I am starting a new series called kis or k eep i t s imple.
Growing cherry tomatoes in pots uk.
1 most potting soils contain very few of the nutrients your plants require to grow and be healthy so you will need to add those nutrients to the soil or supplement the nutrients already present if your mix is heavy on compost.
It s easy to overestimate how much sun a spot in your garden or on your balcony receives.
Containers the larger the container the easier it will be to look after the plants.
Place your plant in a sunny spot where it will receive at least 6 8 hours of direct sunlight daily.
A container 14 inches in diameter is the minimum width necessary for growing cherry tomatoes in pots.
Growing cherry tomatoes in pots is the most popular method and literally any type of pot or container will work as long as it has good drainage.
Tomato plants thrive and produce more tomatoes when they re in a spot that receives at least six hours but better yet eight hours of direct sunlight.
Ideally each plant needs at least a 30cm 12in pot or space them 35 45cm 14 18in apart along a deep windowbox or trough or in a growing bag.
Set your cherry tomato containers where they can enjoy at least 6 8 hours of sun a day.
Plant plants not seeds.
Don t sow seeds directly into your containers germination and development will take too long.
Let the sun shine.
Because containers can dry out quickly achieving success growing tomatoes in containers depends on maintaining consistent moisture.
This applies to growing tomatoes in pots or in the ground.
Start planting your cherry tomatoes after the last frost date.
Remove the sideshoots regularly when they are about 2 5cm 1in long.
Cordon tomatoes tie the main stem to a vertical bamboo cane or wind it round a well anchored but slack sturdy string.
Be a watering vigilante.
Cherry tomatoes do best when given enough room to grow.
They can look attractive in large.
It is for new gardeners and my goal is to help you get to growing vegetables.
Trailing over the sides of a high pot on a balcony or in a window box it is still possible to grow cherry tomatoes successfully.
I try and simpli.
Make sure your cherry tomatoes aren t shaded by other plants.
One of the most useful qualities of cherry tomatoes is that they will grow in the smallest of spaces.
Tomatoes are heavy feeders and need to be fertilized regularly if you aren t using a pre fertilized potting soil.
Compact bushy cultivars of cherry tomatoes are the easiest to grow they look decorative trailing over the edge of a pot or trough and give you loads of small sweet pop in the mouth fruit from a single plant.
More information about growing tomatoes.
Plants for growing outdoors should be hardened off first.
Containers up to 20 inches in diameter is ideal and they should be able to hold at least 5 gallons of soil for the best results.
Dwarf cherry tomato varieties mature at under two feet tall.
If soil is fast draining consider using a water retaining additive self watering container or checking soil.
They work well in small containers 5 gallons or less in size.
The soil s moisture content is one of the biggest challenges you face with container gardening.
