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Tips for growing tomato plants in a container

Three problems you should avoid: 1. Too small of a pot 2. overheated soil 3. fluctuating moisture

Choose the largest container available (eg. whiskey barrel) to allow plenty of room for root development. Make sure you use good, well-drained potting soil. The soil mix should retain some water but allow excess water to drain freely (don’t use garden soil). If your container does not have a drainage hole, add coarse gravel to the bottom of the pot. This also helps to weight down the pot so it doesn’t get knocked over on a windy day.
Container plants will dry out faster and will require more frequent watering on hot days. Water mature plants when the top inch of soil is dry and then water until it drains from the bottom.
Some afternoon shade from the hot sun will help keep the soil from getting too hot. Overheated soil will stress the plant causing poor growth of leaves and fruit production. Fluctuating moisture(too much, then to little) can cause problems such as blossom-end rot. To avoid blossom-end rot and cracking maintain even moisture and place a layer of mulch around the plant.

For optimim success grow special varieties of tomatoes that are designed for container gardening such as a Patio Hybrid, Totem Hybrid (70 days). Both have compact vines that produce medium sized tomatoes. Tomatoes need at least 6-8 hrs of sun. They are heavy feeders and frequent watering will leach the nutrients down the drain hole. Therefore, fertilize regularily (10-14 days) with a 10-10-10. You can also add a time-release fertilizer to the soil as a suppplemental fertilizer.

You can have a varietable garden on your patio since most vegetables that can be grown in containers. Here are some of the easier ones; snap beans, beets, broccoli, carrots, cucumbers, eggplant, lettuce, onions, peppers, potatoes,pumpkins, radishes.

 
Learn more about how to grow tomatoes!

Dracaena sanderiana, better known as Lucky Bamboo is not a bamboo but belongs to the lily family. It grows under low light conditions in the rain forest canopy in Southeast Asia which makes it an ideal plant for the office, or room with little sun. It is used in the Feng Shui system as green is a lucky color attracting positive chi. Lucky bamboo is given on special occasions such as the New Year.

Care: Lucky bamboo needs little care and should be grown in the shade/no direct sun at temperatures between 60-80F. It grows well under fluorescent lights. Keep the plant in at least 2 inches of water and change the water weekly. Use bottled spring (not distilled) or rain water. Tap water may have too many chemicals (salts, chlorine, and fluoride) which can lead to yellowing stem and an eventual slow death.

Feed only when leaves turn a light color and use fish emulsion or an organic fertilizer.  Keep the plant away from heating vents and air conditioners.

Troubleshooting
Brown tips 1. too much fertilizer or other chemicals such as fluoride in the water 2. low humidity
Yellowing leaves: 1. too much direct sun exposure 2. watering with tap water that is softened or fluoridated.
Webbing on the leaves- indicates spider mites. Wash the leaves can help control the problem.