On 2007-03-05 10:34:06 -0500, geronimo said:

I am in a rent house so I don't plant anything in the ground, its
all in pots. I am in zone 10. Last spring (EARLY) I planted a
tomato(a variety that others are growing here with excellent results)
in a pot. Had full sun. Had plenty of drainage holes, volcanic rock at
the bottom. The tomato plant grew only so-so. I don't think it was
anywhere near the size/foliage spread of one planted in in a garden.
This pot actually is a large galvanized wash tub, so the plant sure
had more than enough room.
I used a mix...some sand, but mostly Miracle-Gro potting soil. At
the price of Miracle-Gro, it should be THE BEST, but the plant only
produced three or four fruit. There are lots of honeybees around.
I thought that maybe it was just that tomatoes don't do well/produce
much fruit when potted...however a relative of mine said that he once
grew tomatoes in pots, and they produced lots of fruit. SO I guess I
don't have the right soil or fertilizers. I watered them ocassionally,
as all the potted plant, with MIracle-Gro solution. What did I do
wrong, or is there some better soil I can put in the container?

I had amazing success with potted cherry tomato plants using packaged
Garden Soil, plastic pots & tons of water.

I agree with FragileWarrior that the metal container wasn't the best
choice in full sun. Our tomatoes, both container-grown and
ground-planted require thorough waterings every day to thrive.

--
Tara