New Group for me. Great to see it. I have a question please.

[yy4me]

I have had a small garden for years but this year will have to be very different. In our back yard, there is a huge stone wall belonging to the neighbor behind me. It is about 50 feet long and 10 feet high. It is well over 100 years old. My house was built in the late 1700's or early 1800's. The one to whom the wall belongs was built in 1870 and the wall holds back their property.

Now to the serious part. Through the years, loss of trees, loss of bushes and other things on that property have undermined the wall. It has migrated and a section has fallen into my yard. Another section is too unsafe to go near. I will not be using my back yard this year for a veggie garden because work will be starting soon to repair this dry stone wall. It is a work of art, I hope my neighbors contractor does a good job.

The way my yard is aligned, I have few areas that get enough sunlight. I have never planted anything in large pots but will try this season. I will go without everything else but I have to plant tomatoes. Can anyone give me good advice on that? I can sneak some Basil in a tiny spot by my door.
The pots will have to go in my front yard. Might look strange but I really don't care about that.


It has been too cold to give this much thought but the time is coming.

[WolverineDG]

1. Unttil I actually put in a garden this year, I planted tomatoes in pots

in the front of the house. No one seemed to notice. :) Good luck with the repair work on the stone wall.

dg

[dgibby]

2. Try companion planting.

Basil and tomatoes like each other! Just be sure to use a pot that's deep enough for the tomato roots. If you google "companion planting", you'll find lots of good sites. Also, "square foot gardening". Good luck!

[Arkansas Granny]

3. I found a novel idea for planting tomatoes in straw bales. I'm going to

give it a try this year. I haven't talked to anyone who has used this method before, but it really sounds interesting.

http://www.nicholsgardennursery.com/strawbales.htm

[madeline_con]

7. I also heard of planting directly in the potting soil bag.

[WheelWalker]

9. Ooooo....I like this idea. And,

the straw will serve a dual function as substrate for the Ancient One

[Gormy Cuss]

4. 1)Get at least a five gallon container for the tomato plants. 2) Buy varieties with med. size fruit

like Early Girl. Cherry and grape tomatoes work well too. Tomatoes will grow in 3 gallon pots but the bigger the pot the less stressed the plant will be in the heat of summer and with more room for roots you'll get more fruit. You'll need to pay more attention to the watering and fertilizing schedule when in pots. Fertilize with less (weaker solutions, smaller amount of dry) and more frequently.

When I grew tomatoes in pots I set up a cage in the pot and one next to it for the overflow. Since your will be in the front yard that may be too unattractive.

[Blue Gardener]

5. I grow tomatoes in pots every year

The main problems? Drying out quickly, and blowing over in the wind. I solved both problems by buyind a tomato growing kit from Gardener's Supply. There is a water reservoir in the pot, and the cages anchor to the side of the pot with clips. It was a little pricey to start, but I'll use it for years to come.

[K8-EEE]

8. Gardener's Supply has great products

They are a bit on the pricey side but I use them year after year.

[madeline_con]

6. Tomatoes in pots do well. You also use a lot less water.

Use 5 gal buckets, or 55 gal. barrels, cut in half. they're great. I actually have a lemon and a lime tree in 55 gal barrels. I drilled holes in the bottom and put them up on bricks for good drainage. :)