomatoes in pots can be written in two sentences.
#1: Fertilome Tomato and Vegetable Food is the best product for producing lots of fruit and beautiful plants.
#2: One must spray container vegetables with a blossom end rot formula or make sure there is plenty of calcium in the soil.
That is about it.
What is your secret?
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Reply
- spunkyduckling spunkyduckling Nov 15, 2009 @ 12:44 pm
- I used to do gardening as a teenager but can't remember any secrets...it's been so long ago! Really nice organized gallery of tomatoes. Thanks makes me think about going back to gardening and I have always loved the idea of plants in a pot-kitchen gardening. Tomatoes are a bit more challenging though than sweet peppers at least in my experience.
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Reply
- Mickie_G Mickie_G Nov 15, 2009 @ 5:33 pm
- I have had trouble with my pepper plants! The tomatoes did pretty well until the beginning of October. I still have a few tomato and pepper plants with buds today-November 16th. That is the south for you.
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Reply
- Ladydove62 Ladydove62 Nov 5, 2009 @ 9:33 pm
- I have to share this lens with my Dad. He is the vegetable gardener and I am sure would love your recipe. The photo of your tomatoes is beautiful. Lensrolled this back to Container Gardening. Wonderfully informative lens.
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Reply
- Mickie_G Mickie_G Oct 21, 2009 @ 2:10 pm | in reply to Les
- My garage and drive are on the southern side of the house. However, I think your suggestion about the pots not getting enough afternoon sun is a valid one. Next year, though, I am probably not going to grow anything but "patio" or "cherry" tomatoes in my pots.
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Reply
- Les Les Oct 21, 2009 @ 5:44 am
- is it possible the tomato plants that were located next to the house and garage were not getting enough sunlight? Tomato plants like red, orange light for fruiting, and you may not be getting much since most of the red, orange light comes from late afternoon or early evening sun. By that time the sun is being blocked by your house and garage. They will be very green and lush but wont fruit without sufficient afternoon/evening sun.
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