Container Tomato Trial 2008
Nine Palms Ranch Trial, 2008
Lead: Gil PatrickTeam members: Betsy Fisher
Summary
Many of the container tomatoes did as well or better than the in-ground tomatoes, including the indeteterminate (full-size) varieties. Container gardening with full-size tomatoes is something we can recommend.
Overview
Eight tomato varieties (Azoychka, Carbon, Flashen, Henderson’s Winsall, Howard German, Siletz, Spears Tennessee Green, and Sprite) were grown in black 15 gallon plastic pots. Three of these varieties (Flaschen, Siletz, and Sprite) were also grown in black 5 gallon plastic pots. The trial was to compare the flavor and production from container tomato plants to in-ground tomato plants
Soil preparation
The potting soil mixture was Sunland planter mix and 1/3 horse manure.
Seeding and transplanting
The seeds were started in March and transplanted into the pots in May.
Watering
The pots were hand watered twice a week.
Fertilization and pesticides
They were fertilized once with Whitney Farms organic fertilizer. No pesticides were used.
Observations
| Variety | Total number harvested |
Total weight harvested |
Average in- ground production |
Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Azoychka, 15 gallon | 56 | 25.5 lbs | 28 lbs | Beautiful looking yellow tomatoes but not much flavor. |
| Carbon, 15 gallon | 55 | 17.5 lbs | 21 lbs | I grew Carbon tomatoes at my home and the taste was excellent but the Carbon tomato plants at Nine Palms were not the same. Not sure why the plants were inconsistent. |
| Carbon, 15 gallon | 48 | 18 lbs | Second Carbon tomato | |
| Flaschen, 15 gallon | 71 | 1.5 lbs | 1.5 lbs | The 5 gallon pot had more tomatoes than the 15 gallon pot. Flaschen is not a tomato I would grow again. Not much flavor – a waste of water as far as I am concerned. |
| Flaschen, 5 gallon | 90 | 2.5 lbs | ||
| Henderson's Winsall, 15 gallon | 19 | 9.5 lbs | 16 lbs | Nothing special. Some people liked them, but I didn’t care for them. |
| Howard German, 15 gallon | 98 | 22 lbs | 17 lbs | Good tomato for sauce. |
| Siletz, 15 gallon | 74 | 22 lbs | 16 lbs | Tomatoes had good flavor. Large crop from small determinant plant. |
| Siletz, 5 gallon | 10 | 2.5 lbs | Died early. | |
| Spears Tennessee Green, 15 gallon | 58 | 31 lbs | 28 lbs | I like the tomatoes but they are a bit tart and didn’t do well on the taste test at Nine Palms. |
| Sprite, 15 gallon | 244 | 2 lbs | 11 lbs | Poor production, poor flavor and waste of time to pick. |
| Sprite, 5 gallon | 67 | 7 oz |
Note
Do not put the pots on a concrete slab in full sun or along the south side of a house or building as this is too much sun/heat.
Conclusion
Many of the container tomatoes did as well or better than the in-ground tomatoes. Container gardening with full-size tomatoes is something we could recommend at the Spring Garden Market for people who have limited space. We could offer 15 gallon pots with cages and recommend tomato varieties at the sale.