google "larry hall" his youtube videos and ideas are great for your situation. Smart pots are so dam expensive compared to root pouches. you will be amazed what can be grown in a 1,3,5 gallon root pouch. and yes I have done it.

Yep I have seen his videos but have not been able to get his results. I order a ton of smart pots off amazon. They were one of those half the price but the shipping was high enough to make it full price. The problem was the seller forgot to add shipping for more than 1 pot so I got the first full price and all the rest at half price. I bet he/she was not a happy camper. I have even single stemmed my tomatoes and still they are half the size they should be. Maybe I need a different fertilizer or something

Which varieties are you growing and where are you located? For container growing, I have had very good experience growing in Roots Organics. I buy it at the hydroponics store.

I use POTTING MIX add fertilizer and lime and Epsom salts for tomatoes using the kiddie pool method with 1 or 5 gallon root pouches depending on the tomato variety. I only grow determinates this way.. I have also grown peppers, cucumbers this way. potting soil will not get you good results. has to be potting mix and will need fertilizer and lots of water. that is why I use the kiddie pool method. The potting mix can be reused year after year just add more fertilizer. The only other thing that I can think might be a problem is 15 gallon smart pot is awfully big for container gardening. Google ROOT POUCHES and compare them to the smart pots. I buy mine from A.M.Leonard.

I have found that perlite is a container gardener's best friend. even if the mix you purchase has perlite it's never enough.

This is a ghost chili plant at mid season in a small pot.

Seedling

Perlite is good, all the white is additional perlite, these are this years Brussel sprouts

Wow nice pepper. I have pots that size and gave up on them as my peppers never even got past a foot high. I live in central florida near orlando. For tomatoes I have grown kumato, better bush, camparis, mortgage lifters, and a few more that were so bad I just junked them. I did try a better bush once in a walmart fabric bag and the plant grew huge(I kept in a container that always had a few inches of water). When they started to get red though I got bad blossom rot and still the tomatoes were smaller than they should be. I do not use potting soil- just the mix. I read a ton but there are so many opinions out there. I think I need a good fertilizer mix that helps tomato growth as my plants will often get to 10 feet as a single stem. I tried bone meal but it did not much help and I always use a little epsom salt when planting and lime.

In FL you would need a well draining mix, what I use is MG Orchid mix (not Course blend) MG Organic choice and additional perlite. This year I used what I have on hand which was raised garden soil and I added a lot of perlite. I think if your mix is well draining and you use a standard fertlizer that should be good enough to get great results. Providing calcium helps with blossom end rot. While bonemeal is good, it's not so much for containers, takes too long to break down and be useable for the plant, you would be better off using a liquid form of calcium. Lime is good for container plants, I usually add epsom salt diluted in water if necessary for magnesium deficiency. I would not give up, you just have to figure out what works for you and your growing environment.

Thanks for the advice. Oddly enough I was moving my container meyer lemon tree and I found a foot high tomato plant growing out of the container from where a seed apparently landed. I have no clue what it is and will let it grow just for the fun of it. The plant looks healthy so having it grow in february seems fun.

Nice! Volunteers are always a good surprise find. Is it growing in the same container as the lemon or just a container behind it? I only wish I could have plants growing outside in Feb.

If your tomato is growing 10' tall you may be providing too much N. I use 10-10-10 in my root pouches. you may also need to side dress

I live in a townhouse with a small yard that I want to be able to keep as a yard. I have tried using various "flower pot" containers 3-4 gallon but they cost 10-20$ each. Then I started using 5 gallon painters buckets from Lowes/Home Depot/Ace. About $2-3 dollars each. Just drill 4 holes, about 1/2 inch in the bottom. I used Miracle Grow Organic Mix that I bought at Costco for $9.99. i was able to grow various types of tomatoes, bell peppers, bush cucumbers (2 per gal.), Crook Neck Squash, Butternut squash with amazing results. The trick is water daily, and in the hottest part of the summer, twice daily.

I have about 15 lowes buckets but they were a disaster unfortunately. Yes the tomato plant is in the same container as the lemon tree. It should be interesting on what it does.