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Old 23-07-2006, 06:39 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
Mike S.
 
Posts: n/a
Default Tomato problem again

I'm having a terrible time with my tomato plants and could use some
advice. This is my first time growing them.

I'm growing a Big Boy, Better Boy, and Patio, each in a 5 gallon pot on
my porch. They were purchased from a store in May and planted a few
weeks later. By the middle of June, there were already two little green
tomatoes on the Patio one. Just today, the Patio produced the first two
ripe tomatoes of the season.

Other than that, none of the other tomatoes are ripening. And there are
only a few tomatoes on each of the plants. I would say maybe 3-5 on
each plant. Then, within the past two days two hornworms decided to eat
up most of one of the plants (either the Better Boy or Big Boy) and
another hornworm was on the Patio one but it didn't get that much
damage.

Do my plants stand a chance of producing any more tomatoes? It seems
like something is wrong with them. Shouldn't they be producing more
tomatoes by now? I'm thinking they're not getting enough fertilizer or
something like that.

When we planted them, I followed the advice of a relative who said to
plant them in a mixture of potting soil and some dirt from the flower
bed. I had been using a liquid fertilizer similar to Miracle Grow but I
thought I was using it too much so I haven't used it in a month.

Any suggestions on what I should be doing? Honestly, I don't care so
much if the tomatoes don't ripen because I prefer fried green tomatoes
anyway. Also, is the Better Boy resistant to hornworms. It's strange
that only two of the three plants were affected by them.

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Old 23-07-2006, 02:47 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible
cloud dreamer
 
Posts: n/a
Default Tomato problem again

Mike S. wrote:


When we planted them, I followed the advice of a relative who said to
plant them in a mixture of potting soil and some dirt from the flower
bed. I had been using a liquid fertilizer similar to Miracle Grow but I
thought I was using it too much so I haven't used it in a month.


Not sure about the rest but this is one thing that might be
questionable. How much soil from the garden did you use?

Regular soil is too compact for a container. You should use 100% potting
soil (though you can cut in some peat). Potting soil will retain
moisture and nutrients that will pass through the compacted soil.

Something to remember for next year. Also, you can use the soil only for
the one season. After that, it's depleted of nutrients and is best
dumped on bare spots in the lawn (you can't put it into the vegetable
garden because tomatoes (and potatoes) have too many diseases that would
get passed on to anything planted in that garden next year - so those
two always get put on the lawn).

Yes...I grow potatoes in containers too...works great.

..

Zone 5a in Canada's Far East.
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Old 23-07-2006, 03:09 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible
TQ
 
Posts: n/a
Default Tomato problem again

I/m no expert, but I have learned a few things over the years that may be of
help to you with your tomat trubbles.

"Mike S." wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm having a terrible time with my tomato plants and could use some
advice. This is my first time growing them.

I'm growing a Big Boy, Better Boy, and Patio, each in a 5 gallon pot on
my porch. They were purchased from a store in May and planted a few
weeks later. By the middle of June, there were already two little green
tomatoes on the Patio one. Just today, the Patio produced the first two
ripe tomatoes of the season.


If possible, the plants should have been set in the garden as soon after you
got them home as possible. The the 'days-to-maturity' clock starts when the
plants go into the garden, or in your case, the 5-gal bucket.

The bucket size is suitable for growing tomats in a container. Did you
drill about a dozen holes in the bottom for drainage? If so, is the bucket
sitting atop bricks or wood blocks to allow excess water to drain from the
bucket?

Other than that, none of the other tomatoes are ripening. And there are
only a few tomatoes on each of the plants. I would say maybe 3-5 on
each plant. Then, within the past two days two hornworms decided to eat
up most of one of the plants (either the Better Boy or Big Boy) and
another hornworm was on the Patio one but it didn't get that much
damage.


Days-to-maturity for Patio is 70. Better Boy is 75 and Big Boy is 78, so
there's one good reason why your Patio ripened before the others.

Hornworms cause big problems if they/re not controlled early. Keep your eye
out for the moths that lay the eggs that produce the hornworm.
http://images.google.com/images?q=ho...=Search+Images

When you see the moths or their pupa, it/s time to start weekly sprays of BT
(sold as Dipel (tm)
http://images.google.com/images?svnu...en&lr=&q=dipel).

If you miss the moths and pupa, look for the 'poopa' on the lower leaves or
the soil. That's evidence you have hornworm and it/s time for the BT. BT
works best when the worms are small. When the worms are larger, handpick
and destroy.

