How to Grow Roma Tomatoes (in a pot) AND
Roma Classic OG, 2009 Growing Journal

Disclaimer: The following How To is just one way to grow a roma tomato plant. There are many different methods, tips and do's and dont's on growing tomatoes. The following method is right for our climate zone, requirements, and situation. We hope that it will be helpful to readers. Also, tomatoes grown in containers larger than 5 gallons, (10 to 25 gallons) will produce more and larger fruit, but 5 gallon is what we have to work with this year. So,...

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Update: May 9, 2009

Two different Roma's at about 8.5 weeks. Two weeks of hard rain, warm temps, and enough Sun have done our Romas some good. The one on the right has 2 romas growing close together, which I don't recommend for container gardening, I'll try to replant one soon. Growing faster/heartier then the Spitze's. I have a lot of faith in my compost mixture at this point, so I am not looking to fertilize anytime soon. I think I only watered once or twice during this period. Without rain, container tomatoes need watering more then raised bed or ground tomatoes. At least once a day in the cooler months, then 2x a day in the hotter months here in Oklahoma. Notice that I've left some room at the top of the bucket. In July, when it gets really, really hot here (95+ degrees). - I'll be fighting a battle to keep my tomatoes cool. I've left this room so I can put down 2-3 inches of mulch which will retain moisture and keep the soil/roots cooler. This is a must in hot climates.

2 June, 2009 -Okay, I am back from my trip to Romania and lots of rain while I was gone has really propelled our Roma and Spitze tomatoes.

Above: Our Roma and Spitze paste tomatoes from those picture further above, earlier. The Spitze is getting taller than the Bush variety Roma. The Roma leaves are a nice and wide and a good dark green. Tomorrow, I will put tomato cages around them. Looking good so far.

Note: I began a set of Roma and Spitze seedlings two weeks apart to space out production for later in the summer. Those above are the "Younger" pair, and the ones below are the "Older" pair. From here on, I will try to clarify which pair I am showing and writing about. I apologize if you get confused. The one's below are next to my garden shed. By the way, if you see tomato plants next to a garden shed, you'll know I am talking about the "Older" pair.

Above: These two tomatoes are 2 weeks older than the ones pictured above. The Roma Tomato is on the left and the Spitze Tomato is on the right. Notice that the determinate, bush variety Roma is shorter and only reaches the 2nd ring of the tomato cage. The indeterminate Spitze vine type has reached the third ring. Both are a bit clustered around the bottom, for which I am trying to train them out of by positioning the branches up and over the rungs. I pruned off a few bad leaves and branches.

Update: June 15, 2009

The two OLDER Spitze and the Roma Classic tomato plants really grew a lot in the last 2 weeks. Each one has shot up another 6 to 8 inches. The Romas are 30 to 36 inches tall, and the Spitzes are about 48 inches tall. Shortly after the past update photos were taken, the Roma began producing tomatoes. Although the Spitze is getting to be quite big for it's age, it has only produce two or three blooms. The same for my 2 other Spitze tomato plants. Meanwhile, not only does the Roma Classic have plenty of blooms, each Roma plant has about 6 to 10 tomatoes on them - so far. I've been watering once a day unless it rains. The temperatures are slowly starting to climb and soon I will be watering twice a day and adding mulch to the base to keep the roots cool and the moisture locked in.

Here's a mistake I made that you can learn from. I didn't put enough soil in the buckets when I started. I failed to calculate that rain and water would compact the soil downward and I am starting to get more room on top then I need for the mulch. With these small 5 gallon buckets, I want my tomato plants to have as much soil as possible. If you grow your's in containers, put more soil in or fill it to 1 inch (2 cm) from the top when you begin. The rain and water will push that soil down before the time comes to add mulch.

Close up pictures of my young Roma Tomatoes.

Roma Characteristics - Although still growing in the containers, these particular plants are smaller than I thought they would be, but I believe they will eventually hit the 4 foot mark. Roma's are famous for being productive, so time will tell if they produce upwards of 200 tomatoes. Somehow, in these 5 gallon buckets, I doubt they will. Fifty on each would still be nice.

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