Container Gardening

My Mother’s Day gift this year from the husband and kids was an EarthBox.  The EarthBox is one of several gardening systems that hypes its unique design, many of which seem to be pretty close to identical.  I planted it that day, and after around a month have some early reviews.

What is the EarthBox?  The EarthBox is a planting system where all fertilization and soil preparation is done at the time of planting.  The soil is covered by a plastic cover to prevent weed growth and evaporation, and all watering is done from the bottom up: you pour water through a fill tube into a reservoir at the bottom of the container, and the potting mix wicks the water up into the soil where the plant can easily draw it.

First off, the EarthBox is on the pricey side for these solutions.  The basic kit is $55.  This does include potting mix, but I can get my own potting mix without much difficulty.  Their replant kit, which has just the fertilizer, nutrients, and covers, is $9.95 for 1, $7.95 if you buy 10 or more.

In contrast, the Garden Patch Grow Box, which I have never tried but which seems to be built on the same model, is $29.95 for the first kit (which does not include potting soil), and fertilizer strips range from $8.95 for 1 down to $4.95 each for 10 or more.

There are also dozens of people online who have made their own plans for building an EarthBox-style planter out of the kinds of $5-10 bins you can easily find at your local Walmart or similar store.

My experience in actually planting the Earthbox was a bit mixed.  I dont think the instructions were as clear as they could have been, and it got me in trouble a few times when I started doing something wrong and had to go back and correct my mistakes.

The black cover they provide is really very flimsy, especially near the places where holes are cut to allow the watering pipe or little plants to come up.  My first cover ripped while I struggled to get it into place over the box.  I managed to get the second one on mostly intact, but the holes were still stretched and distorted.

The system also does not seem designed to stand up to the elements well.  The wheels on mine are already rusted, and while the plastic box doesn’t degrade, it isn’t as attractive as many of the other options out there.  There’s no real reason to opt for an EarthBox for aesthetic reasons over the other self-contained planting systems.

Thus far, I am using the EarthBox for cherry tomatoes, and it is doing an incredible job with them.  Off of a single month’s growth, they are already rangy, full plants with good foliage.  They are beginning to flower, and I’ve spotted the first fruits on them as of a week ago.  I expect to get a fantastic yield from them.

My overall verdict is that the system works, but is a bit awkward and difficult to use, and high-priced.  If you want to pay for the convenience, you might consider a different kind of container system.  If you just want to try the idea, consider building your own.  I suspect I will, next year.

I first heard about growing cherry tomatoes in hanging baskets two years ago, when I was at my local farmer’s market. One of the booths was selling pre-planted hanging baskets with cherry tomatoes for some exorbitant amount of money: $25 or so, I think. I was tempted in spite of the high price: I love fresh cherry tomatoes, and these were beautiful plants, with gorgeous tangles of vines and cascading fruits. In the end, though, I decided against it.

It turns out, though, that it’s easy to create your own hanging baskets for cherry tomatoes, and for much less money than the farmers were asking. Here are some tips to get you started.

The first step, as with most container gardening, is to choose the container. Just about any garden center or hardware store will sell simple wire hanging baskets such as the one shown in this ad, which are cheap and practical. Many come prelined with coconut coir, but if yours doesn’t, it’s easy to find and purchase liners. You can usually find baskets like this for under $10. It’s a good idea to get one a minimum of 12″, and 14″ is better. Still, you can grow cherry tomatoes in smaller baskets, if you choose your variety carefully.

Once you have your container, you can choose a cherry tomato to plant in it. My article on best container cherry tomato varieties has information about good varieties of cherry tomatoes for growing in baskets. You can either grow your cherry tomato from seed and transplant it into the basket, or buy the seedlings direct. It is not a good idea to plant seeds directly in your hanging basket.

Once you have a good-sized cherry tomato seedling, you will need to plant it. You do not want to use soil for planting in baskets. Choose either a good soilless potting mix or a medium of sphagnum moss. Soilless growing media hold water much better, which is very important when working with small containers such as hanging baskets.

Fill the basket around halfway with the potting mix, then set the seedling in the basket. When growing cherry tomatoes, it’s a good idea to plant it deeply: tomato plants can form roots along their main stems, so the root system will develop more quickly if part of the stem is buried. Once the seedling is placed, fill the basket in the rest of the way. Water heavily. Soilless planting media will hold a great deal of water, which is why they’re so good for containers.

When choosing a place to hang your cherry tomato basket, make sure it is a sunny location. Growing cherry tomato plants need a lot of sun. As a minimum, they should get six hours a day, and more is better. Also consider placement: you want easy access to the plant, so you can water it and harvest from it.

Your plants will die each year with the frost, but the baskets are reusable each year with a fresh liner. Enjoy your cherry tomatoes!

If you’re interested in growing cherry tomatoes in containers, you’re in luck: as a class, they’re among the easier tomato varieties to grow.  However, depending on your particular taste or the kind of container you have, you can choose from among many varieties.

The first question to ask is what kind of container you want.  There are three real choices: hanging baskets, small containers, or full-sized tomato planters.  If you want a full-sized tomato planter, you can choose from among the many full-sized varieties on offer.  If you want something smaller, a little more research is required.

Hanging Baskets

To plant cherry tomatoes  in a hanging basket, you need a variety that thrives with shallow roots and does not grow very tall.  Tomatoes with long trailing vines will spill attractively from the basket.

Florida Basket: Produces red fruit around an inch in diameter, in slightly elongated globes.  Determinate.

Floragold Basket: Cherry-sized round tomatoes, gold in color when ripe.  Determinate.

Anmore Dewdrop: Cherry-sized round tomatoes, red when ripe.  Prolific fruiter.  Determinate, but will have a second crop once the first is harvested.

Micro Tom: Itty-bitty plant, which will fit even in a 4-inch pot.  Can be planted a few to a basket.  Round red fruit, smaller than a penny.  Determinate.

Small Pots

Most basket tomato varieties will also work in small pots.  If you choose, however, you can use a slightly larger variety, which grows to around a foot or two in height.

Anmore Treasures: Slow to grow, but can be started early.  Around 12″ tall, with bright red round fruit, 1″ in diameter.  Sensitive to cracking from uneven watering.  Determinate.

Tiny Tim: Fast-growing, with only 60 days to maturity.  18-inch plants can fit in a 6-inch pot.  3/4 inch fruit, bright red and round.  A heavy fruiter for its foliage.  Determinate.

Totem: Very small plant, at only 10-12 inches.  Small, red, round fruit.  The leaves are very attractive, making this work well in a semi-ornamental garden.  Determinate.

Yellow Pygmy: Bush-style plant, with low, dense foliage.  Tiny yellow-orange fruit, 1/2 inch in diameter.  Slightly acidic, sharp flavor. Indeterminate.