Hi, Tiny Gardener here….My veg patch is really coming along nicely now, despite the few set backs I’ve had. I began growing tomatoes back in May and they are really beginning to look good this year. I have had a couple attempts at growing tomatoes, had some success at the growing stage but never been able to harvest my own tasty tomatoes.
The temperature in Cornwall was still a little cool back in May, so I decided to plant the tomato plugs in a few different places to see which ones did better. I planted three of my plants straight into pots outside and two of them in pots on my conservatory windowsill. This room gets a good 8 hours of sun per day so I knew it would be a good starter for the tiny plants. I made sure to position the ones outside in the sunny spot by the front door to maximise their sunlight too.
The plants started off well, although the ones outside were definitely on the slower side. They didn’t quite grow as tall and were not looking at good as the ones inside. The ones on the windowsill were really thriving and looking super green and healthy, I definitely think they benefited from being in the warm. I noticed they were beginning to out-grow their pots too so decided to re-plant them outside. When I took them out of their pots I noticed they were a bit root-bound and realise maybe I should have re-potted them a bit earlier.
As I had a few gaps where the lettuce plants had been eaten, I made some space in the large raised bed and planted the two from the conservatory in there. The other outside one was beginning to grow well now so when I lost my potato plants, I replaced the soil with fresh compost and replanted the other tomato plant in there. It was obvious the roots were happy with their new found space to spread as the plants just kept growing and growing. I was making sure I was pinching out the little shoots when they appeared between branches so the plant could concentrate all it’s growing power on producing strong stems and healthy fruits.
We’ve had some super warm weather, so I’ve made sure to keep on top of watering and have recently got myself a good organic tomato feed as well, just to give it that extra boost now it’s at the fruit producing stage. This will be especially crucial for the one still in a pot as it will quickly use up the nutrients in the fresh compost and need to be topped up. As the plants in the raised bed have started producing a good amount of flowers, I am now at the stage where I can trim back the leaves. This will allow all the plant’s nutrients to be directed straight into producing delicious tomatoes. I am very excited as I have noticed a large tomato already growing well and there are lots of healthy flowers and mini tomatoes appearing on the plant. I have never managed to harvest my own tomatoes – I’m hoping this year will be my first!
What have I learnt about growing tomatoes in pots this year?
- Start the plants off in the conservatory helps them get off to a good start
- Make sure the pot is a good size to start with so the roots have space to establish themselves well
- Transfer to the raised bed/larger pots in early June
- Use a tomato feed when the plant starts producing fruit to get a good crop of healthy tomatoes
- Water consistently and especially through the dry spells