Tomato roots growing out side of peat pots!!! HELP!
zztop1974
14 years ago
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windclimber
14 years agoRelated Discussions
Tomatoes in Peat Pots with White Mold! Please Help!!!
Comments (2)I think the most important thing is just to let them dry out. Most mold that's growing on the pots/soil isn't really a hazard to the plants (though it is an indication that it's too wet, and since they've come through the mail they probably haven't had very good circulation.) So just take a deeeeep breath and keep them by that window. It sounds like you're off to a rocky start this year, what with the weather and your berry plants! Best of luck, I'll be following your saga, though I probably can't offer much advice....See MoreTo use peat pots or not to use peat pots?
Comments (25)Let me start out by saying I'm no expert, but have been gardening, lets say 60+ years. I love peat pots because of easy plant watering and easy planting. Yes, I use all kinds of little and big solid containers but peat pots let me keep using two words, easy & reliable. This is my approach. Never buy a jiffy peat pot because they are too thick, too short and have no holes for water absorption. There are peat pots out there ½ the thickness of jiffies, aprox an inch deeper and most important they have at least 4 slits around the bottom that go up about ¾ inch. This all leads to easy watering by putting 18 pots in those black plant trays you see everywhere. Put the tray where you want it, put an inch or plus of water in the tray, come back next day to see if top is damp, if not, put more water in tray. Just keep top damp about 50% of the time. One more little item-----is the tray & water level? If not get that level out and make it so. This is nearly always necessary in my state of TN. When planting take your finger and with a little thump the wet bottom will fall off without disturbing the root system..That's it, nothing fancy....See Morehelp me grow tomatoes in pots
Comments (11)I grow in 5 gal buckets which you can collect from Panera Bread , BK, or other food vendors who use pickles for free. Just ask, many of them send them to the dump, yuk! You can either make a double bucket so called self-watering. Just google DIY self-watering 5 gal bucket. Or you use a single bucket with a number of 3/8 to 1/2 inch holes in the bottom. Always put some organic matter (pine needles, oak leaves, etc) in the single bottom to discourage nematodes. I either bury these a 1/3 - 1/2 bucket deep in a raised bed or set them inside of a column concrete block to stabilize them. You will need to support the tomato as it grows with stakes, cages , etc. Indeterminates easily go over 8 feet tall. I currently use 4 foot wire cages and just let them bend over the top. Drive a long pipe or stake beside the cage and tie the stake and cage together because they will dump in any wind. I use a mix of 60-20-20 compost(as many varieties mixed as you can locate)-peat-perlite in my double buckets. In the singles I am using Al's 5-1-1 which is what Silvia and Tom generally use I think. You will have to water the single buckets sometimes 2 X's a day, The double's can go several days depending on the growth rate , weather, etc. If some one will post how to display pics on this site again, I will show pics of the above discussion. bernie...See MoreSucculent growing roots from the side?
Comments (2)Agreed, that soil doesn't look at all like you describe; why do you feel it's fast draining? Is the soil/rootball hard to the touch? (Sorry, but I think I see peat & maybe vermiculite &/or sand, none of which are good for succulents. I see no perlite at all.) When you water, does the water just pool on the top? Also agree the aerial roots are normal, nothing to be concerned about....See Morezztop1974
14 years agowindclimber
14 years agomitch_in_the_garden
14 years agoUser
14 years ago
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