It is never too early to start planning for next Spring’s tomato season! Since my tomato-growing containers are clean and dry, I like to add new soil and fertilizer now so it can sit and compost over the winter. I filled the containers about ¾ full with a quality commercial potting mix that contains lots of good stuff: forest humus, peat moss, perlite, chicken manure, worm castings, bat guano, kelp meal, alfalfa meal, oyster shell, and lime ( a pH adjuster.) I topped this off with a two- inch layer of composted chicken manure. Lastly, I soaked the whole thing with Great Big Tomatoes liquid compost to give it a final boost. The containers will now absorb water from the winter snows, have a superb soil, and be ready to go when spring arrives. Do it all now, so in the spring all you have to do is plant.
Contributed by Jim Mast