Tomatoes in pots

[Rexy]

Hi

I started off last year with plants in a grow bag but as we are in Wales, they became waterlogged so I transferred them into the soil.When the tomatoes arrived they had black patches on them so I had to pick them whilst they were still green.

This year I am thinking of putting them in terracotta pots. Does this sound like a good idea ?

I did feed them tomato feed regularly last year and the kids were so disappointed that they couldn't eat them.

Advise please

I grow mine that way after disappointment with grow bags

works well

I use grow bags, but cut one growbag in half and then stand the 2 ends upright creating 2 'pots' from each bag.

I'm going to do what pantry does for some. The rest ai use old flower buckets that you can get very cheaply from Morrisons.

I think loads of people got hit by blight last year unfortunately, fingers crossed for a better year for everyone this year.

I get the black pots cheap from the flower dept of Morrisons too, put the holes 2 inches up the sides to help water retention, and grow my toms in them. The pots are sold for 6 for a £1 or something like that, they last a couple of years.

Keep them far enough apart to help reduce blight - is more air ciculation.

I think tomatoes (in fact just about every plant except lettuce) do better in pots than grow bags (more space for the roots), I follow my grandparents advice and empty the grow bag into large pots. You do need to keep an eye on the watering as terracotta pots especially will dry out faster than bags. Also when the plants get big the foliage prevents the rain getting to the pots.

The black spots (blight) tend to be caused by damp weather, but it's mainly a cosmetic blemish, the fruits should be ok to eat. On the other hand people often recommend burning diseased stock to prevent it spreading (tomatoes are in the same family as potatoes and lots of other plants that can also suffer from blight). DON'T compost plants with blight.

We feed our pots at least twice a week, but more often if they need a lot of watering as this leaches out the nutrients.

Hope this helps! I love homegrown tomatoes - so tasty...

To reduce the watering problem, put a moss-filled container (eg marg tub, base of plastic milk bottle) in the base of every pot - it will act as a reservoir for water. The moss acts as a sponge and is important otherwise soil will compact in the container and it will not hold any extra water.

And don't feed tomatoes until the second truss has set - otherwise you get lush plants with all leaves and no fruit.