Grow Tomatoes

Design with tomatoes in containers

Published May 2, 2010 | By Jane

Tomatoes are probably the most popular of all fruits and vegetables to be grown in the home garden. They are much more flavorful and nutritious when picked fresh off the vine. They are also easy to grow, adaptable and decorative. They can be grown in the garden, in container gardens outdoors, on the patio, balcony, in hanging pots or even upside down and topsy-turvy. You can design with tomatoes in containers to make any area more ornamental and productive so long as you can give your tomatoes at least six hours of direct sunshine.

Plant tomatoes from seed and you can have a selection of sizes, shapes, colors and flavors that can make you feel like a ‘kid in a candy store’. Or buy plants already started for you in six-packs or pots from your local garden center.

Designing with tomatoes in containers can be a big project or small. You can make the job easy by planting some of the small, cascading-type tomatoes in hanging pots. These can be used to decorate the overhang of your patio cover, draped over railings or dangled from pots placed along the ends of steps on a staircase. Or you can make a garden of tomatoes into containers into an eye-catching display. Group a selection of ornamental pots into a focal point and fill them with an assortment of determinate-sized (tomatoes that don’t grow too tall) or dwarf plants with different colored and sized tomatoes. You can even include the new ‘Tomaccio’ tomato that lets you grow easy sun-dried tomatoes at home on the vine.

Add a sculpture, set pots on decorative stands or interweave rocks, stones or pieces of driftwood to make a picture out of your container garden. Just make sure you use a pot that allows your tomatoes at least a five-gallon space for roots to grow. Give them a good planting soil mix and offer them a mild feeding of tomato food every couple of weeks so they grow lush and healthy.

With a little care, you can design with tomatoes in containers to decorate any sunny outdoor area with ornamental little star-like, yellow blooms and tasty, healthy fruit that will keep you in supply for the whole growing season.

Posted in Articles on Gardening | Tagged container garden design, grow tomatoes, tomato design, tomatoes in containers | 1 Comment

Grow easy home dried tomatoes

Published April 20, 2010 | By Jane

In the recent California Spring Trials a new variety of tomato was unveiled. The newly developed ‘Tomaccio’ tomato plant is cultivated just like any other tomato and can be grown in the garden outdoors or in large pots. It is a handsome plant that grows small tomatoes that can be eaten like any other fresh tomato. But what makes the ‘Tomaccio’ plant unique is that you can allow those tomatoes to dry right on the vine. These plants grow easy home dried tomatoes without any special efforts. Wait until the sun dries them right on the vine.

The dried tomatoes on the ‘Tomaccio’ plant can be cropped and used in cooking, salads, or nibbled on as a snack. These home dried tomatoes are both easy to grow, dry and use. They have a very sweet flavor and make an excellent sauce or dip for an appetizer. Try growing this new variety of tomato for something new and different in your vegetable garden.