I worked on the Dwarf Tomato project with Craig LeHouillier for about 2 decades. I love my dwarves. I have grown them in 5 gallon containers for years, by punching holes. They are fantastic. In fact I am trialing some 'new' crosses of dwarves this year again. So glad you are highlighting these choices to people.
That is amazing to hear, what a fascinating project you all did great work bringing us these new stable varieties. Such a wonderful thing that most people still don't know about!
So NOW you make this video! I went to the market, bought an heirloom brownish-purple, big delicious tomato, saved seeds, used seed tray, transplanted. Now have 7 giant tomato plants under grow lights in my bedroom (live in apartment). They're covered in flowers and tomatoes, but only about 2.5' tall so far. This should get interesting!😉
I accidentally ordered 5 extra 15 gallon grow bags and now thanks to your video I know what I'll put in them! I have a bunch of micro tomato starts that are said to do well in our wet, short season in Southeast Alaska. Thanks for the tips!
This is such a helpful video, especially for beginner gardeners! I would love to see more content of your suggestions for good soil mixes for different types of fruits and vegetables! I grow most of my garden in containers and always feel like I'm missing something! Thanks for this, love your channel!
I just decided like a year ago to get back into gardening and the 1st Seed starting Tray cells I got were the 6 cells and they really do make a difference
Good video. I've been gardening for 30 years and I've watched many videos and most people don't know what they're talking about. You do. My container mix is almost exactly like yours. Your a good gardener. Thanks
Wow I really appreciate that! I try to only put out information I believe is solid and works and I really feel bad when I accidently share something slightly off so I am glad to hear that positive feedback!
Just got some Tiny Tim seeds in yesterday, going to plant a few in containers outside and try my luck with one indoors. Made my own grow light stand out of pvc to aid in the effort. As usual, your timing is great, even though this is a year old. Still showed up in my feed at just the right time!
Yes I've been using dwarf tomatoes, sweet peppers, jalapeños & cucumbers for a lil' while now & they are seriously a game changer. 👍🏽 I Recently saw a dwarf eggplant, can't wait to try it out. 😊
I’ve learned so much from you and Kevin and the rest of the epic gardening team! I have tomatoes in grow bags, and in my natural soil, and in my raised bed so I can assess how will they grow and what challenges i am presented with. Really my biggest problem now is I’m starting to fruit and birds are eating my red tomatoes…otherwise I’m playing the waiting game. About to do a granular fertilizer because I’ve got fresh fruit on all of my plants now and I’m trying my best to deep water at a consistent rate. So thankful for you guys! I wish I could just FaceTime you and give you a tour of my year two garden, haha!!
Interesting, how is the native soil working for you? My soil is so clay rich that it forms a nasty stagnant layer at the bottom of containers if I try using it.
Same Jacques! The smell of tomato leaves takes me to another dimension 🌱🤩 One of my favorite scents of summer! Fun fact - while pregnant, I was actually repulsed by the smell, anything tomato-related & all things nightshade. I guess my gestational instinct was to avoid anything with excessive solanine.
Thank you so much for all the info. The smaller tomato plants sound perfect for us, we’re in zone 3 with a cool lake breeze. Even if we lived 10 minutes further inland it would be so much warmer to grow veggies. Our season is so short 🇨🇦
Lake weather is interesting. I'm in 6, and 5mins away is 7. Probably 10mins further inland is zone 5, and even further is zone 4. And that's just southern Ontario 😅
Thank you for going into detail on the differences between the different tomatoes! I'm trying to grow more compact varieties this year, so that I can have more plants rather than just a few determinate varieties, so it helps that you explained the differences in sizes since I didn't realize that there can be such a difference. I'm excited to grow many dwarf tomato plants this year! 👩🌾🍅
Another great video! Last year to help with using less water I put some core material at the bottom of my bags- a piece of cardboard and straw on top I set all the bags on a path of wood chips and it helped a lot. Looking forward to your next video!
Oh that is interesting to try to keep the water in more! I may mulch around the outside of my pots by adding a few inches of straw up a couple inches on the outside of the bag.
This is awesome! I love your soil mix. I use root pouches quite a bit due to limited space. I've ordered a large bag of the worm gold and am trying this year. Really appreciate all the tips.
Loving the videos! I appreciate the in depth info on plant varieties, soil amendments for the plant, differences in growing bags and mediums, and support ideas. Small details can matter yet few videos go very deep, so thank you!
