First please let me say that many of the points you raise are frequently discussed here so lots of info is already available if you need detailed info on them. The search here can pull them up for you.

Container gardening is very different from in ground gardening. It has its own set of variables and guidelines. So the Container Gardening forum here will be of great help to you.

One of the basic principals of container gardening is that granular fertilizers are far less effective in them than liquid water solubles are. Surface scratching is of little benefit as they are needed at root level 6-12" down. This is especially true for organic granular fertilizers. Your container soil contains none of the soil bacteria, the soil food web, needed to pre-digest any granular so the plants can use them. So if using organic fertilizers pre-digested liquids are 10x as recommended.

And with containers nutrients are washed out of the soil over time since the plants must be watered much more frequently. So regular supplemental feedings for plants in containers is necessary. Sometimes as often as weekly and every 7-10 days is a common recommendation. But with that you have to take into consideration the different needs of different plants.

Container grown plants will seldom if ever achieve the size of in ground plants much less commercial store bought plants. So harvest by growth pattern and time, not size.

Hope this is of help.

Dave

What Dave said :-)) The Garden Tone is pretty useless in a container gardening situation but any water soluble or liquid formulation will work.

Tomatoes are wind pollinated and it doesn't take much!! Just a gentle breeze will do the trick or you can gently shake or jostle the container. If tomatoes did not form from the flowers, I'd suspect some other issue at work. I personally have never experienced that problem but often high temperatures will prevent fruit development.

Thanks! I see I have lots of learning to do. Will go get some liquid fertilizer.

Now what to do with the darn bag of Garden Tone? Can I use on my flowering plants?

Use on anything that is actually planted in the ground......just not containers :-))

OK, great (everything else in my garden is in the ground)! Between the holly-tone, garden tone, and plant tone I have purchased in the last couple of years, I'm set for life with fertilizer.

Yeah forgot the tomato question. Plants not setting fruit have several possible causes - nutrients, watering, container size (which you don't mention for any of your plants), air temps, humidity, pests, lack of sufficient sun, using garden soil in pots, and the list goes on and on and hand pollinating can't fix what is broken. So you have to narrow down the causes.

Begin with the FAQ here about blossom drop (see the link) . Then do some reading over on the Growing Tomatoes forum here. Then evaluate the size of the containers you are using. Most newbies use pots that are far too small. What soil-less potting mix used? Watering regimen? etc. But with out much more detailed info from you there is no way for us to narrow down the cause.

http://faq.gardenweb.com/discussions/2765999/why-are-the-blooms-on-my-tomato-plant-dying-and-falling-off

Dave

Well, nutrients would be my #1 guess since I just found out that I'm doing it all wrong! We also had some very hot weather last summer. I did move up a pot size this year. I have only one tomato plant, and think it's maybe in a 5 gallon pot? Other things are in slightly smaller pots--hope not doomed... Will read up.

Thoughts on Neptune's Harvest Fish & Seaweed liquid 2-3-1?

It is a commonly used one but very low dose so can easily be used weekly depending on size of the container. Some dilute it to half strength and use it every time they water.

For next year keep in mind that 5 gallons is only recommended for the dwarf tomato plant varieties. You don't mention your variety but most will need 8-10 gallons containers to do well and most of the cherry varieties need even bigger ones as they are the largest plants of all.

1 pepper plant will do well in 5 gallons. 1 zucchini plant is easily 3-4' in diameter so also needs more than 5 gallons for best results. Cuke, depending on the type (bush or vine) needs 5 gallons, romaine needs 10-12" spacing to form full heads.

Dave

Thanks. I had some of the Neptune's Harvest on hand so gave it a nice diluted dose tonight and will keep up with it weekly. Sigh...steep learning curve here! (not helped by the people at the garden center who clearly did not know what they were talking about.) It took me the last 10 years to become an expert in my perennial gardens; now starting at square 1 with veggies because my daughter was interested. I think the other plants are all in ~3 gallons. Maybe will try transplanting to larger containers if I think I can avoid breaking the stems. Cucumber is a "patio snacker" so maybe that will be OK. I'm hoping for "results" of any kind; we'll save "best results" for next year.

We'll eat the small romaine this weekend, I think! At least the herbs are thriving. Those were sown by my daughter in dixie cups in April and were transplanted on June 1. We had caprese salad with basil and huevos rancheros with cilantro so far...

We transplanted the tomato to a huge pot. Not sure how many gallons, maybe 20. It better grow some tomatoes now! They're going to be worth like $20 per tomato for all the investment I put in.

Lala, they should be happy in the bigger pot! Don't calculate investment for each tomato or you'll drive yourself crazy. I just tell myself the great taste is worth the cost. ;)

BTW, I saw Tractor Supply has the 20 gal cloth pots on sale for $5 (from $10) if you are near one.

Just checking back in with a quick update. The cherry tomatoes are staked and have about 25 small tomatoes growing + many more flowers (and yes, I have learned that an indeterminate cherry tomato that will grow to be 12 feet tall is NOT the ideal container plant. Trying to train along the front steps railing, and lesson learned for next year). We have about 5 or 6 baby cucumbers + many flowers; just installed a trellis made of three bamboo stakes tied together. We have 2 or 3 baby zucchini + many flowers. Peppers are a bit slower--but got a few flowers that seem to be developing into fruit. Watering regularly and fertilizing with liquid Neptune's Harvest tomato & veggie fertilizer every 1-2 weeks. Herbs from seed are best success so far: made our first pesto last night and also had grilled shrimp with fresh oregano.

Thanks for all the education so far! Let me know if you have any tips for

1) keeping things going at the baby veggie stage.

2) training a tomato to grow along a railing like this

Have been following your post, and I don't have anything to suggest that other seasoned veggie gardeners have already mentioned. But I did want to let you know that oregano can become quite a thug in the garden if you let it go to seed--even if you're growing it in a pot, those seeds will travel to your other pots/beds.

Update: the tomatoes are going like gangbusters--many are almost ripe, and we're going to have endless cherry tomato salads soon! We've eaten three cucumbers, and there are a few zucchini growing quickly. Peppers are still very small but there are lots. Even my imperfect container methods are working out! Thank you for all your advice.