Monday, April 21, 2008

Tricks for Growing Patio Tomatoes


By Rhonda Cossey

To start a container tomato growing campaign there are a few tricks to consider before you start. You must first choose the type of tomato you want to grow. There are as many styles and varieties as there are people living in the state of New York. But with all the choices available, you must decide how the tomatoes will be used and pick the best one for your patio or deck gardening endeavors. Choosing the right plant may seem a daunting task, but if you ask for help from your garden center you will usually be steered in the right direction.

You will also need an appropriate container. The perfect pot is a self waterer that will ensure that the plant's roots do not become waterlogged and rot before you see the fruits of the harvest, but will keep water close at hand for the plant to absorb the water through the soil. These can be purchased anywhere garden supplies are sold, but you can actually use whatever large container you may already have - so long as it has adequate drainage. If you have leftover plastic buckets from house painting, punch a few holes in the bottom and put some gravels or small rocks in there to keep the dirt from stopping up the holes, put in fresh dirt (potting soil is lighter) and your plant, set in the sun, and you are ready to wait!
Another thing to consider is that tomatoes need sunlight. If you do not have direct sun the plants will be a little leggy (tall and spindly), but will still produce tomatoes for your salad. Tomatoes love heat more than light, so make sure you have them in a spot that they will get a lot of heat. They are very resilient, but to have great success you must keep them warm.

Keeping the unnecessary parts of the plant from flourishing will increase your yield. Pull out the suckers (the leaves that grow between the stalk and the limb) since they will not produce anything - but will direct energy away from the fruit. Most tomatoes need to have a stake or trellis to grow on, but you can keep a tomato plant pruned back a bit so that it doesn't overtake the entire patio. Just make sure you do not cut off any part of the plant that has flowers or tomatoes on it!

Choose your plants, tools, and area wisely and you will have all the tomatoes you can eat. Growing tomatoes on a patio or deck is fun and easy, not to mention healthy and inexpensive! Try it this year, and you will surely be hooked.Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rhonda_Cossey

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