Tomato Dirt Newsletter
Volume 3, Number 7

Dear Tomato Dirt reader,

Welcome back to Tomato Dirt! Once or twice a month, we’ll send you this newsletter packed with tips about growing tomatoes and using them.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Tomato Dirt is on Pinterest!

FEATURE: You Should Plant Tomatoes in Containers If …

1. You don’t have room for a garden or you don’t have a garden plot.
   Containers are an easy way to grow tomatoes. You can grow tomatoes in pots if you live in an apartment, town house, condo, high-rise -- or even if you live in a single family house but have little yard space.
2. You have a garden plot, but you like container gardening too.
   The more, the merrier!
3. You have a patio, porch, or balcony with sun.
   Tomatoes need a minimum of 6-8 hours of direct sun a day.
4. You don’t have a lot of time for gardening, but you love fresh tomatoes.
   It takes just minutes to plant a tomato in a container and even less to care for it each day.
5. You have a short growing season.
   If you grow tomatoes in pots, you don’t need to wait for the ground to get warm in order to begin planting. You can also extend your harvest by bringing plants indoors if autumn comes sooner than later.
6. You have a means to water your tomatoes daily.
   You don’t necessarily need to water plants yourself – say, if you’re traveling or if you work long hours. Use a self-watering planter. In fact, many container gardeners prefer self-watering planters over other pots.
7. You have 1 square foot or more of patio or porch space.
   When it comes to choosing a container for tomatoes, bigger is better. But to be truthful, you need just one square foot of outdoor patio or porch space to house a container that is suitable for tomatoes. Think about what a 5-gallon bucket looks like and you can get the idea.You can also plant tomatoes in hanging pots! (More on choosing pots for tomatoes here.)
8. You’re new to gardening.
   Tomatoes in containers are one of the easiest crops to grow.
9. You don’t have a lot of money.
   Talk about cheap: find a large, inexpensive container at a yard sale. Fill it with a good potting mixture – one that you can use again next year (and save more money.) Buy one tomato plant. Plant. Water and fertilize occasionally. Enjoy fresh tomatoes all season!
10. You want to save money!
    Plant just one prolific tomato plant in a pot (say, Sweet 100) and pick tomatoes all season long, saving money at the farmer’s market or grocery store.

See some more great ideas for growing tomatoes in containers on our Pinterest board, Container Tomatoes.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Introducing … Tomato Masters Bragging Rights Competition

Image: www.bugvibes.com

Tomato Dirt introduces Tomato Masters … a friendly competition among tomato gardeners as we cheer each other on to tomato-growing success.

Our idea is simple. Tomato gardeners are a sociable and supportive bunch. We like seeing others’ gardens and produce. It’s fun to share with each other, learn from each other, and admire each others’ tomatoes.

So here’s the dirt. Our first series of Tomato Masters Bragging Rights will go to the gardener who sends us documentation of largest tomato, by weight.

During this first go-round, we will give 3 awards:

Tomato Master Bragging Rights June 2013
Tomato Master Bragging Rights July 2013
Tomato Master Bragging Rights August 2013

Read all the details and how to enter on our new Tomato Masters page.

--------------------------------------------------------------

More on Growing Tomatoes in Containers ...

That’s it for now. More next time!

Until then, happy gardening!