Someone please help me grow tomatoes

[1GoldenSun]

We always had a huge garden when I was growing up, and the one thing I miss the most is fresh homegrown tomatoes. You just can't find any in the stores that come close to that taste, not for love or money.

My parents were great at gardening but I didn't get that gene. I've tried several times to have a vegetable garden with little success, but I want to try again, maybe just with tomatoes. I live in Florida so we still have practically three more months of "summer" left so I should be able to start now. Our house backs a nature preserve full of animals (deer, hogs, rabbits, etc.) so I think anything planted outside would get eaten, but we have a large caged pool deck with plenty of space, so I was thinking about tomatoes in planters.

Should I start from seeds, those little "seedling" plants, or a mostly grown plant? How large a pot do I need? Is any kind of potting soil ok? Is there anything else I need to put in the soil or in the water--fertilizer, plant food, etc? Is there anything else I should do or be aware of? How much water is too much or too little?

I've tried this before and the plants never did well. I'd like to be successful this time.

A homegrown tomato sandwich sounds so good right now!

 

[TippyThomas]

I've only done cherry tomatoes in 5 gallon buckets. I've never tried full size tomatoes in buckets so I can't say how it would work. I just grabbed the cheap 5 gallon buckets at places like Lowes, Menards or whatever stores you may have around.

Wish I could offer more help. The only thing I can say for sure is you'll have to water them much more often than you might think. They dry out pretty quick with proper drainage and the size of the buckets.

 

[LoveDaisy]

I am a gardener with a tomato issue, this year I’m growing 35 kinds. With that said I live in New England so I’m not sure if growing seasons in FL and tomatoes don’t like high heat so that could cause an issue.

I would recommend you start with starter plants, it will be easier and give you a big jump on growing from seeds. I grow some tomatoes in containers and you want to it be a large container. Mine are about a foot wide on the top and are probably 15 gallons. You will want to drill holes in the bottom for extra drainage. I use mirclegrow soil. I recommend you do not do a ceramic planter as they dry out quicker than plastic. You need to water often, my containers get watered twice a day on hot sunny days.

Happy to answer any questions. Good luck!

My kitchen counter

 

[Genie+]

I miss the gardens the older generations of my family had. Wow they really knew what they were doing! Rows and rows of all kind of fruits and veggies, and a big area for flowers too. Neighbors traded the rarer items and gave away unexpectedly high yields. The pantry next to the back porch was huge, filled with shelves to hold a bounty in mason jars through the winter.

We’ve had smaller gardens through the years but nowhere near that level. The best short cut and chance at success has been starting with seedlings instead of seeds. It’s tempting to save the money but we found that extra money is well worth it.

 

[sam_gordon]

At our first house, we decided to grow a couple of tomato plants. I *THINK* we started from seed, but not positive. I DO remember, one thing we did was extend the drain lines from the HVAC system a little further down the house and plant there. Instant, automatic watering! Worked great!

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

We save and grind eggshells, and add 1T of that plus 1T of a starter fertilizer when we plant them. The eggshells contain calcium and help prevent blossom end rot. I always use plants that have already been started. I've tried to start my own from seeds, and have never had good luck with that. If you like the cherry tomatoes, we have had really good luck with the sungold variety. We've tried a variety of larger ones as well, and the Better Boy variety works best for us. We're in NC. The spot we have doesn't get as much sun as they would like, but it's enough to get a pretty decent production.

 

[Threehearts]

I am a gardener with a tomato issue, this year I’m growing 35 kinds. With that said I live in New England so I’m not sure if growing seasons in FL and tomatoes don’t like high heat so that could cause an issue.

I would recommend you start with starter plants, it will be easier and give you a big jump on growing from seeds. I grow some tomatoes in containers and you want to it be a large container. Mine are about a foot wide on the top and are probably 15 gallons. You will want to drill holes in the bottom for extra drainage. I use mirclegrow soil. I recommend you do not do a ceramic planter as they dry out quicker than plastic. You need to water often, my containers get watered twice a day on hot sunny days.

Happy to answer any questions. Good luck!

My kitchen counter

View attachment 888214

Gorgeous tomatoes!!

 

[shh]

OP: I empathize. Never had luck growing tomatoes...I've tried and the plants/greenery itself does well and looks healthy, but no fruit ever emerges.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

My husband is the one who plants a garden. Just peppers, cherry tomatoes and a larger tomato. The first year he planted tomatoes at our new house, they did very well. Plenty of them and no other problems (bugs or critters). But since then, it hasn't been that way. Had something underground eating them one year. The squirrels and chipmunks are the problem last year and this year. My BIL aid to sprinkle cayenne pepper in the garden, animals hate it. Seemed to work. Husband doesn't plant tomatoes in same spot year after year. Uses good soil and miracle grow. We live in Georgia. My BIL lives in PA and his garden is fantastic year after year and he plants a lot more vegetables than we do.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I grow mine on my back deck, in recycled kitty littler buckets. (DH drills some holes in the bottom for me.) I buy already started plants, and the soil is either bagged, straight from the compost bin, or a mix of the two.

