A "Secret" Potting Mix Formula for Tomatoes
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Container Gardening - how I grew great tomatoes one summer!
I have found a plan for growing great tomatoes in pots! I hope my harvest will be better than in past summers.
The potting soil I used in past container gardens was a mixture of top soil and cow manure with some garden calcium mixed in. Even though I had added the calcium, I was constantly fighting blossom end rot! In spite of the problems, it was a good year and I made lots of tomato sandwiches !
I am trying to repeat the growing success of those container growntomatoes, but am I 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 purchase the ingredients.
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 Small Vegetable Garden.
(All Images of tomatoes from my garden belong to me unless otherwise stated:
Tomatoes from my garden. by Mickie_G is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.squidoo.com)
Estimated Cost of my Container Tomatoes:
I spent approximately $50 on the potting mixture.
I got my tomato plants from a local supplier. They were under $4 each.
What I used in 2011 in the pots for growing tomatoes:
Gardening in pots--easy but do your research!
Mix all the Ingredients listed in the recipe below. Put it in a 10 Gallon Container.
Plant your tomatoes -- usually one or two plants per pot. I am trying two plants. I water daily being careful not to get moisture on the leaves of the plants.
Remember, this is formula belongs to Classic Garden and Landscape's .
Keeping Tomatoes in the Fridge is a not recommended!
The wooden (monkeypod) leaf shaped bowl in the picture above is from the Philippines. My parents purchased it when we lived there in the 1960's. It is where I keep all my tomatoes after they are picked. If you want one click Monkey Pod Leaf Bowl.
As promised, here is the recipe for the containers:
- 140 lb bag Ultimate Potting Mix not "soil".
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21 1lb container Fertilome Start-n-grow Premium Plant Food
(I love this product! and I use it on everything I plant in soil!!) -
3One 4lb bag Fertilome Tomato & Vegetable Food
Great fertilizer, but it is not organic! -
4A Gallon size Baggie of Classic Garden and Landscape secret calcium mixture (It looks like a mixture of fertilizers.) THIS IS THE REALLY SECRET PART! The ingredients in the bag are a mystery! If you do not have access to this formula, be sure to use a Garden Lime
additive. Lime (unless the soil is already alkaline), composted manures or bone meal will supply calcium but take time to work so must be applied prior to planting.
I would also recommend Fertilome Yield Boosterthat helps prevent blossom end rot by adding calcium. Apply weekly.
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51 Soil Moist 3-Ounce Bag
(or use instructions on the container of Soil Moist) - 6Pine bark mulch. (I have been known to use grass clippings)
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7Use a Blossom-End Rot Control spray.
I use a Ferti-lome product, but any blossom end rot spray would probably do the trick. This was recommended by Mr. Pender, as well. As of June 21st, no blossom end rot has occurred.
Here is a great product for the gardener: Laminiated gardening guides.
Click here to visit Laminated Garden Guides website!
You can also visit my article Tomato Planting and Growing Tips for more ideas.
Creative Containers for growing tomatoes:
Common Container Problem--Blossom End Rot--
A result of low calcium intake by the plant. Dry, black rot circles on the bottom of vegetables indicate this problem.
Prevent Blossom End Rot!
A "successful" tomato plants before I found Classic Gardens's Tomato Program.
Fertilizing Container Tomatoes:
Mr. Pender recommends applying 1 cup of Fertilome Tomato and Vegetable food per pot after the fourth week. Apply every 7 days.
Water plants before and after applying the fertilizer to minimize burn.
Fresh Food From Small Spaces--I Highly Recommend this book!
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: $12.97 (as of 02/17/2012)
This book shares some great ideas for growing vegetables in the city. There are ideas that people with yards can use, too.
1st 7 weeks in the life of a container tomato!
Click on each picture to see the progress of the 1st pot week-by-week:
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
I Have added a 3rd Pot !
Learn from my mistakes!
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.
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.
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What Is Your Secret Formula for growing vegetables in a container?
How does your tomato garden grow?
What I learned about growing tomatoes in pots can be written in THREE 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.
#3: If you must grow tomatoes in a pot, only buy the types that are labeled "Great in a Container" or "Patio" tomato.
That is about it.
What is your secret?
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joel7223
Oct 22, 2011 @ 6:40 pm | delete
- Nice lens. Container garden is really great and efficiently uses space.
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COUNTRYLUTHIER
Sep 26, 2011 @ 2:11 pm | delete
- The secret is in the sauce. Well said Thanks for a great looking lens.
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Lynn T
Sep 20, 2011 @ 4:37 pm | delete
- The best cure ever for blossom end rot: Save egg shells all winter, crush them and use as top dressing for the soil as soon as fruit begins to form. You can start sooner but do need to keep it up until fruit is fully grown, no quitting when the tomatoes are half sized.
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AnthonyAltorenna
Aug 27, 2011 @ 8:09 am | delete
- Great advice! I never knew why my container grown tomatoes developed blossom end rot. Thank you for the helpful tips!
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LynnTill
Sep 21, 2011 @ 3:02 pm | delete
- The tips are great! I do have one contribution though: I save egg shells during the winter and crush them as they dry out. Once my tomatoes start showing fruit, I use them as top dressing. They add calcium as they dissolve, slow but steady. I've been growing tomatoes (all kinds!) in 5 gal buckets with holes drilled around the bottom edge for about 8 years, and we always have more than I can fit in the freezer!
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All potted vegetables need this!
Hydrofarm RC10 10 Gallon Smart Pot
Amazon Price: $6.10 (as of 02/17/2012)
