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Question by Freakgirl: What kind of tomato plant should I get & when?
for a balcony. I got a “patio tomato” last year, wasn’t very flavorful. What should I get this year & when (I’m in Chicago)
Best answer:
Answer by Garden man
Depends on what kind of plant you buy, they all vary in taste.
What do you think? Answer below!
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patio tomato not flavorful because tomato mix fresh so tastey.
For small cherry tomatoes, few beat the sweet 100s – they are good in pots or in the ground.
For big tomatoes, a generally good one is the Better Boy. Although the other responder is correct, depends on what taste you like. Burpee has a good on-line catalog that describes flavors of different varieties – http://www.burpee.com – will allow you to get more information.
Tomatoes take a good amount of watering so make sure you buy a nice size pot for your balcony. If you let them dry out too much the skin on the tomato gets tough.
If you’re going to buy a plant to set outside, make sure you buy after the last frost!! Usually safe in April or early May in Chicago.
“burpee” or “big boy” tomatoes are your best bet. If you want something smaller then go with cherry tomatoes. If you want to try something new, yellow tomatoes grow early and last the whole season.
How nice that you have a balcony that will grow tomatoes. The term ‘patio tomato’ is often given to many tomato varieties by careless growers and it seems you got one of the less desirable ones … but the amount of sunlight (lots & lots), water (even moisture or the skins will crack) and fertilizer (higher middle number) makes a big difference even for the less flavourful varieties. My best advice is to make friends with your plant supplier and/or an experienced gardener in your neighbourhood; get a very large pot with good drainage even if you have to put styrofoam in the bottom to make it lighter and to use less soil (set it in a large saucer to prevent the water running down onto your neighbour’s balcony); use a soil mix with vermiculite, perlite, etc. designed for pots – NEVER garden soil; buy a medium sized plant, perhaps 8″ to 10″, that is sturdy, dark green and smells like tomatoes; plant it deeply, certainly all of the purple-tinged part as each of those hairs will become a root to stabalize and feed your crop; don’t be in a hurry to put it outside – mid-June is plenty of time, keep it in a bright window until it is nice and warm in the evenings;place it where it it out of the wind (often a problem on balconies) and gets a minimum of 6-8 hours of sunlight per day; provide some sort of support like a trellis or strings that you can twine the vine around, use fabric ties if necessary; prune off most of the side branches to keep it of manageable size and provide energy to ripen the fruit; feed it at least once per week with a general garden fertilizer preferably with a larger middle number; use a small clean paintbrush or feather to stimulate the flowers as you may not have enough insects to help your plant “have sex” as my kids used to put it … and prepare to enjoy your harvest. Your tomatoes may not look like what we have become accustomed to in the supermarket, but there is nothing like going out onto your balcony, picking a sun-warm fruit and popping it into your mouth – a senuous experience for sure. I am not sure which varieties are available in your area, but here are my favourites: Beefsteak is an oldie, but goodie large tomato; Sweet Million is a very good, sweet and reliable ‘cherry’ type; Juliette is a grape tomato of good flavour but can get a bit out of control so needs pruning; try a yellow cherry tomato for a juicy treat or perhaps a heritage variety like Brandywine for a wonderful real-tomato taste. Good luck
the best tasting tomato we have ever grown is called “Cheokee Purple” it is an hierlom tomato, not a hybrid and yes they are a purplish color but they have a taste in our opinion that is unbeatable. also you can go on line, look up “how to prune” tomatoes, we did some pruning last year it really seemed to help. not sure of planting time in Chicago but your local garden supply shop/nursrey can tell you I’m sure. Happy Growing.
I’m a farmer and I raise tomatoes to sell on the market. I grow many varieties and colors from hybrids to heirlooms. In all my years of experience the best and easiest to grow are celebrities. They taste good and are disease resistant. Better boy and beefsteak are good larger tomatoes. It sounds to me like you were able to grow the patio you just didn’t like the taste so I don’t think you need my advise on how to grow them. But since I’m an old farmer I can’t help but giving advise so forgive me. Use as big a pot as you can. Use a good potting soil mix. Feed with water and miracle grow plant food. I would wait until after mid April to set it out. I hope you have plenty of tasty tomatoes. God bless you and have fun.