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Ginger M wrote into Ask Gardenerd this week about the best soil for tomatoes. Here’s her question:
“I live in Florida. I just bought two tomato plants and I want to know when to transplant them out of the pot into a larger pot. I also use jungle grow on all of my plants and flowers and it seems to be doing well but what are your suggestions for soil? They do have a vegetable mix soil is that good for the tomato plant and can you give me any pointers for pollinating with the tomato plants? Thank you for your help.”
The Right PotCongrats on the new tomato purchase, Ginger. It’s an exciting time, and the desire to get it right is strong with new plants. You’re instincts are right: definitely transplant those to a larger part. In fact, the largest pot you can afford is the right choice. We like pots at least 20-24″ tall and wide for tomatoes. There are inexpensive pulp / paper pots that last a few seasons if finding a ceramic or plastic pot is outside your budget.
Tomatoes grow well in larger pots like this pulp pot that is 20″ diameter and tall. The Right Soil Anything grown in containers is going to need frequent, consistent watering and feeding because the roots can’t reach down for deep soil nutrients. Start with a nutrient-dense soil – this is where you’ll spend some money. Jungle Grow is a very low-cost option, and the label indicates that it has some good ingredients in it. But that low cost tells me that it might not be the best thing available in your area.
We’ve touted a few brands here at Gardenerd:
Malibu Compost – a biodynamic potting soil that makes things really grow Fox Farm Ocean Forrest – a potting soil that’s a great second place to Malibu E.B. Stone Recipe 420 – the first time I saw this product, the nursery was growing a tomato straight out of the bag. It was almost 10 feet tall and very happy.Try any of these to boost your tomato game this season.
A big pasta serving bowl is filled with tomatoes from the garden. Feeding Don’t forget to fertilize at least monthly during the growing season. Container plants need feeding more often than in-ground plants. Our friends at TomatoMania use some kind of liquid food (alternative between fish, kelp, and other liquid fertilizers) every single time they water. This will also help with fruit set.
Tomatoes are starting to flower – now is a good time to fertilize if you haven’t already this month. Pollinating As mentioned above, feeding your tomatoes is key to productivity. If you use something that has plenty of phosphorus and potassium, your tomatoes will set fruit on their own. Remember, tomatoes are self-pollinating, and outside of shaking their trellis once in a while, you don’t need to get out the electric toothbrush or work hard to get them to set fruit. But if the soil lacks phosphorus and potassium (the 2nd and 3rd number on the box of fertilizer) flowers will drop without setting fruit.
So I hope this helps you grow those tomatoes this year. Thanks for writing in, Ginger. And good luck!
