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| Photo Credit: David L. Morgan |
| Your tomato basket should be hung in an area where it receives at least 6 hours of full sun a day. |
Hanging baskets aren’t just for annual flowers and perennials anymore. While we generally consider planting (or purchasing) baskets strictly as ornamental showcases, with a little creativity we can use them as suspended vegetable gardens, too.
I’m thinking tomatoes, fellow gardeners! In planning my garden this season, it occurred to me that we might grow tomatoes alongside petunias and bougainvilleas, and have some summer veggies to boot. This spring I planted tomatoes by the bunch – antique varieties, reliable winners for my location, early ripening champions and some little squatty ones I can grow in containers without needing stakes. I’m even trying a “foolproof” tomato box that arrived with soil, fertilizer and a watering tube to make growing the delicious “love apples” almost too easy. Needless to say, I expect an amazing bounty I can share with family and neighbors this summer.
Even though I had all my tomato bases covered, I still wanted to try growing crops in the sky. And why not – if baskets are showcases for fuchsias and spider plants, why not tomatoes?! So, I went to work and was pleased with the results. Here’s how I did it: | Add Photo to Journal |  | | Photo Credit: David L. Morgan | | The only supplies needed to build a tomato basket are the hanging basket, the tomato plant, sphagnum moss, a bucket to soak said moss in and a trowel (optional). |
First, I needed to either grow my tomato plant from seed (and start at least 6 weeks early) or buy a patio or cherry tomato plant (which is what I did). It’s important to use small, determinate tomatoes so they don’t outgrow the basket. Selecting early ripening varieties is always a good idea in warm areas – like in Texas, where I live.
Next, I selected a basket and a good growing medium. There are lots of basket choices, some fancy and expensive, but a simple and affordable wire one (typically found at local retail nurseries and garden centers) works well. These baskets are reusable, too, so don’t discard them after the growing season ends! The one I chose is a 14-inch wire basket that cost me $6.97 at Lowe’s. You can select a basket that comes with a coconut-fiber liner, as I did, but you’ll still have to fill it with a suitable growing medium.
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