Growing Tomatoes With The Kratky Method!

Author: Robert C. Newkirk, Jr.

Face it, we all love a fresh tomato! Tomato comes in all sorts of sizes, shapes, and varieties. According to Wikipedia.org, there are more than 10,000 different varieties to choose from. So the big question here is, what is your favorite variety of tomatoes?

Growing tomatoes can be a bit of a challenge in itself, but with some love and nursing, you can achieve success and enjoy your favorite variety of tomato on the special salad or on that appetite-craving BLT sandwich, or on your favorite salad, or what I like to do is slice a tomato up adding a little salt and eat right of the plate.

Growing a tomato plant using the Kratky method can be done successfully. The key to success is choosing the right size container. The photo on the left is a tomato plant growing in a 20-gallon plastic storage tote. The plant has just started flowering, and the growing solution is about halfway emptied. I have done some research, and the plant has about 45 to 60 days left until harvesting.

At this point in the game, I am going to say that I will be out of growing solutions before harvest, but I will keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best! If this project fails, I will know that I will need a bigger container next time! Learning about the Kratky method is all about trial and error. Once you learn what works, you will have the knowledge to be an expert grower.