Really fired-up to grow tomatoes, but you’ve only got a tiny balcony or terrace and think it’s impossible? Think again! Even though it requires a little more attention than a ground-growing plant, growing tomato in a pot or container is clearly possible.
If you’re a beginner, start with cherry tomato, they’re easier than other varieties.
The size of the container you’ll be planting your tomato plant is important. Indeed, whether you’re opting for a round pot or a rectangular garden box, it needs to be large (and deep) enough for the plant to grow well. A depth of 1 foot (30 cm) is the bare minimum, at least. Check on weight limits allowed on your balcony, for your own safety and that of others.
It’s also worth reflecting on what the pot or garden box is made out of. To illustrate this, terra cotta pots are porous. They tend to leach moisture out from the soil they contain. It becomes a necessity to water more often in case of heat wave. You’ll also have to stake your tomato plants.
In o
rder grow tomato in containers, you’ll have to provide a rich and fertile soil mix. For these, 3 easy steps:
Smart tip: To increase drainage, add perlite (sometimes called vermiculite), leca balls, hydrogel or pozzolana to your mix. These compounds retain moisture while still allowing for excellent drainage.
The tomato plant is a voracious feeder, and even though you’ve prepared the best possible soil, it’ll still need a boost from time to time. That’s why you should add a little fertilizer to your tomato plants when you water. It needn’t be much, what’s important here is the regularity, every fortnight for instance. This gives the plant enough time to absorb what you give it.
When growing plants in pots, watering is always a challenge. Tomato plants are no different from other plants in this respect. Therefore, to avoid disappointing surprises:
Smart tip: slide a water-filled saucer under your pot. That way, your tomato plant will be able to reach in there to suck up extra water in case of need.
Plants lose a lot of water through the stomata on their leaves. This goes by the scientific name “evapo-transpiration”. To succeed in growing tomato in containers, the art is all in striking the right balance between keeping enough leaves for the plant to grow, and removing excess leaves that waste this precious liquid resource (these are the famous “suckers”).
Learn more:
Container tomatoes fail for a handful of predictable reasons. Here is what each stage of the job asks of you, and what happens if you skip it.
| Step | What to do | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Container size | Choose a pot or garden box at least 30 cm (1 ft) deep | Too little depth and the roots never support a full plant |
| Container material | Remember that terra cotta breathes | Porous pots dry out fast and need more frequent watering in a heat wave |
| Substrate | Drainage layer at the base, soil mix above, manure or compost on top | Tomatoes need a rich, fertile, free-draining mix to crop in a pot |
| Feeding | A small dose of fertilizer with the water, every fortnight | Regularity beats quantity: the plant has time to absorb what it is given |
| Watering | Keep the soil on the wet side of moist and mulch to the rim | Soggy compost rots roots, dry compost stunts or kills the plant |
| Foliage | Remove the excess leaves and suckers, keep the rest | Leaves lose water through their stomata, a real cost in a small pot |
Get these five right and a balcony crop is every bit as reliable as one grown in open ground.
Make it a daily routine to check on soil moisture, because just two or three day’s worth of “drought” can stunt or kill your tomato plant.
