The best way to grow tomatoes in containers and pots

I have been growing tomatoes in patio containers and pots this year with some success. I always grow tomatoes in my garden plot but added pots this 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. 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. I always have far to many plants and ended up giving most of them away to friends. They went into the garden after the frosts had finished and I was picking Tomatoes in July. I have had a succesion of healthy and tasty tomatoes all season. I did notice 2 slight differences between the containers grown tomatoes and those in the ground.

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. You may not know that the taste of home grown tomatoes is far superior to shop ones. 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. Your tomatoes need a big pot of at least 10 inches in diameter to have enough room for the roots. 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 checked the pots grown tomatoes more regularly as they sometimes seem to be underwatered. The plants grown in the ground do not need this. I think what happens is that the leaves do not let the water get to the pot. They almost protect the pot from getting wet. 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 tested this over a number of growing seasons. 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. With cherry tomatoes there is no need to pinch them out as they provide plenty of fruit naturally. 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. I take away all the excess leaves to allow the sun to ripen the fruits better. I prefer the tomatoes to ripen on the plant and this helps speed up the ripening process. Removing the leaves also gives you slightly 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. 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.