Sharing some progress of my tomato plants as of June 30, 2020.

This heirloom is one of my favorite tomato plants due to the large fruit size it produces and also the fruits’ wonderful flavor. They make the perfect slicers for sandwiches or when stacked with fresh mozzarella and basil.

This Mikado is located by my garage which faces east. It gets sun up until when the sun passes over the garage, then it is shaded by the garage itself. While it is best to give tomato plants as much sun as possible, all is going well so far for this particular location. They are producing fruit now.

Some good things about growing tomato plants in pots by my garage is for one, the pesky wild animals are leaving them alone. I am not sure if it is because the garage outdoor lights are above each tomato plant and the lights may signal to them that people may be near. Or maybe the cars do.

Animals have been an issue on my home property. Raccoons, or maybe it is a skunk, are digging into the soil of some of my other planters, but so far, they have not touched the tomato plants along the front of the garage. Thankful for that – hope I don’t jink myself!

I recently put pea gravel in some of the other “visited” pots which seems to help. I read that skunks will stick their nose into soil to smell for bugs, so maybe the gravel stops that from happening. Other things I have tried are hot pepper flakes or cayenne pepper sprinkled on the tops of the soil in the planters and pots. They seem to visit the same pots every evening. I even moved one huge pot because they were destroying my tropical plants. I wondered if they thought my canna lily plants are corn, because raccoons like to mess with corn plants apparently.

But back to the Mikado. It is growing very well with no insect issues, and around this time of year, I check it every time I water the plant, which is daily. As I water the soil (not the foliage!), I look around to see if there are any insects or damage to leaves, etc.

I think these plants along my garage will grow slower than those on my deck which are in full sun. I plan to share photos of all my tomato plants as they progress with fruit and I just can’t wait to taste the flavor when the first one is fully ripened on this Mikado.

Some people will ask me what I feed my plants when they see the large sizes of my plants in pots. Honestly, I have fed them a water soluble tomato fertilizer only once or twice so far. That is it. I do not have some secret magic fertilizer as some have accused me of, which I think is funny. Like they think I am not being totally honest, LOL!

If you water correctly, use quality potting mix from the start, and some compost, include some slow release fertilizer upon planting, a fertilizer feed “every 7-14 days” is not absolutely necessary in my book. I feel if the plant has plenty of flowers, is looking healthy, and strong, I don’t “over” fertilize. I also like to use big pots for stronger and larger root systems.

I plan to share photos of all my tomato plants going forward. Hope your’s are doing well also! Especially for those who have purchased seed packets or plants from me earlier this season.

Stay Safe,

Cathy Testa
Container Crazy CT
“I grow everything in pots, planters, containers!”
860-977-9473
containercathy@gmail.com