Tomato growing

Discussion in 'Greenhouse Growing' started by Grumps, Jan 19, 2018.

  1. Grumps

    Grumps Gardener

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    Hi all
    Being new to the forum please forgive me if this has been asked before,
    I have a 6x8 high eaves greenhouse and wondered how many
    tomato plants I should be able to grow without overcrowding it
    I will be using large pots not growbags,
    regards
    Grumps,,
     
  2. Freddy

    Freddy Miserable git, well known for it

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    Hiya Grumps.
    I have a greenhouse the same size. I grow mine in the border, and I can just about squeeze 5 plants per side. Bear in mind that since you are using pots, this will reduce the amount of trusses, because of the height of the pots, which should be large.
    Hope this helps :thumbsup:
     
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    • "M"

      "M" Total Gardener

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      Good evening @Grumps :)

      There is a dedicated "Tomato Growing" thread, which we run annually, to discuss all things tomato (no spuds permitted :nonofinger: :heehee: ).
      You may get a few more answers if you visit: THE TOMATO GROWING THREAD 2018
      :thumbsup:
       
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      • Grumps

        Grumps Gardener

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        Hi Freddy
        I don't think height will be a problem as the greenhouse
        has high eaves ,
        the pots I used last year are about the size of a builders bucket,
        is that big enough ????
        Thank you "M"
        I had a look at the thread earlier but could not find anything
        Regards
        Grumps,,,,
         
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        • "M"

          "M" Total Gardener

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          Hmm, :Think: ...


          ... try asking? :scratch: :heehee:

          Freddy seems to know what he is talking about (I've met him, he does seem to know these things :thumbsup: ). My personal experience is very limited, so I cannot answer your question with any confidence/experience/detail. I do, however, draw much insight from the link I posted - but that may just be tomato newbie safety net ;) :heehee:
           
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          • Freddy

            Freddy Miserable git, well known for it

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            Hiya Grumps.
            Regarding the trusses, I just felt it was important to point this out, as ultimately it will reduce the crop, even if by not that much.
            Apart from the odd plant that I grow outdoors, I don’t/haven’t really grown in pots, but do feel that you need something a bit bigger than bucket size pots. If it were me, and it had to be pots, I would go for something maybe half as big again?
             
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            • Grumps

              Grumps Gardener

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              Thank you Freddy,
              Do you grow yours in growbags or a different way ??
              I am sure you can tell its all new to me,,,
              Grumps
               
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              • Freddy

                Freddy Miserable git, well known for it

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                As I said, I grow mine in the greenhouse border, directly in the soil. I prefer this because it gives the roots unrestricted growth. The downside of this is that the soil needs to be replaced to prevent build-up of disease. Some will say that it should be replaced every year, but once every two years has worked for me, so far. I have used grow bags in the past, with some success, but the problem with those is watering, the water can often run round the sides, so when you think you’ve given them enough, you haven’t.
                 
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                • Grumps

                  Grumps Gardener

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                  Thank you for your advice Freddy,
                  My greenhouse is on a flagged area of my garden
                  so that's me off looking for bigger pots over the weekend,
                  Grumps
                   
                • Freddy

                  Freddy Miserable git, well known for it

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                  Grumps, I would hang on for some other replies, as I am by no means an expert. I only state my opinion, based on my own experience. @JWK May well be able to add more...
                   
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                  • ARMANDII

                    ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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                    I grow 5 varieties in lots of 3, Grumps, in builders buckets which are large enough. I give them a weekly feed as soon as the flowers appear. One problem you might encounter is supporting the plants as they get larger and start fruiting as they do get heavy. I have poles in the ground and twine along the length of the Green House and buckets.:coffee::snorky:
                     
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                    • JWK

                      JWK Gardener Staff Member

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                      Hi Grumps, some excellent advice by others on here which I agree with.

                      There are little builders buckets and big builders buckets, so to be clear the bare minimum you need is at least 2 gallons (10 litres in new money). At that size you will need to water twice daily in the summer and the plants will not thrive. So going for a bigger size will help.

                      I have a 8x8ft greenhouse and over the years have tried all sorts of methods: direct in the soil, growbags, containers and proprietary reservoir systems. I cram in 12 plants in mine, so 10 plants in yours would be the maximum.

                      As you have flags you are limited to the last three options. When I tried containers I used 35 litre sized. Again it will need a lot of watering but at least there is reasonable space for the roots to grow. The problem with buckets/containers is losing height and as Freddy was saying you will not get so many trusses before the plants hit the roof. Maybe don't worry about that too much as what I tend to do is to 'train' the plants up to the apex to get a few extra trusses, you will need some sort of framework along the lines of what Armandii is saying.

                      I had better success with growbags - but not those cheap small ones they don't pack enough volume for the roots. I used a couple of 75 litre ordinary multi purpose compost bags, laid flat one on top of each other. Make holes between the two to connect them and only grow two plants per double bag. The advantage of this method is they are not so tall hence more height for extra trusses plus each plant has a good 75 litres of root space.

                      I had tried a proprietary reservoir system (greenhousesensation) but it didn't work for me as well as growing in the soil so I gave up. I know others on here who do well with such a system. They are expensive in the first place though.
                       
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                      • sandymac

                        sandymac Super Gardener

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                        Hi Grumps
                        This was my old 8 x 6 greenhouse with toms grown in 12" pots you can see from the picture you can get a good crop in that sized pot the secret or problem is the watering. I am retired and my greenhouse is just outside the back door so not a problem for me. If you cannot get to greenhouse twice a day you may want to put some sort of drip watering system in
                        I have grown six plants down each side, sometimes as many as ten plants down each side. six is a good number. I still use some pots but mostly quad grows now.
                        I used to stagger the pots but I am unable to put a layout plan on here.
                        Regards Sandy
                         
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                        • Scrungee

                          Scrungee Well known for it

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                          Last year I crammed 24 tomatoes in each of my 6m x 1.2m polytunnel borders, 48 tomatoes per 3 x 6m tunnel. 9 along back row, 9 middle row but only 6 only the front row as they're tight up against the central path.

                          For tall cordon tomatoes the minimum pot size I'll use is 30 Litres 10 X 30 LITRE PLANT TREE POT WITH HANDLES HEAVY DUTY 30L LT BIG LARGE PLASTIC | eBay My plot is 10 mins walk from home andI want a size that doesn't require watering twice a day.

                          For early season Red Alert bush tomatoes I use 9.5L ex-Morrisons flower buckets (NB The new ones are 9L), 8 for 99p from Morrisons. That size will fit amongst my cordon tomatoes during May until danger of frost has passed and the can go outside leaving more room for the cordon tomatoes.
                           
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                            Last edited: Jan 20, 2018
                          • Grumps

                            Grumps Gardener

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                            Thank you to all for the advice given,
                            Being honest I think the builders bucket size pots do look small,
                            I will try larger pots I think,
                            Time in the greenhouse for me is not a problem
                            only working 3 hours a day {evenings} and the greenhouse
                            is just outside the house so keeping an eye on watering is no problem,
                            I have had the greenhouse for 2 years and done pretty poorly with it,
                            It was a busy time and just bought tomato plants wherever I could but
                            to me it was late in the season,filled the greenhouse with Italian plum last year
                            bought from a local shop and they grew well but refused to ripen,
                            Going to try growing my own this year so I will be posting again for advice on that,
                            Thank you all again for the advice given
                            Regards
                            Grumps
                             
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