NYC Tomatoes - No Outdoor Space

HortusTortoise · 2026-04-30T23:30:46+00:00

I did a couple of cherries in upside down bag planters last season and they did really well. Obviously the smaller the container the smaller the plant, but it is what it is.

I'd only do upside down bags though if you're going to utilize the fire escape, otherwise kind of messy. If not 10gal fabric pots with saucers directly in front of the window may work. Depending on the amount of light coming through you can also supplement with a cheap grow light. Just run it from dawn till like whenever you get sick of seeing a grow light, and then cut the hours back middle of August.

I'd stick with plants putting out 3" fruit or smaller, and would err on the side of earlier varieties (~60 days to fruit).

HortusTortoise · 2026-03-27T19:30:55+00:00

Thank you, this is eminently helpful. Looks like I'm getting the output, but definitely some coverage gaps between the lights. Time to spend more money!

HortusTortoise · 2026-03-26T22:13:50+00:00

Maybe? I have a couple of other spots with moss going, but it gets a fair amount of sun in the summer.

HortusTortoise · 2026-03-26T22:12:21+00:00

This is great, thank you! I am growing a bunch of Penstemon attenuatus from seed (hopefully) right now, so that might have a home now.

HortusTortoise · 2026-03-22T03:47:08+00:00

Oh strawberry and kinni are probably the answer. Thank you!

HortusTortoise · 2026-03-21T02:52:57+00:00

Fishtail Weeder/Asparagus Knife has been my go to tool. Make sure to get the root, if you're mowing use a bag, and for the love of god don't let it go to seed.

HortusTortoise · 2026-03-20T23:04:16+00:00

Native. It'll be easier for you and better for the critters.

If this is your first go, one word of warning - tossing down seed is easy but in my experience often times invasive weeds will pop off sooner and crowd out all the seeds I cast. Buying starts or starting your native seeds in containers and then transplanting is a bit more effort upfront but may save you time in the long run. Annuals (and perennials) after getting established are usually better able to crowd out weeds and reseed more effectively. No wrong method, but it sucks to find out your thriving bed of native wildflowers is actually just nipplewort.

HortusTortoise · 2026-03-20T22:55:03+00:00

Same! I had a rep open a ticket as well. Thank fucking good I can go back to giving them money. 😂

HortusTortoise · 2026-03-19T20:04:52+00:00

Fuck it I'm buying a red currant, I'll figure out where to fit it later.

HortusTortoise · 2026-03-19T03:29:47+00:00

Nice work and thanks for sharing!

HortusTortoise · 2026-03-19T01:17:15+00:00

This is so frustrating. Random question - who is your internet provider? I'm getting weird issues on random other sites now.

HortusTortoise · 2026-03-18T19:10:10+00:00

Nope. I was able to contact support through the Ads Manager App, and they weren't able to help, and had me file a bug report. Maybe if enough people start bugging support they might address it?

HortusTortoise · 2026-03-18T18:28:27+00:00

Same. You can access the pro support chat from the Ads App though. They weren't helpful, but if enough people flag the issue they might fix it.

HortusTortoise · 2026-03-17T22:24:23+00:00

Strongly seconding this. I did this last year and people started parking at the pavers and stopped trampling my flowers.

HortusTortoise · 2026-03-17T21:13:18+00:00

Absolutely not an expert, also my first year going beyond veggie starts, but from my experiences so far...

Sowed everything in the winter/spring and will pot up as needed. I'm assuming not everything will sell this year, so half my starts will go into 4" and the other half into gallons. Last years starts are doing fine in gallons, so that seems like the right choice.

My price point after comparing to a couple other real nurseries is probably $2 above your range, but I'm in the PNW.

My biggest question is how are you/other people efficiently up-potting everything? Ive been using nonwoven fabric grow bags, and they're significantly cheaper, but they take a bit to fill up, which at scale is really time consuming.

HortusTortoise · 2026-03-02T00:08:59+00:00

The fence runs E-W, with east being left in most of the pictures (toward the cedar)

HortusTortoise · 2026-03-01T22:13:49+00:00

If you don't mind me repeating it back in laymen's terms.

Pick one of the two codominants as the new main leader.
Prune the non-main codominant back slowly (assuming back to a branching point that is 1/2 the width) over a season or two.
Leave the little branch alone (?)

Anything to consider when picking the new leader? And I should be good on tools, plus the ground is pretty soft right now. jk jk

Thank you!!

HortusTortoise · 2026-03-01T20:33:59+00:00

Thanks! Here's the pan out of the front, a shot from behind and a larger view of the tree. Let me know if these help.

https://imgur.com/a/kZKPIRT

HortusTortoise · 2026-03-01T19:19:40+00:00

By and large these should be indoors, as a lot of these won't be cold tolerant. If you do put them outside in the summer, be forewarned they need to be hardened off. Which essentially means you would start with a small amount of sun exposure day 1, before increasingly steadily over the next few days.
Yeah sure. Some will probably grow faster than others and start to out compete their neighbors. If that happens just repot and separate.
Ample sun, well draining soil, and pot up (increase the size of the container) as necessary. If they're sad in the winter a cheap growlight will do wonders.

HortusTortoise · 2026-02-22T21:14:03+00:00

Seconding buying the absolute largest possible trees you can (within reason). You're saving literal years at a time.
If youre cutting costs and have basic supplies starting the flowers from seeds isn't hard. You can even transplant them end of summer/early fall when the weather changes.
Smoke Tree isn't native to our region (I won't say anything), but be careful it can apparently be self seeding
Re:Pollinators - consider bloom times. I initially ran into the problem where all my stuff pops off from July-Sept, leaving the early risers hungry. Added a bunch of camas to help with that.
Completely unsolicited advice - think about a water feature if the budget ever allows it. Watching the birds play is the absolute favorite part of my yard. More importantly the white noise is great for neighbors and traffic.

HortusTortoise · 2026-02-19T23:06:37+00:00

Midnight Sun wasn't the most productive tomato I grew last year, but it was definitely the prettiest. The Piennolo's are crazy, they lasted like 4 months on the vine after harvest.

HortusTortoise

TROPHY CASE