If You Want Your Tomatoes To Flourish In Pots, Remember This Rule Of Thumb

Growing tomatoes in your home garden is an exciting prospect for many amateur botanists. On the list of fun facts you didn't know about tomatoes, the sheer amount of choices is a biggie — there are over 10,000 known varieties! If you're short on garden space, you might be tempted to grow tomatoes in pots. This isn't inherently a bad idea, but know that the pot in question probably needs to be a lot bigger than you initially envisioned. A corollary to that fact is that not all tomato varieties are the right fit for container gardening, so you should choose your overall setup carefully. Thankfully, there's a rule of thumb for potted tomato plants that can make these choices a bit easier. If you tomato maxes out at about three feet tall, you'll need at least a five-gallon container. Any larger, and the root system will really be happier in the ground.

Okay, so you researched plants that can grow adjacent to tomatoes for a better harvest, and you know the best fertilizer for gardening tomato plants. Have you given some thought to the vessel in which you'll be doing the actual potting? This isn't a time to choose a pot based on aesthetics; you need something large and preferably quite wide. The taller your tomato plants, the more width they require, since tomato roots grow out to the sides, not just vertically. Though the five-gallon pot is a minimum, you might want as big as 20 gallons ... still keeping in mind that this might not be sufficient for every tomato variety! Yes, you even need this much room for growing cherry tomatoes.

All tomato varieties can be divided into two subgroups: determinate and indeterminate. Determinate tomato plants, also called "bush tomatoes," have a fixed maximum height and stop growing when they hit that limit. They produce fruit all at once, and, when that fruit is ripe and picked, the plants are "done" for the season. Meanwhile, indeterminate tomatoes will grow and produce fruit indefinitely as long as growing conditions are right. Determinate plants are the right ones for home planting in pots. Roma tomatoes are a popular determinate variety that would be excellent for home growing as long as you have a nice, big pot. Indeterminate tomatoes, on the other hand, will inevitably be constricted by the limitations of a container and aren't always a good match for balcony or patio growing in planters. Ultimately, do some research before planting. 

About that big pot: in addition to the minimum 5-gallon volume, you also want it to be at least 14 inches in diameter, and that's the bare minimum. Wider, as we stressed earlier, is better. With a wider pot that holds more dirt, your tomato plants' roots can really spread out, which can help prevent any inhibition of growth or wimpy, undernourished fruit. If you can accommodate the weight and extra expense, terra cotta is a great material because it allows both air and water to pass through, which is best for the budding plant.