I decided to have a go at growing tomatoes in pots this year and have been very pleased with them. I also have my beloved plot with tomatoes growing in the ground. 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’m sure what variety they are - everything seems to grow easily enough to me. I sowed the seeds in March 2008 and grew them on in my conservatory in 6 inch pots. 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. As I speak in late august I still have many fruits to pick so 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. The taste is uniformly excellent and the texture and colour very appetising. 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 still found that the pot grown tomato plants were wilting a bit if I didn’t check them for watering. 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. Not all the water gets through to the plant roots. I always checked them morning and evening.

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 learned this through trial and error. The standard moneymaker tomatoes that were grown on containers needed weekly pinching out to make sure the fruit was good and big. 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. You can ripen your tomatoes indoors but I like to leave them on the plant as long as possible to get ripe. Taking the leaves away will let the tomatoes grow a bit larger.

Growing tomatoes in containers

If you have missed this tomato season then I encourage you to plan ahead for your tomato growing in 2009. Try growing tomatoes in containers this year instead of just in the ground. This can be great therapy for you after a busy day and can be done in any sunny spot.