Grow Tomatoes Anywhere in a Pot

Grow Tomatoes Anywhere in a Pot

Since we don’t all have room for a traditional tomato garden either because the yard is too small or for apartment dwellers there is no yard. Growing tomatoes in pots is a great way to have a small garden on the patio or apartment grown tomatoes. FInd a spot with enough space for a pot, and enough sunlight and start growing tomatoes in pots this year.

Here are some tips to growing tomatoes in a pot. First, find a spot that has at least 6 to 8 hours of sunlight a day, more if you can find it. Here are some more things to watch for in container grown tomatoes.

Pick the Right Pot - A standard terra cotta pot with a diameter of 12 inches or more is recommended for tomatoes. You want to make sure your tomato roots have room to grow. Ensure good drainage to avoid root rot, pick a container, with drainage holes in the bottom. You may want to add a layer of rock to keep the holes draining. There are many alternatives to a standard clay pot, barrels are a common choice.

Tomato Varieties - Just as important as the choice of a good pot is the choice of a variety suited to the pot you’ve chosen. The biggest limitation with growing tomatoes in a pot is keeping the plant adequately watered. Choosing a variety that has a lower water demand is key to keeping them strong over the hot dry summer months. Many varieties sold as patio tomatoes are determinate which means they grow to a certain size and then stop, but they only bear over just a few weeks. Similar in size are “dwarf indeterminate” varieties, which have a smaller, stockier growth pattern but will bear for a much longer time. Some good varieties include Patio, Pixie, Tiny Tim, Tumbling Tom and Small Fry. These have the added advantage of not needing as much support or staking.

Soil - A key need os lots of organic matter to help retain moisture in the pot. An alternative is to use a soilless mix of sphagnum peat, perlite, and vermiculite to avoid any concerns with soil borne diseases, and to retain moisture. Plant the tomato plants relatively deep, up to the first set of leaves. This will help develop the strong root system that container grown plants need.

Fertilizing Tomatoes - Tomatoes are heavy feeders, so you will want to mix in a slow acting fertilizer at planting time, and then may want to add a side dressing of fertilizer every 2 to 4 weeks.

Self Watering Planters - Tomato plants typically need at least one inch of water a week, but in a pot they may need more since the pot can get pretty warm in the summer months. If you live in an area that has warm summers you may want to consider a self watering planter like the Earthbox system to reduce the number of times you need to add water.

Growing tomatoes in pots...

How to Grow Organic Tomatoes in a Container

How to Grow Organic Tomatoes in a Container

One of the great joys of summer is eating fresh, ripe, organic homegrown tomatoes, . The quality is comparable to the bland, mealy tomatoes that are usually available in supermarkets. If you don't have space for tomatoes in your garden (or don't have a garden at all) you can still grow tomatoes. As long as you have a sunny balcony, porch, or patio, you can have garden-fresh tomatoes all summer long. There are three keys to success in growing tomatoes in a container: tomato variety, planting, and ongoing care. Pay attention to these three keys, and you'll be in tomato heaven in no time.
Tomato Variety

Anyone who has seen tomatoes growing in a garden knows that they tend to be huge, sprawling plants. They require staking, and caging, and pinching just to stay manageable. So the first thing to do when considering growing tomatoes in a pot is to make sure to find a variety of tomato that will thrive in container culture. While you can grow almost any type of tomato in a container, some are more adaptable (and easier to manage) than others. Generally, this means that you need a compact, bushy (rather than vining) plant, and that it is an indeterminate variety. Indeterminate simply means that it will produce fruit fairly steadily throughout the growing season. Determinate varieties tend to produce all their fruit at the same time. To find out whether a variety is determinate or indeterminate, check the plant tag or catalog description.

Planting

Once you have found the perfect plant, plant it. The first thing to consider here is the vessel you are going to use. In general, plastic or fiberglass pots are best for growing tomatoes. There are two reasons for this. First, plastic and fiberglass, unlike clay pots, don't dry out as quickly. While tomatoes love heat, they definitely don't like being dry, and dry soil is a huge detriment to fruit production. The second reason is purely economic: tomatoes need to be grown in a fairly large pot (eight inches deep is the absolute minimum, twelve or even sixteen would be perfect), and clay gets rather expensive as you start looking for larger sizes. Plastic is inexpensive, even when you are looking for very large pots, and it's unlikely to break the way clay so often does. For a really cheap option (if not the most attractive one) you can plant tomatoes in a five gallon bucket. These are readily available at home improvement stores. They are the perfect size, and the price can't be beat.

