Educate me on growing tomatoes in Oklahoma.

[NationalMatch]

I've killed more plants than Georgia Pacific. Plus, I'm using large outdoor planters. Educate me.

They'll get a lot of sun and they're in large outdoor planters. How often to water? What kind of soil? Frequency of fertilizer? What kind of fertilizer?

Etc.

 

[kirk1978]

I'm right there with you!

 

[Shadowrider]

If you use "raised bed soil" from the big box store add lime! Blossom end rot is guaranteed if you don't.

 

[XYZ]

And wait about a week from now to plant.

 

[Letfreedomring]

It is a struggle. Few years ago we were inundated with endless rain that was drowning my tomato plant in the feed bucket so I drilled about a dozen holes in it for better drainage then year before last it didn't matter how much you watered because everything was just so dry. Then last year I was attacked with tomato hornworms that were stripping the plants bare.

I almost think in oklahoma that the plants would benefit from a light shade cloth to really flourish, but that is just my opinion.
It really helps to find a variety that works best in your garden. Roma's seem to grow the best for me.

 

[Big House]

My neighbors' plants only received sun from morning to 1:00. She also used an old tractor tire filled with soil and that she always dumped her vegetable waste in. She had tomato's every year and a lot of them.

 

[gl55]

I buy well established plants at nurseries over 12 inches tall from bottom of pot to top of plant. Plant them deep (10-12 inches) with some bone meal, calcium and fertilizer. Pinch off the lower leafs that will be below ground. All those little hairs on the stem will grow roots, Once every 2 weeks for the first couple of months mix a non coated aspirin in 1/2 gallon of water in a spray bottle and spray all the leafs on al the plants. Water them every 2 days until the temps get into the high 80s and 90s then water every day. I plant a variety and have had good luck with Cherry, Early Girl, Better Boy., Arkansas Traveler, and Champions. And you never know. I do the same things pretty much every year and some years they don't produce much and some years I have bumper crops and have more than we can eat and give away. Last year was a bumper crop. I only have a 6x12 ft garden that gets full sun until about 5:00 PM then is shaded my a big pecan tree. I use pretty big cages not the little cone shaped cages you can buy and will plant 2 plants in each cage. I made them out of that concrete reinforcing wire. 24-30 inch diameter cages.

 

[BlackRifle]

I've killed more plants than Georgia Pacific. Plus, I'm using large outdoor planters. Educate me.

They'll get a lot of sun and they're in large outdoor planters. How often to water? What kind of soil? Frequency of fertilizer? What kind of fertilizer?

Etc.

I can tell you what I learned years ago. One day I was going to buy a bag of Vigoro garden soil for clay pot grown tomatoes. I happen to see in small print, Not for container grown plants. So I called them to ask why. They told me the soil will compact and suffocate the roots. They told me to use potting soil. This solved the problem of my plants dying. I use Miracle Grow Shake and feed at planting. The bottle tells you how much and how often. In the spring,I water about every 3 days. When it gets real hot , I water every day. I grow Sweet 100 cherry Tomatoes and Boston cucumbers ,and haven't had a problem since.

 

[cowadle]

The store plants some have a growth inhibitor on them to make them more shelf stable. Mine are in the window sill now and about 8 inches tall. The trick is don't set them in pots because the soil temp is to warm. Get them growing early so you can get blooms before the hot wind. Get them in the ground and use cans bags or whatever to protect from frost.

 

[Lakenut]

Cowadle is spot on. Raised planters tend to have soil temps that get too high so be careful how much sun they get.

Other than that, plant as early as it’s safe too. When the summer heat rolls around it doesn’t matter what you do- when night time temps get into the mid 70s the plants will stop blooming and setting on. Don’t give up though. Keep your plants alive. They will start blooming/setting in late summer/early fall when the weather starts cooling off. When it comes time for first frost pick everything. Place the green tomatoes in your garage and the will ripen through the rest of the fall.