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  • How To Grow Great Tomato Plants (Without Soil)

    How To Grow Great Tomato Plants (Without Soil)




    Here’s the story:

    First of all, the type of soil you have in your area has nothing to do with it, if you use my method, because you don’t use any “soil”. We built our house on top of a small mountain near Macungie, PA. After a couple of years of trying to grow tomato plants in the rock & clay that surrounds our house, I decided to try a different method.

    First I chose an area that gets as much full sun as possible, in front of my house, between the porch & the sidewalk. That little 4’ X 16’ strip of ground is on a fairly steep hill, so I bought three “muck tubs”, which are flexible plastic 17 gallon round tubs. I then proceeded to dig with pick & shovel, three holes, each about 2’ deep & wide enough for the “muck tubs” to fit in the holes. Once the holes were the right size, I cut the bottom out of each tub (for drainage) and inserted them into their new homes. I positioned the tubs level, leaving the top 2 inches of them (at the low end) above the ground. The tubs keep the water from running down the hill when watering the plants.

    Here is my secret. Go to a plant store, hardware store, or any place that sells organic soil amendments. The one I used was “Bumper Crop Organic Soil Amendment – East Coast”. It is composed of peat moss, composted fish bones, lobster shells, composted chicken & cow manure, peat humus, blood meal, kelp/seaweed and aged bark fines. I filled the tubs all but the top 2 inches with this stuff (adding NO Soil at all), leaving room for a bit of mulch to keep the sun from drying things too quickly, after watering or rain.

    After that, Mrs Bear just waits for the right time to plant, and buys little plants at a local nursery or plant store (about $2 each). I don’t know much about which ones to choose, because I don’t think it matters much (they all seem to be OK to me). So, you stick the little started plant (less than one foot high) in the center of the surface of the “Bumper Crop”, at least as deep as it was in the container you bought it in. Then cover the top with an inch or two of plain old mulch.

    Now, unless it rains on them, we water the plants a little every day, and increase the amount of daily water as the plants get bigger, all the way up to a full bucket of water per plant. We do our watering within the last couple hours before dark. Once a week, for the first 4 or 5 weeks we add a little “Miracle Grow”. This seems to help get them in the mood to grow, but we don't use it after the first 5 weeks. From then on, it’s nothing but the daily watering.

    I have to warn you though, don’t go out & buy those little tomato hoops to support these plants. I got some heavy reinforcing wire mesh, the stuff they put above the stones before they pour a concrete patio or garage floor, to strengthen the concrete. It has blocks about 5 inches square, giving you room to stick your hands through. Then I got ½” steel rebar (also used in concrete) about 6’ long, and drove them into the ground about 2’ deep, leaving 4’ sticking above the ground. I put three of them around each tub, at equal distances around the tub, right against the outer edge of the tubs. Then I took the wire mesh and formed it into a tube shape (bending the ends of the wire to itself), the same diameter as the outside of the tubs. The reinforcing mesh comes in about a 5’ roll, so this makes the hoop about 5’ high. Then I slide this hoop (wire mesh cylinder) down the rebar rods (inside or outside—doesn’t matter), and fasten the hoop to the rebar rods at numerous places (with wire or zip-ties). This sounds like a lot of work, but if your plants grow like mine do, you’ll be glad they didn’t fall over in the midst of a great growing season. My one large tomato plant grew out the top of the 5’ hoop, hung out the sides, and grew back down to the ground on the outside of the hoop. The one cherry tomato plant grew out the top in no time, so I made a little ladder for it, from the top of the 5’ hoop, over to my porch railing. Then it kept growing, so I used bungee cords to hold it to the porch post, so it could continue to grow to over 17 feet high. I had to take my American Flag down to keep it from beating on my tomato plant in the wind. The next year, I added another 2 ½ feet of height to my previously 5’ high hoops (cages). I figure if I let them grow out & over the top, and down the outside, they’ll be 15’ before they touch the ground again. I since had exactly that happen.



    That’s about it. Check out my Pictures, (Below).



    PS: I wouldn’t plant more than one cherry tomato plant like this, unless you have a lot of friends in the area, or a lot of kids. 3,600 tomatoes per plant is a lot of tomatoes!



    Nothing beats a homegrown tomato!