What an excellent video! Youre showing all the "Best Practices" including the wheelbarrow tipped backward to fill. Too cool! I no doubt know I probably have GMO seeds Proven Winners tomato seeds and all are semi-determinate but I planted 9 seeds and all came up! I started them in the winterizing water jug method in January and once it got warm enough they sprouted. No idea what I'll do with all the tomatoes but you video has certainly is helping me and hoping I can get them all to grow to success. This is my first planting of any vegetables since I most grow for the pollinators. I don't know just how big they'll get but I planted all in fabric grow bags, Root Pouch and AC Infinity. If youre finding the water is leaking from the sides for whatever reason instead of absorbing into the soil, while watering the plant rub you hand over the surface of the fabric and amazingly it stopped going out the side and started absorbing into the soil. Give it a try and maybe it'll work for you. Next year I'll be planting BI tomatoes seeds figuring those are non-GMO.
That air pot base is actually installed upside down - the closed bumps go at the top to encourage the water to drain downwards. Just discovered your channel and catching up. Love the content, thanks
Quick question, would you be able to companion plant some basil or some flowers for pollinator attraction in that 15 gallon grow bag with a dwarf tomato in there? Seems like there's plenty of room for that.
You definitely could but the basil might overgrow the dwarf in size haha! I should have mentioned interplanting something like a marigold, alyssum, or a compact basil.
Love the music J : ) Cannot wait to see how your dwarfs grow. I have 4 in pots as we speak. So excited to have these options for my small garden space.
im so hype about this! could you do a potato grow bag video plz? i know there are others out there but i find you so charming and i bet youd have good ideas on size etc
Great info! I am limited to a balcony garden and plan on primarily using grow bags and a Greenstalk. Not ideal but I'm making the most of my space since I finally have a tiny patch of my own that I don't have to rent from a community garden. Thanks for making this video!
Thanks so much for this "right to the point" video. I really enjoyed it. I am trying some dwarf varieties for the first time this year. I am in Pennsylvania so moving into pots as we speak!
Liking your channel, Jacques. Just discovered it this evening. It's a bit late for me for this year, but I'm fascinated by the dwarf tomatoes. I'd prefer to start next spring with plants rather than seeds, but I haven't seen them in any local nurseries here in north Alabama. But then, neither have I looked for them, so who knows? Thanks for the information. Very helpful, because I'm 100% a container gardener.
Great video! I’ve been curious about Tomatotone; thanks for the explanation. Definitely going to try it out soon. Glad to see dwarf tomatoes getting some love. Texas summers are tomato killers, so I’m currently obsessed with the Dwarf Tomato Project. Victory Seeds has so many awesome varieties! Aside from attempting growingAbu Rawan (Iraqi heat-tolerant tomatoes) outside, indoor dwarf tomatoes in hydro are my method of choice until fall. My bff lives in San Diego too, and over the weekend I sent him a screenshot of our 105 degree temp to show him what he’s missing. Y’all have the best weather!
I’ve gone the exact opposite way as far as containers go, I used to do fabric pots but I’ve found that tomatoes (especially indeterminate) just grow so fast and the water evaporates so much more quickly in fabric pots that I ended up having to water a 15 gallon pot several times per day and haven’t had that issue since switching to plastic pots.
I tried using grow bags, not this brand, but I bought some with great reviews. Not a surprise, but found they deteriorated after 3-4 years. I don't have much money, so I've gone with large plastic containers. I do have to put up with watering a couple of times a day, but they work ok. I am in North Florida where the drought was really awful this summer (2023), but I did have some great tomatoes.❤
lots of great info for beginners, thank you for the video! i had no idea you had to make your own soil mix. I would have just used 100% potting mix or compost! also would have bought some dwarf tomato seeds from you to support you but I dont see any in your shop
Jacque, I loved this video! Reading through the comments, I see a lot of other viewers did also. I use nearly the same soil mixture. From the comments I see dwarf tomatoes fill a niche, but I'm wondering why you didn't also recommend determinant varieties?
I have been inspired to sew my own grow bags with some leftover canvas/ lining fabric from a cosplay! I may end up adding drainage holes depending on how the plants react.
Nice! Another great source is going to a local coffee roaster and asking for extra coffee bags, my local roaster sells them for a 1 dollar and they are huge and very versatile for many different use cases.
Those super aerated pots are very interesting. Here in the Texas Gulf cost areas we receive a tremendous amount of rainfall. So I believe they could be a asset in our area.
I think you are right that peppers would really appreciate them and eggplant as well. I am just now growing in them for the first time so I will for sure report back!
Hi Jacques - I’m really enjoying your videos. Thanks for sharing. Question - what do you do year on year with the soil from your grow bags? I recently used my leftover (from potatoes and tomatoes) as a base bottom 1/2 of my new flower beds. But what about reusing in bags? Can it be rejuvenated?
