LOVE that wooden tray thing your partner made...very nice! Good luck with your tomatoes. I planted a few a week or two ago also. I just don't seem to have much luck growing them for some reason. I always get the dreaded yellow/brown leaves shortly after they produce a few tomatoes **sigh**. I wish I knew what to put on the that was organic that works?!?

puglvr1, you might try consulting your county's Agricultural Extension Office. Check first to see if you have access to a consultant, then bring in the damaged leaves for a possible diagnosis. I was given many different possibilities, so this year I am trying a fungicide before the plants start to bloom.

That being said, despite whatever pest(s) there are, I find I continue to get nice tomatoes even with the slow death of the foliage.

Pattybee,

Your partner is very talented. I need something like that to set my succulent pots on that are sitting in the garden. Is he for hire? Lol

Just curious how you feel about the cloth bags. They would seem to be lighter and easier to move around than the big pots. When I was in Ohio visiting family in August, Meijer's (like a fancier Walmart) had m. them on clearance for 75% off in several differ shapes.....ones like yours, tower and pocketed hanging ones. Didn't buy any because I had never seen them before. I feel like kicking myself for not buying them. But if you give rave reviews, I'll check there again when I visit next summer.

Thanks

Rhonda

Rhonda: Yes, I like them very much. I had a discussion about how to gauge the moisture level in such big pots, couldn't find a moisture meter that had a probe long enough to get at least to the middle of the depth, but was advised not to worry, just dig down with my hand, and that seems to be working. At least so far there are no signs of my having over-watered.

My biggest issue was, indeed, being able to move the containers by myself, and tho it might be a bit of a challenge if they had just been watered, when they are dry I am able to do so. W/o handles, probably impossible. They all have green tomatoes on them currently. Can't wait till they start turning red. I bought 2 small heirloom tomatoes for TG dinner at the Fresh Market @ $.499/lb., left them out in the sun for a couple of days, but they were, quite literally, tasteless.

The only thing I can warn you about these containers is that they only will give you a few years of use, if that. In FL they will be out in the sun year-round and likely to degrade quicker, but, "que sera, sera."

I'm looking into buying a sewing machine that is heavy duty enough to make those bags. Seems you can make them easily from landscape fabric, then you can just make more when they decompose. Some people use staples instead of sewing, but staples are expensive and thread is cheap.