    Bear


    This is a picture of the wrapper-----Bumper Crop (Organic Soil Builder):



    Here is how I put the three tubs in the ground, and a little plant started in each one:



    Mrs Bear picking Cherry Tomatoes when the plant was about half grown:



    Here you can see the temporary ladder I built to get the plant over to the porch railing safely:



    Here plants were almost full grown. Mrs Bear was full grown in this picture too, at 5' 9" tall:



    These were the ones I picked, when the Frost stopped the growing season.
    You will see in my Tomato Count (below) that about 2/3 of these ripened for us to eat.



    Cherry Tomato Count (From one plant)


    Date Picked

    7-15-----------------------------2---------------2
    7-17-----------------------------2---------------4
    7-19-----------------------------6--------------10
    7-20----------------------------11--------------21
    7-21----------------------------10--------------31
    7-22-----------------------------9--------------40
    7-23-----------------------------8--------------48
    7-24----------------------------38--------------86
    7-25----------------------------34-------------120
    7-26----------------------------37-------------157
    7-27----------------------------18-------------175
    7-28----------------------------17-------------192
    7-29----------------------------12-------------204
    7-30----------------------------25-------------229
    7-31----------------------------44-------------273
    8-01----------------------------29-------------302
    8-02----------------------------92-------------394
    8-03----------------------------15-------------409
    8-04----------------------------55-------------464
    8-06----------------------------25-------------489
    8-07----------------------------41-------------530
    8-08----------------------------24-------------554
    8-09----------------------------25-------------579
    8-10----------------------------98-------------677
    8-12----------------------------35-------------712
    8-13----------------------------15-------------727
    8-14----------------------------45-------------772
    8-16----------------------------15-------------787
    8-17---------------------------111-------------898
    8-18----------------------------42-------------940
    8-19----------------------------26-------------966
    8-20----------------------------12-------------978
    8-21----------------------------50------------1028

    Mrs Bear's prediction was 1,000

    8-22----------------------------12------------1040
    8-23----------------------------23------------1063
    8-24----------------------------42------------1105
    8-25----------------------------44------------1149
    8-26----------------------------48------------1197
    8-27----------------------------50------------1247
    8-28-----------------------------8-------------1255
    8-29----------------------------82-------------1337
    8-30----------------------------34-------------1371
    8-31----------------------------42-------------1413
    9-01----------------------------13-------------1426
    9-02----------------------------18-------------1444
    9-03----------------------------34-------------1478
    9-04-----------------------------8--------------1486
    9-05----------------------------60--------------1546

    Bear Sr’s prediction was 1,500

    9-06----------------------------65--------------1611
    9-07----------------------------46--------------1657
    9-08----------------------------19--------------1676
    9-09----------------------------31--------------1707
    9-11----------------------------26--------------1733
    9-12----------------------------78--------------1811
    9-13----------------------------30--------------1841
    9-15----------------------------40--------------1881
    9-16----------------------------71--------------1952
    9-17----------------------------24--------------1976
    9-18----------------------------38--------------2014
    9-19----------------------------15--------------2029
    9-21----------------------------43--------------2072
    9-22----------------------------58--------------2130
    9-23----------------------------39--------------2169
    9-24----------------------------27--------------2196
    9-25----------------------------59--------------2255
    9-27----------------------------71--------------2326
    9-28----------------------------28--------------2354
    9-30----------------------------37--------------2391
    10-2----------------------------51--------------2442
    10-4----------------------------91--------------2533
    10-6---------------------------118--------------2651

    Bear Jr’s prediction was 2,600 (He Won----Only missed it by about 1,000)

    10-9----------------------------94--------------2745
    10-10---------------------------23-------------2768
    10-13---------------------------68-------------2836
    10-16---------------------------24-------------2860
    10-17---------------------------65-------------2925

    Due to Frost, I pulled plant apart & saved unripe cherry tomatoes that were good size, but either green, yellow, or light orange. That was another 927 tomatoes.

    Counting them would give us 3,852 tomatoes from one plant, but I won’t count them unless they become ripe. Those 927 are lying on & covered with newspaper, in the basement.

    The count of ripe ones taken from the pile of 927 in cellar, that weren’t ripe when picked.

