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. I have always had success with tomatoes grown on the ground. 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. I’m sure what variety they are – everything seems to grow easily enough to me. I germinated them indoors in march and grew them on under glass in the warm. 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. The plants grown in containers have had similar results but I have noticed 2 differences.
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. You also need a big container to have enough depth for the support canes. 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 had to check the pot grown plants more regularly as they did appear to be wilting on some days. The plants grown in the ground do not need this. The reason for this is that the leaves of the tomato plants deflect much of the water away from the pot. Not all the water gets through to the plant roots. So I made sure to check them often.
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 standard moneymaker tomatoes that were grown on containers needed weekly pinching out to make sure the fruit was good and big. I never bother pinching out cherry tomatoes. They do not need such close attention and still give plenty of fruit.
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. Eventually your tomato plant will have all the tomatoes growing on them and you can then remove any leaves that stop direct contact with the sun. Some people pick their tomatoes when green and ripen them under glass but I like them to ripen on the vine. Taking the leaves away will let the tomatoes grow a bit larger.
Growing tomatoes in containers
If you have missed this tomato season then I encourage you to plan ahead for your tomato growing in 2009. Try growing tomatoes in containers this year instead of just in the ground. You will love the sense of acheivement from finding a sunny spot and growing these tomatoes.
