Please forgive me... my mother has always had the green thumb in the family and I've never had any luck with plants of any kind... they all die! So this year I got a wild hair to plant some tomato plants. I don't have a garden, so I asked the lady at the greenhouse if it was OK to plant the tomatoes in pots... she said it was OK. She suggested a type (can't remember the name at the moment) that would grow out like a bush instead of growing tall and I wouldn't have to stake the plants.

I bought some cheap bagged potting soil and I've watered them everyday. They're in direct sunlight. So far they're doing OK. There's 3 tomatoes currently growing. But the plants seem to have stopped growing. They're only about 2ft tall and they haven't really "grown out" like she said they should. Also, my water hose doesn't reach them so I have to water them from a jug. Last week I noticed the roots were all exposed due to the soil being washed away during watering. I've bought some more soil and added to the pots, but again, I've had to keep forming the soil back around the roots each time I water. The biggest plant has now started looking wilted. Like, the leaves have curled under... looks like it's dying or needs water, but I feel like I water them too much.

Also, I've used Miracle Grow one time on them.

What should I being doing differently, if anything? Have I caused damage to the plants by the roots being exposed? Any suggestions?

Thanks so much in advance!

Watering every day? Are you trying to teach the tomato plants how to swim?
Water twice a week - not more. Just enough to keep the soil wet. No swimming !
Put the plants in a higher pot with at least 1/2" wall remaining free above the soil line. This will prevent water washing away the soil.
You can add a tray under the pot, to keep left over water from running over the floor : after watering there should never be more than a very thin water layer in the tray. It there is more, next time water less.
Put every two weeks some fertilizer in the water. Best is to use dried cow dung flakes. Do not overdue it : follow the instruction on the pot or bag.

Success !

:)

Watering every day? Are you trying to teach the tomato plants how to swim?
Water twice a week - not more. Just enough to keep the soil wet. No swimming !
Put the plants in a higher pot with at least 1/2" wall remaining free above the soil line. This will prevent water washing away the soil.
You can add a tray under the pot, to keep left over water from running over the floor : after watering there should never be more than a very thin water layer in the tray. It there is more, next time water less.
Put every two weeks some fertilizer in the water. Best is to use dried cow dung flakes. Do not overdue it : follow the instruction on the pot or bag.

Success !

:)

I water everyday because the lady at the greenhouse said she was watering the plants twice a day. I've only been watering them once a day. It's been so hot here lately (in the upper 90's) and I thought the heat and sun were baking the plants!

Thanks for the information!

Even when the earth around the plant looks dry, it is not dry underneath where the roots are. There is a water meter available that you can use to test the earth around the roots for moisture. Buy one, it helps greatly to judge how much water any plant needs.

I started with 4 tomato plants in buckets, but finally transferred two to a garden spot. Not only was it too hard to know just how much to water, I wasn't getting any tomatoes at all. They'd flower, then the flower would die and drop off. The local garden center said that many of the home gardeners in the area are having a similar problem; too cold this spring and then too fast a switch to 100 degree weather.

My problem may have been that I didn't have enough drainage in the soil in the buckets. Although one of the tomato plants left in the bucket actually has two small tomatoes growing, while the two I transferred aren't doing anything right now.

Hope yours get better.

By the way I found a great place to get some sample seeds for 35 cents a packet. I'm not an affiliate or anything, but have purchased from them for myself. It took only about a week to get my order. For $20 I got 48 different packets of seeds. The place is located at Artistic Gardens (http://www.artisticgardens.com). Enjoy!