Dear Jacques. Thank you for this interesting and informative video. I love your semi-academic approach combined with 'growing for flavour' style. In spirit of that, I was hoping that you wil do more videos of excellent tasting varieties of the (whatever) fruit of vegetable you grow(?) Your video with Kevin, talking praise of the center-cut squash from SevenRowSeeds, had me chasing those seeds forever - Although I had to settle for an italian heirloom trombocini (being from Europe), I can't wait to taste it. Cheers!
The tromboncinos squash and Cucuzza are both delicious as well. The cucuzza should be something you can find in Europe and it has a really nice creamy texture when stewed!
I've had a lot of success growing Micro Tom and Orange Hat in grow bags under grow lights. The Micro Tom variety is a bit too acidic for me. The Orange Hat are great.
as an only container gardener, the thing about tomato in container is it has only so much root space to grow to a certain height. its not gonna be unmanageable
Those 5 gallon buckets can be pretty cheap or free. Have you heard of anyone drilling lots of small holes in the side of a 5 gallon bucket so as to produce the same effect (air pruning) as the grow bag or the air pot (which is too expensive)? Thanks for the video. Super informative.
If you know, tell me, I have a problem with tomatoes like rosella purple and boronia, which in the soil grow normally, while in a 45L container they get sick with "blossom end rot" even though I made sure they had calcium. The only thing I suspect is the very hot summer of 37΄c.
I’d love to know what you do with the pots at the end of the season! Do you put all the soil into your compost? Can you just supplement the soil and leave it for next years season? Thanks!
Usually I refresh the soil with some compost and new soil but if I don't have a direct thing to plant into it after the previous plant is done then I do just dump it all in the compost pile! Either way should be totally fine as long as you add some more nutrients you can let it sit for next season.
I have solo cup tomato starts in my dorm room, trapped, waiting to get to the garden but no one can give me a ride for days... They are about as tall as the ones at 0:04... How close to root bound are those?
I have several solo cup starts about that same size. I was nervous too! Transplanted a few this past weekend and they were fine. Roots were definitely reaching the bottom but not really root-bound. You'll be fine, I think. And bravo to you for starting tomatoes in your dorm room!!!
@@italiana626sc I got them planted today! Sunken 20 gallon containers black nursery pots with a hole cut in the bottom, the roots looked amazing. I teased them out a bit and cut the lowest leaves off and buried them deep. I filled the planting hole with water before so hopefully they can seek it out and I'll wait 7-10 days til I water them again in zone 10a Cali. Tomato time is soon!!
Awesome to hear! I feel like tomatoes are much more relaxed in terms of suffering form root boundness (not a word haha?) since they can root from anywhere!
Thank you for this video! ❤ I bought all of the things you mentioned for the soil mix for my tomato transplants. Would you recommend using it for peppers too?
@@jacquesinthegarden Right! Forty five 7 Gal. for tomato, Twenty Four 5 gal. for Pepper, Ten 10 gal. for Zucc, squash, melon, chard, Six 25 Gallon for carrot, potato!
Great vid! I'm a total beginner trying it out with limited space. How do I plan for growing only 1 tomato plant from seed? Should I plant a whole bunch of seeds in a seedling tray, pick the best looking one and toss the rest away? Can I plant two into one 7g grow bag? Does drip irrigation promote a bigger root system if it just drips in one area all the time?
Can you do a video on the best tasting tomatoes 😅. I keep hearing you and Kev say that you grow for taste. There’s so many varieties i want to buy seeds that taste good.
Love the video! Have you considered not sifting your compost in lieu of additional perlite? I am in NC so heat is not an option (nor humidity in the summer). I found the big woody chunks of compost to do very well in helping with moisture retention and drainage. Additionally, adding some basil or flowers and cardboard to the edge of the bag seems to help with moisture control!
The carboard edging is really interesting, I think I will try it this year! I sifted in this case because I had some grubs get into the pile and I didn't want to transfer them. I can see how leaving some big chunks could help with water retention that is a good point!
@@jacquesinthegarden with my indeterminates in 10 gal bags last year, the single layer cardboard was mostly broken down by fall - what was left was inundated with roots. I used it first with mild success as a heat barrier in dark plastic containers - NC sun is no joke!
Are all these dwarf tomatoes determinates? I was thinking of growing Tiny Tim tomatoes in a 10 gallon bucket. Do you think I could get away with planting two plants in each buckets? Thanks.
In my zone 9b tomatoes stop setting fruit when day temps are 90s and night temps are 80s. Will dwarf tomatoes produce quickly enough to beat the heat? Except for cherries we have a "short season" that's the opposite of the one up north. I tried a determinate this year but it's not producing and we're almost out of time.
This is a very helpful video and I appreciate the level of detail you go into. My question is can you use vermiculite versus the straw as a mulch? I’ve seen it in videos where when people are trying to get seedlings to germinate they’ll put vermiculite on top to keep that from drying out. Thanks again!