Do my plants stand a chance of producing any more tomatoes? It seems
like something is wrong with them. Shouldn't they be producing more
tomatoes by now? I'm thinking they're not getting enough fertilizer or
something like that.


Are your plants still producing flowers? Are the new flowers producing new
fruits?

Tomats are not heavy feeders. I side dress mine with two handfuls of
5-10-10 when the first flowers appear. During the season, I foliar feed a
few times with seaweed emulsion.

When we planted them, I followed the advice of a relative who said to
plant them in a mixture of potting soil and some dirt from the flower
bed. I had been using a liquid fertilizer similar to Miracle Grow but I
thought I was using it too much so I haven't used it in a month.


Pure potting soil is better than mixing with flower bed dirt b/c dirt
compacts and inhibits good drainage. I/d use a potting soil with perlite or
vermiculite to ensure good drainage.

Miracle Grow and similar liquid fertilizer products comes in a variety or
strengths. Not every formulation is good for every application. Tomats
don/t need a lot of N nor will they need a lot of supplemental feeding if
the potting soil comes 'pre-juiced.'

Any suggestions on what I should be doing? Honestly, I don't care so
much if the tomatoes don't ripen because I prefer fried green tomatoes
anyway. Also, is the Better Boy resistant to hornworms. It's strange
that only two of the three plants were affected by them.


Be patient. They/ll ripen in due time.


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Old 23-07-2006, 03:16 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible
James
 
Posts: n/a
Default Tomato problem again

Since there were only 2 worms it might just be random luck which plant
got spared. Some varieties do attact more pests than others. Few
years ago when I had Husky and Husky Gold and several other varieties.
The fruits of (I don't remember if it was the Husky or the Husky Gold)
would all have worms while none of the other varieties had them. Of
course I don't use Husky any more.

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Old 24-07-2006, 08:06 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Jul 2006
Posts: 124
Default Tomato problem again

On 22 Jul 2006 21:39:38 -0700, "Mike S."
wrote:



Other than that, none of the other tomatoes are ripening. And there are
only a few tomatoes on each of the plants. I would say maybe 3-5 on
each plant. Then, within the past two days two hornworms decided to eat
up most of one of the plants (either the Better Boy or Big Boy) and
another hornworm was on the Patio one but it didn't get that much
damage.

Do my plants stand a chance of producing any more tomatoes? It seems
like something is wrong with them. Shouldn't they be producing more
tomatoes by now? I'm thinking they're not getting enough fertilizer or
something like that.

When we planted them, I followed the advice of a relative who said to
plant them in a mixture of potting soil and some dirt from the flower
bed. I had been using a liquid fertilizer similar to Miracle Grow but I
thought I was using it too much so I haven't used it in a month.


I don't think there's anything wrong with your soil or your
containers, I think it's the fertilizer. I think your plants got
too much nitrogen and the growth went to leaf rather than fruit.

I know that Miracle Grow makes a specific food for tomatoes, so
you might consider that, or you might consider giving one
application of MG's Blossom Booster fertilizer. I mix composted
manure into the soil mixtures of my potted tomatoes and peppers,
then add a little bit of an organic fertilizer -Tomato Tone from
Espoma - to the top of the potting mix every two weeks or so. If
you decide to use a pelleted fertilizer, be careful that you
don't burn the plant by adding too much at once. I add about a
forth to a half, depending on the size and diameter of the pot,
of the recommended amount for plants in the ground.

You didn't say where you are, but the recent heat wave that hit
the country would stop most tomato plants from setting fruit. If
yours were a little late getting settled into their containers,
they might not have set much fruit before the heat hit.


Any suggestions on what I should be doing? Honestly, I don't care so
much if the tomatoes don't ripen because I prefer fried green tomatoes
anyway. Also, is the Better Boy resistant to hornworms.


No.

It's strange
that only two of the three plants were affected by them.


Moths and butterflies can be very fussy about where they lay
their eggs. Or, the moth may have laid eggs on that plant, but a
predator got the eggs or young caterpillars before you saw them.


Penelope

--
You have proven yourself to be the most malicious,
classless person that I've encountered in years.
- "pointed"


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Old 25-07-2006, 09:54 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Jul 2006
Posts: 8
Default Tomato problem again


Penelope Periwinkle wrote:
On 22 Jul 2006 21:39:38 -0700, "Mike S."
wrote:



Other than that, none of the other tomatoes are ripening. And there are
only a few tomatoes on each of the plants. I would say maybe 3-5 on
each plant. Then, within the past two days two hornworms decided to eat
up most of one of the plants (either the Better Boy or Big Boy) and
another hornworm was on the Patio one but it didn't get that much
damage.

