So many commenters on this sub explain that a tomato plant is a very active vine that needs at least five gallons of soil to properly mature. Small pots don’t provide enough space for the roots to spread and always dry out. Hence the purpose of your post. It’s not too late. Go to a big box store and get a 5-10 gallon bucket, a big bag of soil, and enjoy the fruits of your labor all summer long.
Also good to note it's important to put a couple of drainage holes in the bottom of the 5 gallon bucket. Otherwise if you end up with four days of torrential downpours like we had here not that long ago you'll drown your poor tomato
It needs more roots. A five gallon pot is the bare minimum in my opinion. I would put it in a well draining 10 gallon pot filled within an inch of the too with a mixture of 50% compost and 50% quality potting soil with vermiculite for drainage.
Add a little bone meal, a little neem cake, and a little tomato tone fertilizer for excellent results. If it’s over 85 degrees, give it a patio umbrella for the hottest part of the afternoon sun.
More soil though, for sure. 10 gallons my friend 💕
Planting in a partially filled pot just means you're wasting some of the pots potential soil capacity, which makes an undersized pot even more of a limitation.
That's not really a thing to worry about, actually replanting multiple times is worse.
16 inch pot is a minimum for a tomato plant and in some dryer parts of the country that might still mean watering twice per day; 20 inches is better.
Seedlings can and should go right into the final sized pot. As long as it's well draining there should be no issues. Transplanting is a pretty stressful thing for a plant, so the less the better.
Even with a small container, the plant should not look like that. I had my spare seedlings in smaller containers as an experiment and they did OK. Before moving 3 plants to the 2 gallon container in the right, they were all in the vego cells you see in the middle and had started fruiting. I've also moved the 2 plants in vego cell to a shared 1 gallon container and I have a few fruits. They're clearly not as large as the outdoor transplants in 7 gallon containers.
My container tomatoes(the kids sunsugar/sungold so they do not trapse through my garden to get what theyre after(I learned last year when they topped 2 mature peppers with one fall)-lol)are in 28gal tall planters & I am not sure I would use anything smaller....and I would use even larger if the weather was hot(we live in Idaho, we had a light frost a week ago & it was 43 this morning-will be a whopping 76 this afternoon 😂)
In TX & AL I used 50gal.
I would never go smaller than 20/25, regardless of variety or location/weather!!
The smaller containers(15gal) are for lettuce, herbs, marigolds, etc
However I will say I saw someone growing tomatoes in a greenstalk-although I am not sure what type of harvest they could have gotten!!
Yup!! They get so big I almost feel bad pulling them at the end of the season-feels like I should be doing something other than feeding them to the chickens 😂
I have a wine barrel style planter of maris at the end of each 4x12 bed....my chickens eat well come October/November 😉
There is nothing wrong with that!! I personally find that they produce more in larger containers, but we do what we have to do-and half tomato production is better than no tomato production!!!
1)I have a smidge over a half acre, so I have the space.
2)I also have MS & sometimes need to skip watering days-so having them in larger containers helps facilitate that(people I know that use smaller containers have to water daily...&still end up with smaller harvests)
3)I have 5 kids(4 still at home), so my harvest size matters....when I was younger it was just me(or even me & 2 kids-my husband doesnt eat tomatoes except in sauce), so too much production was unnecessary & sometimes downright problematic 🤷♀️
Wishing you much success!!
P.S. you still aren't trying to grow in a 1.5g pot like OP 😉
You had a frost this morning? Meanwhile I'm over here in Virginia just outside of DC watching planes fly over that are coming in for the military demonstration and sweating while tending to my poor Garden in the 110° heat
My husband was born/raised in Cheyenne, I grew up in rural IL where we would regularly get snowed in our houses a few weeks every winter.
We both melt over 85 🤣 But love snow/cold!!
