Even with limited growing space, you can grow juicy and luscious homegrown tomatoes. If you have a sunny spot, you can grow your own tomatoes. Container gardening has become so popular, because of being adaptable to almost every location. Here are some container gardening tips...

Sunlight. The only critical requirement is at least 4 hours of direct sunlight, preferably stronger afternoon sun. Indirect or morning sun will work too, but there must be more of it - 6 hours. We’ve even seen pots on wheels, which can be moved around to follow the sun.

Tomato size. Choose a smaller fruiting variety, or determinate type. Cherry varieties are pretty fool-proof, and come in two shapes... round cherry, and oval cherry. Round cherries include Sun Gold Hybrid, Sugar Cherry, Black Cherry, and Sweet 100 Hybrid. Oval cherry varieties are Black Plum, Juliet Hybrid, and Grape. Determinate varieties tend to be compact, but mature all at once. Early Wonder, Patio Hybrid, Window Box Roma Hybrid and Banana Legs are dependable determinate varieties.

Container size. Select a large pot, at least 5 gallon, as tomatoes need lots of roots to produce well. The larger the tomato size, the larger the pot.

Support. While young tomato transplants look innocent, they will grow, and grow, and grow! Especially cherry varieties. Support can be cages, branches, or posts to which you can tie up the branches.
Moisture. Tomatoes need a consistent supply of moisture in order to form unblemished fruits. Keep a good eye on soil moisture. Water in the mornings, and not in the evening. As the plants grow, they will need more water…figure 1-2 gallons per day.

Mulch. To help maintain this soil moisture, and to keep the roots cool, top the container with 4” of mulch. This can be straw, shredded newspaper, wood mulch or other decorative mulch – but stay away from stone mulch, which can hold heat.

Fertilizer. Containerized plants need fertilizer to produce healthy, sturdy, and productive plants. Granular organic fertilizer offers steady nutrition with little fuss. Liquids offer fast uptake. Use both at planting to provide short term, and long term nourishment.

Janie Lamson owns Cross Country Nurseries, which specializes in raising 500 varieties of peppers and 130 varieties of tomatoes. Live Plants are available via mail-order, or at the nursery in Rosemont NJ. To learn more, visit  www.ChilePlants.com or call 908.996.4646.