My neighbor said my tomato plants looked sad and she was right

I ran into my neighbor Linda last Tuesday while I was watering my balcony garden and she just flat out said my tomato plants looked sad. At first I got defensive thinking well they're on a balcony in Brooklyn what do you expect. But then she pointed out how my pots were way too small for the size of the plants and that I had them crammed too close together. I went inside and measured the pots and she was right, they were only 8 inches across for plants that needed at least 12. I ended up repotting three of them into bigger containers I found at a garage sale for $5 total and within two weeks the leaves perked up and I got my first little green fruit. Has anyone else had someone just call out your setup and it actually helped?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_derek18h ago

Small pots will absolutely stunt tomatoes, they're surprisingly thirsty plants. That garage sale find was a steal for $5 though, nice score.

bailey.sam16h ago

Yeah totally agree, I had a cherry tomato in a tiny pot last year and it barely got two feet tall before it gave up. Switched to a big 10 gallon bucket this season and they're already taller than me, crazy difference.