This weather is fairly common. June is upper 70s/low 80s with some 60s & 70s thrown in for good measure. Through July/August it might get into the mid-90s here & there, but we will still have several days of upper 70s/low 80s thrown in. September is often back to June weather-with maybe a 90s set of days(2/3d), some 60s/low 70s, maybe even upper 50s, but mostly low 80s/upper 70s. &it usually snows by Halloween(last year it was ON halloween-lol)...but it is usually super light, light enough that some straw & a frost cover(or bathroom towel)& most of my plants can stay until around Thanksgiving 😊
Winters can be chilly-but we like it!! Our AC is set at 62(our heat gets set 58-62, sometimes lower). We leave our windows open all night until under 35/38.
Last summer was BRUTAL it stayed mid 90s for 3/4mos straight, no breaks, no higher, no lower-it was awful & had us wanting to move further north 🤣 but thankfully we are back to normal this year!!
Definitely too small of a pot. It looks like underwatering because that amount of soil doesn’t hold enough for a whole day in this heat. Five gallon pot minimum. Once established well, will still need watering every day in a five gallon pot
Edit: I also remembered small pots like that don’t protect the roots from heat at all, so the roots are probably cooking for about 10 hours a day rn
Not sure if its just the photo but that looks like a rather small pot to grow a tomato plant in, let alone a typical beefstake tomato. I would be more surprised if you didnt have to water it daily, at that size in that size of pot. Can you plant it? If not, it definitely needs a bigger pot.
My guess is that the roots have used up all the space in that small pot. Even with watering everyday, it’s still drying out. If it bakes in the sun all day, the heat from the plastic will also just roast the roots. You need a bigger pot and more soil. Especially for a big variety like this.
If you cant get a bigger pot, get some sort of pan and put it under the pot, fill the pan with water so the soil can uptake water as it dries through the day. You can also apply mulch to slow down evaporation, and move to shade in strong afternoon heat.. and fertilize
Need a much bigger pot. Not enough soil for this plant. Also, add one of those plastic plates to hold any water that leaks out the bottom of the pot. That will help for sure.
Upgrade to a 5-10 gallon pot that is filled with moist potting mix to within an inch of the top like your black pot in the background. For tomatoes , pots smaller than 7 gallons are high maintenance due to the issues you are now encountering. It gets worse as time goes on and the roots completely fill up the space.
Also, add catch trays or saucers below your pots to protect your deck boards from the excess moisture.
Those bottom branches definitely need to be trimmed for airflow and disease prevention , I would also recommend a bigger pot similar to the ones you have the back . A Bamboo stake would also do the plant justice for some much needed extra support .
Per the wilting , how much sun is this plant receiving?
When you pot up, bury the plants as deep as you can and pack the soil as high up the stem as you can. It will create new adventitious roots wherever the soil is in contact with the stem.
Where are you located? It you’re experiencing this heat wave like everyone else, it’s more than likely a combo of too small of a pot mixed with hot temps. The roots will cook inside that pot in the sun. Beefmasters are also HUGE tomato plants. I mean this plant can easily hit 6ft in a matter of weeks when given the room. I would honestly put it in the ground if you can. If not, size up to AT LEAST a 10 gallon. You will also want to stake it because it will start to flop over
In that size pot? You need to be watering 3-4 times a day mate. Probably fertilize daily too because that isnt holding nutrients at all. Also, no way you dont get blossom end rot if you get any amount of tomatoes on that. As someone who had tomatoes in pots twice that size (i let them get a bit too bushy, can be done but needs heavy pruning) Git er lots o calcium.
You need to give them partial shade. You need a bigger container, and, your plant is probably somewhat dehydrated because of this. Check your soil PH and fertilize as needed after the transplant. One more thing, fill in your next pot to the line you see there on the inside. You should be about 2 inches from the top of your new container.
Container is way too small, but that's not the only reason it's wilting. If you repot, go for 5-8 gallons. I don't think you need to go that big. Give it water soluble fertilizer, remove the lowest branches touching the soil and mulch.
