It's Mother's Day soon. I was remembering when my mom was still living at her home in Waterbury. For many years we'd go Di Nunzio's greenhouses in Oakville in spring to buy flowers for her containers. She loved geraniums, but also my mom loved a good, vine ripened cherry tomato for salads.
So, maybe this Mother's Day, get mom some flowers, but also consider a tomato plant for a container. The keys to growing container tomatoes is full sun, a good pot and the right variety.
Find a spot that gets at least 6 hours of sun day. You can use any large plastic pot, even 5-gallon buckets. Make sure there are holes in the bottom of the pot for water drainage. I like self watering pots with a reservoir in the bottom. Fill the reservoir with water and you don't have to water again for days. Fill the pot with organic potting soil and fertilizer regularly.
The variety of cherry tomato is key. My mom would maybe water and fertilize her pots, but not much else. The plants had to be low maintenance. Large tomato varieties that require caging weren't an option. Old patio varieties didn't produce many fruits for long. So, we'd choose dwarf-indeterminate cherry varieties. These cherry tomato plants only grow a few feet tall, but produce fruit all summer long. Some good varieties to look for at your local garden center include 'Little Bites', 'Lizzano', and 'Husky Cherry Red'.
My mom passed away a year or so ago, but I still grow some cherry tomatoes in her old pots at our house in her honor.
