5 Secrets to Grow LOTS of Tomatoes in Containers / Container Garden Series #1🍅🍅🍅

hi everyone welcome to the container garden series  i'm very excited about this series because a lot   of you are growing in small spaces on a deck a  patio a balcony and only growing containers so   this series is going to focus on growing specific  vegetables successfully in containers and we're   even going to be visiting some viewer gardens  who are growing on balconies patios small spaces   so that's going to be a lot of fun we'll bring  you along for the whole process but this first   video is all about five secrets to growing lots  of tomatoes in containers if you're growing in a   small space and you think you can't grow a large  vegetable like a tomato think again because you   can grow tomatoes in containers and harvest a lot  successfully homegrown tomatoes are so amazingly   delicious growing tomatoes in containers is pretty  similar to growing them in your in-ground garden   or in your raised beds with a few really important  differences and when you address these differences   you'll have the secrets to growing lots  of tomatoes and containers now first of   all let's just start off with a few tomato basics  tomatoes are a warm weather vegetable which means   you need to get them planted outside after your  last frost date they like temperatures between   50 to 60 degrees at night on up to about 90  degrees during the day so they really thrive   in those warm summer temperatures and they love a  lot of sun at least six hours of sun a day is best   you can give them more you're going to get a lot  more tomatoes the first secret to growing tomatoes   and containers believe it or not is to choose the  right container now here i have a beautiful tomato   growing in a 20 gallon container and one of the  biggest mistakes that people make is they choose   a container that's way too small now tomatoes have  a pretty extensive root system they have nice deep   deep roots so if you get a large container you're  going to give a lot more room for those tomato   roots to grow and produce take up water and  nutrients and then grow you a lot of tomatoes   i love these little tomato flowers actually really  big tomato flowers that are popping out here which   means that tomatoes are on the way there's lots  of different options when it comes to containers   you can choose plastic terracotta fabric now i've  grown in fabric containers for years you guys know   what a big fan i am of Smart Pots and i absolutely  love them because not only do they look really   nice in the garden they're easy to move around  but the fabric is breathable which i think is   really important especially for tomatoes because  it allows lots of oxygen to get into the roots   allows the roots and the soil to drain really  well at the bottom and they just grow really nice   vegetables the roots don't get root bound which  is super important especially when you're growing   tomatoes because like i mentioned they have tons  and tons of roots so what size containers should   you choose to grow a tomato in well if you're  growing a full-size indeterminate tomato an   indeterminate just means the tomatoes produce all  season long and they're killed off by frost in the   fall or in the winter months it's a large tomato  eight to ten feet tall and a larger size tomato   so for that size tomato you really need  a container of at least 10 to 20 gallons   so the root structure can have plenty of room to  grow and take up the water and nutrients if you   don't have room for a large container or a large  size tomato you can still grow tomatoes in smaller   containers but the secret is choose the right type  variety for a smaller container now here i have   a dwarf tomato tiny tim it's my favorite dwarf  tomato growing in a five gallon fabric smart pots   this tomato only grows to about two feet tall so  it's perfect size for the perfect container so   really the secret is choosing the right tomato  for the right size container and you're bound   to get tons of tomatoes so choose a dwarf variety  or a determinate variety which tend to be smaller   varieties of tomatoes and then choose a five to  ten gallon container for your smaller varieties   now i just got to show you guys this tiny tim  tomato i love this little guy there's tons of   tomatoes on here and honestly i think one reason  why it looks so good is because it's growing in   this fabric pot it just has the air and the oxygen  that it needs to develop a lot of tomatoes look   at all these tomatoes tons and tons of tomatoes  all over this little guy and i have seeds for him   in my container garden seed collection we're going  to get a tomato planted today in this orange 15   gallon smart pots it's really hard to choose  guys i started all these tomatoes from seed got   a little lineup here but i think what i've decided  on is the golden jubilee i love the golden jubilee   it's an orange sweet tomato and i think it's going  to look really pretty in this orange Smart Pots   but before we get it planted let's talk about  secret number two to growing lots of tomatoes in   smart pots and that is the soil now a mistake that  a lot of gardeners make is they put garden soil   into their containers you definitely don't want  to make that mistake because it's just too heavy   doesn't drain well and usually doesn't grow  your tomatoes very well so i like to choose   an organic bagged potting mix and my favorite is  good dirt now i love this because it has lots of   great nutrients in it and it's a great investment  it lasts season after season doesn't get compacted   and honestly i think that's another  reason why my tomatoes look so good too   is because i grow in good dirt i'm going to  fill this pot about a third of