Tomatoes in containers and French dwarf beans

Did you know? The tomato is the world’s most popular fruit. And yes, botanically speaking, it is a fruit, not a vegetable. Tomatoes are rich in vitamins A and C and fibre, and are cholesterol free. An average size 5oz tomato boasts only 35 calories. Furthermore, new medical research suggests that the consumption of lycopene – the stuff that makes tomatoes red – may prevent cancer.

The big advantage to growing tomatoes in containers is that you can grow them just about anywhere where there’s lots of sunlight.

You can also move them quickly to protect them from bad cold spells, and sneak a few extra weeks into the growing season.

With a bit of care, extra attention to watering and feeding, you will be rewarded with a bumper crop of tomatoes.

They can be grown from hanging baskets, window or deck railing boxes and planters, and can be decorative as well as functional.

There are some basics you must consider, however, to have a successful tomato harvest: matching tomato variety to your climate, the right size of container, feeding and water, pest removal, and constant watching for disease.

Large tomatoes will need to be caged, trellised, or staked however. Bear in mind also that tomatoes are heavy rooters – in the ground they will send down roots five feet deep or more. Tomatoes will need a great deal more root space in their containers than most other home-grown vegetables. This restriction can be overcome, to a point, if you feed your tomatoes regularly with a good, well-balanced fertiliser, but adequate container size is a better solution. In general, plan on a container at least half the diameter and half the height to which your tomato will grow – an 18˝ diameter by 14˝ high or larger pot is best for large tomato plants.

Choose your tomato: Most varieties of tomato will grow in a container, but make sure that the variety that you choose fits the area you’ve chosen. Choose smaller tomatoes like cherry tomatoes for hotter climates since they will set fruit longer.

Getting started: The easiest and cheapest way to start is to grow from seed but you might prefer to buy the growing plants from a nursery although it is more expensive and cuts out most of the fun from starting from scratch.

Your container soil: In a container you can mix the soil as you wish to give you the best yields. Always use lots of organic matter to improve drainage. A soil mix of one part each of potting soil, perlite, sphagnum peat moss and compost is good. Tomatoes usually require some type of fertiliser. Make sure that it’s a fertiliser for tomatoes.

Planting in the container: Fill the container most of the way with your soil mix. Put the soil mix around the plant up to the first set of true leaves. Water and add more soil until it comes close to the top of the container.

Staking your tomatoes: Some tomato plants will need to be staked. Do this when you plant
so you don’t damage the roots inserting the
stakes later.

If your containers are large enough, watering weekly should be sufficient, but never allow your tomatoes to completely dry out. If they do wilt from lack of water, however, water thoroughly, placing the entire container in a bucket for an hour or so, if possible. If you water soon enough and do not allow your plants to dry out often, you should still reap a good harvest. Water your plants less as the fruit ripens – tomatoes watered too much taste watery.

Tomatoes are also heavy feeders. Give them a good, well balanced fertiliser every two weeks throughout the growing season. Tomatoes are not terribly prone to pests, though you may see some aphids, white flies,
or other sucking insects, especially on the young branches and leaves. Use ladybirds, green lacewings, or other pest-eating insects to control pests, or an organic spray. The most damaging pest is the tomato  hornworm. Watch for whole areas of your plants to cleaned free of leaves, then check for these large caterpillars.

You have probably seen a series of initials after various tomato names in seed catalogues and nurseries – these refer to various pests or diseases to which the particular variety is resistant. If you have ever grown a strong, healthy tomato plant only to have it wither and die just as the fruit starts to ripen, you may wish to choose a variety with as many of these initials as you can find.

Dwarf French beans

Generally considered second only to tomatoes in popularity among home gardeners, dwarf beans are easy to grow and harvest.

You may call it a vegetable but it’s really a fruit. French beans are originally from South America and there are two types, a climber or a dwarf. There are several varieties of dwarf French bean. Some are fl at podded but most are round podded. The pod usually grows up to about six inches.

Dwarf French beans are easy to grow and they like a fertile soil in a sheltered sunny position.

You can sow French bean seeds from April after the frosts till July.

You can sow them direct into the garden but most gardeners prefer to start them off in a pot inside the greenhouse.

Sow them about 2in (5cm) under the soil and keep them well watered. Beans germinate well. Sow about 6in (15cm) apart and in a double row.

You usually get a lot of seeds in a pack so grow some early then some later hoping for a succession of beans.

You can usually be eating dwarf French beans 12 weeks after sowing the seeds. Pick the beans young, as they are tastier and it will encourage new beans to grow.

These are ideal seeds to sow with young children. To show them the roots, grow the seeds in water in a jam jar. Never eat these beans raw as the raw beans contain some toxins that disappear on cooking.

Country Gardener’s pick of the varieties

Tomatoes for containers

• Small Varieties – Some tomato varieties can be grown in hanging baskets and some in very little soil. These are the smallest varieties of tomatoes capable of growing in containers. They can be grown on an
  apartment patio and yield fresh fruit. Varieties that can be grown in hanging baskets include Florgold Basket, Red Robin, Florida Basket and Micro Tom, which can be grown in as little as four inches of soil. These tomatoes are good for salads and eating right off the vine.
• Medium Varieties – Medium varieties of tomatoes grow fruits that are about 1oz, but the plants grow larger than the small varieties and need 3-gallon containers to thrive. Riesentraube will produce large
  amounts of fruit, with bunches of 20 to 40 tomatoes per vine and tastes like the larger tomatoes. Sugar Snack tomato variety has a long growing season and produces extremely sweet tomatoes that are good in salads or as treats fresh off the vine.
• Large Varieties – Jetstar tomato variety is ideal for containers and grows and produces globe-shaped, crack-resistant fruit. Jetstar grows 4 to 5 feet tall and isn’t too top heavy but will need supporting.

Dwarf French beans

• Concador – This compact and diseaseresistant bean is ideal for use in containers and is spectacularly colourful. The slender, straight, attractive, pale yellow pods of Dwarf Bean Concador are produced over a long picking period. Growing to about 5in (12cm) long, the pods are fl avoursome and easy to pick. Resistant to bean common mosaic virus, anthracnose and halo blight.
• Delinel – is an outstanding variety for both crop and fl avour. A ‘fi let’ type with 6in (15cm) mid green, stringless pencil pods. It produces outstanding crops, and will enjoy a long season if picked regularly.
• Nomad – produces high yielding crops of straight, stringless, dark-green pencil pods, 5in – 6in (12 –14cm) long, of outstanding fl avour. Heavy yields can be encouraged if picked regularly. This variety also has resistance against the problems of bean common mosaic virus.