I’m trying dwarf tomatoes this year, Wild Fred and Big Green. There were so many to choose from it was hard to decide. I am growing some in my troughs, some in ground, and some in raised beds, just to compare. I love to use grow bags for tomatoes, as well as eggplants, squash, cucumbers and of course potatoes. What varieties of dwarf are you growing? T
I’m up in San Joaquin valley NorCal where it’s super hot most of the year and we get hardly any rain at all. I absolutely love grow bags for almost any crop but I always use 20-30 gallon grow bags hooked up to drip irrigation (on a timer) to prevent water issues. Works great. I’ve seen those air pots before but I’ve never tried them. I’m curious what kind of results you get with yours - please report back!
If concerned with the local straw, what are your thoughts on the small clay like pebbles for using as mulch? Here locally they're a reddish/orange colour. It's used as an Additive usually for indoor plants to create space in the soil for drainage... Similar to perlite. - I used some as a cover for a small raised salad bed (which did the trick!) along with yellow stickies, to tackle a few fungus gnats before they got out of hand as soon as I saw them. So watching you mulch with the straw, I'm wondering if those clay pebbles would also make a good mulch for tomatoes specifically (it seems plausible), never seen it done, maybe there's a reason 🤔🧐
I am not sure how well they would work actually since there would be a lot of empty space for air to flow through. It might make a marginal difference but probably less effective overall. If you can find coco mulch that also works really really well for water retention, but it doesn't break down and support worms as much. You can find it as coco mulch, coco bark, and it is often used for reptile enclosure if all other sources fail!
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
I worked on the Dwarf Tomato project with Craig LeHouillier for about 2 decades. I love my dwarves. I have grown them in 5 gallon containers for years, by punching holes. They are fantastic. In fact I am trialing some 'new' crosses of dwarves this year again. So glad you are highlighting these choices to people.
I just read Epic Tomatoes. Great reference!
That is amazing to hear, what a fascinating project you all did great work bringing us these new stable varieties. Such a wonderful thing that most people still don't know about!
Thank you
I know this is an old comment, but do you have any suggests on best varieties that you’ve tried?
So NOW you make this video! I went to the market, bought an heirloom brownish-purple, big delicious tomato, saved seeds, used seed tray, transplanted. Now have 7 giant tomato plants under grow lights in my bedroom (live in apartment). They're covered in flowers and tomatoes, but only about 2.5' tall so far. This should get interesting!😉
Haha, they will do great! Just bury them deep when you go to plant!
Something about this guy in the garden talking about vegetables and gardening tips is just so relaxing.
I accidentally ordered 5 extra 15 gallon grow bags and now thanks to your video I know what I'll put in them! I have a bunch of micro tomato starts that are said to do well in our wet, short season in Southeast Alaska. Thanks for the tips!
This is such a helpful video, especially for beginner gardeners! I would love to see more content of your suggestions for good soil mixes for different types of fruits and vegetables! I grow most of my garden in containers and always feel like I'm missing something! Thanks for this, love your channel!
Thank you for going over dwarf tomatos. I find dwarf are awesome and the flavors are great especially in containers!
Thank you so much for mentioning how important it is to give perlite a rinse before handling it. I had no idea this was necessary until recently.
I just decided like a year ago to get back into gardening and the 1st Seed starting Tray cells I got were the 6 cells and they really do make a difference
bro the way you dumped that wheelbarrow backwards is brilliant for filling those bags, wish I had seen that idea earlier, beats the shovel for sure!
Same here, bud! I filled 7 or 8 15 gallon grow bags last week, shoveled from my wheelbarrow. I wish I'd seen this sooner!
Good video. I've been gardening for 30 years and I've watched many videos and most people don't know what they're talking about.
You do. My container mix is almost exactly like yours. Your a good gardener.
Thanks
Wow I really appreciate that! I try to only put out information I believe is solid and works and I really feel bad when I accidently share something slightly off so I am glad to hear that positive feedback!
Just got some Tiny Tim seeds in yesterday, going to plant a few in containers outside and try my luck with one indoors. Made my own grow light stand out of pvc to aid in the effort. As usual, your timing is great, even though this is a year old. Still showed up in my feed at just the right time!
Yes I've been using dwarf tomatoes, sweet peppers, jalapeños & cucumbers for a lil' while now & they are seriously a game changer. 👍🏽
I Recently saw a dwarf eggplant, can't wait to try it out. 😊
Where did u see the dwarf eggplant?!?!?! Do share!!