Do my plants stand a chance of producing any more tomatoes? It seems
like something is wrong with them. Shouldn't they be producing more
tomatoes by now? I'm thinking they're not getting enough fertilizer or
something like that.

When we planted them, I followed the advice of a relative who said to
plant them in a mixture of potting soil and some dirt from the flower
bed. I had been using a liquid fertilizer similar to Miracle Grow but I
thought I was using it too much so I haven't used it in a month.


I don't think there's anything wrong with your soil or your
containers, I think it's the fertilizer. I think your plants got
too much nitrogen and the growth went to leaf rather than fruit.

I know that Miracle Grow makes a specific food for tomatoes, so
you might consider that, or you might consider giving one
application of MG's Blossom Booster fertilizer. I mix composted
manure into the soil mixtures of my potted tomatoes and peppers,
then add a little bit of an organic fertilizer -Tomato Tone from
Espoma - to the top of the potting mix every two weeks or so. If
you decide to use a pelleted fertilizer, be careful that you
don't burn the plant by adding too much at once. I add about a
forth to a half, depending on the size and diameter of the pot,
of the recommended amount for plants in the ground.

You didn't say where you are, but the recent heat wave that hit
the country would stop most tomato plants from setting fruit. If
yours were a little late getting settled into their containers,
they might not have set much fruit before the heat hit.


I don't want to say which state I live in but I will say that it's one
of the Mid-Atlantic states. I think the weather around here has been a
little unusual this year, or at least it was at the beginning of the
summer. I think the month of June was both the driest and rainiest
month of the year. First we were in a drought then we had flooding. I
guess that would affect the growth of the tomatoes.

It has been hot here lately. 90+ during the days and low 70s at night.
Very little rain. The plants have also only been getting about 6 hrs of
sun a day. It will probably be less than that soon with the sun and
time of year changing. I can't find anywhere else to put them. The pots
are sitting above ground on small blocks. I wondered if the exposure to
the heat and sun would bake the pots causing damage to the roots.


It's strange
that only two of the three plants were affected by the hornworms.


Moths and butterflies can be very fussy about where they lay
their eggs. Or, the moth may have laid eggs on that plant, but a
predator got the eggs or young caterpillars before you saw them.


What's weird is that the day after my original post, I went out to
check the plants and there was another hornworm on the Patio plant. I
never found the one that was on the Better Boy. I don't know where it
went unless it made it's way over to the Patio. Strange thing is that
the three plants are sitting beside each other and the middle plant was
never affected by the hornworms.

Why is it that I never saw the eggs on the plants? Thursday there was
nothing on the plants, Friday I forgot to check them and Saturday is
when I found the hornworms. They've pretty much to destroyed the two
plants. They ate all the buds (is that what they're called?) and most
of the leaves are gone. They even got some of the tomatoes. I don't
understand how they could've infested and destroyed the plants so
quickly. They must move quickly or grow quickly. They sure are strange,
creepy little things.

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Old 25-07-2006, 07:56 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Jul 2006
Posts: 23
Default Tomato problem again


"Mike S." wrote

| I don't want to say which state I live in

Unless you've got something special going on that makes it look like you're
someplace else...

I just found out and it took about 20 seconds altogether. I can give you
city and state. You're not as hidden as you might think. Anyone can do it
and it's very easy.

Sorry to burst your bubble. I just don't want you to go around thinking
that it's hidden if it's not.


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Old 25-07-2006, 08:35 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Jul 2006
Posts: 10
Default Tomato problem again

In article ,
"Kimberly" wrote:

"Mike S." wrote

| I don't want to say which state I live in

Unless you've got something special going on that makes it look like you're
someplace else...

I just found out and it took about 20 seconds altogether. I can give you
city and state. You're not as hidden as you might think. Anyone can do it
and it's very easy.

Sorry to burst your bubble. I just don't want you to go around thinking
that it's hidden if it's not.


Not when you are posting on a public forum... ;-)
I know that I can at least be traced by city.
One good reason to live in a PO box but even that is no guarantee.
--
Peace!
Om

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch"
-- Jack Nicholson
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Old 27-01-2011, 06:43 PM
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You can only use the soil season. After that, it's loss is the best nutrition and
Dumped in the lawn bare spots (you can not put it into the vegetable because the tomato garden (and potatoes) there are too many illnesses be passed to any plantation in the next year - so they second, always on the lawn.)
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Old 23-04-2011, 04:23 PM
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The plants should accept been set in the garden as anon afterwards you got them home as possible. The the 'days-to-maturity' alarm starts if the plants go into the garden, or in your case, the 5-gal bucket.
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