Hi from Orange County, CA

[jeansun12]

Hi everyone,

I'm totally new to gardening and I'm starting some veggies in 5 gallon containers. I've had some blunders and wondered if someone could give me some help.

1) A month ago I bought a young tomato plant and transfered to the 5 gallon container. This morning I realized it had 2 stems. Opps...so I need to split it and I was wondering what is the best way to not damage the roots.

2) One day I mulched another tomato plant with cocoa beans ( yes it made contact with the stems ) and the following day, the young tomato plant was burnt where the stems made contact with the mulch. Why did it do that? I recall Patti uses cocoa mulch too!

Thanks again!

[gardengirl72]

1) Yes you can split them. Make sure you plant the tomato plant deeply in the pot, stem and all. Take off the leaves that will be under the soil. The stem will grow roots.

2) The only thing I can think of is that you over watered.

Hope this helps.

[pakrat]

Glad to know there are other gardeners in the OC. I live in the Mt. Saddleback foothills and am currently growing tomatoes in large containers as well. I have found that "fish emulsion" is a great help (but stinky). My husband uses Miracle Grow on the plants as well. What else are you growing this year? I hope it's not too late to plant cucumbers and pepper plants because I'm going to do that too.

[plantoneonme]

Welcome to the group. The tomato plant that was burned by the cocoa mulch? wondering :confused: may be saved. I have accidently cut off otherwise healthy tomatoes and simply stuck them into water. In a few weeks, new roots developed and I was able to plant them out later. A little slower to give me tomatoes but I did get plenty in the end. Kim

[jeansun12]

Hello fellow OC Gardener,
I'm growing cucumbers, zucchini, yellow crookneck squash, red bell peppers, and sugar snap peas which are not doing so great. I'm trying to do things organically but it's frustrating to see the leaves of the plant being nibbled on....I guess that's expected.
How long have you gardened?

[MoniDew]

OC is in the house! Welcome! When my husband and I were first married, we lived in LaHabra, CA, right on the boarder of Orange County. My first 2 kids were born in LaMirada Hopsicle - just the other side of the line. We moved to Fullerton for a semester, finally officially inside of OC and my favorite apartment of all time - then out here to Oklahoma. That was 25 years ago. Good memories!

[gardengirl72]

How are your container tomatoes doing?

[pakrat]

Hi Jeansun12 in the OC--I have been gardening ever since I was little. I got really brave and planted some Cherokee Purple tomato seeds this year and now they're doing just fine. My husband bought me some "fish emulsion" fertilizer from Laguna Hills Nursery at El Toro and Jeronimo. I swear the plants just love it and they seem to grow a foot taller every time I feed them. Good luck with your garden.

[pakrat]

My seven container tomato plants are in full fruit. I am growing Russian Krim and Cherroke Purple (which I started from seed). The tomatoes are big but few even though I've been feeding them fish emulsion twice a month. I hoped to have enough of a crop to feed our family and share with neighbors but I just have to wait and see. Any suggestions to improve future tomato container crops would be appreciated.

[Wahine924]

Hello JeanSun12. Orange County is a cool place. I grew up in SD and now live in the Pacific NW. I am new to gardening as well. Grow magazine and Garden Girl TV are great inspirations.

[jeansun12]

Hello everyone,

So I have been getting some tomatoes but I found that I have to hand pollinate. Why is it that my cherry tomatoes doesnt need to be hand pollinated and the celebrity tomatoes do? Also I planted the cherry tomatoes in a plastic terracotta pot. Everytime I water then, the run off water is a terracotta color. Is this bad??
Thank you Community!!

[gardengirl72]

Can you post a photo or 2? Not sure about the plastic terracotta pot.