There are typically a lot of coffee grounds in our compost, and the tomato plants seem to like the acidity, so even if you don't have a bin, you might try sprinkling some coffee grounds in when you plant.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Where do you guys live where you are having trouble growing tomatoes? I have lived in both No Cal and So Cal and I have the opposite problem; you could grow tomatoes on the top of a rock. I can't get rid of the things.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Can you start growing tomatoes in Florida now? Here in South Texas, it's too hot-tomatoes are done by June. DH starts with out little tomato plants in February or very early March. When we lived in Massachusetts, we planted in June and Labor Day was our big time (hence all the country fairs in New England-Oh, how I miss the Woodstock Fair!) I'm really curious about when the best time is to grow tomatoes in Florida. When we were at the Plumeria stand in Disney Springs (home of "the sticks") we were lead to believe that the growing season was virtually identical in Florida and Texas, but maybe they just said that to get us to buy.

 

[BayouQueen]

@1GoldenSun , as far as whether to start from seeds, I would. Two things are super easy to seed start -- tomatoes and zucchini/summer squash. The seeds just pop up.

I say this because of a weird experience this year. In the past, I could trust our local nursery to offer really great varieties that do well in our area. This year was different. The labels were "cherry tomatoes,"grape tomatoes," yellow zucchini."
I bought them and had plenty of fruit, but none of it very good. Next year I'll definitely look at the seed company websites and buy seeds of good varieties. No blah flavorless summer squash for this girl next year!

Of course, maybe your nursery does better. Then go for it. Ours is sadly cost-cutting.

 

[tony67]

I gave up on tomatoes, just as they were about to be picked they would be eating by some sort of pest.
I need to build a greenhouse I think.

But the taste of fresh home grown tomatoes is so much better- occasionally we will get a good batch at the shop but its rare.

Same for potatoes, the stuff we get in the shops is just bland as can be unfortunately.

 

[Suger Mag]

thank goodness for farm stands, if I had to survive off my garden I would be dead lol...

 

[TippyThomas]

thank goodness for farm stands, if I had to survive off my garden I would be dead lol...

I'm so thankful for the old friends I have who still do huge gardens every year. They let me buy fresh in season and I even get some of the canned versions in the mason jars as well. Some things from my old life are still wonderful to enjoy and that is some of it right there.

 

[firefly_ris]

I have never been real successful growing tomatoes in pots for some reason. Mine always do better in the ground. I have romas and cherry tomatoes. The romas are about 3 feet tall but the cherry tomatoes typically grow just above my head, about 5 feet tall or so. I did beefsteaks last year but I kept having problems with them getting rot on the bottom or splitting open so I didn't do those again.

I do sometimes add carbon to my soil using smashed charcoal briquettes -- I would not have thought of it on my own but realized it after the first year my tomatoes went crazy; turned the soil at the end of the season and found that the previous owner had been dumping his fireplace ash and charcoal in that area and everything I planted there would go crazy.

Mine all like plenty of water (maybe because they're in the ground.... in a pot maybe not the same?) and full sun all day. Tomatoes and cucumbers are my easiest growers; I am pretty hit and miss on lots of other stuff that I plant. I gave up on peppers.

 

[BayouQueen]

@firefly_ris , don't give up on the peppers. I've never had any success with them, but I threw in some jalapeño plants this summer, just to fill in a spot, and it's been such a hot summer that I've had a bumper crop. I've got rows of pepper jelly lined up now.
That was the good surprise of this summer.

 

[firefly_ris]

@firefly_ris , don't give up on the peppers. I've never had any success with them, but I threw in some jalapeño plants this summer, just to fill in a spot, and it's been such a hot summer that I've had a bumper crop. I've got rows of pepper jelly lined up now.
That was the good surprise of this summer.

I'll have to give jalapenos a try next year; I've always tried bell and sweet yellow and after the whole season I end up with mayybbeee one pepper, unless some animal eats it first, ha.

 

[LoveDaisy]

I have never been real successful growing tomatoes in pots for some reason. Mine always do better in the ground. I have romas and cherry tomatoes. The romas are about 3 feet tall but the cherry tomatoes typically grow just above my head, about 5 feet tall or so. I did beefsteaks last year but I kept having problems with them getting rot on the bottom or splitting open so I didn't do those again.

I do sometimes add carbon to my soil using smashed charcoal briquettes -- I would not have thought of it on my own but realized it after the first year my tomatoes went crazy; turned the soil at the end of the season and found that the previous owner had been dumping his fireplace ash and charcoal in that area and everything I planted there would go crazy.

Mine all like plenty of water (maybe because they're in the ground.... in a pot maybe not the same?) and full sun all day. Tomatoes and cucumbers are my easiest growers; I am pretty hit and miss on lots of other stuff that I plant. I gave up on peppers.

I had no luck with peppers for years. Healthy plants but no peppers. I was talking to my friends father who grows amazing peppers. He told my try adding matches. Seemed crazy but I guess they like sulfur?? I dig the hole for my pepper, add 5-6 matches, add a little more dirt and plant my pepper. I’ve been doing this for 3 years and I have been getting lots of peppers. I grow a variety (bell, banana, jalapeño, and some spicier peppers)