 Growing Tomatoes
in Containers
Slice them in a salad, simmer in a sauce, or nibble them straight from the vine, tomatoes are the taste of summer...
If
you love the taste of fresh tomatoes but think you don’t have
enough space to grow them, you may be interested to know
there are tomato varieties for just about any space. Along
with traditional size tomato plants that grow anywhere
2 to 6 feet tall and above, there are many smaller varieties
that grow under two feet when mature. All may be grown in containers
and several varieties may even be grown in hanging baskets.
Many
gardeners profess having the best success when growing tomatoes
in containers. The advantages are better control of soil type,
watering and drainage. It
is also easier to monitor for possible disease and insect infestations.
Tips
for Success:
Tomatoes
love sun. Provide a location with at least 6 hours or
more of direct sunlight per day.
Plastic
containers or glazed pottery retain moisture best - this can
be a real advantage as plants mature and temperatures rise.
Use a good quality, well draining potting soil such as E.B
Stone Organic Edna's Potting
Soil or Gardener & Bloome
Organic Potting Soil. Some gardeners add compost,
but never more than 25% of the total growing medium.
Check
plants daily as they mature. Soil should be evenly moist but
not soggy. When watering, water thoroughly - the entire root
zone. Make sure the container drains well and they do not sit
in water. It
is best
to water in the morning, before noon so plant roots can take
best advantage of the moisture and soil temperatures are not
cooled by watering during the peak growing time of day.
When
planting, mix an organic fertilizer into the soil, such as Tomato-tone
by Espoma,
or Dr
Earth Tomato Vegetable & Herb
fertilizer. We
also recommend enhancing growth and fruit production with
an organic seaweed extract such as GrowMore Seaweed Extract.
Seaweed extract products such as GrowMore may be
applied as a drench or a foliar spray early in the day and
repeated every two weeks throughout the growing season.
Tomato
Terms:
(H) Heirloom – varieties whose
seed strain has been preserved intact for 85 years or more
and are open pollinated.
(D) Determinate – varieties tend to produce fruits which bear
most of their fruit over a 4 to 6 week time. Plants are typically
smaller and usually do not require staking.
(I) Indeterminate – varieties keep growing and producing fruit
over a very long season. They need to be staked or put in cages
and can be grown in containers or in the ground.
Suggested Tomato Varieties for Containers:
Cherry and Grape types – 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inch fruits
‘Black Cherry’ (I)(H) Vigorous plants produce almost
plummy-tasting fruit, sweet yet rich and complex. These cherries
are irresistibly delicious and a unique addition to the
color spectrum of cherry tomatoes available.
‘Green Grape’ (D)(H) Tasty green tomatoes are small
(1 inch) with very small seeds. Good production for eating off the
vine and/or pickling.
‘Juliet’ (I) Heavy yields of oblong fruits, deep red flesh
with rich tomato flavor for salads, great salsa, and fresh pasta sauce.
Crack resistant and resistant
to both Alternaria (Early) Blight and Late Blight.
‘Sugar Lump’ (I)(H) A.K.A. "Gardener's Delight" -
Heavy production of super sweet fruit with excellent flavor.
Crack-resistant
fruit is about 1 inch across and arranged
in clusters of 6 to 12.
‘Sungold’ (I) Orange, 1-inch fruit with a delicious
‘tropical’ or ‘fruity’ flavor, borne in long trusses. Perfect for salads
or snacking.
‘Sun Sugar’ (I) Golden cherries have true tomato flavor
with extra sweetness. Crack-resistant and produce in profusion on very
large plants.
‘Sweet Baby Girl’ (I)(Short-internode)
Big flavor, extra sweetness on compact, manageable plants
that produce over a long season.
‘Sweet Million’ (I) Tangy, sweet, 1-inch,
crack-resistant fruit produced heavily on disease resistant
vines. Terrific!
Full Size Fruit - Succulent fruits for chunking, slicing, small to very large in size
‘Ananas Noir’ (I)(H) A.K.A. Black Pineapple.
Large round dark-purple fruit with green shoulders with a
mouthwatering richness that is worth the wait with a whollop of acidity.
‘Black’ (I)(H) Complex flavor with great acid/sweet
balance. Compact plants bear 40 oz. fruit.
‘Carmello’ (I) This French hybrid is disease resistant, crack resistant and produces large yields of juicy, meaty tomatoes.
‘Dona’ (I) Medium small fruits to 6 oz. Produced in abundance on disease resistant vines. French hybrid.
‘Celebrity’ (D) An award winner with good flavor and high resistance to disease and cracking.
‘Silvery Fir Tree’ (D)(H) This dwarf Russian heirloom
is great for containers. 4 to 6 oz. fruits
of good flavor on silvery fuzzy lacy-leaved plants that
do not require staking.
Roma Type (Plum-Type) In general: less juice, fewer seeds, good fresh or for canning & freezing.
‘Black Plum’ (I)(H) Large plants produce plum-shaped,
2-inch fruits in tones of mahogany brown. A tasty treat for slicing or
chunking. Heirloom from Russia, grows to 6 feet tall.
‘Italian Gold’ (D) Pear-shaped plum tomatoes are delicious in sauces and freeze well too. Italian Gold is high in pectin; the flesh is moist and golden orange.
‘Orange Banana Roma’ (I) Heavy yielding, meaty and
deep flavored. Good fresh, makes an excellent sauce.
‘San Marzano’ (I)(H) This is THE Italian canning tomato. Large clusters of 3-inch long fruits with good storing ability. Great flavor for sauces or soups and for drying.
‘Viva Italia’ (D) Classic ‘Italian sauce type’ with pear shape, low juice content and firm pulp with outstanding tomato flavor. Disease resistant and stores well. Expect large crops.
Basket Type – pea-sized to 1 1/4 inch fruits on very small plants for very small containers.
‘Micro Tom’ (D) Full grown plants will be 6-10 inches
tall and will bear fruit over a very long season. Great for windowsills
and small patio pots. Fruit is pea-sized, deep red and flavorful.
‘Yellow Canary’ (D) Short, sturdy plants produce delicious, crack-resistant, yellow cherry tomatoes. Good choice for containers or small gardens.
‘Red Robin’ (D) Very sweet fruit on plants only 8-12 inches high. This variety is ideal for use in containers on sunny decks or patios or indoors in a sunny window.
‘Tiny Tim’ (D) This miniature tomato 15 - 20 inches
tall is great for small 6" pots or baskets.
Round bright red fruit are about 3/4 inch in size.
‘Tumbler’ (D) The best tomato for small hanging baskets. Early fruit is juicy and sweet.
Invite a tomato to your home.
Explore the possibilities,
experiment with the bounty of tomato flavors, colors, sizes and shapes.
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