On 9/15/2015 2:31 PM, John McGaw wrote:
On 9/10/2015 10:53 AM, Not@home wrote:
I had an extra seedling this year that looked pretty healthy, so I put some
stones in a pot (it is a big pot and I didn't have enough spare dirt to
fill it, so I put eight or ten inches of dirt on top of the stones and
transplanted the seedling to the dirt.

The problem is that the water runs through the dirt and stones and out the
hole in the bottom of the pot, so every day the plant, while it has been
growing well, loses the structure of the leaves (it almost looks dead)
until I water it, when it regains its vitality and looks healthy until the
next day. And the early maturing tomatoes have rather advanced end stage
rot.

So I am looking for a way to solve the watering problem for next year. I am
thinking of removing the stones and filling the whole pot with good dirt,
and burying a bowl at the bottom of the pot, reasoning that when I water,
some water will filter into the bowl and keep the plant happy. I've been
told that standing water in the bottom of the pot is not a good idea, but I
grow my seedlings in dirt over a tray of water, and they grow extensive
roots in the water.

We are in a moderate climate, subject to freezing. The last vortex was
brutal here, killing many plants and trees (all the peach trees, for
example, were killed). But our garden seems to have survived. I had an
arborist look at my sweet cherry tree; I wanted it pruned, but he
recommended cutting it down. I pruned it myself (it is no longer a pretty
tree) and it survived. providing a bumper crop. Our pie cherries also
produced well, as did the strawberries and blueberries. The vegetables
have struggled, possibly because we had a lot of rain, so we don't have
ripe tomatoes yet, but plenty of beans, and the corn is within days of
being ready.

I'd say that if you have the time to water twice a day and tend the plants
in ordinary pots of any sort, more power to you. If, on the other hand, you
just want to grow tomatoes in a container that doesn't tie you down so much
you need to either buy something like an 'Earth Box' or simply make your
own. I do the latter. A planter made from a 5-gallon plastic bucket and a
few bits of PVC pipe and sheet plastic can be made in an hour or so if you
are handy and have tools available. It holds enough planting mix to
actually grow a determinant tomato plant such as 'Patio' and it largely
self-waters so that it needs attention only every few days. I put the
divider in mine between 1/4 and 1/3 up from the bottom; higher gives more
water capacity and lower gives more room for roots.

Example:
http://squarepennies.com/2012/06/diy...n-buckets.html

Definitely stick with a determinant variety since trying to support an
indeterminant in a container is nearly impossible to do well.

BTW: I don't use the exact method shown in the link. Mine uses a single
bucket with a solid plastic divider to separate the soil from the water
chamber but the theory is the same no matter how you do it. Mine is just
cheaper and lighter but I have a full shop to fabricate the plastic bits in
and many folks don't.