You do not need a big backyard to grow sweet, juicy tomatoes. In fact, a sunny balcony and a few pots are all you need to get started. Many people think tomato plants need open garden soil to thrive, but that is simply not true. You can grow plenty of red, ripe tomatoes right outside your apartment door with the right setup.
I started growing food on my own small patio five years ago. My first tomato plant gave me more fruit than I could eat in a week. If you want to try it yourself, you only need to learn a few basic rules. Here is how you can grow healthy tomatoes on a balcony without any stress.
Pick the Right Tomato Variety for Pots
The biggest mistake new gardeners make is picking the wrong kind of tomato plant. Tomatoes come in two main types, determinate and indeterminate. Determinate varieties stop growing at a certain height, usually around three or four feet tall. They produce their fruit all at once and stay compact. This makes them ideal for pots and small balconies.
Indeterminate varieties keep growing taller until frost kills them in winter. They can easily reach seven or eight feet tall. While you can grow them in pots, they need heavy stakes and regular trimming. For small spaces, bush varieties or cherry tomatoes like Tiny Tim, Sweet 100, or Patio Princess work best. Cherry tomatoes are especially tough, and they produce dozens of sweet bites all summer long.
Choose the Right Pot and Good Soil
Tomato roots love room to stretch. If your pot is too small, your plant will dry out fast and produce fewer tomatoes. A five-gallon bucket or a pot that holds about ten to twelve inches across is a great size for one tomato plant. Make sure the container has drainage holes at the bottom so water does not sit around the roots.
Do not dig up dirt from the ground outside. Garden dirt is too heavy for containers and can bring bugs or disease to your balcony. Instead, buy a good potting mix from a garden shop. A light mix made with peat moss or coconut coir drains well and gives roots the air they need. For more helpful ideas on small space gardening, check out our home guide at etubeguide for easy tips.
Give Them Sun and Keep the Soil Moist
Tomatoes are sun lovers. They need at least six hours of direct sunlight every day to produce flowers and fruit. If your balcony faces south or west, you are in luck. If your space gets less direct light, cherry tomatoes will still do reasonably well, though you may get a slightly smaller harvest.
Watering is where most people run into trouble. Pots dry out much faster than garden beds, especially on hot or windy balconies. During midsummer, you might need to water your plant every single morning. Check the dirt by pushing your finger one inch into the soil. If it feels dry, give it a slow, deep drink until water runs out the drainage holes at the bottom.
Try to keep the moisture steady. If the soil goes from bone dry to soaking wet over and over, your tomatoes can split open. Irregular watering also causes blossom end rot, which turns the bottom of your tomatoes black and soft. If you want to grow other food alongside your tomatoes, take a look at the Best Vegetables to Grow in Pots on a Balcony to find great companion plants.
Support Your Plants and Feed Them Well
Even small tomato plants get heavy once they fill up with fruit. Put a tomato cage or a sturdy wooden stake in the pot right when you plant your seedling. If you wait until the plant is large, pushing a stake down into the dirt can snap the roots.
As the plant grows, tie the main stem loosely to your stake with soft twine or strips of old cloth. Never tie it too tight, because the stem needs room to get thicker. Snip off any lower leaves that touch the soil surface. This simple step keeps soil splash off the foliage and stops leaf fungus from spreading.
Tomatoes also need extra food to make lots of sweet fruit. Mix a balanced organic fertilizer into your potting mix on planting day. Once small green fruits begin to show, feed your plant every two weeks with liquid tomato food. Look for plant food high in potassium and phosphorus, which feed the flowers and fruit rather than just making leaves.
Start Small and Enjoy the Fresh Taste
Growing your own tomatoes does not require a farm or expensive tools. Start with just one or two pots of cherry tomatoes this spring. Set them where the sun shines bright, keep the soil damp, and watch them shoot up. Nothing matches the rich flavor of a warm tomato picked fresh from your own balcony.