How I grow tomatoes on my balcony in containers
I never set out to become someone who knew how to grow tomatoes on their balcony. I was barely managing keeping my two houseplants alive, which I only bought because I was told they were low maintenance.
Then one day, my family friend told me she was relocating and needed to find a new home for her plants. Before I knew it, I was the proud owner of 20-something plants. These included a variety of aloe vera, pothos, tomatoes, eggplant and capsicum.
Honestly, I wasn’t prepared. This felt very much like an inheritance. Suddenly, I had plants everywhere and no idea what I was doing.
You may be interested in: How long does it take for tomatoes to grow?
A few links in this post are affiliate links. That means I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase—without costing you a single cent extra. Thank you for supporting what I do! For more information, please see my Disclaimer page.
Learning through Trial and Error
I wish I could proudly say that they all thrived. They didn’t. Some struggled to make it even two weeks under my care. Anyway, I did learn some valuable lessons on what not to do.
At that time, I was quite discouraged and felt that maybe gardening is not for me. But looking back, it is in those failures that I learnt things that no gardening book could have taught me. And somehow, out of all those plants, the tomato plant became my success story!
Why Tomatoes became my favorite plant to grow
Among all the plants I had, the tomato plant thrived despite all the beginner mistakes I had made. As I learnt more and more about its needs, it started rewarding me with healthy growth, flowers and eventually tomatoes. The best part was that I could do this without the need for a garden. My tomato plant was happy growing in a container on my balcony. This completely changed the way I looked at gardening and it got me excited to try growing other vegetables too.
Even small spaces can be productive if you use them well. If you’re working with a small balcony or a patio, you might enjoy reading my post on Gardening for Small Spaces.
Here are some of the simple steps I followed to grow my tomatoes from a container.
Choosing the Right Container to grow your tomatoes
One of the most important things to keep in mind is the size of your container. Tomatoes need more space for their roots than you might think. Choosing a larger container gives room for the roots to grow and helps them retain moisture, especially in warm weather.
The bigger the container, the easier it is for the tomato plant to grow.
Give your tomatoes plenty of sun on your balcony to grow
One thing that tomato plants absolutely love is sunshine. Try placing your container in a place where it can receive atleast 6 hours of sunlight everyday.
More sunlight enables the plant to produce more flowers and more tomatoes.
Water the plant consistently
Watering the plant is not the key to a healthy plant, it is how you water and how much you water. Too little water can stress out the plant and too much water can rot your roots.
The best way to check if you need to water the plant is by checking the top layer of the soil every morning. If it is moist, wait. If its dry, it needs to be watered. This makes a huge difference.
Supporting the Plant
I learnt this from my first plant which started leaning towards one side. Tomato plants become surprisingly heavy with the weight of the tomatoes.
Add some support to the plant early to prevent the branches from breaking. I also read that when you repot into a bigger container, you need to plant them horizontal to prevent this but I haven’t tried it out yet.
Don’t forget to fertilize
When my tomatoes started growing, I didn’t realize the need to fertilize. I was under the impression that water and sunlight would be sufficient. The plant looked like it was doing alright, but once it started growing larger and growing flowers and fruits, it looked like it need help.
Tomatoes use a lot of nutrients to grow fruit, especially since I was growing them in a container. So I started feeding them a vegetable fertilizer every 14 days. It doesn’t have to be something expensive, any good quality fertilizer suitable for vegetables will do. You can also choose to give them a natural fertilizer like eggshells or coffee grounds from time to time.
If you’re growing tomatoes in a container like me, don’t skip this step. Since I started fertilizing my plants regularly, I noticed better harvest.
🍅 The little tomato that started my gardening obsession
The Excitement of growing the first tomato
I still remember spotting my first tomato. Ths felt like a huge achievement seeing that small, green fruit. After losing some of my other plants and learning through my mistakes, seeing this little fruit was proof that I was doing something right.
Eventually, when it ripened, I was extremely proud of myself.
What Growing Tomatoes on my balcony taught me about gardening
Looking back, I’m grateful for being given those plants. At that time, I felt extremely unprepared. If she hadn’t given me those plants, I probably would never have realised how much I can enjoy gardening.
The biggest lesson I learnt from this was you will never know your worth if you don’t try. To start somewhere, you need not know it all. You learn from your mistakes.
You won’t find a gardener out there who hasn’t lost their fair share of plants.
If you have a balcony, some sunlight and a container, I would definitely ask that you try to grow tomatoes.
And if your worried that you won’t have enough time, don’t be. Growing tomatoes has taught me that even a few minutes a day can make a big difference. If you’re looking for simple ways to fit gardening into your schedule, read my blog post on Gardening with 5 minutes a day
If you’ve caught the gardening bug like I did, you might enjoy this beginner-friendly Medicinal Garden Kit. It’s perfect for small-space gardeners who want to grow useful herbs and medicinal plants at home.
If you are new to gardening and want to begin with tomatoes, here is are the baby steps you need to start growing tomatoes in a container.
How to grow tomatoes on your balcony – Baby steps
Step 1: Start with One tomato plant
The biggest mistake you could possibly do is try to grow multiple tomato plants at the same time. Although it may sound like a good idea, its not.
As a beginner, start with one. And start with a seedling purchased from the nursery rather than from seeds. There is a higher chance of success with the seedling.
Step 2: Choose the right container
Choose a container that can hold upto 20 L of soil. Bigger containers are generally better to grow healthier plants as the roots have more space and do not get suffocated.
Ensure there are holes at the bottom for drainage.
Step 3: Find a sunny spot
Tomato plants thrive in sunshine. Place your container with access to atleast 6 hours of sunlight a day. A sunny balcony, window or patio can work perfectly.
If your plant does not receive sufficient sunlight, you will probably end up with more leaves and less fruit and flowers.
Step 4: Use Quality potting mix
Opt for good quality potting mix. It is lighter, drains better and contains nutrients that are beneficial for young plants to grow well.
Healthy soil creates healthy plants.
Step 5: Water Consistently
Tomatoes are very dramatic plants. They do not like extremes. Too much water can cause problems for their roots whereas too little can stress out the plant.
The best way to know if its time to water is by sticking your finger into the soil about an inch deep. If it feels dry, its time to water. If not, then wait.
Step 6: Give the plant support
Install a tomato cage or a support structure while the plant is still young. Even a small plant can become surprisingly heavy. This prevents damage later.
Step 7: Fertilize your plants
Tomatoes are hungry plants. Start feeding them with fertilizer after a couple of weeks. Since they are growing from a container, the nutrients can sometimes not be enough. Adding fertilizer encourages the plant to provide more fruit.
Step 8: Watch for flowers
The excitement begins now.
Before flowers develop, you will notice tiny yellow flowers. This means you have being doing everything right so far and your tomatoes are coming. The flowers will soon develop into tiny green tomatoes. Sometimes the flowers may fall off so don’t worry, this is quite common.
Step 9: Harvesting
Once the tomato has developed their full colour and is slightly soft when you squeeze lightly, its time to harvest them. Pick them regularly to encourage more produce.
Don’t forget to celebrate your harvest, even if its one fruit.
Growing tomatoes doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Start with one plant and grow your garden little by little. That’s how I started to grow tomatoes in a container. Take baby steps and enjoy the process.
Today, tomatoes are one of my favorite plants to grow!
Leave a Reply