Growing tomatoes is one of the more rewarding crops for the home gardener. Tomatoes are relatively easy to grow, but one of the unique requirements for most types of tomatoes is the need for some type of support as the tomato plant grows taller and starts to bear fruit later in the growing season.

Some of the ungainly growth can be dealt with by simply pruning the tomatoes, but for larger tomatoes and in particular indeterminate varieties you will need to support the tomato plants. This has a number of benefits, such as keeping the fruit off the ground so it won’t rot or get eaten. Keeping the branches off the ground is a good practice, as they will root in the ground allowed to rest there for a while, and they are less susceptible to ground borne diseases if the water can’t splash as easily onto the leaves.

Tomatoes are one of the most popular vegetables for the home gardener. In the right growing conditions they can be prolific, creating a bountiful harvest. But growing tomatoes is not without it’s problems, and watering tomatoes is one of those areas. One other key advantage to container growing tomatoes is that they can be grown on a balcony or patio, no need for garden space to grow them.

Cherry tomatoes are a favorite of many gardeners, and really deserve a place in most tomato gardens. They will bear fruit when other varieties won’t and are a nice change of pace from the typical large tomato that is the typical prize most gardeners seek.

These indeterminate tomatoes will just keep growing all season long, so some type of tomato cage or other support is a necessity for growing cherry tomatoes. It needs to be one of the larger tomato cages as it is not uncommon for these plants to grow taller than 6 feet in height. You can also use a tomato stake but be aware that these can get to pretty impressive heights. If a cage isn’t the right choice for you consider a tomato trellis.

Patio tomatoes. Are they a tomato variety or a way to grow tomatoes on your patio. Here we take a look at both the variety called patio tomatoes, and the whole idea of how to best grow tomatoes on your patio or balcony.

First, we’ll look at the tomato variety known as patio tomatoes. As you may expect, this is a hybrid variety that was bred to be a good choice for growing in containers, suited for a patio. It has a small growth pattern, more of a bushy type growth, sometimes only reaching about 2 feet in height. It’s leaves are darker than most tomatoes, and its fruit tend to the smaller size, around 2 inches in diameter. Some consider the skin on the tough side. Like many smaller fruited tomatoes, it will germinate and bear fruit in somewhat warmer climates than the larger fruited tomatoes, so this is a popular choice in the Southwest and places like Texas.

One of the age old problems with tomatoes is that they tend to sprawl all over the place. While this is not always bad, in some cases this can lead to malformed fruit, invasion of pests, and some tomato diseases if we just let them lay on the ground. So as we look for tomato support, let’s take a look at the advantages of tomato stakes vs cages for tomatoes, including some of the tomato spirals.

If you don’t have the room or desire to have a regular vegetable garden for your tomatoes, that doesn’t mean that you can’t have a tomato garden. There are a number of different tomato planters that can get you growing tomatoes without a garden.

The most well know tomato planter is the Topsy Turvy upside down tomato planter. We have a full review of the Topsy Turvy, but in summary this planter lets the tomatoes grow upside down and grow to the ground from a hanging container. There have been hanging tomato planters for many years, but these tended to be smaller and the plants grew upright and then hung over the side of the planter. Any of these hanging tomato planters have a number of advantages.

While tomato gardening is one of the favorite types of gardening for the home gardener, one of the requirements for many varieties of tomatoes is that they need support of some type like a tomato cage or tomato trellis. Keeping your tomatoes off the ground improves the quality of the tomatoes, and keeps the vines manageable.

Previously we had done a review of the Topsy Turvy tomato planter. This popular hangingtomato planter is the one that has tomatoes growing upside down, and has sold like wildfire over the last few years, and we bought a few for our own use. Here’s a look at our results.

As background we were using this in North Texas, where the summers get pretty hot (a typical summer can have a couple of dozen or more days over 100 degrees, and the nighttime temperature stays above 90 for at least a couple of weeks in July and August). So your mileage with these hanging tomato planters will differ in your area.

Once we start growing our tomatoes, we want to be sure to ensure the best yields by properly fertilizing the tomatoes. Here we have a few tips on how to fertilize tomatoes, using either traditional fertilzers or organic tomato fertilizer.

You see all sorts of planters these days letting you start growing tomatoes upside down. They are advertised on TV and the TV shopping channels, and they are a best seller on Amazon much of the summer. Are they a good idea, or is the whole idea of growing tomatoes upside down just a fad? The commercials always make things look good. Lets look at the real world advantages and disadvantages of these upside down tomato planters.

Many gardeners are finding that growing tomatoes in hanging baskets or upside down tomato planters is a great way to grow tomatoes in apartments or balconies that a normal garden or even a normal planter might not be able to do. And in general these planters work pretty well.

Watering your tomato plants. When do tomato plants need water, and how much do they need. It depends on a variety of factors, and there are some tools you can use to make watering tomato plants less work and more effective.

Like any plant it’s easiest to start with a loamy soil with lots of organic matter. Sandy soils will tend to dry out too quickly, and clay will tend to puddle and drain slowly. Either can be improved by the addition of organic matter like a well rotted compost.

There are a number of ways to grow tomatoes upside down. There are the omnipresent hanging tomato baskets and planters, which include the Topsy Turvy upside down planter. But one of the best ways to grown tomatoes upside down is with the Upside Down Tomato Garden. We take another look at the product to see where it’s best used.

We had previously looked at reviewed the Upside Down Tomato Garden some time back. It’s a product that’s offered by Hammacher Schlemmer, but you can buy it through a variety of vendors (Amazon usually has a good price on it.)

When spring approaches, most gardeners can’t wait to get started with the garden. Once we do, it seems like the wait for that first tomato takes forever. So the obvious question is what can be done to get those first tomatoes out of the garden earlier than usual. It can be done, and here are a few tips to get started early on those tomatoes.

Start looking at the topic of tomato cages and supports, and you’ll find that there is a rush of creativity that has been unleashed in the world of gardening when it comes to tomato cages. We take a look at the variety of tomato cages that have been designed over the last few years and see which cages might work best for you.

Growing tomatoes is a very popular form of gardening. But for many people today the reality is that they live in an apartment or a condo, where there is no possible access to a garden, and the only real access to the outdoors is the balcony. Is it possible to grow tomatoes on a balcony?

The short answer is yes. There are a few things to keep in mind when trying to grow tomatoes on a balcony.

Growing tomatoes is probably the most popular activity in vegetable gardening. Information on how to grow tomatoes is searched more than any other plant (except for growing marijuana, but that’s not quite the same activity.)

It’s actually pretty easy to grow tomatoes, and the tomatoes you get from the garden are much better than anything you will find at the grocery store. They don’t take up much room, and can be grown in a wide range of places. So here are some of our best tomato growing tips.

Here are more of our best tomato growing tips.

Plant Deep - When planting your transplant seedlings, unlike most vegetables, set the seedling into the ground so the stem is covered all the way to the first set of true leaves. Tomatoes will send out roots from the stems, so setting them deeper will encourage a stronger root system, which is key to strong, healthy tomato plants. Tomatoes to be staked can be planted about 24 inches apart with 3 to 4 between rows. If you plan to use cages space them 30 to 36 inches apart.