the way full   i'll tell you why i'm not going to fill it all the  way up in just a moment but first off we're going   to moisten the dirt because you always want to  plant your container plants in pre-moistened soil   and it is important that you pre-moisten the soil  that way the plants have all the water they need   to get off to a really good start right when you  get implanted and you want to choose a potting mix   that drains really well especially for tomatoes  so that all those roots get the oxygen they need   and are able to take up the nutrients and  grow lots of tomatoes in your container   so we're just going to moisten up the soil a  little bit you don't want it soaking wet about the   consistency of you know what i always say crumbly  brownie mix we're going to add a little bit more   soil and then work out a little bit more water and  then work it in until the soil is nice and moist   so when you're grinding containers your biggest  investment is definitely going to be your soil   but purchasing or making your own high quality  good soil is so critical when you're growing in   containers it's really going to determine how  productive your plants are the better the soil   the more luck you're going to have growing  lots of tomatoes now i've mixed in the water   so let me just show you about the consistency  here see how it's nice and evenly moist you   don't get a lot of water when you squeeze it  about the consistency of crumbly brownie mix   and there's no dry spots here in the soil that way  your tomatoes are going to get off to a good start   third secret to growing lots of tomatoes  and containers is to plant them deep   now we've talked on other tomato growing videos  before but tomatoes are a really cool vegetable   because they have little tiny hairs along the  stems and whenever those stems touch the soil   they grow into roots which is perfect for tomatoes  because all of those roots feed the tomato plant   lots of nutrients so they can grow lots of  tomatoes for you now what we're going to do   is plant this tomato deep in this container and  something also cool about smart pots is they're   pretty flexible because they're fabric so you  can fold the sides over for a smaller container   but it works perfect for tomatoes because  it allows us to get a small tomato plant   like this one planted deep in the container  and then add more soil as the plant grows   so that the little stem develops lots more roots  so we got our smart pot sides folded down i'm   going to make a hole in the middle of my container  here and that's we're going to pop our tomato   so we'll grab the golden jubilee and you see  in here i've got three different actually four   different little transplants i'm gonna  pick the biggest one out separate it   and that way we can keep on growing the other  three and i've given these some of these to a   neighbor because there's no way i'm going to be  able to fit all these tomato plants in my garden   and you do want to just stick to one tomato  plant per container that way the plant   doesn't get crowded you can still get all the  nutrients that it needs to grow nice and strong   i just love the looks of this tomato seedling  and the roots are absolutely beautiful   i'm going to pop that deep in the pot a  little golden jubilee here fill the hole in i'm going to remove the bottom  couple of leaves here for stems and i think i can even add a little bit more soil  we want to get the soil up to about this level   so all these little tiny hairs grow those fruits i  pre-moistened some good dirt here in this bin i'm   just going to add some more around my tomato plant  get it nice and full and i am running a sale this   weekend 20% off at calikimgardenandhome.com  applies to all of my seed collections   including the container garden seed collection  which has 12 varieties of vegetables specifically   designed for growing in containers done all the  leg work for you and so you don't have to wonder   which seeds to buy but the kicker thing is here  guys you get a free tomato seed packet with every   purchase with this particular sale that sale  is good through monday may 10th so go over and   grab your seeds and grow in containers along with  me now as our little tomato plant grows it gets   bigger what i'll do is fold up the sides of the  smart pots and continue to add more soil so that   stem is always getting more soil touching it and  continues to grow more roots and it'll grow into   a nice big tomato plant like this one and grow a  lot of tomatoes secret number four growing lots   of tomatoes and containers is consistent watering  and fertilizing one of the biggest mistakes that   people make with container growing is they let  the soil dry out too much the plants get stressed   and whenever a plant gets stressed it's not going  to be as productive as possible because it's   continually recovering from the stress so one of  the keys for me for consistent watering has been   drip irrigation now in southern california  here we have been under drought conditions   for several years i would be absolutely lost  without drip irrigation especially in containers   because they dry out a whole lot quicker than  your in-ground garden or your raised beds so for   me it just takes the guesswork out of it i can  set it on a timer and then just forget about it   i don't have to worry about my plants drying  out but if you're in an area where you get   a lot of rain you may not need drip irrigation  but the key is really checking your plants daily   to make sure that the soil is not drying out and  what you can do to do that is just use your finger   as a moisture meter stick it in the soil if the  soil feels wet that means it doesn't need water   but if you pull up a little bit of soil