It is a tad late in the season to be planting tomatoes, but in most of the U.S. there is still time. Planting and growing tomatoes in a container garden is pretty easy once you have the basics down. But before we discuss the basics, make sure you start with the right tomato, and if your season is short, here are some tips to pick out a tomato that will produce fruit before your first frost.
Pinch Those Suckers and Lower Leaves!
After you’ve picked out the perfect tomato and brought it home, it’s time to prepare it for planting. Do you see the leaflet that is growing in the spot where mature branches attach to the trunk of the plant? No? Look right above my pink thumbnail in the photo. See it? Ok, good. Pinch those suckers off! Continue to be on the lookout for suckers for the life of your tomato.
You should also pinch off the lower branches of the tomato so that you have about six to ten inches of bare trunk at the bottom of the plant. More on why in the next step…
Go Deep!
The reason you pinched off the lower branches is so that you can plant your tomato deep! Most of the time, when you plant a plant, you want to keep the crown of the plant level with the soil line. Not true when you plant tomatoes. Tomatoes will actually grow roots out of their stems. When you plant them deep, the part of the trunk that is below the soil line will develop roots and make your plant super sturdy.
Fertilize Early and Often
Tomatoes are heavy feeders. You will probably not have good results if you don’t fertilize. And fertilize often. Most organic liquid fertilizers are too weak for tomatoes (you can use them, but you’ll need to fertilize on a weekly or biweekly basis). For tomatoes, I prefer to use a blended fertilizer meant for fruits and vegetables (when in a pinch, all-purpose will do). Sprinkly the fertilizer liberally on the surfaceof the soil and gently mix it in. Water deeply.
Be sure to reapply fertilizer once a month for the entire growing season. Nutrients are quickly washed out of containers, so you need to fertilize them more frequently than you do in-ground gardens.
Pick a Pretty Cage
Don’t forget a tomato cage or some other type of support! While your tomato looks diminutive now, it will likely be a beast in a month or two. In their natural habitat, tomatoes sprawl on the ground, which is a great way to provide a buffet lunch to pests and diseases. One neat tip I picked up from Steve Goto is to match the color of your tomato to the color of the cage or support. Since my tomato is a ‘Cherokee Purple’ I spray painted my cage purple so I’d remember which tomato this is while I’m waiting for it to fruit.
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Matching the cage to the tomato is a great tip! Would also work to just use different colors for different varieties. Also, I love your container!
this is a great article! i really want to plant tomatoes but the “Gardening expert” at home depot told me that they aren’t good for balcony/container gardens. thanks for the tips!
Very helpful article.
Hey!
That’s what I was going to say! Real cool !!
Caveat about fertilizing: it’s important to select a low-nitrogen fertilizer, because too much nitrogen will give you a lush, tall, deep-green tomato plant with hardly any fruit. I know this from unfortunate experience. This is especially important in containers where root growth is limited by the volume of the container. Look for the XX-YY-ZZ description on the package (“10-10-10″ for example). The first number is the nitrogen content. It’s expressed as a ratio by weight, so it’s only important that the first number be low relative to the other numbers (phosphorous and potassium, respectively). Look for a fertilizer that has half as much nitrogen as phosphorous– potassium can be anywhere between the nitrogen and phosphorous, including equal to either one.
Great article!
Muddy Road– The fertilizer I use is 4-6-3. We’ll have to agree to disagree that there is a hard and fast rule about “half as much nitrogen as phosphorous.” You still need a vigorous plant to produce lots of flowers and fruit.
Wonderful tips! I’ve grown tomatoes on my small balcony with good success and much less experience than you.
They’re pretty forgiving as long as you give them lots to eat and drink.
I love the idea of matching the cage color to the tomato color:) Gotta ask though – you think organic fertilizers are too weak? I’m not much of a chemical gal, so I rely on fish/seaweed emulsions and compost amendments. Do you have any other suggestions for the not-so-chemical friendly folks?
use composted (not raw) manure from a local horse, chicken, dairy farm… works great been using it every year and I get more tomatoes than I can eat, let alone give away!
These are awesome tips! Thanks!
That is awesome! I am growing a cherry tomato out of 2 bags of soil on top of each other. I should do a post on it. It has little tomatoes! Yeah! Hey I just saw that this plant was stolen. That is terrible. What is the matter with some people! I am so sorry!
I love these tips and the purple tomato cage. So bummed it got stolen!
Thanks for the inspiration though!
Hi, thanks for these great tips! I have questions on growing tomatoes from seeds (I just planted some today). How big should the tray be, can you simply scatter the seeds or do you have to plant them individually? The packet says Rodade tomatoes.
Dalena–Are you in the northern hemisphere? Tomatoes are a summer vegetable and need the heat to thrive. You should sow the seeds individually. Usually, gardeners in the U.S. and Canada start sowing tomato seeds indoors in mid to late winter and plant them outside in spring.
I live in Houston Texas and last year I tried to grow some plants. Well, I grew a ton of plants, I started in January, but the temperature literally went from 40 degrees to 85 degrees overnight, the rest of the summer the temp was over 100. I got about 5 small tomatoes. Any tips or is it a fruitless pursuit?
Hi Courtney! What was your fertilizing and watering like?
You may be seeing a lot of questions from me… What fertilizer should I be buying?? I’m new to this!
Is it okay if my tomato plants are rather deep inside my pot?? Or, should I bring the soil level to near the top of the pot?
I’m going to try my hand at container gardening, starting with some tomatoes; really appreciate the info you’ve provided!
live in anchorage,ak. 3rd floor balcony. grew flowers for years this year attempting to grow a salad on the balcony!cherry tomatoes,sugar snaps,lettuce, and re-growing celery, bok choy,green onions, and red onions. the problem i am having is wind. hoping that it won’t damage all we have done thus far…
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