If you know what it's like to bite into a fresh, succulent, juicy delicious tomato grown in your own garden, then you don't want to be shut out of the opportunity for growing tomatoes at home just because you don't have a garden.
Perhaps you live in an apartment in the middle of a big city, or you live in a cold climate where the growing season for tomatoes may be too short.
Growing container tomatoes is the perfect solution! What Do You Need? In a nutshell, all you really need for container tomatoes, are tomato seedlings, soil, sunlight water and a "container" to put the seedlings and soil into.
Typically that would be a standard terra cotta planting pot of some sort.
What Kinds of Tomatoes Can You Grow? You're better off starting with the largest kind of pot that you can comfortably keep in your house or apartment.
The larger the pot, the more room for proper tomato plant root development.
Even with a large pot, though, you're better off with the smaller, determinate tomato varieties such as cherry tomatoes.
That way, you won't have to worry about improper room for root development or insufficient nutrients in the soil for adequate growth.
Where Do You Grow Them? Place the pots in the window where they can be exposed to plenty of sunlight.
Tomato plants require at least 6 - 8 hours of sunlight per day if you want an adequate harvest.
In fact, you may have to move them from window to window to get the proper amount of sunlight.
You should also rotate the plants from day to day so that they are evenly exposed to sunlight.
How Much Water Should You Use? Tomato plants need plenty of water and container tomatoes are no exception.
When tomato plants are in an open garden it's sufficient to water them every other day or so, but container tomatoes need water more often.
This is due to the fact that as soil dries out, container tomato plant roots are unable to reach further underground for more water as open garden plants do.
For that reason, you should water your container plants daily.
Only apply water to the soil.
Don't water the entire plant like a flower as this can make the plant vulnerable to diseases and pests.
What About Fertilizer? For container tomatoes, it is sufficient to mix a small amount of soluble fertilizer to the plant's water once a week.
There is no need to add large amounts of fertilizer to the soil.
Conclusion Following these simple tips for container tomatoes will allow many home tomato growers to enjoy fresh, home grown tomatoes in places not otherwise available for tomato growing.