Tomatoes have shallow roots in grow bags

[kwryan]

I am an old Michigan gardener who is now a new Georgia gardener. I am also new to growing in grow bags which I am using because of the Georgia clay.

This is my first year gardening here and my tomatoes had very shallow roots, didn't perform well at all and I am wondering if that is because I watered too much, almost daily, or too little. I fertilized with fish emulsion and other organic fertilizers, added azomite for minerals because I was at a lose what to do.

I am growing dwarfs tomatoes in grow bags sized for potatoes.

I would appreciate advice for next season.

 

[Marck]

Greetings, welcome to the Forums.

Judge when to water by observing the soil conditions and plant performance. In a container that is liftable you can also learn to judge accurately by weight. Waiting until the potting soil surface looks dry is a good-rule-of-thumb in many container situations, but even then, don't water on auto-pilot. Always seek feedback from the plant and environment and adjust accordingly.

If you are not growing in-ground because you feel your soil doesn't drain well, I would recommend that you amend your soil liberally with composted organic matter and also plant your tomatoes on a mound. These two actions should give you excellent soil for growing tomatoes. Well-grown tomatoes in-ground should give a larger yield than most container situations.

 

[DirtMechanic]

I have 7 gallon grow bags and the tomato I have removed indicate 10-15 gallons would be better. Alabama here by the way, hiya neighbor!

 

[Snatch]

I am an old Michigan gardener who is now a new Georgia gardener. I am also new to growing in grow bags which I am using because of the Georgia clay.

This is my first year gardening here and my tomatoes had very shallow roots, didn't perform well at all and I am wondering if that is because I watered too much, almost daily, or too little. I fertilized with fish emulsion and other organic fertilizers, added azomite for minerals because I was at a lose what to do.

I am growing dwarfs tomatoes in grow bags sized for potatoes.

I would appreciate advice for next season.

Hi, it depends how you water them I assume you're a seasoned gardener so apologies if this sounds patronising. Water the bottom roots only, and feed the top roots. Watering from.the top can make the plant lazy, as it doesn't need to put down deeper roots, as it's already getting the water it needs.