Question
I am growing determinant Celebrity tomatoes in containers. I can't find any place that tells me how big they should get. Most of the fruit is out now and just starting to turn yellow in a second harvest. However, most are not very big. They range from Ping-Pong ball size to yo-yo size and none of them have reached baseball size (sorry can't think of any other way to describe them) What size are Celebrity tomatoes suppose to be? and if I let them stay on the plant after they turn red will they get any bigger?

I picked my first crop as soon as they were red even though they were small; only got 6 tomatoes off each plant. Now, there are twice as many fruit on each plant as I did add 10-10-10 to the soil in between harvests and started weekly Epsom salt sprays. But how many fruits realistically should I be getting off each plant and what can I do to improve the quantity?

Thank you so much!

Answer
Dear Tina,

As a rule, container plants don't produce as abundantly as those planted in soil, but it sounds like you are doing pretty well.  Between the two rounds of harvest, about 18 tomatoes per plant sounds pretty good.  

I've found the second harvest of tomatoes to never be as large as the first ones.  Tomatoes will not get larger after they turn red.  Celebrity is not a terribly large tomato . . . in comparison to sports balls, I'd say tennis ball or hard ball for first harvest and smaller for the second.

I don't have a lot of advice for this late in the season, but for next year, be sure to add compost to your container before winter and I recommend covering the containers with straw for the winter.  Feed the soil before planting and if you transplant bedding plants, filling the hole with water and diluted fish emulsion gives the plants a great and healthy start.  Don't overdo the fish emulsion or you'll burn the roots, but it is very helpful.

I wish you well and want to encourage you in your gardening effort.

Kind Regards,
KD Liz
www.thelandofgoshen.com