    10-23----------------------------70---------------2995
    10-28---------------------------107---------------3102
    10-31---------------------------130---------------3232
    11-03--------------------------- 97----------------3329
    11-06----------------------------70----------------3399
    11-09----------------------------62----------------3461
    11-13----------------------------27----------------3488
    11-19----------------------------32----------------3520
    11-24----------------------------26----------------3546
    11-28----------------------------20----------------3566



    As can be seen, 641 of the 927 tomatoes I picked when I pulled the plant apart ripened OK in the basement.



    THE END
    Last edited by Bearcarver; 06-15-2015, 02:30 PM.
    Vietnam Vet---9th Inf. Div. Mekong Delta (1969)
    Easy to follow Step By Steps: Pulled Cured Boston Butt Ham and Buckboard Bacon--Smoked Salmon-- Bacon-On-A-Stick--Bacon (Extra Smokey)--Boneless Cured & Smoked Pork Chops & CB--Canadian Bacon & Dried Beef--Ham Twins (Double Smoked)--Double Smoked Hams X 4--Bear Logs (All Beef--Unstuffed)--Smoked Bear Loaf (All Beef-Mild Hot)--Prime Rib (My Best ever)--Another Prime Rib--Chucky (Pulled Beef)--Twin Chuckies--Pork and Beef Spares--Rare Beef (for Sammies)--Raspberry Chiffon Pie---


    Mom & 4 Cub litter---Potter County, PA:

  • #2
    Interesting method.
    No "soil" I thought you were talking about hydroponics growing which I'm sort of against with veggies and "herb".
    Gotta give you for keeping track of thousands of cherry tomatoes, no way I would have counted all of those!
    4th of July tomatoes are just starting to flower here , can't wait for the first ripe tomato
    It's like a curing project, takes so long and waiting sucks but in the end it is worth it
    There is a cure...http://phoenixtears.ca/

    sigpic

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    • #3
      Are these special cherry tomato plants that are made to grow that big? I have never seen a cherry tomato plant grow over 3ft tall. I would sure love to get one of those plants going when I finally move to a new house.
      Propane Smoke Shack
      UDS
      Great Outdoors Smoky Mountain
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      • #4
        Originally posted by rbranstner View Post
        Are these special cherry tomato plants that are made to grow that big? I have never seen a cherry tomato plant grow over 3ft tall. I would sure love to get one of those plants going when I finally move to a new house.
        When you buy your plants check if they are determinate or indeterminate. Determinate tomatoes will grow to about 4' tall and will require very little support. Indeterminate tomatoes will keep growing until they freeze and can reach 10-12' tall.

        Comment


        • #5
          Great idea!
          Becky
          *****

          https://www.facebook.com/jennie.r.smith.77?ref=tn_tnmn

          Weber 22.5" One Touch Gold Kettle - Black
          Weber 22.5" One Touch Gold Kettle - Copper
          1993 Weber 22.5" Master Touch Kettle - Red
          Weber 18.5" One Touch Silver Kettle - Budweiser
          Weber Smokey Joe
          Multiple Dutch Ovens and other Cast Iron
          Pink Thermapen
          Purple Thermapen

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          • #6
            Originally posted by rbranstner View Post
            Are these special cherry tomato plants that are made to grow that big? I have never seen a cherry tomato plant grow over 3ft tall. I would sure love to get one of those plants going when I finally move to a new house.

            Ross,
            Below is a pic of the species that grew 17' high.
            Mrs Bear doesn't look real hard at their names. She mainly picks plants that look nice & healthy.
            We never had any grow higher than 6' before I started doing them this way (above).
            Now most of them grow over 8', and some 12' to 15'.
            Now that my cages are 7' high, 15' would be 7' up, 7' down, and a foot laying on the ground.
            I quit playing the ladder & bungee game up to my soffit---PITA!

            Bear

            Tag says "Supersweet 100".
            I looked it up---Says "indeterminate" and can grow as high as 10'--
            Vietnam Vet---9th Inf. Div. Mekong Delta (1969)
            Easy to follow Step By Steps: Pulled Cured Boston Butt Ham and Buckboard Bacon--Smoked Salmon-- Bacon-On-A-Stick--Bacon (Extra Smokey)--Boneless Cured & Smoked Pork Chops & CB--Canadian Bacon & Dried Beef--Ham Twins (Double Smoked)--Double Smoked Hams X 4--Bear Logs (All Beef--Unstuffed)--Smoked Bear Loaf (All Beef-Mild Hot)--Prime Rib (My Best ever)--Another Prime Rib--Chucky (Pulled Beef)--Twin Chuckies--Pork and Beef Spares--Rare Beef (for Sammies)--Raspberry Chiffon Pie---


