Steps To Grow Tomatoes In Hanging Baskets
Have you ever tried growing cherry tomatoes in a hanging basket before? If not, I’m here to tell you to try it!
So let’s get into why you should, and also how to grow cherry tomatoes in hanging baskets.
Why Grow Tomatoes in a Hanging Basket
Hanging baskets give you a new spot to grow tomatoes, leaving bed space free for regular tomatoes or other crops.
A few varieties of cherry tomatoes have also been bred and selected just for growing in hanging baskets.
Varieties like tumbling tom will spill over the edges of your basket, and both look great and provide a huge bounty.
Varieties To Grow
Tumbling tom is the classic hanging basket tomato and is well worth growing, but many others work well too.
Hundreds and thousands is another great basket tomato.
Other notable cherry tomatoes that are great in baskets are:
Cherry falls
Lizzano F1
Planting Up The Basket
So how do you go about planting up a cherry tomato hanging basket?
To start with, you want one that will hold moisture well.
A plastic hanging basket with a solid bottom is an excellent place to start.
If you want to use a coir basket, then add a lining of plastic to it. Some cut-up plastic from an old compost bag works well.
This is because tomatoes are very thirsty, and when you water a coir basket without a lining, a lot of your water drips through and is lost.
Step 1 – Fill halfway with multi-purpose potting compost.
Add some slow-release fertiliser.
Plant the tomato in the centre of the basket, only one plant per basket.
Feeding
Tomatoes are hungry beasts, and cherry tomatoes are no different.
They will require regular feeding when in a hanging basket because they will deplete the limited nutrition in the soil quickly.
A good idea is to add a slow-release fertiliser to your compost mix as a first step.