veggies in containers

Okay then…here is the way that I grew toms on the balcony. I did it in fertilized soil bags, but the technique is the same for containers. I know that everyone has their own way, but this worked well for me as the accompanying fotos bear out.
There are two types of tom plants—bush and cordon. A bush type is just wahty it sounds like—it’s bushy and doesn’t get too tall. The cordon type on the other hand, is a style of growing where by you remove all side branches and let the plant grow taller and taller.
Since there is not much to do when growing bush toms, I will describe the care for growing cordon toms.
--Stand the bag upright and remove about half of the soil and set it aside for use later.
Make a tube from lino or cardboard and place that vertically into the half full bag.

--Remove all of the tom’s leaves except the very top ones and slip it into the tube, then fill the tube to the top with some of the soil that you have removed. Water liberally into the tube, then top off with more soil.
It is assumed that you have bought or raised tom plantlets inside. The leggier, the better for our purposes here.
The reason that you want a long, shinny and bare stem is because you want that stem to produce more roots. More roots = more nutritional uptake, which in turn means more and better quality fruits.
My helper gets started.
Then the finished bags.

--You will need to insert a Tonkin bamboo stick or devise some way to secure and support the plant as it grows; as you can see, I used a sort of wire mesh which I securely attached to the wall.

--After 3-4 weeks, remove the tube and replace the rest of the soil that you removed earlier. You will need to be very diligent in regularly removing suckers, as they take away an enormous amount of nutrition from the flowers and fruits. “Suckers” are the little branches that try and emerge between a leaf and the stem.
Let me say at this point, that if you are growing bush tomatoes, then do not remove any leaves or suckers.

--When the blossoms finally do open, this is when you start watering and feeding regularly.
**NOTE: every morning before 10 o’clock, give the stems a gentle shake to mobilize the pollen.

**A word on feeding and watering: Toms require a lot of water and food.
Be very religious about giving them water—give the same amount at the same time of day on the same day in whatever schedule you devise. If you do not do this you run the risk of having your plants develop things like blossom-end rot, splits in the fruits and other deformities.

--After your plants have developed three trusses, remove most of the leaves, always leaving leaves above the fruit trusses. This is to allow the plant’s energy to be channelled into the swelling and ripening of the fruits.
When it is late July or early August, you can cut the top out of your plant, because the
fruits that will later form will not have time to fill-out and ripen properly. Of course more energy can be focused on the rest of the fruits still on your plant.

--At the end of the season, when the leaves have turned yellow and dried-up, remove the plant from the bag and hang it upside down (roots and all) in a protected place and let the green toms remaining on your plant to ripen in this way for a bit better flavour.

Here are a few pics to show how it goes:

YUMMMMMMMMY...

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Sjoerd http://www.volkstuindersvereniginghoornenomstreken.nl/Page11.html

BIITA: Thank you for your very nice comments. Yes, growing them from bags lying flat are done just as commonly, but i wanted to plant my plants deep fro the extra roots. Paprikas (sweet peppers) also do well this way. Your great success with the peppers bears out just how successful one can be with bags or normal copntainers. The process is the same and so will the success be.
Congrats on your good pepper harvest last year. Well done!

Thanks PALM TREE. You may indeed not need a greenhouse, I must have one because of the blight that is rampant on my allotment complex; however I live a ways from where I garden so I did not get the Phytophthera, as you can see. It all worked just fine.
It sounds as if your stoep is perfect. Having a luivel over the top of it is great, after all with growing toms...it isn't about direct sunlight, it's about heat. The plants and their roots NEED heat.

I showed how I planted the toms on the balcony (upright)-- but on my website I show how I do it in the greenhouse. I lie them down horizontally, for completely different reasons. Take a look if you have some spare time.
http://www.volkstuindersvereniginghoornenomstreken.nl/Page22.html
You can also see pictures of how the roots will form on the bare stems of the toms when planted under the soil.

I will just say that the balcony faces west-south-west and got quite a bit of sun. Now there's much less because of the large sycamore trees that line the street below--which is good.
I appreciate your comments, guys.

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Sjoerd http://www.volkstuindersvereniginghoornenomstreken.nl/Page11.html