            Mom & 4 Cub litter---Potter County, PA:

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Fire it up View Post
              Interesting method.
              No "soil" I thought you were talking about hydroponics growing which I'm sort of against with veggies and "herb".
              Gotta give you for keeping track of thousands of cherry tomatoes, no way I would have counted all of those!
              4th of July tomatoes are just starting to flower here , can't wait for the first ripe tomato
              It's like a curing project, takes so long and waiting sucks but in the end it is worth it
              Thank You Very Much, Jim!!

              LOL---We never counted them before either, but this thing was growing so big right off the bat, that we started making bets how many it would produce (as you can see--Our Son won!). All we did was count them when we washed them. Any that were bad or cracked or split did not get counted.
              Only the ones that got eaten were counted.

              I have had Jersey Maters often. I used to drive through South Jersey a couple times a week, inspecting towers. I used to stop & get Maters & Strawberries often (making sure they weren't imported!!!).
              Also my Son's wife is from Manahawkin.

              Bear
              Vietnam Vet---9th Inf. Div. Mekong Delta (1969)
              Easy to follow Step By Steps: Pulled Cured Boston Butt Ham and Buckboard Bacon--Smoked Salmon-- Bacon-On-A-Stick--Bacon (Extra Smokey)--Boneless Cured & Smoked Pork Chops & CB--Canadian Bacon & Dried Beef--Ham Twins (Double Smoked)--Double Smoked Hams X 4--Bear Logs (All Beef--Unstuffed)--Smoked Bear Loaf (All Beef-Mild Hot)--Prime Rib (My Best ever)--Another Prime Rib--Chucky (Pulled Beef)--Twin Chuckies--Pork and Beef Spares--Rare Beef (for Sammies)--Raspberry Chiffon Pie---


              Mom & 4 Cub litter---Potter County, PA:

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              • #8
                I get aboot 6 quarts of romas per plant...I grow 50-80 plants a year for me and sis,brothers etc........Plants average 10-14 feet after they grow back down cages........

                I start all me plants from seed in pro-mix BX which is also soiless and then plant them with me leaf compost in garden.......I have been mixing the potting soil you listed BEAR with different things over last 2 years and i like it meself......


                Garden a coople years back,but i grow a big one every year etc.I do get full field sun and with building up soil organicaly its killer..............and maters ready for canning.......

                I foliar feed with kelp extract and fish emulsion......everything is organic.....no chemical fertilizers etc......












                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by ALX View Post
                  I get aboot 6 quarts of romas per plant...I grow 50-80 plants a year for me and sis,brothers etc........Plants average 10-14 feet after they grow back down cages........

                  I start all me plants from seed in pro-mix BX which is also soiless and then plant them with me leaf compost in garden.......I have been mixing the potting soil you listed BEAR with different things over last 2 years and i like it meself......


                  Garden a coople years back,but i grow a big one every year etc.I do get full field sun and with building up soil organicaly its killer..............and maters ready for canning.......

                  I foliar feed with kelp extract and fish emulsion......everything is organic.....no chemical fertilizers etc......

                  Now That's a Garden!!!

                  All we do is plant three tomato plants for BLTs and a few other things.

                  Thanks Alx,
                  Bear
                  Vietnam Vet---9th Inf. Div. Mekong Delta (1969)
                  Easy to follow Step By Steps: Pulled Cured Boston Butt Ham and Buckboard Bacon--Smoked Salmon-- Bacon-On-A-Stick--Bacon (Extra Smokey)--Boneless Cured & Smoked Pork Chops & CB--Canadian Bacon & Dried Beef--Ham Twins (Double Smoked)--Double Smoked Hams X 4--Bear Logs (All Beef--Unstuffed)--Smoked Bear Loaf (All Beef-Mild Hot)--Prime Rib (My Best ever)--Another Prime Rib--Chucky (Pulled Beef)--Twin Chuckies--Pork and Beef Spares--Rare Beef (for Sammies)--Raspberry Chiffon Pie---


                  Mom & 4 Cub litter---Potter County, PA:

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Bearcarver View Post
                    Tag says "Supersweet 100".[/IMG]
                    I always make sure to do a few super sweets every year, though I only do 2 of them since any more than that I have to start giving away tomatoes they produce so many but damn are they good!