Yes I'd love to hear people's favorite dwarf varieties
I’ve learned so much from you and Kevin and the rest of the epic gardening team! I have tomatoes in grow bags, and in my natural soil, and in my raised bed so I can assess how will they grow and what challenges i am presented with. Really my biggest problem now is I’m starting to fruit and birds are eating my red tomatoes…otherwise I’m playing the waiting game. About to do a granular fertilizer because I’ve got fresh fruit on all of my plants now and I’m trying my best to deep water at a consistent rate. So thankful for you guys! I wish I could just FaceTime you and give you a tour of my year two garden, haha!!
Interesting, how is the native soil working for you? My soil is so clay rich that it forms a nasty stagnant layer at the bottom of containers if I try using it.
I love dwarf tomatoes! They are great for people who have to grow in containers, there are som great early varieties!
Same Jacques! The smell of tomato leaves takes me to another dimension 🌱🤩 One of my favorite scents of summer! Fun fact - while pregnant, I was actually repulsed by the smell, anything tomato-related & all things nightshade. I guess my gestational instinct was to avoid anything with excessive solanine.
Oh wow that is interesting! The body tends to know what it wants and needs!
Thank you so much for all the info. The smaller tomato plants sound perfect for us, we’re in zone 3 with a cool lake breeze. Even if we lived 10 minutes further inland it would be so much warmer to grow veggies. Our season is so short 🇨🇦
Lake weather is interesting. I'm in 6, and 5mins away is 7. Probably 10mins further inland is zone 5, and even further is zone 4. And that's just southern Ontario 😅
Zone 3 club!
Thank you for going into detail on the differences between the different tomatoes! I'm trying to grow more compact varieties this year, so that I can have more plants rather than just a few determinate varieties, so it helps that you explained the differences in sizes since I didn't realize that there can be such a difference. I'm excited to grow many dwarf tomato plants this year! 👩🌾🍅
30k subscribers, congrats!!! Thank you so much for all your work and inspiration for others!!!
Another great video! Last year to help with using less water I put some core material at the bottom of my bags- a piece of cardboard and straw on top I set all the bags on a path of wood chips and it helped a lot. Looking forward to your next video!
Oh that is interesting to try to keep the water in more! I may mulch around the outside of my pots by adding a few inches of straw up a couple inches on the outside of the bag.
i love that i can put your videos on and receive relaxation and plant education at the same time! thank you for making these long format videos 💜
Btw love the flow and break down in your videos, the hard work really shows. Thank you!
I appreciate that!
This is awesome! I love your soil mix. I use root pouches quite a bit due to limited space. I've ordered a large bag of the worm gold and am trying this year. Really appreciate all the tips.
Loving the videos! I appreciate the in depth info on plant varieties, soil amendments for the plant, differences in growing bags and mediums, and support ideas. Small details can matter yet few videos go very deep, so thank you!
Great video. I have my seedlings growing at the moment. Will be planting out in the next week or two. Thanks for the great content.
What an excellent video! Youre showing all the "Best Practices" including the wheelbarrow tipped backward to fill. Too cool! I no doubt know I probably have GMO seeds Proven Winners tomato seeds and all are semi-determinate but I planted 9 seeds and all came up! I started them in the winterizing water jug method in January and once it got warm enough they sprouted. No idea what I'll do with all the tomatoes but you video has certainly is helping me and hoping I can get them all to grow to success. This is my first planting of any vegetables since I most grow for the pollinators. I don't know just how big they'll get but I planted all in fabric grow bags, Root Pouch and AC Infinity. If youre finding the water is leaking from the sides for whatever reason instead of absorbing into the soil, while watering the plant rub you hand over the surface of the fabric and amazingly it stopped going out the side and started absorbing into the soil. Give it a try and maybe it'll work for you. Next year I'll be planting BI tomatoes seeds figuring those are non-GMO.
That air pot base is actually installed upside down - the closed bumps go at the top to encourage the water to drain downwards. Just discovered your channel and catching up. Love the content, thanks
Awesome content. I’m also growing dwarf tomatoes this year and can’t wait to pot one up in a grow bag
I appreciate the differing explanations between you and Kevin on the same subjects. Thank you.
Quick question, would you be able to companion plant some basil or some flowers for pollinator attraction in that 15 gallon grow bag with a dwarf tomato in there? Seems like there's plenty of room for that.
You definitely could but the basil might overgrow the dwarf in size haha! I should have mentioned interplanting something like a marigold, alyssum, or a compact basil.
As an apartment dweller garden enthusiast, this is incredibly helpful!
Ive been growing tomatoes in 5 gallon fabric pots and theyve been doing really well. :)
Love the music J : ) Cannot wait to see how your dwarfs grow. I have 4 in pots as we speak. So excited to have these options for my small garden space.
