Gardeners World way of growing tomatoes

[redser]

I didn't see it last week by my mother was saying that Monty Don was trying a new way (for him) to grow toms using just a little bit of compost. Anyone see it and know the ins and outs of the method? My Mother was a bit sketchy, I think she was just waiting for something else to start

[chris]

Less compost cost, I guess - he made his own feed too, so little or no cost there. I think you'd have to be on the ball though and watch them a few times during the day, growing them in such little compost.

[binley100]

Mine (home ones) are in smaller pots this year ......I'll just have to make sure they're kept well fed and watered..

[redser]

So basically the compost runs out of steam, it is then just an inert growing medium, and you make up for that by feeding it lots and often?
I suppose it's a good idea, you can use up a hell of a lot of compost easily enough.

[VirginVegGrower]

It was half a tub of compost and they were vine grown. Fed EVERY DAY with a weakened solution of feed. Catch up on BBC iplayer.

[redser]

Mine (home ones) are in smaller pots this year ......I'll just have to make sure they're kept well fed and watered..

Thanks. So did you use smaller pots by design to save on compost? I'd like to try it next year. But I thought it was bad when things got root bound? Surely that would happn if there is only a small amount to grow in.

[redser]

It was half a tub of compost and they were vine grown. Fed EVERY DAY with a weakened solution of feed. Catch up on BBC iplayer.

Thanks. I can't watch it, I'm not in the right juristiction

[binley100]

Thanks. So did you use smaller pots by design to save on compost? I'd like to try it next year. But I thought it was bad when things got root bound? Surely that would happn if there is only a small amount to grow in.

Trying to save on compost and space....

[VirginVegGrower]

Thanks. So did you use smaller pots by design to save on compost? I'd like to try it next year. But I thought it was bad when things got root bound? Surely that would happn if there is only a small amount to grow in.

I haven't done it. I watched the programme. It was just enough compost, I'd have said it came half way up a medium terracotta pot side and then they were grown up strings I think. Fed EVERY DAY, this chap said. But his beefsteaks looked no bigger than I achieve each year, grown in ring culture pots with more compost and fed every week with normal strength feed.

[VirginVegGrower]

Thanks. I can't watch it, I'm not in the right juristiction

That's a shame

[redser]

Thanks. I suppose if you could make lots of comfrey tea and didnt have much compost it would be a good idea.
I knocked up a semi-automatic system for my maskotkas in pots using capilliary matting threaded up through the holes in the bottom of the pots. You could load up your resevoir with comfrey tea at the appropriate strength and then leave it get on with it. Just top up the resevoir every fews days and save lots on compost.

[Zenithtb]

When I saw it, it reminded me of when I lived in a flat and grew (successful) tomatoes in cut-in-half 5L water bottles:

Pic taken in June - by August they were much bigger


You can't see very well in the tomato pic, so here's a closer view of the pot

(As you can see, I used bottles for lots of plants )

It's a 5 litre water bottle cut in half, with the top-half inserted upside down inside the bottom half. You then fill the top-half with compost and the area between the top and bottom becomes a water reservoir. You can add gravel before the compost to stop the compost becoming too damp, and stab holes in the top half to increase drainage.

Which kind of gets away from my main point - using less than half a 5 litre bottle (the top is smaller than the bottom) I grew tomato plants that I had to cut off when they reached 1.5 metres high (they were on a shelf and I could not reach any higher). Very nice tomatoes too...

So yeah - they don't need a lot of compost.

[redser]

Thanks a lot, thats very interesting

[Barking Postlethwaite]

Doesn't the cost of the extra feed offset any savings made by reducing the compost?

Anyhow, the constant vigilence sounds a bit stressful. I don't think this is for me.

[redser]

Well apparently he was making his own feed so its free.