and it  feels dry or the top is a light brown color it   means your soil is starting to dry out and  you definitely need to water your plants so   it's going to be different for everyone but here  you can see i'm just winding my drip irrigation   hose around my container you install it in a very  similar way as you would in your in-ground garden   with the exception is you want to hook it to a  separate system that's just for your containers   or a separate zone that's just for your containers  that way it gets watering more often another   reason why consistent watering is very important  especially in containers with tomatoes is because   tomatoes are really susceptible to blossom and  rot now if you've ever seen blossom and rot that's   just kind of a soft brown spot at the bottom  of your tomatoes you definitely don't want that   but one of the keys to preventing blossom and  rot is consistent watering it basically means   there's a lack of calcium which can be taken  care of when your plants are watered consistently   then your tomatoes can take up calcium from the  soil so a lot of times people add calcium to the   soil but consistent watering is really the key  to that now as we water here we're also going to   fertilize which is another key to growing a lot of  tomatoes in containers is consistent fertilizing   because the nutrients drain out of the container  a lot quicker than they do your in-ground garden   i'm going to make a little plant  cocktail here with a good dirt plant food   and this has some really great amino acids  in it which really help the health of your   plant as well as the Vermisterra worm tea which  has all that good beneficial bacteria help your   plant be nice and healthy so i like to water  my containers with this little plant cocktail   every 10 days and guys the consistency here really  makes a huge difference so you can water with that   plant cocktail in one of your regular watering  sessions if you're using drip you just want to   drench the soil of your tomato plant here every  10 days and then let the drip do the watering   during the other times so drench it here  really good till it runs out the bottom that way the tomatoes getting  the nutrients it needs   consistently to grow a lot of tomatoes for  you throughout the growing season so what   you might want to do and this is what i like to  do is just set a little reminder on your phone   so you don't forget every 10 days to two weeks  to give your tomato plants a nice good feeding   i know my little golden jubilee tomato looks  pretty small right now but believe you me it's   gonna grow fast especially when you use all the  secrets to growing lots of tomatoes that we talk   about in this video as it grows it's going to  need some support and one of the biggest mistakes   a lot of gardeners make is they don't provide  support for their tomatoes or they don't provide   big enough cages for their tomatoes to grow on  now tomatoes are a vining vegetable they need   to be kept up off the ground away from pests and  critters they need all that air flow on the bottom   so they don't get diseases so you can go a couple  of different ways with supports you can either   go the diy route or you can pre-purchase  some supports that are already pre-made   and this one here is one of my favorites it's by  gardeners it's called the titan tomato trellis   it works really well because it fits perfectly in  the smart pots it's nice and sturdy and one of the   really cool things i like about this particular  trellis is that you can pop these little rings off   and move them up and down easily to the right  height and then just pop them right back on   and this one i've had for a couple of years and  i really like it so if you want to be a little   bit more budget friendly and go the diy route this  is one of my favorites here this is actually two   tomato cages that i got from the garden center you  don't want to use just one because it's not going   to be tall enough this plant will probably grow  to about 10 feet tall so what i did here is i just   stuck another tomato cage right on top inverted  it and then connected it here with cable ties   and then i put a couple of stakes right in the  middle here to make it nice and sturdy this   will easily be able to hold up and support all the  tomatoes we're going to grow here so as my little   seedling here grows and i fold up the sides and  add more soil i'm going to be adding a nice sturdy   tomato support in this pot as well let me know if  you're going to be growing tomatoes and containers   along with me this season it's going to be a ton  of fun to watch these tomato plants grow to be   able to harvest a lot as we go through the season  join me in the container garden series grab my   container garden seed collection and my book lots  of great container garden tips in here you can   save five dollars when you get them as the book  bundle over at calikimgardenandhome.com and make   sure you use the code "mom" to get 20% off and  that free tomato seed packet through monday may   10th 2021 in celebration of mother's day thanks so  much for watching we'll see on the next video you

Channel: CaliKim29 Garden & Home DIY

Views: 804,716

Keywords: how to grow tomatoes, tomato growing tips, growing tomatoes, organic, fertilizer for tomatoes, tomato plant growing, gardening, how to grow tomato plants, tomato growing secrets, growing tomatoes in containers, planting tomatoes, tomato tips, container gardening, organic gardening, how to grow organic tomatoes at home, garden tips, grow big tomatoes, tomatoes, calikim29 garden & home diy, organic gardening tips, vertical garden diy, how to grow tomatoes in containers

Id: cITI_nd-2EI

Length: 15min 13sec (913 seconds)

Published: Sat May 08 2021