Tomatoes are one of the most popular and successful food plant to grow in pots. Very often the type which are sold commercial have been reared for their ability to travel and are not the most tasty.Nothing beats the flavour of a freshly picked home grown tomatoes,
especially the little thin _skinned one which have a delicious sweetness. Tomatoes are tender plants and must not be exposed to frost. They need a lot of water and regular feeding with tomato fertilizer with tomato fertilizer.A part from this, they are not particularly temperamental .you can buy young plants in early summer from garden centre or raise them yourself from seeds germinated in a heated propagator in the early spring. When the leaves of the early spring. When the leaves of the early spring.when the leaves of the seedlings are fully opened the plants are ready to be potted into 7_10cm (3-4in) pots in potting compost.At this stage they need to be in a temperature of
18’C(64’f).in early summer the plants can be potted on into 25-30cm (10_12)pots and put out of doors on balconies and window sill.An ideal position is against the wall, where they will get maximum exposure to the sun and be protected from draughts.The smaller plants are best for window boxes and container s. Full sized plant tend to need the support of
stakes.The small yellow blossom appear in early summer and may need pollinating.this can be done by tickling them with a feather or gently shaking the whole plant.New blossom open daily over a long period and the fruits go on
appearing and ripening well into late summer.side shoots should be removed when they are about 7_5cm (3in) long.these appear between the main stem and the foliage and distract the plants from it fruits producing activity.The very top of the plants from its fruit producing activity.The very top of the plant should be pinched out in late summer to
encourage the last fruits to encourage the last fruits to ripen .Apart from being delicious the miniature types of tomato are very attractive to look at especially when they are studded with their bright red fruits.
