The Secret to Balcony Tomatoes

Growing tomatoes in pots is the holy grail of urban gardening. Nothing beats the taste of a sun-warmed tomato picked right outside your sliding glass door. But if you've ever tried it and ended up with a sad, yellowing plant that produced three tiny tomatoes, you probably made one of two critical mistakes.

Mistake #1: Buying an Indeterminate Variety

Tomatoes come in two main types: Determinate and Indeterminate. Indeterminate tomatoes (like Early Girl or most heirlooms) are vining plants that will grow 10 feet tall if let them. They are a nightmare on a balcony because they require massive cages and tip over easily in the wind.

The Fix: Only buy Determinate or "Bush" varieties. These are genetically programmed to grow to a compact size (usually 3-4 feet), stop growing, and produce all their fruit at once. Look for varieties like "Patio Princess", "Tiny Tim", or "Bush Goliath".

Mistake #2: The Pot is Too Small

Tomatoes have massive root systems. If you put them in a 1-gallon pot, the roots will hit the plastic sides, coil up, and the plant will become severely stressed. A stressed plant drops its blossoms instead of turning them into fruit.

The Fix: A single tomato plant needs an absolute minimum of a 5-gallon container, though a 10-gallon is much better. We highly recommend using 10-gallon fabric grow bags (you can buy a 5-pack in our shop for under $20). The fabric allows the roots to "air prune" rather than circling, resulting in a much healthier plant.

The Feeding Schedule

Because the roots are confined to a pot, they cannot search deep into the earth for nutrients. Every time you water a potted plant, nutrients wash out the bottom. You must feed potted tomatoes heavily. Mix a slow-release organic granular fertilizer into the potting soil when you plant. Then, once the plant starts flowering, water it with a liquid kelp/fish emulsion fertilizer every 10 days.