I decided to have a go at growing tomatoes in pots this year and have been very pleased with them. I always grow tomatoes in my garden plot but added pots this year. I know the ones in the ground will work fine – they have done for thirty years. 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 germinated them indoors in march and grew them on under glass in the warm. As Always I grew too many tomato plants and gave 20 away. I planted them out as 2 – 3 foot high plants in early June and a month later picked the first tomatoes. My tomato plant still have plenty of tomatoes on them, it has been a good year. 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. The pot is protected by the leaves of the tomato plant and the water cannot get through to it. 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 tested this over a number of growing seasons. The moneymaker tomato plants in the pots were regularly pinched out throughout the season to make sure that I had a good large crop. 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. 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. 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. Pots and containers are excellent for growing tomatoes so give it a try. This can be great therapy for you after a busy day and can be done in any sunny spot.
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