After 3 years of balcony tomatoes, I finally figured out I was drowning them

I got so frustrated with my tomato plants looking sad and droopy every July. I thought I was being a good plant parent by watering them every single day without fail. Then I dug down into the soil last summer and realized the bottom 4 inches of my pot were just wet mud with no drainage. Turns out those little saucer trays I was using were trapping all the water. Anyone else have that aha moment where you realized your watering habits were doing more harm than good?

3 comments

3 Comments

price.tyler1mo ago

Did you drill extra holes in the pot or just ditch the saucer?

mila_craig41mo ago

You mentioned "did you drill extra holes" and honestly? That's a band-aid fix (no offense). I actually stopped using plastic nursery pots altogether and switched to fabric grow bags. They're like $2 each and they let air flow right through the sides, so there's zero chance of water pooling anywhere. The roots also get "air pruned" which sounds fancy but really just means they don't circle around and strangle themselves. Drilling holes helps but you're still dealing with a hard plastic container that traps heat and moisture in weird spots. Just something to think about before you go at your pot with a drill.

fisher.mason1mo ago

Oh man I did the exact same thing with my pepper plants last year. Felt like such a dummy when I lifted up the pot and saw all that standing water in the tray. I drilled like 8 more holes in the bottom and it made a huge difference.