There are many advantages of growing tomatoes in containers. They are great for small spaces, patios, and balconies, making it a convenient way to garden in urban areas. There are some considerations one must take into account when designing their tomato container garden: tomato types, sunlight, and drainage.
Tomatoes can be generally classified into two types: determinate and indeterminate.
Determinate varieties, also known as bush tomatoes, reach a certain height and then stop growing, producing all their fruit within a relatively short time frame.
Indeterminate tomatoes are vining tomato plants that continue to grow and produce fruit throughout the growing season, until they die by frost or disease.
The 4-minute video below highlights the differences and benefits of determinate and indeterminate tomatoes.
To read more about the differences between determinate and indeterminate tomatoes, read What are indeterminate and determinate tomatoes?.
Tomatoes require full sun to grow properly, which means on average at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight.
The 2 minute video below explains how much sunlight is needed for different types of tomato plants.
For further information about how much sun is needed for tomato plants, read How Much Sun Do Tomatoes Need?
For healthy tomato plants, ensure good drainage by using containers with drainage holes.
The 21 minute video below talks about how to set up proper drainage for container gardening.
If you want to learn more about drainage, read Soil Drainage: 101.
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