[GG Mora]

I use those three-sided cage thingies, but have to drive 1" x 1" x 6' stakes down through each “corner” when the plants get to be 5' tall, or else they blow over like anything else. I use the round wire tomato supports for the tomatillos, since they're a little less rangy, but have to stake them, too.

Do you girls grow your tomatoes in clay or plastic pots?

[Abbylovi]

I have mine in plastic pots on a roof and my landlord has been threatening to shut down my whole gardening operation. When I hear yumyum talking "cement shoes" I get all queasy picturing my tomatillos crashing down on my neighbors.

[flyfish]

yumyum, on Jul 25 2005, 02:15 PM, said:

The velcro ties are like this....

http://www.gardeners.com/Shopping/sell.asp...andising=Search

I second this... these are great!

Most of my tomato plants this year are directly in the ground, but we have grown several varieties in containers (and this year are growing cherry tomatoes in containers). the ones we have used are largeish terra cotta-esque plastic so I can drag them around if need be (out of the way of the lawn mower):


(picture is from this Australian site but I got mine at Ritchie Feed and Seed here in Ottawa.

We also have long trough-like plastic planters for the lettuce.

Fly

[Abbylovi]

That is the exact container that I have.

[memesuze]

re: over-winter storage:

the fencing cages I made, I just threw up on top of the almost-flat garage roof until the next season

the wooden frames were fastened with wingnuts and bolts, so would disengage easily and stack

[yumyum]

Abbylovi, on Jul 23 2005, 07:10 PM, said:

I have mine in plastic pots on a roof and my landlord has been threatening to shut down my whole gardening operation. When I hear yumyum talking "cement shoes" I get all queasy picturing my tomatillos crashing down on my neighbors.

Oh no. The veranda must stay! Must. Stay. Silly landlord. If she is all of a sudden so interested in your place, tell her to turn her attention elsewhere.

Mine are in plastic pots, too, and I think they'll be fine until the "harvest". Odd that the leaves are getting quite yellow (didn't notice that last year) but this year's weather sucks ass. I mean the tomatoes love it but I sure don't.

Side note: how big do coleus get? I gave in to my coleus crush this spring and put 5-6 little plants in a large container. They are magnificent-- a riot of color -- but they are getting HUGE. Would they be happier if I dug one or two out and put in a seperate pot? They seem to like being crowded, but just HOW crowded?

[GG Mora]

One of the tomato plants I bought – marked “Brown Cherry” – was supposed to produce small mahogany-colored cherry tomatoes. I think it must have been mis-marked, as it's producing large plum-shaped fruit. No matter – I love garden surprises. Last year I bought a six-pack of green cabbage plants, and they turned out to be cauliflower (which I discovered one day when I pulled back some leaves to check for cabbage worms and found big, white heads).

[joiei]

I am amazed. Even with the heat, my tomato plants are still setting fruit. I would think the heat stress would cause the blossoms to drop.

[Abbylovi]

I can't control nature.
I can't control nature.
I can't control nature.
I can't control nature.

Deep breath.

Last night I'm making dinner and I look out the kitchen window to see a brazen squirrel lounging in one of my planters feasting away on my tomatoes. He's just looking at me with a "so what are you going to do?" look on his furry face. I run to the window, throw the screen up and he slowly saunters away, pissed off that I've interrupted his dinner. This happens three more times before I despair and I decide to go all chemical on his ass, spraying a toxic "Varmint Away" concoction all over the fruit. This does not deter stupid bastard! So while maybe he'll acquire cancer in five or so years, what does he care??? His life expectancy is like 3 years max.

At this point I've become The Crazy Squirrel Lady, actually lying in wait at the window with a squirt gun.

I HATE SQUIRRELS.

[flyfish]

I sympathize, Abby. This year we have squirrels, skunks, a groundhog and a family of raccoons all competing for our veggies. If we had installed one of those motion-activated squirters, I think the plants would have died from over-watering.

Fly

[MyKong]

Abby-- I have been there when I grew tomats on my balcony. I know the frustration. Maybe you can attach bells to your tomato plants that will scare him off. Probably not--most squirrels are brazen psychos.

[yumyum]

As you know, I am the crazy squirrel lady. That is when I'm not being the crazy racoon lady or the crazy carpenter bees lady.

All I can say is my money is on YOU. You are persistent and not above using poison. I assume the red pepper isn't working?

[Abbylovi]

Nope, apparently the fat squirrel likes his tomatoes spicy. I can only imagine what my neighbors think of me bolting in and out of the window with all kinds of spray cans, spice jars and squirt guns.

Mykong -- I suspect that I could attach an A-Bomb to the plant and the squirrels would still percervere.

[Ron Johnson]

Abbylovi, on Jul 28 2005, 10:24 AM, said:

Nope, apparently the fat squirrel likes his tomatoes spicy. I can only imagine what my neighbors think of me bolting in and out of the window with all kinds of spray cans, spice jars and squirt guns.

Mykong -- I suspect that I could attach an A-Bomb to the plant and the squirrels would still percervere.

Get a sling shot and some pebbles. That'll learn the little rodent.

[yumyum]

Wonder if the chocolate poison trick works on squirrels? For those playing along at home, racoons really like chocolate but it makes them sick. I had some very intrepid critters in my pond and so I set out Hershey's kisses at night. They came the first night and et them. They came a second night and et them. They've not been back since. I guess they know where they got their "bad" food and they don't return. Perhaps it would work on the rat bastard squirrels? It's worth a shot.