Balcony Tomatoes

My balcony tomatoes were an experiment. I was interested in a topsey turvy upside down set-up to grow off the balcony. Being too cheap for a topsey turvey, I instead planted in fabric strawberry bags. There was no resulting turvey. My tomatoes wanted to grow up, not down.


They've grown up at an astonishing rate. They get a lot of heat in this location and they have done well with it, well at least until vacation. They dried out a bit while I was gone and it weakened them. Sungold in the middle now has bacterial leaf spot. It's had a few haircuts and it still producing like crazy so I think it will hold me until the slicers start ripening. If it doesn't I havea few other plants in the ground that should carry me thru.


Dr. Carolyn on the left and right is a later season white cherry. It has fruits on it, but so far not as many as Sungold. It's foliage is lovely though. If it has tasty fruit, I'll be growing it

again. The plant on the left has the beginnings of leaf spot, but nothing horrid at this point.


Size is so hard to capture in pictures. Here is a picture of the same tomatoes from the balcony. If you click on it, you can see all the tomatoes.

I have mixed feelings about this experiment. I'm thrilled with the rapid growth and early productivity with this method, but the amount of water these need is a definite downside. I don't like being a slave to my plants and these need water every day it doesn't rain. This year has had rain almost every day, so it hasn't been a big deal. In a more typical July, however, I could see this being a major PIA. Something to consider for next year.