While watching this, 11:30 was what I was most excited for
That's awesome info on watering. I grabbed the 15 gallon bags. I'm excited to work with them. 🌱
Hello tia
Just bought a grow bag for my studio apartment balcony, should be a great way to get some tomatoes in such small spaces!
Bonsai tomatoes!! I have a dwarf on my front porch which gets the best sun from morning til the afternoon. It’s doin great with loads of tomatoes!
I started growing an orange hat tomato it maxes out at around a foot tall from baker creek heirloom seeds. Super fun little plant
Great tips Jacques. I make my own mix also but use a shovel. Wow I'm going to have to try your tool to mix it next time. 👏
Just what I needed. Thank you. The links are a big help. Keep ‘em coming.
I love lucky dog soil. It’s my go to for containers. Happy gardening Jacques 👨🌾
im so hype about this! could you do a potato grow bag video plz? i know there are others out there but i find you so charming and i bet youd have good ideas on size etc
I can for sure cover potatoes at some point!
Great info! I am limited to a balcony garden and plan on primarily using grow bags and a Greenstalk. Not ideal but I'm making the most of my space since I finally have a tiny patch of my own that I don't have to rent from a community garden. Thanks for making this video!
Glad it was helpful!
Great video! I’m going to look for some dwarf tomatoes now!
Hello Alice
Agreed on the larger pot! Even in larger ones, we have to water tomato plants twice a day once it gets to the mid-90s and warmer.
The small pots just make gardening a little too stressful haha
Thanks so much for this "right to the point" video. I really enjoyed it. I am trying some dwarf varieties for the first time this year. I am in Pennsylvania so moving into pots as we speak!
Glad it was helpful!
That mix breakdown is perfect!! Thank you
Thanks for the seed link. I never knew there were that many varieties of dwarf tomatos 🍅
Liking your channel, Jacques. Just discovered it this evening. It's a bit late for me for this year, but I'm fascinated by the dwarf tomatoes. I'd prefer to start next spring with plants rather than seeds, but I haven't seen them in any local nurseries here in north Alabama. But then, neither have I looked for them, so who knows? Thanks for the information. Very helpful, because I'm 100% a container gardener.
I rarely see them in nurseries so I highly recommend you grab some seeds for next year!
I'm growing my first dwarf this year, Summer Sunrise
edit: it's actually a "Potato-leaf dwarf variety" so the leaves are broad like potatoes!
He's back! And hotter than ever - thanks for the video.
Thank you so much for this video ... I learned so much that I can immediately apply to my gardening!!!!!
Great video! I’ve been curious about Tomatotone; thanks for the explanation. Definitely going to try it out soon. Glad to see dwarf tomatoes getting some love.
Texas summers are tomato killers, so I’m currently obsessed with the Dwarf Tomato Project. Victory Seeds has so many awesome varieties! Aside from attempting growingAbu Rawan (Iraqi heat-tolerant tomatoes) outside, indoor dwarf tomatoes in hydro are my method of choice until fall. My bff lives in San Diego too, and over the weekend I sent him a screenshot of our 105 degree temp to show him what he’s missing. Y’all have the best weather!
We are quite spoiled with the moderate temps but my peppers don't like it which makes me sad haha
I’ve gone the exact opposite way as far as containers go, I used to do fabric pots but I’ve found that tomatoes (especially indeterminate) just grow so fast and the water evaporates so much more quickly in fabric pots that I ended up having to water a 15 gallon pot several times per day and haven’t had that issue since switching to plastic pots.
I tried using grow bags, not this brand, but I bought some with great reviews. Not a surprise, but found they deteriorated after 3-4 years. I don't have much money, so I've gone with large plastic containers. I do have to put up with watering a couple of times a day, but they work ok. I am in North Florida where the drought was really awful this summer (2023), but I did have some great tomatoes.❤
Another great video, Jacques!!!
lots of great info for beginners, thank you for the video! i had no idea you had to make your own soil mix. I would have just used 100% potting mix or compost!
also would have bought some dwarf tomato seeds from you to support you but I dont see any in your shop
pumice is my go too for aeration and a few hand fulls of sand per cubic foot
Jacque, I loved this video! Reading through the comments, I see a lot of other viewers did also. I use nearly the same soil mixture. From the comments I see dwarf tomatoes fill a niche, but I'm wondering why you didn't also recommend determinant varieties?
I have been inspired to sew my own grow bags with some leftover canvas/ lining fabric from a cosplay! I may end up adding drainage holes depending on how the plants react.
Nice! Another great source is going to a local coffee roaster and asking for extra coffee bags, my local roaster sells them for a 1 dollar and they are huge and very versatile for many different use cases.
You have such a lovely garden! 💚🌱
Those super aerated pots are very interesting. Here in the Texas Gulf cost areas we receive a tremendous amount of rainfall. So I believe they could be a asset in our area.
