Cerise Orange Tomatoes

What's not to love about a tomato? Except.............they are one of the most challenging and fussy plants I've ever grown. This is a photo from my balcony garden. I have seven tomato plants this year, two varieties. This one is Cerise Orange, a cherry tomato that is orange when ripe. These guys aren't ripe yet, but I've already eaten a bunch that were. They were like sweet candy.


The rest of the tomato story.....
I live in the city, so I don't get access to nature like I used to always have. There are no words for how much I miss that. I'm lucky enough where I live to be off a main street and several trees. I also have south and west light. I made my balcony a backyard garden. Tomatoes need a fair amount of sunlight. I've never grown vegetables or fruit in containers, so it was a challenge to adapt to that and teach myself what I needed to know. Some trial and error there. By year three, I had it down.

I've designed my own system. I use milk crates lined with landscape fabric. Square is better for root growth, and the landscaping fabric air trims the roots. They can also be set up to do vertical gardening. I did 18 tomato plants that way, in addition to many other plants at the same time. Tomatoes are my favourite because they are the most challenging.

The soil mix has to be the right balance. I've mixed my own soil, so that's something else I've taught myself. Tomatoes are fussy about how they like to be watered. They need a deep watering and no splashing on the leaves, which can cause disease. I've experimented with several ways to deal with pests and things like white mildew. I don't use chemicals, so I've come up with my own formulas and techniques. They also need the right blend of nutrients. I worked hard to get all that down, more experimentation. I've learned how to grow tomatoes to a fine art, with a lot of practice, trial and error, patience, and my special touch of extra added love. Oh yeah, the plants are very aware of love and respond accordingly. I've tested that out too.