                    Originally posted by ALX View Post
                    ...everything is organic.....no chemical fertilizers etc...
                    Damn right If I wanted to eat chemical laden cancer causing tomatoes I would just buy them from the supermarket

                    Got some San Marzanos for my Romas this year, super excited about those since they are supposed to be the best for flavor and meatiness for canning.
                    There is a cure...http://phoenixtears.ca/

                    sigpic

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                    • #12
                      Originally posted by Bearcarver View Post
                      Thank You Becky!!

                      Bear
                      I'm thinking about trying this with blueberries.
                      Becky
                      *****

                      https://www.facebook.com/jennie.r.smith.77?ref=tn_tnmn

                      Weber 22.5" One Touch Gold Kettle - Black
                      Weber 22.5" One Touch Gold Kettle - Copper
                      1993 Weber 22.5" Master Touch Kettle - Red
                      Weber 18.5" One Touch Silver Kettle - Budweiser
                      Weber Smokey Joe
                      Multiple Dutch Ovens and other Cast Iron
                      Pink Thermapen
                      Purple Thermapen

                      Comment


                      • #13
                        Make you count all them blueberries, inquiring minds want to know.
                        Thanks for your tips bear.

                        Originally posted by sweet_magnolia View Post
                        I'm thinking about trying this with blueberries.

                        Comment


                        • #14
                          Originally posted by sweet_magnolia View Post
                          I'm thinking about trying this with blueberries.

                          Sounds like a great idea, Becky.
                          I wouldn't see any reason it wouldn't work.

                          I love Blueberries, and Wineberries, and Raspberries, Strawberries----Aw Heck dang near "anyberries", except "Dingle".


                          Bear
                          Vietnam Vet---9th Inf. Div. Mekong Delta (1969)
                          Easy to follow Step By Steps: Pulled Cured Boston Butt Ham and Buckboard Bacon--Smoked Salmon-- Bacon-On-A-Stick--Bacon (Extra Smokey)--Boneless Cured & Smoked Pork Chops & CB--Canadian Bacon & Dried Beef--Ham Twins (Double Smoked)--Double Smoked Hams X 4--Bear Logs (All Beef--Unstuffed)--Smoked Bear Loaf (All Beef-Mild Hot)--Prime Rib (My Best ever)--Another Prime Rib--Chucky (Pulled Beef)--Twin Chuckies--Pork and Beef Spares--Rare Beef (for Sammies)--Raspberry Chiffon Pie---


                          Mom & 4 Cub litter---Potter County, PA:

                          Comment


                          • #15
                            OK---This one is gonna crack you guys up.
                            Sometimes I meet my brother for coffee, and one of his buddies (Howard) was there the one time. He said he can't grow tomatoes, so I told him exactly what to get & how to do it. Half way through tomato season, I saw him again. He said he did everything I did, and his plants only got 3 feet tall, and he only got a couple tomatoes. I told him mine were growing like crazy. He didn't believe me, and said it's just a bad year for tomatoes. I told him I'll take a picture of one of my big plants with big tomatoes on it. He said I would probably just print out an old picture from another year, and say it was from this year. I told him I would print out the word "Igor", which is our nickname for him. Then I would personally hold the name in front of the plant to show him my plant, and prove it's not a "bad year".


                            Bear


                            Vietnam Vet---9th Inf. Div. Mekong Delta (1969)
                            Easy to follow Step By Steps: Pulled Cured Boston Butt Ham and Buckboard Bacon--Smoked Salmon-- Bacon-On-A-Stick--Bacon (Extra Smokey)--Boneless Cured & Smoked Pork Chops & CB--Canadian Bacon & Dried Beef--Ham Twins (Double Smoked)--Double Smoked Hams X 4--Bear Logs (All Beef--Unstuffed)--Smoked Bear Loaf (All Beef-Mild Hot)--Prime Rib (My Best ever)--Another Prime Rib--Chucky (Pulled Beef)--Twin Chuckies--Pork and Beef Spares--Rare Beef (for Sammies)--Raspberry Chiffon Pie---


                            Mom & 4 Cub litter---Potter County, PA:

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