Growing tomatoes in hanging baskets is very easy to do. If you grow bush tomatoes in a hanging basket you can have something that is not only productive but also attractive. Unlike growing tall tomatoes, bush varieties take almost no work, just water daily in the summer and pick the tomatoes as they are ready.

This article will teach you step by step from growing to harvesting your own tomatoes in hanging baskets.

Tomato Varieties Recommended For Growing In Containers

Tomato Red Alert - Red Alert tomatoes are small but very tasty tomato. You’ll get very early tomatoes from this vareity which brings the added benefit of a very good disease ressistance. Ideal for growing in hanging baskets as the plants spread is only 18 inches.

Tomato Tumbling Tom Red - the most popular vareity for growing in hanging baskets and pots. Tumbling Tom Red tomatoes are very sweet, juicy and tasty. Also try Tumbling Tom Yellow if your looking for something a little bit different.

Tomato Bajaja - although this is one of the smallest tomato vareities available the crops of tiny cherry tomatoes can be amazing – up to 700 per plant. Tomatoes from this variety are very small but tasty. The plant is small enough for a 10-12 inch hanging basket.

Sowing Your Tomato Seeds

Bush tomatoes for growing outdoors need to be planted after the first frost is over. Late march is a good time to begin planting tomato seeds. Sprinkle your seeds (8-10 is usually a good amount) in a 4 inch pot of compost and cover with a light layer of compost. Water until the surface of the compost is damp.

If the weather is right you should notice the seeds germinate, however if the weather isn’t right it can take up to two weeks for the seeds to show through.

After about eight to ten weeks the seedlings should now be big enough to handle. It’snow time to pot these into individual pots, each tomato plant will need a 4 inch pot to grow in. It’s best to use a fork to pick out the seedlings but be careful not to damage the roots. Once potted into the larger pots, water well.

Growing Tomatoes In Hanging Baskets

Once the tomato plants begin to show signs of flowering it’s time to pot them on into a hanging basket.

Some people recommend growing multiple tomato plants in one hanging basket however I recommend growing tomato plants individually in a 12 inch hanging basket. At this point you can also plant a few small flowers in your hanging basket if you are looking for a hanging basket that looks good and is productive.

Once you plant these plants into the hanging baskets it is important that you water them well. Hanging baskets often don’t hold water so on sunny days you will need to water everyday. Now is also a good time to start feeding your plants, follow the instructions on the pack.

Types Of Potatoes For Growing In Containers

There are three types of potatoes, earlies, second earlies and main crop. Earlies are very quick growing and usually the best new potatoes. Main crop take longer to mature, are much bigger plants but do store very well.

While second early potatoes and main crop potatoes can be grown in pots, first earliest are what we recommend you grow in containers.

Potatoes Recommended For Growing In Containers

Potato Rocket - Rocket is a first early variety that grows well in pots, will give a good crop of tasty potatoes and grows quickly. Highly recommend if you enjoy eating new potatoes. You can begin harvesting these potatoes while they are still small or leave to get a little larger.

Potato Swift - this variety is well known for growing a large crop of potatoes on a very compact plant. It’s ideal for containers and will give you a crop of perfectly round potatoes. Good disease ressistance. Matures very quickly if grown in the right conditions.

Potato Lady Christl - can be grown as either a first early or second early variety. Begin planting from the end of Febuary for a crop of small first earlies or allow to mature in just 15 weeks for a larger crop.

These varieties have been proven to give good crops in containers. Other varieties you might try are: Accord and Arran Pilot.

Pots For Growing Potatoes In

To get started, I recommend you begin with a 40 litre pot, these are the perfect size for planting 4 or 5 seed potatoes (depending on the variety) in. From a pot like this you can harvest a very worthwhile crop just 10 weeks from planting.

There are a lot of different containers for potatoes that you can buy but it’s very important to make the right choice. Large plastic pots (available at most garden centres) are the most common for growing potatoes and are pretty cheap to buy, usually these are made of cheap plastic though so these often get broken.

Old compost bags are also good for growing potatoes in. The main advantage of using old compost bags to grow your potatoes in is that they are totally free. The disadvantage is that they don’t exactly look very good in a garden. Be sure to make holes in the bottom of the bag though or you will quickly find the compost is waterlogged.

In recent years a lot of companies have begun selling potato barrels, having grown potatoes successfully in these for several years I am happy to recommend them. For first early potatoes they give the biggest crop, the barrels are made from polypropylene which keeps heat in the pot resulting in bigger crops.

Unlike some of the other potato pots and bags that are available the potato barrels are made of a high quality plastic which means you can use these year after year. The no-dig design also makes harvesting very easy.

If you are interested in more information about these potato barrels, click here.

Planting Potatoes In Containers

Planting usually begins in March for first early varieties. Second earlies and main crop potatoes should be planted from mid-March.

Begin by placing a layer of compost in the bottom of your container, filling the pot half full is usually a good guide. On top of this begin planting your potatoes, in a large 40 litre pot you can plant 5 first early see potatoes. Plant them evenly apart but try not to plant to close to the edge of the container.

Before covering the potatoes in compost you may want to add some fertiliser to help the potatoes grow. There are a lot of fertilisers around (some organic, some not) that you can use for potatoes however I believe if your growing your potatoes in a good compost adding more fertiliser really isn’t needed.

Once this is done, cover the potatoes with 6 inches of compost. If the compost is dry, now would be a good time to water, if the compost is already damp you don’t need to water any more.

Usually about a week from planting you will see the green tips coming through the compost. As these shoots begin to grow you can add more soil to your container until it’s full. Always leave the tips of the leaves showing through the new soil level.

Caring For Your Potatoes

Potatoes growing in pots only have two real growing need, they need to have sunlight and must be kept watered. As the potatoes are in pots, you will need to water the potatoes regularly. Don’t over water, having the soil just damp is ideal. In the hottest days you may need to water everyday.

Harvesting Potatoes From Pots

As a rough guide first early potatoes take 12 weeks to be ready for harvesting, second earlies take around 15 and main crop usually take 20 weeks. The harvesting time does vary depending on the weather, your location and the care you have given them. The good thing with containers is you can usually dig a little hole in the compost and try feel if there are any potatoes ready.

Depending on which pot you chose you grow your potatoes in, harvesting can either be be easy or very dirty. If you are growing in a potato barrel you can just open the sides and get your fresh potatoes.

In a large container or compost bags this will be a lot more dirty. Most of the potatoes will be near the bottom so you will have to empty the entire pot or bag.

Harvest, cook, eat and enjoy.