Growing Systems for Tomatoes

"And now it's time for the cage, which I'm sorry to say is the one design flaw in this system," says James. "Anyone who has grown tomatoes knows that a cage this flimsy simply won't support a full-grown tomato plant, especially an indeterminate type that can easily grow eight feet tall or more!" Although the instructions suggest that you plant two tomatoes in each container, the system comes with only one cage. So for now, James uses a simple stake to support each plant, and as the plants grow, he ties them to the stakes. "Ultimately, I'll probably create a rectangular-shaped, wire mesh cage out of reinforced material like this which is the absolute best in my opinion for growing tomatoes (figure F)."

James prepares a second container in the same method, but instead of using fertilizer, he applies a compost tea and a heat-absorbing brown plastic mulch rather than the red plastic mulch.

In about six weeks, James will sidedress the first tomato plantings with the organic fertilizer that came with the container, and he'll treat those every couple of weeks with some compost tea. "And, of course, along the way, I'll be on the lookout for various pests and diseases," says James.

"Incidentally, earlier I mentioned how the self-contained systems address the problems encountered by tomato growers everywhere." First, because these tomatoes are growing in a sterile planting mix, the likelihood that they'll be attacked by some sort of soil-borne fungal or bacterial blight is greatly reduced. Even more important, the self-watering feature of this planting system--and others like it--will help control a condition known as blossom end rot, which results in a blackening of the fruit where the blossom once was. Although blossom end rot is actually caused by a calcium deficiency, the real culprit is uneven moisture in the soil. Systems like this virtually eliminate moisture swings, assuming you remember to fill the reservoirs routinely.