How to grow tomato plants in containers

The one good thing about the big shut down a few years back is that so many people are more interested in growing their own food! Since a large number of people live in apartments or just don't have a yard to plant in, container gardening has become a way they can still grow some of their own food...even with limited space!

If you would like to grow some of your own food in containers then tomatoes are the perfect plant to start with. As long as you have sunlight, tomatoes can be grown anywhere.

Growing tomatoes in containers is not limited to people with a lack of gardening space though. Plenty of home gardeners grow their vegetables in containers, even when they have free space in the backyard.

There are many reasons for container gardening, but we grow tomatoes in containers mostly for convenience, control, and flexibility. Also if you have a problem with deer in your garden, putting your plants on your porch in containers can circumvent that!

Not many deer are comfortable walking up onto your porch! Nor are rabbits which can really damage a traditional garden! 

Growing tomatoes in containers is not too different from growing tomatoes in the outdoor soil. Like planting in the ground, it's best to raise young tomato seedlings carefully indoors until they're strong enough for transplant. This gives them a few extra weeks to grow instead of waiting to plant seeds when the soil is warm enough.

How to grow vegetables in containers vs the ground

Last year I did an experiment in container gardening. I had planted 4 varieties of tomato plants, 2 of each plant. One of each variety was planted in the garden and the other in a container.

We all know that you can grow certain vegetables in containers, but I intended to discover if container grown tomatoes produced as much fruit, less or even more than the same plants grown in the ground.

The experiment was going better than I expected all through summer. Most of the plants were producing equal to or better than the ones in the garden, with the exception of one variety. 

I had been weighing each fruit I harvested and had a running total going for every plant. Then I moved them off the patio for my sons going away party and forgot to move them back that night. 

The deer had destroyed them by morning. *face palm*

Thankfully I had plenty of data collected already to call this experiment a success! When planted in a similar location and cared for properly, container plants can produce the same or even better than ones in the ground. 

There are a few differences in caring for container gardens though, and not knowing these differences can be the reason container grown plants do not thrive.

The easiest way to grow potatoes

I grow potatoes every year and have honestly never started them this early before! However, I have a bag of potatoes that have sprouted so severely that I decided they are just asking to be planted. So, I'm planting them now...even though it's only April. 

I'm also planting these potatoes in feed bags because that is the easiest way to plant potatoes that I have ever tried! I love this method for several reasons mostly because I don't have to dig to harvest the potatoes. Also, there's practically no weeding. Plus:

You can plant potatoes anywhere!

That's right! When you're using bags to plant potatoes you can put the bags on your porch, patio, next to the garage or anywhere else even if you don't have a garden space. 

Plus its another way to reuse all those feed bags I have accumulated. You can buy reusable grow bags if you don't already have bags you can use. Or ask a friend with livestock to save you a few bags...we go through a ton!

However, I have never planted grocery store potatoes before so this project may require just a bit of luck...

First of all I should mention that I store my potatoes in an old fashioned Potato and Onion bin. If you don't have one of these you need to read here why I love mine and why you need one! 

Yes, the potatoes did sprout and the onions sometimes do too, but nothing ever rots in that thing! This is one of those old fashioned items that I just don't understand why people quit using.

Why you need to grow mint in a planter

I love mint! Mint tea, mint flavorings, mint in lotions potions and brews oh my! Spearmint, peppermint, lemon mint, chocolate mint...I could go on and on. The best way to use mint is fresh, so of course I need to grow some every year. Luckily mint is a super easy to grow perennial and one plant can produce fresh mint for years!

However, mint is a very invasive plant. It reproduces by sending out roots called runners just below the soil. First you'll notice small mint plants popping up close to the parent plant. Then you'll notice them farther and farther away until suddenly they're everywhere!

Since the mint plant is sending out runners in different directions, it seems to take over all at once. So one mint plant can quickly turn into a garden full! This is why you need to grow mint in a container. 

By keeping the roots neatly contained in a planter, you will prevent them from sending out those runners under the soil line. 

Growing herbs indoors

I love fresh herbs. I use them for food and medicine. I just can't bear to be without fresh herbs in winter so I always have a bunch of different herbs growing in my house. It just makes sense to have herbs growing right inside my kitchen where I'll be using them, right? The kitchen is the perfect place to grow herbs since it's often warm, generally has high humidity and is right where you'll be using the herbs! The only other thing you need is a sunny window.

There are at least 11 medicinal herbs that grow well indoors, and plenty more culinary ones, so it's not hard to find herbs that do well indoors even in winter. I am such an outdoors 'always in the garden' person that winter is the hardest for me and I just have to grow some plants indoors. 

Plus you can't beat the taste of fresh grown herbs when cooking!

One of the great thing about growing herbs indoors is that they can be grown hydroponically or traditionally and they taste exactly the same!