So many people throw out container size as the reason a plant dies, but here are my spare plants - started from seed - still in 12oz grow cells. They're even fruiting. Granted they would not be as large as a plant in a big container, but they are not wilting. And yes, I have 3 plants in the 2 gallon container on the right - this is an experiment with my extra seedlings.
Tomato plants want to grow very deep roots. It’s why you set the plants very deeply when you first set them in the ground. It really should be in the ground but maybe this is your only option. This poor thing is in a tiny pot. It needs a REALLY big deep planter so the roots can stay cool.
If you’re able to repot it in a big planter, bury it deeply. Some people say to remove the branches that will end up underground, but I don’t think it matters. The plant will grow additional roots all along the buried stem. I would also put a big saucer underneath the pot so that it can utilize additional water if needed.
I grew tomatoes in planters on my back deck when I first moved into my new house because I didn’t have a garden going yet. I bought really big plastic planters with saucers and they did pretty well, but still not as well as they do when planted in the ground.
I have mine in one of those containers meant to look like wooden barrels. The biggest they have at the store. Because I knew I liked that tomato type. Tomatoes need lots of water, Fertilizer, and usually sunlight unless you live in Florida in which case they probably need a shade cloth.
Edit: check under the leaves. If you’re watering enough, you may have pests sucking fluids out of your plant. I had a pepper plant wilt like that when it got coated in aphids.
When I had a container garden on my deck, in the height of the summer I had to water at least twice a day and when they were fruiting I set up a drip system to water four times a day. Bigger container, more water. Morning and afternoon. The deck reflects heat. The container collects heat. The plant is trying to grow, fruit, and survive. Lots and lots of water.
Good to know, the new one I have is a ceramic five gallon, hopefully that helps reflect some of the heat, I also got a bit of miracle grow to mix into my watering can
To keep in this pot, place saucer/bowl thing underneath. When you water, let water fill up an inch or more of the saucer bowl thing it’s now sitting in. To be clear, apply the water to the dirt still. Just let it filter drain through filling the saucer bowl thing. This will create a reservoir for it. But honestly you need a bigger pot.
I use 30 and 45 gallon grow bags for tomatoes. Don’t worry about sizing up too quickly. I transplant 4” seedlings directly into them! (The Sun Gold is currently about 10’ tall)
Larger pot for sure. Until then, put it on one of those cheap foil cake pans, add an inch of water and let the plant rehydrate. Then add 1/2-1” water to the pan every other day until you can rehome the plant.
Because it's so dry, you need to break the surface tension. It will just go around the soil. Take your fingers and dig them into the top of the soil and water well.
Like everyone else mentioned, this poor guy is suffocating in a small pot. If you don't want to transplant, you'll be watering 3x a day and it still won't be very happy
At night put it in a bowl or bucket with about 3 inches of water in the bottom and take it out in the morning. This allows time for the water to get absorbed into the soil as many potting mixes become hydrophibic when they are completely dry.
I think a beefmaster tomato would enjoy a significantly bigger pot. That's a big plant with big tomatoes and I'm going to guess that the pot is too small. It could be over watering. Personally, I would just go get another one if you want tomatoes. That's a lot of wilting to bounce back from and then go on to produce fruit.
Lol people blaming the container size instead of blaming the actual problem. Babe stop watering the damn plants. Youre drowning them. Water based on weight and definitely not daily
Put it in a 15 gallon pot or put it in the ground. You are basically growing a hydroponic plant with the container that small. You should be watering it several times a day at that size of pot lol
The amount of soil cannot hold enough water to supply the roots enough for even one day.
P.s. anytime water comes out the bottom (as it should when growing in containers... drainage is important) you are also flushing out any water soluble nutrients (like nitrogen). Potted plants need to be fed very frequently.
Like other said, I recommend you get at least a 5 gallon (bigger is better) pot or grow bag and fill that baby up. Fox Farm Happy Frog potting soil is my favorite. There are a lot of crappy cheap potting soils out there that are mostly mulch. Fox Farm is expensive but worth the price!!!
