Home Grown Tomatoes on your PATIO!

I read that tomatoes are easily grown on patios using clay pots, plastic nursery pots or wood boxes. I am not sure if easy is the right word but it sure is rewarding! My tomato plant didn’t fruit as many tomatoes as I dreamed it would – but every bite was work the work!

You need 6 to 8 hours of sunlight each day, nutrient-rich soil, and enough water or soil moisture so that you have steady even growth. Make sure the container is large enough to hold enough soil to keep it upright as it grows and doesn’t tip

Container suggestions:

Miniature tomato varieties can grow in an 8-inch pot—roughly the size of a one-gallon container.  Larger, indeterminate or vining tomatoes need a 2-gallon or a 5-gallon container to support and hold enough soil moisture for three or more days when the weather turns hot.

Be sure the container has large drainage holes in the bottom and small feet to allow for drainage (or make your own feet with little wood strips).

Planting and Staking Tomatoes Suggestions:

Plant tomatoes just like you would in a garden. Pinch off the lower leaves of seedlings and set them as deep as you can in the soil.

If you are growing a vining, indeterminate variety, I love using a cage just as I would in the garden. Be prepared to prune your plant so it does not tip your planter.

Watering Suggestions:

They need a continuous, uninterrupted supply of moisture. Do not let the soil in a container go dry and conversely do not allow the soil to be overly wet or soggy

Avoid watering late in the evening or watering plant leaves; this encourages disease.

Sunlight Suggestions:

Container grown tomatoes—like tomatoes in the garden– should receive maximum sunlight, 8 hours– 4 hours in morning and 4 hours in afternoon—is optimal. If you are growing on a balcony, turn the container at least once a week so that the plant develops symmetrically.

Pollination Suggestions:

Aid pollination and fruiting by gently shaking the plants once a day to ensure pollination.

BUGS: 

Keep an eye out for weeds and watch for pests and diseases.

Tomato Varieties Best for Container Growing:

Choose any variety you like as long as you also choose a container large enough.