Hi! Gardening definitely gives an opportunity for creativity, doesn’t it?
Did you check on the gel’s contents before you used it in your potting soil? I would be worried that there would be additional chemicals added to reduce urine smell which could be absorbed by the tomato plants and into its fruit.
Professional grade vermiculite or coconut coir are not expensive and they would work similarly to the gel, but be able to be naturally decomposed and benefit the soil. The gel might also have a negative impact on the soil microbes and worms, which over time would cause larger problems.
I’ve also used a wicking system for watering tomatoes growing in containers - tearing a thin towel into strips, lining the container with them, filling with soil and planting. The ends of the towel then are draped into a water container and the plant sucks up the water as needed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSrJjxxIvTs
However, growing in the bags was by far the easiest method I’ve done over the last 15 years.
Just looked it up. For her first two years of life, I had my baby in cloth just to avoid the stuff on her skin and mucous membranes, where most things just go right through to the bloodstream. We don’t want these chemicals in ou soil where we will actually eat the plants / fruit. Probably fine for flower gardening only, though.