That Air Pot... very curious as to your results for tomatoes, I believe peppers and eggplant might even be better, thoughts??
I think you are right that peppers would really appreciate them and eggplant as well. I am just now growing in them for the first time so I will for sure report back!
Always live finding these videos
Great and informative video, you are the tomato guru 🍅😊
Hi Jacques - I’m really enjoying your videos. Thanks for sharing.
Question - what do you do year on year with the soil from your grow bags?
I recently used my leftover (from potatoes and tomatoes) as a base bottom 1/2 of my new flower beds. But what about reusing in bags?
Can it be rejuvenated?
Great Job Jacques! Love your vids!
Thank you for presenting such an informative video.
Dear Jacques. Thank you for this interesting and informative video. I love your semi-academic approach combined with 'growing for flavour' style. In spirit of that, I was hoping that you wil do more videos of excellent tasting varieties of the (whatever) fruit of vegetable you grow(?) Your video with Kevin, talking praise of the center-cut squash from SevenRowSeeds, had me chasing those seeds forever - Although I had to settle for an italian heirloom trombocini (being from Europe), I can't wait to taste it. Cheers!
The tromboncinos squash and Cucuzza are both delicious as well. The cucuzza should be something you can find in Europe and it has a really nice creamy texture when stewed!
@@jacquesinthegarden I'm gonna try them both, ty :D Do you know how the centercut compares to the trombocini? Texture, taste etc
Thanks for an awesome video! loved the soil mixing. when will i need to add more calcium and how? Thank you!
Really good teaching skills!
I've had a lot of success growing Micro Tom and Orange Hat in grow bags under grow lights. The Micro Tom variety is a bit too acidic for me. The Orange Hat are great.
Another great video!
Awesome, although I think I went overboard planting 6 tomatoes per sack 😅 hope it turns out good ... Inspired so I also post to my channel 👍
as an only container gardener, the thing about tomato in container is it has only so much root space to grow to a certain height. its not gonna be unmanageable
also i suggest not washing away free silica, which is really benificial for your plants resistance to enviromental issues. just wear a mask
Those 5 gallon buckets can be pretty cheap or free. Have you heard of anyone drilling lots of small holes in the side of a 5 gallon bucket so as to produce the same effect (air pruning) as the grow bag or the air pot (which is too expensive)? Thanks for the video. Super informative.
If you know, tell me, I have a problem with tomatoes like rosella purple and boronia, which in the soil grow normally, while in a 45L container they get sick with "blossom end rot" even though I made sure they had calcium. The only thing I suspect is the very hot summer of 37΄c.
I’d love to know what you do with the pots at the end of the season! Do you put all the soil into your compost? Can you just supplement the soil and leave it for next years season? Thanks!
Usually I refresh the soil with some compost and new soil but if I don't have a direct thing to plant into it after the previous plant is done then I do just dump it all in the compost pile! Either way should be totally fine as long as you add some more nutrients you can let it sit for next season.
Lots of great info here!
@Jacques What is that beautiful flower bush behind you??
I have to get some of those dwarf tomato seeds.
@Jacques in the Garden,you mention the"Tidy Treat tomatoes" and "Siam tomatoes" that also be great in containers,too?.
Not sure about those varieties exactly but most any tomato will do fine in containers its mostly about how to support them that changes.
I have solo cup tomato starts in my dorm room, trapped, waiting to get to the garden but no one can give me a ride for days... They are about as tall as the ones at 0:04... How close to root bound are those?
I have several solo cup starts about that same size. I was nervous too! Transplanted a few this past weekend and they were fine. Roots were definitely reaching the bottom but not really root-bound. You'll be fine, I think. And bravo to you for starting tomatoes in your dorm room!!!
@@italiana626sc I got them planted today! Sunken 20 gallon containers black nursery pots with a hole cut in the bottom, the roots looked amazing. I teased them out a bit and cut the lowest leaves off and buried them deep. I filled the planting hole with water before so hopefully they can seek it out and I'll wait 7-10 days til I water them again in zone 10a Cali. Tomato time is soon!!
Awesome to hear! I feel like tomatoes are much more relaxed in terms of suffering form root boundness (not a word haha?) since they can root from anywhere!
Thank you for this video! ❤ I bought all of the things you mentioned for the soil mix for my tomato transplants. Would you recommend using it for peppers too?
Totally ideal for peppers as well!
Great info - as always!
last year, did twenty five 7 gallon Grow Bags for tomato. Almost double this year!
Going big on the tomatoes! I can for sure understand that!
@@jacquesinthegarden Right! Forty five 7 Gal. for tomato, Twenty Four 5 gal. for Pepper, Ten 10 gal. for Zucc, squash, melon, chard, Six 25 Gallon for carrot, potato!
