Container Tomatoes and severe weather, HELP!!

17 years ago

This is my first time planting and I'm starting with tomatoes, peppers and herbs. My grandmother had a farm but that's quite different, so I can't always go by her huge, green thumb, she isn't always so sure since she doesn't believe in container gardening heh. All of mine are in containers, and I was wanting to find out how big they need to be to stay out in severe weather. I have them where they get full sun and a good bit of wind, so if it's a gully washer, then they get it full force. I've only had them a week. I brought everything in last night due to the oncoming storms today where we should be having high winds and possible hail. But I can't always do that, especially as they get larger. What would be a good recommendation height before I leave them to their own defenses? If you know about peppers too, the additional information would be very helpful! Right now the tomatoes I transplanted are about a foot tall, the peppers are about 1/2 foot.

I'm definitely a newbie, please help! And thanks!!!!

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Comments (4)

justaguy2
17 years ago
What would be a good recommendation height before I leave them to their own defenses?

Against hail? There is no size that will protect them against a serious hail storm or severe winds.
fivekidss
Original Author
17 years ago
I was rather afraid of that. But if I'd planted them in the ground I'd face the same issue, so I was thinking maybe there was a better stage to leave them out. We have such odd weather, and with it being the coming on of tornado season, there's just never any way to know what may or may not happen.
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justaguy2
17 years ago
All you can do is support them as best you can to prevent the plants from getting blown around too much as well as to keep the containers from blowing over.

In the event of a tornado I would say one has more serious problems to worry about than the fate of their tomatos ;)

With my ground grown tomatos I use 8' tall t posts driven 2 feet into the ground and run trellis netting between them and guide the branches through it. This is very sturdy, but when the 70+ mph winds come (and they always do) those posts driven 2ft are tested. By the end of the season they generally have a few inches of play to them. Tomatos do fine though.

For my container plants I grow them on my deck or along a fence where they get some protection. I also cluster pots together to reduce the risk of a single container blowing over.

A somewhat effective tip with containers is use larger rather than smaller containers and when you know a storm is coming up, water them. This increases the weight of the containers.

These are just some strategies I use, but there is a limit to what we can do against mother nature. Most of the time things work out OK.
ralleia
17 years ago
I live in a tornado-prone area (with the accompanying hail), and I really don't worry one bit about my tomatoes and peppers. It's more the leaf crops like lettuce and spinach that concern me.

I'd feel safe leaving out the tomatoes and peppers as soon as the stem diameter reaches about 1/4 inch. Usually the plants will be about 8" tall or more by then. Tomatoes and peppers should be able to withstand a few shredded leaves just fine--the only thing that'll really hurt them is if the stem is broken. That is too unlikely for you to waste your worry once the plants get big enough.

The bigger threat will be potted plants getting blown over by the wind. You could try to put bricks around them to keep them upright. I actually sink my potted peppers in the ground (pot and all)--when it gets dry around here in the summer this helps to cut back on water loss between waterings as well.