I have been growing tomatoes in patio containers and pots this year with some success. My garden plot has always produced a good crop year on year. Over thirty years I have succesfully grown tomatoes in my garden plot. But growing my tomatoes in containers is anew departure for me.
The comparison between the pot grown tomato and those in the ground.
I grew 2 varieties this year moneymaker and an Italian cherry tomato variety. These seeds came with a vegetable magazine. I started off the seeds indoors in march and let them grow on in my conservatory. There were far to many plants for me alone so I gave away the surplus. Once the risk of frost had gone I set them out in the garder and in my containers and within a month I was picking tomatoes. My tomato plant still have plenty of tomatoes on them, it has been a good year. There were a few differences with the pot grown tomatoes that are worth mentioning.
Firstly the moneymaker tomatoes were slightly smaller than the ones grown on my plot.
Secondly there were not quite as many cherry tomatoes in the containers.
Other than that the results were very similar. The taste is uniformly excellent and the texture and colour very appetising. For the container grown tomatoes
I did treat them differently and with a bit more care.
Make sure you put tomato plants in a really big pot.
I like the root systems to have plenty of room and not become pot bound. Make sure you use a very large pot to allow full root growth. I used standard clay flower pots as I like the look of them but just use any large containers you have.
Water your tomatoes even if it rains.
We have had a dreadful summer in the UK this year and it has rained constantly. I still found that the pot grown tomato plants were wilting a bit if I didn’t check them for watering. This is not needed for tomato plants grown on the ground. The pot is protected by the leaves of the tomato plant and the water cannot get through to it. Very little water gets to the root of the plants. I always checked them morning and evening.
Be ruthless with pinching out side shoots on the tomato plants.
I only pinch out once or twice a season when growing tomatoes in the ground because they seem to do fine. I have learned this through trial and error. The moneymaker plants in pots were pinched out once a week to ensure that the fruits I did get were big enough and juicy enough. You do not need to pinch out cherry tomatoes because they do not suffer from being left to run. You can leave them alone safe in the knowledge that with regular watering they will give a good harvest.
Remove excess foliage once you have the tomato fruits.
I have always done this to tomatoes and do not know where I picked this tip up. I take away all the excess leaves to allow the sun to ripen the fruits better. You can ripen your tomatoes indoors but I like to leave them on the plant as long as possible to get ripe. By taking the leaves off you can get bigger tomatoes.
Growing tomatoes in containers
If you have missed this tomato season then I encourage you to plan ahead for your tomato growing in 2009. Grow some in pots and containers as well as in the ground. This can be great therapy for you after a busy day and can be done in any sunny spot.
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