Can I grow toms in pots?

I have been given two tomato plants and am wondering if I can grow them in pots rather than direct in the soil? I have a slug problem and don't want to risk planting them directly out.

This is new to me so any advice will be appreciated.

thanks,

GP :D

 

Hi, Gillypetunia. I have always grown mine in pots, both in the UK and here. They need feeding as they would when in the ground but they require more water when in pots as they can dry out quickly.

 

Thanks!

I can't wait for them to grow Edible gardening has not really been something that I am interested in ... but then as someone gave me the plants, I thought that I would give them a try!

I must buy some of the red tomato feed too.

GP :D

 

Like you, I'm not into edible gardening and also like you, I was given my current plant!

Tomato fertilizer is a good all rounder to use on your flowers as well.

 

Buy 2 large ten litre buckets from the builders merchant or Wickes etc and punch some drainage holes in the bottom. Fill with John Innes number three compost from GC and stick in a six foot can. plant tom and tie to cane as it grows.

Start to feed when you can see little toms coming after the flowers on a 'truss'. As the plant grows it will try to send out side shoots from the base of each large leave where it conects to the stem. Nip these out with your fingers. When you have say five or six sets of flower trusses, nip out the growing point.

Buy some liquid tomato feed and apply as instructed.

The pot needs to be big becouse they are big hungry plants and the biger the pot the less likly they are to dry out while your away form home.

Leave about three inches from the top of the buckets to the top of the soil. Later in the season you can add new compost to the top which will give them a bit of a boost.

 

Thanks Vegman Some excellent advice and instructions there. Hopefully it will work for me!

 

Yeah, I heard that on a gardening show and they said it's basically the same stuff. I have to make sure I get some in the supermarket this week

 

All excellent advice.
Just two comments to add -

1. - I've never been bothered with slugs dining on my soil grown tomatoes, though they've certainly eaten other veg.

2. - Phostrogen plant food is about a quarter the price of "Tomorite" and is every bit as good and possibly better for encouraging fruit growth. The only slight disadvantage is that it comes in powder form and has to be mixed with water.

See this earlier post by PeterS who did some really valuable research on plant food/fertilisters -
http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=002948;p=1

 

Slugs won't bother with your toms, as the leaves contain arsenic.

Remember to wash your hands after touching the foliage.

 

Either the slugs over here like arsenic or they are immune to it as they started eating my tomatoes planted in pots in the ground, so I had to put slug pellets out.

DIL had even worse luck with her tomatoes grown from seed as the slugs razed most of them down to the soil in the planter.

 

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=40185
Hello chaps and chapesses, Try this site its very interesting reading.

 

Thanks fot that link John. As you say - very interesting reading!