Tomato Harvest
Posted on by Yael Ben-Ari

Tomatoes In Grow Bags – Final Results

I started the summer trying out Tomatoes In Grow Bags for the second time.  Last year, I had less than stellar results, but was willing to try this type of container gardening again.  I reported earlier that I had tried a different soil mix that I hoped would retain moisture better.  I also gave preliminary results of my tomato growth.  Now, seeing my final results, as the season is coming to a close, I can say that my preliminary opinion is also my final opinion.

Tomatoes In Grow Bags Season 2

So here are my results:

I used both grow bags and pots for my containers, and I used both a heavier soil mixture and compost.  For some of the containers, I layered the soil and the compost.  For others, I mixed the two together evenly.

Tomato Harvest

1)  The growth I got from layering vs mixed together was no different.  I got very good growth and there was much better water retention than last year with a lighter soil mixture.  So, I can say that I would want to use a heavier soil mixture in my grow bags.  And I would probably mix the soil and the compost, since this is easier to do.  I have gotten an abundance of tomatoes from these tomatoes.  I roasted three trays full of tomatoes today, which I froze.

Roasted Tomatoes

2) I did not have very good results with the pots.  The tomatoes plants were anemic , although they seemed to produce fairly well.  I used some additional fertilizer, which greened them up, while my tomatoes in grow bags didn’t seem to need additional fertilizer.  I have no idea why the difference, since the soil mixture was the same for both grow bags and pots.  I have had good tomatoes from the plants in pots, but fewer of them.

3)  I used three different kinds of tomatoes, Black Prince, Sweet Millions and Early Girl.  All were wonderful in flavor and production.  My favorite is still Black Prince.

Tomatoes Drying Out

So my conclusions are that the grow bags work better for me.  I have had some septoria leaf spot, but at least no blight.  (No, the plants above dont have blight, they are crispy crittered, because I stopped watering about two weeks ago to hasten ripening, since there isn’t much time left in the season.)

Phlox Next To Tomato Plants

So, now the plants look horrible, but the tomatoes themselves look wonderful and are ripening rapidly.  In all, I am very pleased with my results.  I don’t believe they are as good as I get with plants in the ground, but the results are still good and better than last year.  They tomatoes may have dried, but the phlox is reviving and giving me a second bloom.

Mescaline Mix Sprouts

My house mate decided to start a new crop of mescaline mix.  See the sprouts.  Yumm, we will have greens if the slugs don’t get them first.

Tomato Mosaic

Will I try grow bags again?  Yes!  At least until I have places to plant them in the ground.

 

 

18 Replies to “Tomatoes In Grow Bags – Final Results”

  1. Hi! I’m glad you had good results with your grow bags. We, too, have had a lot of tomatoes this year. I had 14 plants and had lots to give away, and even sold some. I froze a few for chili but still have some frozen from last year. Thus, for me, giving them to others was a good solution and made someone else happy. 🙂

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    1. Hi Beth,

      Thanks. This was a good year for my tomatoes. I am still getting quite a few, and hope most will ripen before Mother Nature pulls the plug. Glad to heat this has been a good year for you too.

      Yael

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    1. Thanks. Ilovetoys our roasted tomatoes. We use them for soups and other dishes that need tomatoes during the winter.

      Yael

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  3. Ahhh, this explains a few things. My daughter-in-law has the most awful looking tomato plants and the most beautiful looking tomatoes. She stopped watering awhile ago, too. I, on the other hand, have the most beautiful looking plants and a lot of green tomatoes that don’t seem to want to ripen. Guess I’ll pick them and hope that they’ll ripen on the window sills.

    Thanks for the result of your experiment. Grow bags…hmmm…now that might work well here as we struggle with shade that grows more intense as the summer goes on.

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    1. Vee,

      Thanks for coming by. Stopping watering tomatoes stresses them out and they try to get their fruit ripe before they die. You are also supposed to pinch out shoots that continue to grow so the plants put their energy into the fruit, but I am rarely that organized.

      I usually have to ripen a bunch on my window sill too. I’m sure this year will be no exception.

      Yael

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  4. I am going to plant in container some of my herbs. My tomatoes this year are not producing good I guess because my new garden is shaded almost the whole time. I think tomatoes likes lot of sunlight. Thanks for the visit!

    Kim,USA

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    1. Hi Kim,

      Thanks for coming by. I do have some herbs in pots. It sure keeps them handy when you want them. Yes, you are right, tomatoes do require quite a bit of sun. Having enough shade for shade plants is the problem I have.

      Yael

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    1. Pam,

      Thanks for coming by. Sorry to hear that your tomatoes have not been very productive. That has happened to me in the past too. Hope for va better year next year, and maybe not so hot if you we’re in the heat zone.

      Yael

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    1. Becky.

      Thanks for visiting. My objective is to get more veggie bed space, since I think they do better in the ground.

      Yael

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  8. This was a very helpful post, Yael. Glad that the bags worked well for you. I started cutting back on watering my tomatoes in the ground as well, and they are starting to really ripen up. I am drying some, and we made salsa out of some, and we’re eating them fresh every night for dinner. I will likely be canning some sauce as well. We had three really huge and delicious Cherokee Purple tomatoes–like a lot of the heirlooms, they don’t produce as much as the hybrids varieties but what they do produce is large and very flavorful.

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    1. Athena,

      Salsa, that is the thing that is missing in my repertoire of tomato recipes. I will have plenty to make some. I just roasted three more baking sheets full of tomatoes yesterday. I will probably have about two or three more harvests before I call it a year.

      Yael

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    1. Hi Donna,

      Thanks. They are a good alternative if you don’t have a lot of space. I still don’t think they are as good as growing tomatoes in the ground.

      Yael

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