Hi, it looks like you really need some fertilizer there. This time of year you might want to use some kind of liquid like Miracle Gro or Fish/Seaweed combo. Judging by the look of your leaves you're a bit short on nitrogen and magnesium; just don't overdo it. You need plenty of leaves to keep that hot sun off the fruits. Also (don't mean to sound critical) your pots are a bit small for tomatoes. I grow mine in a half whiskey barrel and even then they want more space. Pull off the dead leaves and roll those containers to a shady spot while the plants recover. Keep 'em watered, not waterlogged, and you should see quick improvement. Hope this helps you. Oh, for magnesium you use epsom salts, around a tablespoon per gallon of water.

This year was the first I learned that you must add dolometic lime to the soil to prevent blossom end rot so you might want to consider doing that. You can find this at any garden center like Lowes, etc. Good luck :)

Hello again. Did a little research and found that the root system of tomatoes is very extensive. Some can penetrate to four feet down and eight feet across. No wonder they don't like containers.

You have a nice looking yard, but maybe you should consider tilling up a small area for tomatoes or do a small raised bed maybe 12' X 4' wide for next year? Watch the sun this summer and pick an ideal location. You would have plenty of time to amend the soil. This was my first year gardening and I did a raised bed and planted some stuff staight in the ground beside it. I had a rough start getting my soil right at first but it is turning around now. I also got a late start which hurt with the onset of Tx heat coming now.
I've heard it's hard to grow container toms. You need a big container first of all and watering has to be done fairly frequent---plus some varieties just don't thrive in containers. I water deep once a week with a soaker hose. With my in-ground garden I'm just mulching with grass clippings to hold moisture and add extra organic material.
I'm going organic so I use compost and fish emulsion and pellets some other stuff. I even buried some leftovers from some fish I caught and they helped a lot. "Feed the soil and the soil feeds the plants," I've heard on GWEB. If you go in-ground get a soil test early on so you can address the specific needs of your particular plot of earth.
Anyway good luck to a fellow newbie.

Pete

I don't want to discourage you from growing in the ground because growing in the ground produces my best results, but it is possible to get good results growing in containers (see pics below).

I suspect most of your problems are weather based. From what I've read and from discussions on this board it seems Texas presents some challenges for tomato growers so going forward I wish you luck.

My main advice across the board is give them good dirt and all the nutrients they need and then some, but not too much and make sure they get enough water, but not too much.

This is a picture of a Mortgage Lifter in a fairly small container (5 or 7 gallon I can't recall which). BTW, I got a 1.5 lb. tomato off this plant. I used a mixture of 1 part ProMix BX, 1 part top soil, and 1 part humus/manure.

This is a picture of a Sweet Million plant in an 18 gallon container. I used Miracle Grow potting soil with the fertilizer and moisture control.

In both cases I added some fertilizer as the season wore on and as the plants needed it.

Randy

Randy Quote:
"This is a picture of a Mortgage Lifter in a fairly small container (5 or 7 gallon I can't recall which)."

I'm speechless, lol If you hadn't provided a photo I wouldn't have believed it, Randy. Amazing/impressive that you got fruit off it as well. :)

Planting inground is still the preferred optimal method for tomatoes I haven't gotten anything close with my container planted tomatoes that I use to experience with plantings in my raised beds. I amended the soil deeply in those beds to allow the roots wonderful "wander room".

I hope that you will consider the suggestion posted above to make an inground bed for next year. Starting it this season would be adventageous especially with a soil test as Pete advised so that you can correct soil conditions.

With container planted tomatoes it is so difficult to get the water requirements just right and that stresses the plantes which invites disease. This year I'm using "Earth Boxes" which I hope addresses the watering problem better for me till I can get my inground garden going next year. (google "Earth Boxes")

Thanks to everyone for the helpful replies.
@Pete
All the rain we have gotten over the last 2 months (11+ inches) have ensured that my grass would green up. I am already scoping out a place for and materials for a raised bed. I mapped out, in general terms, the suns path throughout the summer last year in preparation for this year. I can't go in-ground at this time for several reasons: most of my utilities run underground thru my back yard and I have an automatic sprinkler system are the main ones. Oh, and the soil under my grass is absolute crap. I started containers this season so that I could get a feel for how things would fit with my work schedule, sort of a test run.

My plan is to lay down cardboard and newspaper to supress weeds and grass and build a bed using retaining wall stones from one of the home improvement stores in a strip between my sprinkler heads. I was thinking 4' x 8' to start and perhaps 24" deep, but I was thinking that might not be enough so 12' sounds better. And with the stone I will be able to easily tear down and rebuild the bed in a larger form over time. I have priced stone, now its a matter of finding a spot.

I also plan on keeping most of my herbs in containers, they seem to be doing well there and I can save bed space for tomatoes and peppers. ;)

@Randy
Nice 'maters! I have to agree that my plants are suffering from two main problems, lack of fertilizer and over watering due to excessive rain. It's been real humid as well which I believe prevented earlier blossoms from pollenating and blossom drop. There are likely other concerns as well, some of which will be remedied thru my experience this season and moving to a raised bed.

@sunsi
I agree with the thought process, I am starting now with the planning and design of next years raised bed. Can't dig for reasons stated above, but I can put together much better soil than whats below the surface of my yard.

Cheers!