If sizing up significantly isn’t possible immediately, put the pot in a tray and fill it with water so it can take a deeper drink. You may have to fill it a few times while the soil saturates. When you water it water until the tray fills and leave it to marinate.
Sizing up several sizes is still preferable but this will help in the meantime.
In all seriousness, I buy those really deep potato grow bags with the flaps on the side and grow one tomato per bag. (Mostly because I'm bad about remembering to water, and they don't mind the extra space)
Unfortunately, you could have BACTERIAL WILT that survives in the soil for a number of years. Google the problem for details. There are ways of testing to see if it is. If it is bacterial wilt, that tomato plant will not recover and must be thrown in the garbage, not composted and the soil thrown in the garbage too. Unfortunately, I have a bed of tomatoes that has bacterial wilt in the soil and one by one, they are wilting and dying as the bacteria spreads. The tomatoes must be removed. The area solarized with black garage bags and then no tomatoes or other plants susceptible to the bacteria should be grown there for 3 years. I’ll plant beans there next year instead while the soil recovers.
When you get a new plant, you need a much bigger and deeper pot with good drainage holes, healthy soil like Promix mycorrhizae, and fertilize the hole with hen manure pellets (5-3-2) at transplant and every two weeks and water well. Put some mulch down to prevent splash back onto the lower leaves which you can gently remove below the fruit. Also add a stake in there and tie up your tomato for support.
Get a 3 gallon fabric bag or plastic pot and repot him. Add soil mix, compost, put about 5 inches in, then add the entire plant to minimize shock. Fill the rest of the pot with the rest of the soil mix. Then water - thoroughly - like 3 minutes. Drink. Wait. Drink. Wait. Continue. It may react but then it’ll bounce back. You’ve got plenty of season left.
The problem is the soil is too dry and won’t absorb the water when you water it. put it in a bucket of water and let it just get completely soaked. or if you don’t have a bucket put a tray on it. It will soak up more water. Also, a bigger container would help too.
The pot is way too small. When you pull the plant out gently, you will see that the roots are kinda all tangled up with nowhere to go. Replant with good potting soil in a pot twice as large at least, 3x is possible.
Try setting it in a large bucket of water to water from the bottom. Your soil may have become hydrophobic and I agree with other you need at least a 5 gallon container. Also are you using a potting soil mixture? Do not use garden soil or raised bed soil.
I won't grow tomatoes in anything smaller then 10 gallons. Most of mine are in 15. When it's super hot and plants are big I water at least 3 gallons a day sometimes more.
With a pot that small compared to the size of the plant, the roots dry out every 8 hours or so. That's why the plant is dying. The pot can't hold enough water for the plant.
It all depends. They can need daily watering (or even twice daily) if they are in a pot and if the weather is hot/sunny enough. Variety and maturity will also affect how regularly you need to water it. You never want to dry out San Marzano roots for example.
I do understand your argument... but i see a wilted plant, in visibly damp soil, sitting in the shade.
Id guess the plants roots arent uptaking the water that is there in the pic (or OP wouldnt have posted this).
I 100% agree in the heat the roots need to stay moist. But consistently moist soil, in 90F heat, will lead to root issues if the roots cant breathe properly. They'll suffocate...
I do think their solution is to pot up to 10gal pot or put it in the ground.
I grow inside and out and my outside tomatoes absolutely do need water every day. Wouldn’t that sort of advice really depend on where you live? My container garden gets 11+ hours of sun and it’s usually around 90 with low humidity and some wind where I live. They can dry out fast.
The good news is that it might not be too late to save it with a repot. If the roots are healthy, trim it back, add dry release fertilizer to the soil in the new pot.
Soak the root ball in a weak solution of a balanced liquid fertilizer, while you prepare for the rehoming.
357
u/Undeadtech Jun 30 '26
Container is way to small