Tomatoes are the epitome of summer foods – bright, fresh, versatile and full of flavor, and they seem to go perfectly in every single dish I make this time of year.

Last year, I tried to grow tomatoes in containers on my balcony with no success. I got big plants and plenty of yellow blooms, but no fruit.

I was disappointed, but determined to try again so I’m going to share with you in this summer garden series post what I did differently this year

Growing Tomatoes:

• First, it’s important to start with a big pot – a 5 gallon size is perfect.
• I only put tomatoes in the pot – I don’t mix with herbs, etc. as tomatoes need LOTS of water – more than ANY other plant I have in my garden. I DO however, keep my pepper plants, rosemary and chives around the tomatoes as these can help keep pests away from the fruit.
• That said, tomatoes need lots and lots and lots of water. In the summer, every day – but if it’s particularly hot and there is a lot of fruit on the plant it may need watered twice in a day.
• Tomatoes need a lot of sun – if you live someplace where you don’t get at least 6 full hours of sun per day, don’t bother planting them. This is what happened to me last year and I didn’t get a single tomato (now my plants are at the bf’s house).
• Fertilizer can be added every week or every other week – use an organic variety
• Tomatoes need to be planted deeply to thrive – this isn’t true for many plants so take notice and make sure that you plant most of your seedling in the soil (and remove the existing leaves that will be under the surface)

It’s so exciting when the effort and care pays off and you start to see the fruit growing!

Harvesting Tomatoes:

• You should expect to have fruit to harvest about 60-85 days from planting the seedlings
• The fruit should be an even color and be a bit soft when you squeeze – not firm, but not too soft, either
• Heirloom varieties (like those below) are ripe before the color fully turns. We picked these in the picture a bit too late because we didn’t know this (that just meant we had to eat them right away…darn! 😉 )
• You can cut the tomatoes off, or you can grab the fruit, pull gently and twist – ripe fruit will come right off
• You should harvest often to promote growth through the season – if it looks ripe, it is so pick often and enjoy!

Our first harvest in late July. Very pleased with the variety and the taste.

 Uses for Tomatoes:

This list could get so long – I love tomatoes and can find ways to use them in almost anything. But here are a few ideas:

Plain – slice ’em up, and enjoy
In a salad, any salad – including Caprese Salad, one of my favorites!
Make a gazpacho (a traditional Spanish cold vegetable soup)
In homemade marinara sauce
In a homemade salsa
On the grill
Pickled
In a tomato pie
Make a tomato jam

…you get the idea – tomatoes are awesome, versatile and delicious. If you need more inspiration for how to use your tomatoes, check out this list I found that has 100 uses for the fruit.