A week or two ago I had bought a tomato plant. After a week I re-potted it
into a bucket with holes drilled in its bottom and filled with the best
$2/10 lb top soil money can buy. Fertilized it and have been watering it
when it dries out. I wish I could say it is thriving but it seems to be
barely surviving instead. I doubt I'll see any tomatoes. In this AZ desert
climate I probably should have done this in fall instead of spring. Ah
well. My famous black thumb has evidently struck again. <sigh> I can still
grow weeds though!


--
"Where there's smoke there's toast!" Anon

"KenK" > wrote in message
...
> A week or two ago I had bought a tomato plant. After a week I re-potted it
> into a bucket with holes drilled in its bottom and filled with the best
> $2/10 lb top soil money can buy. Fertilized it and have been watering it
> when it dries out. I wish I could say it is thriving but it seems to be
> barely surviving instead. I doubt I'll see any tomatoes. In this AZ desert
> climate I probably should have done this in fall instead of spring. Ah
> well. My famous black thumb has evidently struck again. <sigh> I can still
> grow weeds though!

At least you get heat! Perhaps if you had taken more care with watering???
I would normally grow tomatoes in our greenhouse but because we are away
such a lot, I have tomato plants in my aerogarden and I have flower buds on
them I grow in that because I can take it with us when we go

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_p4t1Buv-I

Don't give up. I am sure you could grow them if you had more time to spend
on them do you think? Good luck if you do

O in Scotland
--
--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

On 12 May 2013 15:23:33 GMT, KenK > wrote:

>A week or two ago I had bought a tomato plant. After a week I re-potted it
>into a bucket with holes drilled in its bottom and filled with the best
>$2/10 lb top soil money can buy. Fertilized it and have been watering it
>when it dries out. I wish I could say it is thriving but it seems to be
>barely surviving instead. I doubt I'll see any tomatoes. In this AZ desert
>climate I probably should have done this in fall instead of spring. Ah
>well. My famous black thumb has evidently struck again. <sigh> I can still
>grow weeds though!


Don't let it dry out---- but don't over water, either.

I've never had any luck with tomatoes in containers. [but I grow
bushels of them in the garden] Variety matters-- the right amount of
the right kind of fertilizer matters- a steady water supply matters.

I'm trying a couple versions of earth-boxes this year.
http://www.josho.com/gardening.htm

Jim

Jim Elbrecht > wrote in
:

> Don't let it dry out---- but don't over water, either.
>

A book I have on container gardening says intert your finger two joints
deep in the soil near the plant. If it comes out dry, water. That's what
I've been doing.



--
"Where there's smoke there's toast!" Anon

On 12 May 2013 15:23:33 GMT, KenK > wrote:

> A week or two ago I had bought a tomato plant. After a week I re-potted it
> into a bucket with holes drilled in its bottom and filled with the best
> $2/10 lb top soil money can buy. Fertilized it and have been watering it
> when it dries out. I wish I could say it is thriving but it seems to be
> barely surviving instead. I doubt I'll see any tomatoes. In this AZ desert
> climate I probably should have done this in fall instead of spring. Ah
> well. My famous black thumb has evidently struck again. <sigh> I can still
> grow weeds though!

Before you completely give up, try Miracle Grow!

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On 12 May 2013 15:54:07 GMT, KenK > wrote:

> Jim Elbrecht > wrote in
> :
>
> > Don't let it dry out---- but don't over water, either.
> >
>
> A book I have on container gardening says intert your finger two joints
> deep in the soil near the plant. If it comes out dry, water. That's what
> I've been doing.

Just remember that tomatoes love water. They don't want to be water
logged or have wet feet all the time, but they need considerably more
water than you may think.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On 12 May 2013 15:23:33 GMT, KenK > wrote:

>A week or two ago I had bought a tomato plant. After a week I re-potted it
>into a bucket with holes drilled in its bottom and filled with the best
>$2/10 lb top soil money can buy. Fertilized it and have been watering it
>when it dries out. I wish I could say it is thriving but it seems to be
>barely surviving instead. I doubt I'll see any tomatoes. In this AZ desert
>climate I probably should have done this in fall instead of spring. Ah
>well. My famous black thumb has evidently struck again. <sigh> I can still
>grow weeds though!

Did you 'harden it off' before you stuck it out in the bright, hot
sun? http://tinyurl.com/c3wc96l
If not, you can baby them some now. Also -- what color pot did you
put them in? A dark color absorbs too much heat and will really
stress the plant. You can get around this now by putting other pots
around it to shade the pot or put the tomato pot into another pot. In
your climate, you tomato may (probably should) be watered on the soil
in mid-afternoon to cool the soil.
Questions?
Ask
Janet US

On 12 May 2013 15:54:07 GMT, KenK > wrote:

>Jim Elbrecht > wrote in
:
>
>> Don't let it dry out---- but don't over water, either.
>>
>
>A book I have on container gardening says intert your finger two joints
>deep in the soil near the plant. If it comes out dry, water. That's what
>I've been doing.
that's after they are established. A new plant has virtually no roots
spread throughout the soil yet.
Janet US