Quick question: Growing vegetables in pots and containers

We have herbs in pots on the back deck. They seem to be doing well. Tomatoes like lots of sun.

I've always done my herbs in containers (I'm a freak and was always afraid I'd eat a weed or something if I didn't). This year, we moved the tomatoes to containers in order to have better control of them. Our yard is all landscaped, and we've tried to fit in tomatoes and peppers along the lot in the back, but as they were hard to get to and got so overgrown. I don't have any advice as I'm a newbie at it too....but, ours are growing and we actually have a few blossoms. They are on the patio and get direct sun part of the day, shade part of the day.

Try and see what works.

I've been wondering about the pots where tomatoes grow upside down as well.

Tomatoes do well in big pots and like a lot of sun. Sounds like a good plan.

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I have all of my tomatoes in pots and they are actually doing really well. I still have problems with caterbillers, but I have lots of tomatoes. I have them in the morning sun and afternoon shade, which seem to work great. I do add a bit of organic feed about once a week.

I am growing more because of the vegetable prices, and I make sure to plant a few seeds every week to stretch the season. It seems to work well.

My dad grows tomatoes in containers and he says they need just about the same as regular tomatoes. His containers get a lot of morning sun. He may pull them under the shade about 3 p.m. He did offer one word of advice. He over watered them the first year he tried it and it did the plants in. You might want to make sure you've got a drain hole...just a tiny one. Or just be careful with the water.

We're experimenting with red peppers this year. I love them, but they're getting too expensive to buy!

I'm growing a large garden for the first time since I was a little kid thanks to gas prices and food prices going out of control. I'm growing parsley in pots. Don't know about tomatoes.

No gardens here!

I've had a lot of success growing both tomatoes AND tomatillos (husk tomatoes) in half wine barrels before... You've just got to be sure to drill some holes in the bottoms for drainage because sometimes they don't come that way... Leave at least 3 inches or so between the top of the soil and the lip of container so you can really be sure that you're filling them up with water and it's soaking in... If they're too full of soil, all that happens when you water is the jet of water from the hose tosses the soil out of them and only the very top layer gets wet... I usually leave the hose on real low and just leave it in the container to let it fill up slowly and soak in real well... Lotsa sun fer 'maters! Definitely! And there are several "dwarf types" they've bred in the last few years that might do better than some of the tomato plants that get big... You might want to check that out... They even make a teeny little bush called "red robin" which is only something like 8 inches high and about that across.. It makes those little "egg shaped" tomatoes like they put on the salads at Mickey D's... Cute! ...lol...

Last year we grew both cherry tomatoes and regular tomatoes in pots on our deck and they did just wonderful.

I've grown cherry tomatoes in containers the past two years but I'm going back to planting them in the ground this year. I think the containers dried out too much in the sun, even though I was watering them once a day. The plants in the containers didn't produce nearly as much as the tomatoes I've planted in the ground. Maybe you'll have better luck than I did.

Tomatoes generally do best in full sun, well-watered. Other than that, I don't know so much. Good luck with all of your container gardening endeavors!

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I don't do tomatoes, but I have a pretty extensive herb garden and 95% of it is in containers.

If this is new to you, containers are a great way to start. They can need a bit more H2O, but your ability to move them more than makes up for it. You can keep an eye on them and move them to a different area in your yard or home if you think they are getting too much sun or too little. Also, with containers, you can extend your growing season, if you can move them inside.

We are starting to get some furry critters and the containers stop them in their tracks. I wish that I could say the same for my peas that I have growing on my fence.

I started my herb gardens when we moved here in Sept of '06. It has been a big learning process, but well worth it. I use a lot of herbal medicines and teas and now only does it save me money, but it makes the areas so much more interesting than your regular landscaping. There is also something really gratifying about it being a hands on project from start to finish!

I wish I could help, but I've never been lucky enough to have a green thumb. Good luck!

Grow them upside down hanging from a one of those wrought iron hooks meant for hanging bird feeders and such. Let's see those little rabbits climb that thing.

I never had a lot of luck with potted tomatoes...from what I'm reading, maybe my pots were too small. I do know that putting a newspaper "collar" around you tomato stems helps keep off the catipillars. To keep the rabbits out of the garden, put human urine around the perimeter of the garden. I've heard people talk about this for years...we have a dog that has garden access, so we never have rabbit trouble.

My tomatoes do better in containers and the critters leave them alone. They need to be in full sun, be watered regularly and they do like fertilizer as they are heavy feeders.
Right now I am trying one more in the ground, we'll see - my first few attempts did not work.

Lets see, I have green pepper,tomato,watermelon(NH kind) cucumber,green beans,lettuce,and cabbage. We are growing food to help our budget,but also to show our grandchildren sustainability, in a small dose of course. The only thing I have ever grown in containers is patio tomatoes.NH has a very short growing season. we are famous for our maple syrup and apples.
Good luck with your project.

plant some marigolds between your tomato plants it keeps the pests away. i am growing some tomatos to off set thw high cost of living.