POTTED PATIO TOMATOES, A WAY TO HAVE FRESH TOMATOES WITHOUT HAVING TO TILL A LARGE GARDEN PLOT. I ALSO GOT A LITTLE CRAFTY AND MADE MY OWN DIY STICK TOMATO CAGES TO ADD A LITTLE INTEREST TO THE POTS, AS WELL AS STABILITY FOR THE PLANTS.
You’ve all heard me say over and over again that I have an impossible time keeping the critters out of my garden so several years ago I gave up and started purchasing all my summer produce from our local farmers market. I love to give my money to our local farmers but I also miss growing my own.
So this year I decided to outsmart the bunnies and deer by planting in containers that I can keep on my deck or patio, I feel like it’s a win win situation. I can control the moisture content more easily, the fertalizer won’t be washed away as quickly, I won’t have to fight the local wildlife for a tomato, and I can step outside my door and pick myself a tomato. All of those things make me happy.
I picked up a Patio tomato plant and a Sweet Cherry plant and that will be the extent of my tomato crop. I used to plant enough to can and make my own homemade spaghetti sauce every year. Now I still make the spaghetti sauce I just don’t grow the tomatoes here at my own home. Click here for my recipe!
I took my time and searched through the tomato seedlings to find hearty plants, but I was also looking for starters that had two plants in each pot. If you have the time look them all over and you’ll find more than one seed has germinated in some post and you get two plants for the price of one. My plan was to share the additional plants with my bestie who lives in an apartment, she’ll be putting them in containers out on here deck too.
I used posts I already had in storage that I’d spray painted years ago, filled them up with a good potting soil mixture and decided rather than have to carry them all over I’d put them in my vintage red wagon and pull them where I wanted them. Once I got them into the wagon I love the look and decided this would be there summer home, and I’d park it on the patio.
After I put it where I wanted it I thought it needed a little architectural heights and rather than use an ugly store bought tomato cage I opted to make my own from scrub trees we have growing in the fence line. They’re Populars and once they set seed it’s almost impossible to keep them from spreading like wildfire.
I used sticks and twine and made myself some handy dandy tomato cages and gave the tomatoes a good, deep watering with a mixture of 1TSP Epsom Salt to 1GAL Water. I’ll continue to water them with this mixture once every couple of week and patiently wait for tomatoes.
We had lots of garden critters too, so we chose, rather than to spend an ungodly amount on fencing, to instead use Tenax. It’s like a vinyl fencing, and we have it 8 feet high around our garden. In four years we have only had one groundhog chew through it and get into the garden…… so my husband purchased some metal fencing a couple of feet high to place around the bottom of the Tenax fencing. So far that has worked in the past two years. Your gardening methods are nice! Wishing you lots of veggies this year!
They look so cute in your wagon and I love your DIY tomato cages. I use the branches that have fallen from my trees over the winter to build trellises for my veggie plants, too.
Dawn, I really like your DIY tomato cage. They are so much more appealing than the uglie old cage. I want to put in a garden this year but fear the destruction the animals will do. ..I really have to think long and hard on it. Your spagetti sauce is the best. I made it every year for at least the last 5 years and my family complain when we run out. I make 2 bushels into your sauce ! Your little red wagon is too cute !
I have often wanted to place a patio tomato plant on my porch….the porch where the deer cannot get to! Thanks for the inspiration! Have a great day Dawn!