I have grown Large Red Cherry Tomatoes for the last three years in containers and have found that these work best. They produce abundant fruit and adjust quite nicely to a container. I plant two plants (not more or they all get weak and you will be watering every hour. LOL j/k) in a standard 15" plastic container (many will suggest larger, but this has worked fine for me). If they are sheltered from the wind somewhat then you shouldn't need to stake them, up to you. I add water crystals to the pot (make sure you soak them before adding to the soil) and that helps a LOT with the watering schedule. I would suggest feeding them either an organic tea or sprinkling a small handful of Epsom salt and then watering it in about once a week (or follow directions on back of Epsom salt bag lol). There is also an old trick I learned about placing a whole raw egg near the bottom center of the pot when you are filling it; it works great even though it sounds crazy LOL. If you do try the egg, you will only have to top feed every other week or so.

As you can tell, I try hard to stick to organic gardening, but some will suggest just using Miracle Grow or such and it will work also. Drainage is quite important. If your 15" pot only has four drain holes, you might want to add a few more. Since this is your first, I would highly suggest a cherry tomato of some type. Once you get the hang of that then you are golden to try some larger varieties. =)

Hi Sharyn and welcome! You can grow any tomato you want as long as you get enough sun on your balcony and you can spare at least a 3 - 5 gallon container to grow it in and can rig a support system for it (with a stake, etc).

You might want to select based on taste preference or fruit size (you can also check out the Tomato Forum for ideas), buy it (or start seeds), and then plant! birdz_b_beez gave some good info on some specific care.

I have grown the following on my balcony over the past dozen years:

1.) Early Girl
2.) Beefsteak
3.) Roma
4.) Big Girl
5.) Big Boy
6.) Better Boy
7.) San Marzano
8.) Cherokee Purple (heirloom)
9.) Brandywine Sudduth (heirloom)
10.) Pear tomatoes
11.) "Patio" tomatoes

I've also started seeds for a number of others that I handed off to my sisters to plant in the ground. I'm about to start some seeds this weekend but am still trying to decide which ones I want to do this year. LOL

thanks!!! I am looking forward to my first balcony garden and plan on spending a lot of time here! The advice and "visits" are great!

If you hang out here, we'll fill your space up quick! LOL

Just as a possibility - my balcony is also brick, poured concrete, and aluminum, and I was able to strap some small shepherd's hooks onto the vertical posts on my rail with a couple of zip ties. So if your rail isn't one solid wall but has some vertical bars, you might be able to do the same and then be able to try some hanging plants. The hook would be turned to face the inside for safety purposes.

Jenny, what a super idea! My railing has vertical posts and this would work out beautifully!

I have a hummingbird feeder on a shepherd's hook. I had some volunteer morning glories that had popped up in a bunch of my containers and some eventually found the hook and covered the whole thing! LOL

{{gwi:495}}

(Yes, I get hummers all the way up here and saw my first in August 2004. There's one on the feeder above)

Need help from Jenny......I love your picture with the Hummy feeder, but how can I include a picture in the forum ?? I know, it's not a gardening question, but I'm certain you can help out. I have a lovely picture of My "Frieda" the Hummingbird, and I would like to include it in the Forum. Thanks

Here is a link that might be useful: Some of my gardens

Here ...she is !

I filled the old boiler with Petunias,Babybreath and a Spirea, which is a cutting and grows nicely as a little tree and has pink flowers in the summer and in the fall will be white berries. In the winter I cover up the tree and it comes right back in the spring. (I'm in a zone 4 and -25 Celsius in Quebec winters.






Old Boiler

Sorry I missed your posts last night. Glad to see you were able to get your pictures displayed. :-D Those are great closeups of your little hummingbird!!! They love those bee balms, don't they? I'm hoping my bee balm will sprout soon.

{{gwi:504}}

And I love your container and the little froggies next to it! I have to remember to try that combination of plants.

Beautiful picture and you really got all the details of her.
I hope to get the male this year, the one with the ruby red throat.
In the Boiler I have "Nasturtium" (from seeds) and the Hummies just love the flowers..orange and yellow.
I watch them in the early morning when i have my coffee on the Balcony. Can't wait for summer...especially today we have very sad weather. Thanks again for your help.

I tried growing nasturtiums one year and they just wouldn't grow (maybe it was too hot for them that year). I may try them again. Thanks for the idea!

I believe my lady hummer had 2 little boys (by mid summer, I had 2 male juveniles who suddenly appeared everyday). This was one of them:

{{gwi:505}}

And here's the other:

{{gwi:506}}

They both had a couple red feathers in the form of a dot on their throat and during this past winter, they should have grown their full red gorget. I really really hope they survived their migration and will visit me this year because I certainly would love to see what they look like now!

Hi...I just bought the Hummi-feeders, 2 for 1, but we had 3 inches of snow last night, after having almost 20 Celsius and I hope the Birds are smart enough, to stay in the south a bit longer. One year we had them end of April and the next day we got a bit snow and i had to bring the Feeders under the roof.The Hummingbirds, after a long trip, were sitting very close together on the feeder, not even fighting
Have a nice day.

Swisscanada your little Spirea tree is adorable. Can you tell me how you got it to grow from the cutting? I'm just beginning to experiment with progating "woody" bushes and plants but have had little success.

Last year I took several cuttings but only a Rose of Sharon grew to 9" and it even blossomed but I when I put it out on my terrace in July it immediately died. I guess I should've kept it indoors longer. It looked like it got diseased. The leaves got spotty and dry, the bloom fell off and the plant shriveled even though I made sure it was watered. I was heartbroken, but I'm still hopeful that I'll get it right.

The Spirea is very easy to grow...we have a shrub which is about 5 years old and every spring we have some "shoots" coming out from the roots.
In this case you have to dig a bit till you see the shoot (about 2 feet high) and that's the place to cut.Around the shoot you see little roots (like hair)make shure you include this with the branch you are cutting.
After the shoot is planted and is well established, you'll see some new growth on the stem. If you want a little tree,
you cut the growth off and just have the top growing and shape it from time to time.
The same thing with "pontentilla", the one with yellow flowers, except you cut this one very bottom of the shrub, put it in water, till you see the roots.

Roses are difficult to grow, especially if they have a fungus (black spots,yellow leafs)you would have to pick the leafs and after spray it with water and dishdetergent mixed.

Thanks for the advice swisscanada. I will be trying again this season. Hopefully I'll be a little more successful this year.