Once you have the perfect pot, make sure that there is adequate drainage. The tomato plant will rot if it is sitting in soggy soil all the time. Most purchased pots have drainage holes in the bottom already. For the five-gallon bucket, you will have to use a drill and drill several holes in the bottom. If the pot you are using has large drainage holes, use a piece of broken pot, a piece of window screening, or a paper coffee filter to cover it. This way the water can drain out, but the soil won't end up all over the patio.

Any good quality organic potting soil will work for tomatoes. Just don't use soil dug directly from the garden. It is too heavy for container gardens, and will just compact more as the season goes on. A good peat or compost-based soil, whether purchased or mixed from your own special recipe, is ideal.

When planting the tomato, put some soil in the bottom of the pot, and set the tomato plant in. You'll want to bury the stem (to just below the lowest set of leaves) as well as the roots. New roots will grow along the buried section of stem, making for a healthier plant. Once you have the plant set at the proper level, fill in around it with potting soil, firming lightly as you go. The soil should go up to about an inch below the rim of the pot to allow room for watering. Once it's potted up, give it a good watering and set it in place.
Ongoing Care

Be sure to water regularly. The best way to tell when to water is to stick your finger into the soil. If the first two inches are dry, it's time to water. The trickiest thing about growing tomatoes in a pot is that they are heavy feeders, and every time you water, you are washing nutrients out of the soil. To combat this, you'll need to fertilize regularly, preferably with either fish emulsion or seaweed extract. Once a month is good, but every other week, applying the fertilizer at half-strength, is better. This will provide a constant source of nutrients for the tomato plants.

Two other things to consider are mulching and support. Even more compact tomato varieties benefit from some support. Pre-formed tomato cages, stakes, or homemade cages made to fit the container are all good options. Mulching, while less important in a container than in a garden bed, is still a good idea. It will keep weeds from growing in your tomato pot and retain moisture, so you won't have to water quite as often. The best mulches are pebbles, bark mulch, and straw. If you'd like to use the black or red plastic many tomato growers swear by, simply lay it over the soil before you plant your tomato, cut a slit large enough to put the plant in, and hold it down with metal stakes.

Growing Tomatoes in Pots

Growing tomatoes in a container

Growing tomatoes in a container

Tomatoes are a common favorite garden vegetable/fruit. But we often stop and wonder how in the world can you grow full sized tomato plants in a pot? Yes you need a fairly good-sized pot but his can be obtained very easily. Choosing approximately a 25-30 gallon container made of resin, plastic garbage container, durable plastic or wood should work well. Light colored containers are your best choice because in certain hotter climates the darker the container the more heat it absorbs the more likely it will burn the roots. Metal containers are not recommended either because the container will get too hot for good root growth, thus producing toxins and killing the plant.

Even if you have a good area for growing tomatoes container planting is a sure way of preventing soil-borne fungal diseases. By using a good soil-less potting mix this provides a virtually sterile environment for your tomatoes. Do not add compost to the pot or rocks to the bottom of the pot this might introduce possible diseases.

Preparing Your Pot:

Proper drainage is important to prevent root rot. By drilling holes into the bottom of the container this allows for proper drainage. For pots this size a hole about ¾ inch in diameter is probably sufficient. By covering the holes with screen will prevent the soil from falling out of the bottom of holes this size. It is not a good idea to set the pot directly on the ground, so by raising the pot above ground level this will keep diseases from possibly entering your pot and destroying your tomato plants.

Location:

Set your pot in a sunny area. Tomatoes require approximately 6-8 hours of direct sunlight a day for optimum growth and production. When temperatures are high certain areas of the country it’s also beneficial for the plant if it gets some afternoon shade.

Planting, Care and Feeding:

Once your container is in place fill to within 2 inches of the pot with soil-less soil. Mix a controlled release fertilizer into the top 3 inches of the soil to feed your plants entirely through the summer. Feeding with supplements is recommended for longer growing season in different areas.

A good disease resistant tomato is recommended, for instance: Big Beef or Better Boy. The size of this container will allow you to grow most any full-sized tomato to optimum growth. Each container will house 2 plants with leaves approximately 6-8 leaves each. After planting your tomatoes then set up your cage to support them as they grow.

If tomatoes plants are set out early in the season wrap a layer of plastic around the cage and over the top for protection but leave air holes for ventilation. When watering tomatoes plant top should be dry 3-4 inches below top before watering. And stop watering when you see water drainage coming out of the bottom of the pot. When your tomatoes start fruiting water daily, especially on hot days. When the branches go beyond the cage tuck them inside the cage. Pruning is beneficial in cooler climates for maximum fruit production but in warmer climates it is not necessary to prune because the leaves shade the fruit.

When fall comes be sure and harvest all your tomatoes before the first frost. You can eat them as fried green tomatoes or set them in a box to ripen.
Growing tomatoes in pots...