Want to know details about Growing Tomatoes in Pots? Here are the best Tomato Growing Tips for Containers for bumper harvest!
Growing Tomatoes in Pots is the best way to enjoy this tasty fruit in a small space! To help you harvest the juiciest ones, here are the top Tomato Growing Tips for Containers!
Find out the best ways of propagating tomatoes here
Best Tips on Growing Tomatoes in Pots
1. Choose an Ideal Location
You can place your tomato pots in any location. However, choose a place where the plants will receive a minimum of six hours of sunlight.
Also, don’t place your pots close to each other and provide air circulation. This helps in reducing the spread of fungal diseases.
2. Consider the Type of Pots
Choose pots that will fit your tomato plants. For those who wish to go with the dwarf, bushy types, and vinelike cherry tomatoes, choose 3-5 gallon pots. For bigger varieties, select large pots.
Have a look at the best tips to pot indoor plants correctly here
3. Choose Quality Potting Mix over Garden Soil
When growing tomatoes in pots, avoid growing them in garden soil and provide a quality potting mix. This will give the plants a well-drained, light, and fluffy environment to thrive.
Garden soil is not just heavy but can be loaded with unwanted pests and pathogens that can cause soil-borne diseases.
You can also make your own potting mix with these DIY recipes
4. Plant Tomato Varieties that Perform Best in Pots
While you can grow all the varieties in containers, search for the ones that perform best in pots. Here’s a list of the Best Tomato Varieties for Containers that you can try!
5. Grow Determinate Tomatoes
Grow determinate varieties of tomatoes if you’re short on space or growing tomatoes in containers. Determinate tomatoes aren’t usually too tall or wide (generally, 3-4 feet) like indeterminates.
Both hybrid and heirloom cultivars are available in it.
6. Use the Right Technique to Plant
Unlike all other plants, tomatoes must be planted deeply. Deep planting encourages a healthy and strong root system. When planting, cover the bottom 2/3 part of your baby tomato plant with potting soil.
For example, if your plant is 10 inches high, leave only 3 or 4 inches of its height from the top.
7. Enrich Your Plants with Organic Fertilizer
Organic fertilizer will add nutrients free from chemicals to the potted plants. Organic options could include blood, soy, and bone meal.
This will boost the balance of nutrients, including phosphorous, nitrogen, and potassium. Here’s a very informative post on fertilizing tomatoes!
8. Water the Plants the Right Way
Water regularly to keep the soil slightly moist but not saturated. Always use your finger to determine the state of the soil before you water it.
Also, avoid overhead watering, as shown in the picture above, because wet foliage is more prone to fungal infection.
9. Support the Tomato Plants
This can be done using a tomato cage or staking them. The idea is to support the main stem and remove the weight of the fruit from the tender stems.
A net can cover the cage if you want to minimize the interference of unwanted insects and pests.
Find out some helpful tomato trellis ideas here
10. Pruning and Removing Suckers
Pruning is not necessary unless plants are grown too close. Prune tangling branches that are blocking the airflow and penetration of the sun.
Also, remove suckers (emerging stems) up to 6-8 inches under each plant. This will improve the productivity of the plant.
11. Carefully Inspect Your Plants Weekly
After taking precautions, inspecting your plants weekly for any pests is good. This is because you do not want a minor problem to get out of hand.
Pests such as aphids are notorious and should not be ignored. In addition to inspecting the plants for garden insects, look for diseases too.
12. Harvesting
With all the above tips, you should have a good harvest. The best time to harvest is when it is easy to pluck the tomato fruits from their branches. Give them a good wash before consuming them.
13. Clean Up
It is always important to clean up after a successful tomato growing season. Remove the old soil and clean the pots if you reuse them.
In addition to cleaning the pots thoroughly, sterilize them using a suitable bleach solution.
Please tell me how to make potting soil
It depends on what you are growing Shirly. Generally a mix of 30% soil, 30% peat (I use cocopeat) and 40% vermicompost for my vegetable garden.. Mix all well and fill your pots the water. Make sure your pots have drainage holes. Happy gardening
This is an informative post but the grammar is really weird and needs editing.
High their. Are you a engilsh teacher or a garden wannabe? The lessen? Dont’ criticise unlesss youall are perfetc youself.
Buy miracle grow dirt with fertilizer ,80 lb bag from Wal-Mart mix in granular fertilizer pellets,,,,and if you want to add egg shells that have been baked in oven for 15 minutes and cooled and crushed to a fine powder ,put them in with your dirt and mix them. It helps feed the stem of the tomatoe plant significantly. Plant mid may ,no chance of frost good luck, and cut suckers from plant.
I’m not here to learn no stinkin English grammar dude, I’m here to learn about these here tomates. Tanks for the info
I would like some tips on growing them (tomatoes) in a raised container. How much soil should be in the box itself and how far apart are the plants?
Excellent