Great vid! I'm a total beginner trying it out with limited space. How do I plan for growing only 1 tomato plant from seed? Should I plant a whole bunch of seeds in a seedling tray, pick the best looking one and toss the rest away? Can I plant two into one 7g grow bag? Does drip irrigation promote a bigger root system if it just drips in one area all the time?
Can you do a video on the best tasting tomatoes 😅. I keep hearing you and Kev say that you grow for taste. There’s so many varieties i want to buy seeds that taste good.
Growing my first tomatoes and learned I definitely need bigger pots!
It will for sure make life easier!
@@jacquesinthegarden yes I've seen people grow tomatoes in tiny vertical containers which just didn't sit right with me!
Love the video! Have you considered not sifting your compost in lieu of additional perlite? I am in NC so heat is not an option (nor humidity in the summer). I found the big woody chunks of compost to do very well in helping with moisture retention and drainage.
Additionally, adding some basil or flowers and cardboard to the edge of the bag seems to help with moisture control!
The carboard edging is really interesting, I think I will try it this year! I sifted in this case because I had some grubs get into the pile and I didn't want to transfer them. I can see how leaving some big chunks could help with water retention that is a good point!
@@jacquesinthegarden with my indeterminates in 10 gal bags last year, the single layer cardboard was mostly broken down by fall - what was left was inundated with roots.
I used it first with mild success as a heat barrier in dark plastic containers - NC sun is no joke!
if i grow them in 7 gallon bags, will i get less or small sized fruit compared to 15 gallon bag?
Ok would this mix be good for house plants
Are all these dwarf tomatoes determinates? I was thinking of growing Tiny Tim tomatoes in a 10 gallon bucket. Do you think I could get away with planting two plants in each buckets? Thanks.
Loved it!
In my zone 9b tomatoes stop setting fruit when day temps are 90s and night temps are 80s. Will dwarf tomatoes produce quickly enough to beat the heat? Except for cherries we have a "short season" that's the opposite of the one up north. I tried a determinate this year but it's not producing and we're almost out of time.
Hello there
@@Alextodd007 ??
@@hyacinthABC how are you doing good morning!
Fine
They have short season varieties comparable to any other tomato, some are in the 60-70 day range for example. So in theory it should work out fine.
This is a very helpful video and I appreciate the level of detail you go into. My question is can you use vermiculite versus the straw as a mulch? I’ve seen it in videos where when people are trying to get seedlings to germinate they’ll put vermiculite on top to keep that from drying out. Thanks again!
Hmm actually that would probably work, I haven't seen anyone do it maybe because it is more expensive but I don't see why it wouldn't work!
Very helpful, thanks!
I’m trying dwarf tomatoes this year, Wild Fred and Big Green. There were so many to choose from it was hard to decide. I am growing some in my troughs, some in ground, and some in raised beds, just to compare. I love to use grow bags for tomatoes, as well as eggplants, squash, cucumbers and of course potatoes.
What varieties of dwarf are you growing?
T
Roselle Purple, Uluru Ochre, Adelaide Festival, Boronia, and Sweet Scarlet this year!
I’m up in San Joaquin valley NorCal where it’s super hot most of the year and we get hardly any rain at all. I absolutely love grow bags for almost any crop but I always use 20-30 gallon grow bags hooked up to drip irrigation (on a timer) to prevent water issues. Works great.
I’ve seen those air pots before but I’ve never tried them. I’m curious what kind of results you get with yours - please report back!
I will for sure share the results, I am trying them for the first time this year as well!
When you were mixing up the potting mix what is the bush behind you with all the orange flowers?
It is an orange clock vine!
Would single pole support work with determinate tomatoes?
If concerned with the local straw, what are your thoughts on the small clay like pebbles for using as mulch? Here locally they're a reddish/orange colour. It's used as an Additive usually for indoor plants to create space in the soil for drainage... Similar to perlite. - I used some as a cover for a small raised salad bed (which did the trick!) along with yellow stickies, to tackle a few fungus gnats before they got out of hand as soon as I saw them.
So watching you mulch with the straw, I'm wondering if those clay pebbles would also make a good mulch for tomatoes specifically (it seems plausible), never seen it done, maybe there's a reason 🤔🧐
I am not sure how well they would work actually since there would be a lot of empty space for air to flow through. It might make a marginal difference but probably less effective overall. If you can find coco mulch that also works really really well for water retention, but it doesn't break down and support worms as much. You can find it as coco mulch, coco bark, and it is often used for reptile enclosure if all other sources fail!
Should this soil mix be used for all container grown vegetables? Namely peppers, zucchini and cuccumber.
Isn’t silica dust highly toxic? Does all pearlite have it???