Principles for Growing Container Tomatoes: Soil, Planting, Fertilizer, Watering, Side-Dressing

Tips, Tricks

1. you say that plants cant tell the difference between chemicals and organics, but you dont know.
   
   The thing about chemicals is this - you know it has N,P and K etc etc, but what else is in there?
   
   Most chemical fertilizers are stabilized with CANCER-CAUSING CADMIUM salts.
   
   The "inert ingredients" which include all sorts of TOXIC HEAVY METALS accumulate in your soil and plants and you.
   
   Giving your plants chemical fertilizer is like force feeding a baby. Sure it grows big, but its stressful for the plant.
   
   Continuing, most chemical forms of nitrogen are urea or nitrate, vegetables prefer ammonium nitrogen. Sure they accept the other forms, but again its stressful for them and they wont achieve their genetic potential eating their least favorite.
   
   Furthermore, chemical fertilizers can be likened to drugs, when you put them in the soil, the high salinity kills the soil food web that provides the perfect balance of nutrients for plants, so the soil/plants becomes dependent on the chemical.
   
   Then, as a consequence of the mostly nitrate form of nitrogen in the fertilizer, plants become a magnet for pest and disease. The unfavorable forms of nitrogen translate into incomplete proteins which are like a neon sign for pest and disease.
   
   So then you turn to another input to control the consequence of your previous actions, and on and on in a never ending cycle of applying more and more chemicals until you cant afford it
   
   alternatively, organics foster life in the soil. With a living soil, you have to do less and less every year while harvesting more and more as fungi and earthworms do the work for you.
   
   oh furthermore, its been scientifically proven that organic food has more minerals, more antioxidants and more of the phytochemicals that enhance our human immune systems. sure chemical fattened plants look like theyre producing what you want, but inside, they have less of everything you want out of food, least of which is flavor.
   
   I just figured with 50,000 people having seen you plug the chemical industry, i'd speak up for organics.
   
   NOT TO MENTION soluble chemical fertilizers wash right into your local groundwater, causing a cascade of environmental destruction.
   
   Youve got a giant pollution spewing factory on one end, and a poisoned water supply for the end-users... but sure plants cant tell the difference so chemicals are fine to use right...?
2. i have given up on growing tomatoes. I grew 2 determinate tomatoes in 2 diff containers at two different times with new potting mix and fungicides(organic of course). They were from 2 diff packets of seeds. But both tomatoes leaves within one and half months started turning yellow and then brown. They started wilting from the top and proceeded to the bottom. The plant looks so bad now. Can't control leafminers even though i squish the leaves, they keep coming back and then to make matters worse the horrible wilting. My plant has been reduced to nothing now. What could have been the problem?? I fail to understand.
3. Itlooks like you're using regular 5 gallon buckets/containers. I was wondering if you use "food grade" containers, or if you dont think its important. thanks
4. my tomatoes vines are about 18" tall and may have small fruit growing on them. they are crowded in their container. can i transplant them now?
5. How long are you reusing the dirt? I've found that using chemical fertilizers builds up quite a bit of salt in the soil by the third season. It's gotten to the point that some of my plants have actually died now and others appear to be stunted compared to fresher soil I'm using in other containers.
6. My tomato plants are young, height about 20 cm and growing them in containers for now. I'm having bug problems eating the leaves and white circles on the them. What can I do to save my tomato plants?
7. Hey Gary can you blend the peat moss/ coco coir with steer manure at a 50/50 ratio?
8. you tomatos looks yellow .......... i can see suckers in your plants..
9. very helpful I just started more tomatoe seeds incase my other plants don't make it, thanks Gary very helpful
10. but doesnt the chemicals harm the body though? its not that it harms the plant but we're ingesting that?
11. Wow very if rest tips, thank u and may God bless u :)
12. so tomatoes onlygrow for one season? n they will die?
13. Another reason to use the lime is that peat moss is really acidic (mine is 4.2), and would probably lock out nutrients.
14. Great video as always! Any tips on what to do for your tomatoes (or peppers or __) when you get too much rain? Here in Central Texas I've gotten 19" over the past 3 weeks with very little sun (plenty of heat!) and I'm worried that my plants are not only getting too much water but that all of the soil nutrients are washing away. In addition to growing in raised beds this year, I've got a few plants in Wal-Mart bags as an experiment and figured I'd have to fertilize or side dress with compost more often but all this rain has me thinking I need to be more aggressive. Any suggestions?
15. Great video!
16. As a brand new gardener... I know NOTHING! Your videos are SO very clear, concise and very well explained. *You don't go on and on with a story and you don't gloss over important parts. I live in an Apt & will be container gardening... and I have a disability so I will be creating raised platforms for my containers. Have you done a video on the merits (or down-sides) to top watering vs. bottom watering... should I create snorkels or just put water in the lower container and let it leach upward, etc.? Do you have videos on air pruning (slotted pots with retaining cloth or grow bags) vs. closed pots? Since I am just getting started now is the time I have to make some rather long-term decisions. (I've already found the affordable options for both containers and plenty of free 5 gallon buckets. I'm also doing plenty of worm farming to create lots of castings. Do you have any videos to explain what my soil mixture should be - or why I shouldn't use 100% casting, etc.?
17. Little confused. should the holes be in the bottom or on the side. I have those rubber pots with the handles and have to make dranage holes and not sure where to put them. Also do I need a tray under the container. pls help. ty for all your videos, love them.
18. Great Advice and to the point!
19. I can't thank u enough for your videos. This video really taught me everything I need to know now that I'm ready to put my tomatoes into a container!!! Very informative! One question I keep seeing earwigs in my trays for bottom watering. Maybe one or two a day... Should I still plant these plants or should I start all over? And can I spray something around the area so that I can get rid of them? They are on a rack right now but once I put them in a container I will have to put them on the ground somewhere or on a table. Thank you so uh again for your help!!
20. Thank you for the great video and excellent info. Just a little FYI. The reason for people screaming about organics is... The chelating agents in the chem fertilizer known as HEEDTA or EDTA will cause the plant to uptake heavy metals if present in the soil and those metal end up in the fruit. It truly is fine for the plant even if questionable for human consumption. Again, great video.