I decided to have a go at growing tomatoes in pots this year and have been very pleased with them. My garden plot has always produced a good crop year on 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 cannot remember the name but they came free with a 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. 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. The taste of your own tomatoes is fantastic and you will never eat better. 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 use standard clay terracotta pots but any wide and deep container will work fine.
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. 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. This is why I check them daily.
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. I never bother pinching out cherry tomatoes. They take care of themselves and always give plenty of harvest.
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. 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. Pots and containers are excellent for growing tomatoes so give it a try. You will love the sense of acheivement from finding a sunny spot and growing these tomatoes.
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