Successfully Grow Tomatoes In Gravel With This Must-Try Advice

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A little overwatering can spell big trouble for tomato plants with ripening fruit. The sudden uptick in moisture makes the insides of the fruit take in water faster than the skin. Before long, the skin becomes so taut that it cracks. If the crack can't be excised completely, the tomato isn't safe to eat. To provide tomato plants with consistent moisture, try ring culture, a method popularized in greenhouses. It involves growing the plants on gravel with the help of an open-bottomed container known as a ring. This method is also useful if soil-borne diseases have ravaged the tomatoes in an in-ground garden. Ring culture creates an unfriendly environment for these pathogens, and the soil is easy to replace each growing season.

Want to give ring culture a go? Use your ring like a regular pot, filling it with compost and one tomato plant. Then, place it atop a gravel-lined surface you'll keep wet at all times. The roots will grow through the pot's open bottom, where the gravel provides constant access to a bit of water. Some gardeners claim that ring cultured plants don't need overhead watering, just fresh water for the gravel once a week and liquid fertilizer such as Espoma Organic Tomato! liquid plant food a few times a month. Or you can use a DIY liquid fertilizer. Even if your tomatoes need topping off a couple of times per week, you can water lightly knowing that they're getting plenty of moisture from the gravel. Have peppers or eggplants you'd like to protect from garden-watering mistakes? Ring culture is suitable for them too.

You only need a few supplies to make a ring culture setup. The key components are a large plastic pot or 5-gallon bucket, clean gravel, and a trench or tray. You'll need to remove the bottom of the pot so the roots can grow through it. As long as the container's plastic isn't too thick or rigid, you should be able to accomplish this with a utility knife. The gravel will go in the trench or tray. If your plant pot didn't come with a saucer to place beneath it, you could swap in a dish pan or a plastic laundry basket with solid sides. Monitor your plant's roots for signs of rot in the event that you're unable to punch drainage holes in the tray.

When using a trench, line it with heavy-duty plastic sheeting or polypropylene landscaping fabric to keep the gravel from sinking into the ground. If both of these items are unavailable, you might be able to repurpose soil or mulch bags, which will suppress weeds as well. The bags or sheeting also prevent pathogens from creeping into the bottom of the trench from the ground below. Your plastic sheeting should be perforated to let excess water escape, while the trench should be roughly 6 to 10 inches deep. Fill the trench to the top with gravel. Don't have any gravel on hand? Another porous material — say, perlite or hydroleca – will do the trick. You can also mix perlite with compost to create a growing medium for your tomato plant.