I purchased a packet of Matt's Wild Cherry tomato seeds from Johnny's Seeds. Now I'm having the issue of trying to figure out which planter to put the seeds in. I can only plant in containers due to silly HOA. I have this planter where the bottom half is for water storage where the foots crawl down to in order to drink up the water. So only the top half of the planter is soil. Do you guys think it's large enough to grow the tomato variety? Or possibly multiple of them?

Maybe.
Things to know:
Some tomatoes make HUGE plants and that includes many cherry tomatoes. Johnny's is a good source and will say how big the plant tends to get. (indeterminate= keeps on growing and growing unless killed by cold or disease) Bigger plant= needs more water and food to stay happy.
Also- plastic pot in FLorida could suffer overheating/cooking the roots on the sunny side at least. Or- in Largo, maybe you're planting now and won't have quite the full summer effect.

In general, tomatoes can be very vigorous and productive, especially cherry types. One cherry tomato plant is all I can ever use. (keep picked)

Add to what Sally said, cherry tomatoes are usually indeterminate vines. Give some thought to whether you plan to stake it upright: where will you secure the framework? If it goes straight up it could get top-heavy. Or, do you plan to let it sprawl?

Can you estimate the volume of soil it holds? A minimum of five gallons is recommended for a full-sized cherry tomato plant. IMO more is better.

I would want a pot that sat on the ground... and the plant would be able to send roots into the soil below.
the pot pictured?
maybe a cactus... or portulaca.
unlikely to get much results from a tomato... just not enough room for a tomato.
consider a tomato purchased that already has fruit on it at the store... that plant is through... won't do anything more... too potbound.

stone said: I would want a pot that sat on the ground... and the plant would be able to send roots into the soil below.

Thanks @stone. Unfortunately I am unable to place the pots onto the ground. Pots can can only be on the concrete porch area. HOA rules.

I think with everyone's responses I will put the tomato in one of the large pots.

Peter @Petabread

Maybe it can be pruned to restrain it, but know that Matt's Wild Cherry grows into huge bushy plants! Check out Valleylynn's picture on the database of her 7' tall plant:




She added some comments you can read.

Pat

Peter @Petabread

I don't know if you are especially interested in Matt's Wild Cherry because it is in fact a "wild" type of tomato. If not, you could choose a modern hybrid which will yield more and better tomatoes on a much smaller plant plus offering disease resistance. For example, this 'Sakura' cherry tomato at Johnny's Seeds is said to bear on a "Very tidy, compact plant" that "fits well in tight spaces".

You can see it produces full, tight clusters of fruits, unlike the erratic, widely-scattered fruits on wild plants. Also, they "hold" on the plant longer. Wild types ones tend to get overrripe rapidly, then drop. And, newer hybrids are bred for higher sugars, making them sweeter. These seeds are even organic.

They cost more but tomato seeds have excellent longevity- up to 10 years. So you can plant just 1 or 2 for years.

I hope you have great results no matter what you grow!
Pat

Hortaholic said:
They cost more but tomato seeds have excellent longevity- up to 10 years. So you can plant just 1 or 2 for years.

Hey thanks @Hortaholic for the wealth of information! Although I do have a few questions especially on this part where you mentioned up to 10 years. What exactly do you mean by that? As in the seeds you don't use in the seed pack can be used for up to 10 years? Or each plant can last up to 10 years? I doubt the latter since they are annuals. Or perhaps I just don't know enough about tomatoes in general.

My other question with this nice looking variety you provided, Sakura, is it good for a large pot? And do you think 2 or 3 plants can fit into one large pot? (20 gal)

To answer your initial question of why I chose Matt's Wild Cherry, to be honest, it just looked like a nice variety on their website. They even kind of make it sound like this incredible and rare variety. I think that also helped sell me. This is also my first tomato plant/seeds purchase for myself so I don't really know much at all about tomatoes.

I have actually planted quite a few of the seeds about 5-6 weeks ago of Matt's Wild Cherry. The seedlings sprouting weren't the issue, it's that they were not growing at all for an entire month. Because of this I bought some nice fish emulsion liquid fertilizer, focusing on nitrogen. It's been 6 days since the fertilizer and it's made some progress on growth. My point in this little backstory on this wild cherry variety is I may be open to purchasing your recommended Sakura variety if I am already having issues.

Peter, @Petabread by
It may have been a little too cool for your tomato seedlings to take off rapidly. They should do better when the nights are consistently above 50°. If not it could be a fertility or other issue with the potting mix.

The container you want to grow them in is the large square one, correct? It currently has a clump of basil and a couple young clumps of cilantro?

The reason I suggested the Sakura was because it said it grows in a tight space. If you want to have room to grow other plants with the tomato it needs to be compact. There are other choices though.

There are catalogs which sell 100's of tomato varieties and they make every one sound irresistible! So I can easily imagine being tempted by Matt's Wild Cherry.

I'm actually not the best person to advise you on tomato variety choices for your climate. I found a link for tomato growing in Florida that might be more helpful.

https://gardeningsolutions.ifa...

They briefly mention indeterminate vs determinate. The indeterminate ones continue growing at the tips of the shoots, producing leaves and additional flower/fruit clusters until something stops them. Here, it's usually frosts. There, it might be heat. Even if the plant continues to grow and produce flowers, they may not set fruit when the temperatures are high (over about 85°). The vines are potentially perennial.

Determinate ones grow for a limited time (often into a bushy shape rather than a vine) then set fruit all at once and are finished. These are true annuals. They're usually grown for harvesting a large number at once, such as for canning.

The article mentions Sun Gold (cherry), Black Cherry, and Juliet (red, a little larger, salad sized). I have grown each of these in containers similar in size to yours and obtained reasonable production. The plants won't grow as large or produce as much as in larger containers, but enough if you only need a few for fresh use every day or so.

Seeds for those are readily available in most seed catalogs and aren't expensive.

The Everglades tomato mentioned in the article sounds like it is similar to Matt's Wild Cherry. I'm not familiar with it.

Pat

Peter @Petabread
I forgot to answer your question. Yes, tomato seeds can be viable for up to 10 years, maybe longer. With a caveat - you don't know how many years the seed seller has already stored them. You can't control that. As my packets of seeds get older I plant a few more extra every year to allow for diminishing germination. I make notes of the germination % each year.

Store leftover seeds of any kind in sealed containers, glass or plastic. Be sure the seeds and packets are dry first. Keep out of the sun in a cool place. Most do best in a refrigerator (but not a freezer).

Pat

Hey @Hortaholic
Thanks again for the knowledge! It really helps me.

I actually decided against planting in that planter from my original question in this thread. I will be planting in a much larger pot. I think it's around 20 gal. Something like this. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Unbra...

@Petabread You're welcome, Peter!

That looks like a great value for such a large container. It might get a little tipsy with a tall heavy tomato vine, but it's harmless to try. You just set it back up.

Note!! That one says "Must drill a hole for drainage!" If it's flat on the bottom, drill holes in at least 3 places on the sides, just above the base. About 1/4" diameter.

Be sure to use "potting mix" not "potting soil". The latter seem cheaper - heavy for the price - but that's actually the problem. They're too dense and don't hold enough air. Plant roots need air in addition to moisture and nutrients.

Ignore any potting advice to add rocks or gravel at the bottom. It doesn't. That only interferes with the gravitational pull to fully drain the potting mix.

Keep us posted on your progress. 👍🏻

Pat