Porch tomatoes- looking for advice and tips

[underpants]

I'm going to take a stab at growing "porch tomatoes" and was wondering about tips.
The gardening group doesn't seem to get a lot of traffic so I thought I'd post it here.

At work someone dropped off about 12 "porch tomatoes" plants free to whomever wanted them.
The dirt bases are about 3" in diameter and about 4" deep. The plants themselves are over a foot tall. I have 3. I talked to the guy who brought them in and he said these are from the same plants that he's been growing and regenerating for 6 years.

We used to have a full garden but stopped one year when we thought about moving and didn't pick it back up. My brother - quite the gardener - advised me that a tomato plant needs 3 cubic feet of soil to grow properly. He said he's used 5 gallons buckets and that they have to be watered daily.

I've got a front porch that gets a lot of sunlight and railings that can be used for tying up the plants.

Any advice or tips I should know about?

[Sedona]

1. I've got mine in these with cages

On the porch and they're doing well

247Garden 5-Pack 10 Gallon Grow Bags/Aeration Fabric Pots w/Handles (Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013JM3J9E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Crx9AbXXBWFNZ

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[underpants]

2. Would a 5 gallon bucket be enough?

You think?

[Sedona]

3. I'd go with 10.

You never know how big they'll get. The bags retain water better than pots. Use plenty of mulch too. Some miracle grow every few weeks

[Sherman A1]

4. I have 2 plants in a large

Flower pot that was leftover and probably headed for the bin as it is really showing it’s age. Last year in the same pot we got a good number of tomatoes in the same spot. Lots of sun and water each day. The worst thing that will happen, is that you get nothing. Plant them and try.

[Donkees]

5. Use a large plastic storage container or a garbage can as a planter and bury about half the stem ...

of the plants for a stronger root system.

[Ohiogal]

6. Tomatoes like sun and water

As long as they have those two things, you should have success.

The cages are an excellent idea, too, so they don't flop over onto the ground.

[Clarity2]

7. I use plastic planters

set up much the same way as Sedona's pic using tomato cages and are the same size pots. Don't know if they are 10 gal or 5 gal? Got them at either Lowes or HD. I usually buy the "patio" or "bush" variety. Sometimes I place crushed egg shells at bottom of hole when planting (calcium). This year I used used coffee grounds. I fertilize every two weeks or so, and use epsom salts for the magnesium after fruit develops (found that when tomatoes weren't ripening it can be from mag deficiency).

I find I don't need to water every day. More like every other day during heat of summer if there's no rain. Although there is a particular variety of miracle grow soil for vegetables/flowers that seems to dry up really fast (even though it's suppose to do the opposite). That one may need watering every day.

I also tried growing in a garden, but always end up with powdery mildew or blight. I feel that grown in pots, there is better air circulation, and I don't have that problem.

Also, from what I recall the soil has to be changed in pots every 2 years or so. And completely changed if your plants suffer from blight any particular year & sterlize the planter.

[SWBTATTReg]

8. Use a bigger water tray then the ones shown on one of the pics posted...

I find that I am having to water again if trays are too small to retain basically a day's worth of water...tomato plants suck water up amazing fast...good luck on growing in a planter...I never seem to get a large bumper crop off a container grown plant vs. in the ground plant...let us know how you did!!

P.O. Also, I don't use just one wire rack, I use a smaller one inside a larger one, and then place around the plant in the container ... plants seem to get all over the place via branching out so much, so the multiple sets of cages helps a little better in supporting the plant as well as giving more control over the plant.