Anthony, "...the soil im using is Pro-Mix BX but it dries out very fast." Premier's Pro-Mix BX is good stuff and I would be using it myself if I could find it here in this area of Kansas. I used a lot of it when we lived in Maine. It retains water better than the bark-based stuff I am using here. However, BX has a very limited amount of nutrients, and is designed to nourish seedlings for only a few weeks. I am treating my fast-draining medium as if it were a hydroponic substrate and watering it with a dilute solution containing a complete hydroponic diet. Since my operation is quite small compared to yours, I can afford to use premium quality urea-free nutrients like Better-Gro's Orchid Plus and Better-Gro's Orchid Bloom Booster, but that stuff costs about $7 a pound, so for greenhouse quantities you would probably be looking for a cheaper source of nutrients. My hand-pollinated zinnias love the orchid food. There are a lot of commercial-sized hydroponic operations, so there are hydroponic nutrients that cost much less per pound. Most "complete" nutrient formulas, like Miracle-Gro and Better-Gro, don't have calcium, because if they did it would precipitate with the phosphates and sulfates in the solution. Both calcium phosphate and calcium sulfate are relatively insoluble in water. I discovered the need for calcium nutrition the hard way a few years ago, after my indoor zinnia plants developed severe calcium deficiency symptoms growing in Pro-Mix BX, even though BX does have enough calcium for a few weeks. I ordered a pound of calcium nitrate from EveryBody's Garden Center and, by feeding calcium nitrate solution separately, I solved the calcium deficiency problem. With the added calcium nitrate, my zinnias became quite healthy and went on to produce big blooms indoors under my fluorescent lights. Since I dilute the calcium nitrate to one-half teaspoon per gallon, a pound of it goes a long way. Plants use a lot of calcium, and it is classified as a macronutrient instead of as a micronutrient. I later learned that if you predilute the calcium nitrate and predilute the other nutrients, that you can combine the solutions without precipitation. But it is OK to apply them separately, too. ZM

Hi Jeffcat, I don't do any preparation or protection. I tried protection a couple of times, but it was a lot of work and I still had plenty of dieback in my garden. So now I don't bother protecting anything. You can prune Austins like shrubs, not like hybrid teas. So that means just take it down by a third, although it's also a personal preference.You can prune lower or higher, NO rules really. But if it's a plant that tends to be large, don't over prune and try to make it a little plant. Let it be big. Ofcourse, remove dead wood. If you have alot of older branches that are less productive, you can remove those as well. Mine is very big, so next year I will remove alot of the older branches to encourage new growth. With other Austins, I get rid of around 50% or more of the canes due to dieback, but some of them are so ridiculously vigorous that they fill out in no time. I hope that helps!

Yes, Mike. . . I remember reading that they aren't early bloomers. And if I have to wait for 2 more years. . . well. . . I guess it will happen when it's ready. In the meantime I'll just watch it get bigger and bigger. I just measured the pot. I couldn't get a true reading, as the plant is so thick at the base, but its between 6 1/2 and 7". I have no idea how big the roots are. The first photo above (planted with the compacta) is the same pot it is in now and has been from the biginning. I removed the compacta and left the carnosa in place, so I didn't have a look at the roots. I am going to give it a shot of super thrive this spring, just to see what happens. Who knows, maybe it will rev up and bloom. Thanks for the input. . . Maid~

You can either buy your plants from nursery or you can start them from seeds, which I recommend to reduce risk of bringing home diseased plants. Starting seeds: You want to know what is your "last frost date", this is the date when you are no longer risking frost in your area. Start seeds indoor around 6 weeks before this date. This will get you a healthy seedling large enough to transplant into the big pot once it's warm enough outside. You can start seeds in a sterile potting mix, don't water too much. As the seedling grows, you can begin to water with a weak diluted fertilizer. When you first bring it outdoor, try to not give it too much direct sunlight in the first week while they're adopting. Choosing the type of containers: There are many different container growing methods. My favorite type right now is "fabric grow bags". Grow bags have very good aeration and drainage ability which allows the plant roots to grow very well and reduces the risk of over watering, which is a common mistake for new gardeners. And they are affordable. If you want something nicer looking, wine barrels and terracotta pots allows better drainage and aeration compared to typical plastic containers. There is also self wicking containers which have a water reservoir that holds several gallons so it water the container by itself over time and is low maintenance, such as City Pickers and Earthbox. Growing medium: For containers, you want to use "potting mix". The potting mix should be not too heavy and drains well. Do not buy "potting soil". Some brands of potting mix are very water retentive and acidic since they are mostly peat moss, so you need to add dolomite lime to balance the pH. I try to find a potting mix that have pine barks in them which improve drainage. There are many ways to go about making your container mix. Some people are completely against using compost in containers and uses 100% potting mix. I personally use a mix of 75% potting mix and 25% compost in plastic pots. Though lately with fabric grow bags, I go up to 50/50. Poor quality compost can have disease or herbicide contamination. Fertilizers: To keep it basic, you mainly don't want to feed tomato too much with fertilizers high in nitrogen. Too much nitrogen will produce lots of leaves and little flowers. Two main type of fertilizers are water based which are fast acting or organic slow release. Personally go for slow release, there are many brands to choose from such as Ecoscraps, Espoma, Jobe's, or whatever is popular locally. Sometimes if a plant is deficient I might give it water fertilizer for a quick boost. You don't want to abuse the plant with too much fertilizers which would be detrimental to it's growth. Many synthetic fertilizers have salt and using them too often can be bad for plants. Just follow the instruction on the box. Other than that you want to buy a tomato cage or trellis to help it grow. --- The only kind I have heard of is Beef Steak There are many varieties with different sizes, colors and flavors. If you look up tomato seeds catalog you will be overwhelmed. For starter, you want to grow something standard and popular that is known to be productive to give a higher success rate. Beefsteak is a good start. This is the most discussed aspect of growing tomatoes, so you will get all kind of different recommendations. I recommend Jaune Flamme. It is an orange salad sized tomato that is very early and prolific, but you will have to start from seeds. How long does it take to grow until you can eat it. It depends on the variety, how healthy the plant is, how much sun it gets and many other factors. Each tomato variety have a different time it takes to bear fruit. Look at the "days to harvest", this is the estimate days from when you transplant the seedling until you get the first ripe fruit. Some variety are early as 45days, these are usually cherry tomatoes, larger sized tomatoes tend to take longer up to 100 days or more. So it's important to choose the variety that will give you harvest before it's too cold. What kind of insects are likely to attack? Each region can have slight variation, but the main ones are moth caterpillars. I recommend "bt" sprays which will kill them and is an organic approved method, a popular brand is Thuricide. Here in the south we have lots of whiteflies which sometimes carry "yellow leaf curl virus", once a plant catches this virus it's incurable. What insects or diseases should I watch for? There are lots of different tomato diseases. Having a good draining grow mix is key to minimize it imo. It is generally agreed that tomatoes much more likely to get disease if their leaves are constantly wet, so water the base of the plant, not the leaves. Pruning can be very important, you want to prune the bad yellowing or diseased leaves in the bottom of the plants as it grows, this let more air pass through the bottom. One issue you may get is "bottom end rot". This is cause by the plant lacking calcium, but actually due to pH issue and uneven watering, where the mix is too wet or too dry for period of time. Do the flowers mean that is going to turn into a tomato? Tomato flowers are self pollinating, just a bit of wind or shaking the plant will allow the pollinating to happen. Not all flowers will become fruits, there is an optimal temperature range. Too cold or too hot, diseases, lacking nutrients are some of the things that will prevent fruit forming.