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Tomato Container Gardening

27 April, 2023
Grow Tomatoes in containers with these AAS Winners
Grow Tomatoes in containers with these AAS Winners

Growing Tomatoes in Containers

By Chase Smoak, Clemson University Cooperative Extension

Lack the space or time for a traditional garden filled with tomatoes? No worries.

You can grow tomatoes in pots and hanging baskets, too.

Follow these tips:

  • Use pots that are at least 6–8 inches deep with holes underneath for drainage.
  • For ease of movement, use dollies or platforms with wheels to shift plants around.
  • Use a lightweight potting mix. Packaged mixes are widely available at most garden centers, but be sure to avoid soilless media that lacks the required nutrients.
  • When using a potting mix with added fertilizer, wait 8–10 weeks before adding more nutrients. When it’s time, use a water-soluble fertilizer at its recommended rate.
  • Choose your variety with care. For containers, I recommend these AAS-tested standouts.

Under 20″ tall

Tomato Patio Choice Yellow F1 - 2017 AAS Edible - Vegetable Winner

Tomato Patio Choice Yellow F1

Patio Choice Yellow is a compact, determinate tomato developed specifically for small spaces and container gardens. This AAS Winner produces very large yields of 1/2 ounce bright yellow cherry tomatoes on short vines that grow only 18 inches tall.

Tomato Lizzano F1 - 2011 AAS Edible - Vegetable Award Winner AAS Winner 'Lizzano' is a vigorous semi-determinate tomato variety with a low growing, trailing habit excellent for growing in patio containers or hanging baskets.

Tomato Lizzano F1

This tomato grows 16–20 inches tall and only 20 inches wide. Lizzano produces a copious amount of fruit, which can be harvested in just 63 days after transplant. One perk of this variety is its noted resistance to late blight.

Under 24″ tall

Tomato Fantastico F1 2014 AAS Vegetable Award Winner Fantastico is a must for any market grower or home gardener looking for an early-maturing, high-yielding grape tomato with built-in Late Blight Tolerance.

Tomato Fantastico F1

Fantastico is a must for any home gardener looking for an early-maturing, high-yielding grape tomato with built-in Late Blight Tolerance. Bred for small gardens, determinate Fantastico will work great in hanging baskets, container gardens as well as in small gardens.

Tomato Early Resilience - AAS Edible Winner

Tomato Early Resilience F1

Early Resilience is a rounded Roma tomato with a deep red interior color, uniform maturity, good quality flesh, and very good resistance to Blossom End Rot. Determinate, bushy plants can be staked but it is not necessary.

36-48″ tall

Tomato Celano - 2020 AAS Edible-Vegetable Winner

Tomato Celano F1

Celano is a patio-type grape tomato with a strong bushy habit that will benefit grown with some support, such as a tomato cage. This semi-determinate hybrid tomato is an early producer of sweet oblong fruits weighing about 0.6 oz. each. Plants have excellent late blight tolerance.

Tomato, cocktail Red Racer F1

Tomato Red Racer F1

Red Racer, a cocktail size tomato, produced small, uniform fruits with great taste in the AAS Trials. These tomatoes are uniform in size and mature as a cluster of fruits.  The compact determinate plants produced a huge yield 7-10 days earlier than the comparisons and are ideal for small spaces.

###

Chase Smoak is a Clemson University Cooperative Extension agent who specializes in plant propagation. He writes gardening columns for multiple publications and frequently appears on South Carolina Educational Television’s award-winning program “Making It Grow.”

“This post is provided as an education/inspirational service of All-America Selections. Please credit and link to All-America Selections when using all or parts of this article.”

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