Looking for a full grown cherry tomato plant? Here are some helpful photos of cherry tomato plants in MEG’s edible grow bags.
Contents
- Photo Examples
- Benefits of growing cherry tomatoes in grow bags
- Why we love cherry tomatoes
- Tips for growing healthy cherry tomato plants
- What if we go on vacation or can’t water the cherry tomato plant?
Photo Examples
Here are a bunch of cherry tomato plant photos all grown in MEG’s Edible Grow Bags.
Benefits of growing cherry tomatoes in grow bags
There are a bunch of benefits for growing cherry tomato plants in grow bags. If you’d like to see some of our FAQ on the grow bags, check them out here. The biggest benefit of growing a cherry tomato plant in a grow bag is it allows you the ability to move the plant anywhere for not much effort. Terracotta/clay pots are much heavier and are a pain to move after loaded down with the soil, water and weight of the fruit.
Minnesota winter curve ball
Being able to easily move a full grown cherry tomato plant in Minnesota is a huge convenience in the spring and late fall. It’s common for Minnesota to have frost warnings in late spring after tomatoes have been moved outside. Once these plants are in the ground or in a heavy pot, the options are thin. The common response is to cover them up and hope for the best. We at MEG’s don’t like that game plan and would rather not use hope as a strategy. It’s much, much easier to simply move the cherry tomato plant inside for the evening. Can some one say “Winning”!
Soil warms up faster
Continuing with the Minnesota “Cold” narrative, we’ll now speak to soil temperature. If you’ve lived in Minnesota, you know that the soil freezes during the winter and doesn’t thaw until well into spring. This is a big problem for summer plants like cherry tomatoes because they require enough time to complete their lifecycle. This lifecycle comes into conflict with mother nature in Minnesota because the window of “frost free” days is extremely narrow. In case you weren’t aware, cherry tomatoes are instantly killed if they experience frost. It’s really sad especially if you’re the owner of a dead and limp cherry tomato.
Roots are healthier
Ever pull a plant out of a plastic nursery pot and take a look at the roots? Did the look like a mess of spaghetti? Odds are they probably did. This is because in a plastic container (or clay container), the root meristems grow out away from the main stem to search for nutrients to feed the plant. They’ll hit the side of the container and then usually hook a 90 degree turn following the shape of the container. Well, there’s more than one root meristem down in the container (unless it’s a tap root system like a carrot) and they all have the same mission—find more nutrients to feed the plant. What happens then is a term called root bound. The plant’s roots end up looking like a bowl of spaghetti, and it’s not a great place for the plant to be.
Solution to root bound plants
What’s the alternative to root bound plants then? Air pruning. Fabric grow bags are responsible for this condition or air pruning, and it provides one of the healthiest environments for a root system. As soon as that root meristem gets to the edge of a fabric grow bag, it stops because it can’t grow out into the air. This prevents the root bound/pot bound conditions seen in other types of pots.
Price
Price is another great benefit of fabric grow bags. Terracotta or other plants may cost $20-$40 or more depending on the material and the size of the pot. With most grow bags on the market today, you’ll be investing a fraction of the cost of other containers with all the benefits mentioned. Many grow bags can be machine washed and will also last for many years.
Why we love cherry tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes are one of our favorite summer treats. There are hundreds if not thousands of varieties available with all different flavor profiles. One the best features of cherry tomatoes is the number of fruits that grow on a single full grown cherry tomato plant. It’s not uncommon to get more than 100 fruits per tomato plant! The plants themselves are relatively easy to take care of. As long as they get plenty of water and enough of their essential mineral elements, they’ll reward the owner with lots of delicious fruits. Another great feature of cherry tomatoes is they typically mature before other larger tomatoes. With the warm start to the growing season last year, we ended up getting ripened cherry tomatoes before July! In Minnesota even!
Tips for growing healthy cherry tomato plants
Water! Plants need water, otherwise the mineral nutrients in the soil can’t get up into the plant. If you start reading the geek and nerdy plant information, you may come across the term “soil solution”. Water is the conduit for this “soil solution” which carries elements like Nitrogen, Potassium, Phosphorus, Boron, Magnesium and a bunch of other minerals. Did we mention plants need water? This is one draw back to grow bags. They dry out quickly. Once summer rolls around, the absolutely have to be watered daily or they’ll be very upset. It doesn’t take much to water cherry tomato plants in containers. If you do have a grow bag, just get in a habit of daily watering and your plant will be just fine.
What if we go on vacation or can’t water the cherry tomato plant?
Do you have a neighbor kid who’d like a couple extra bucks? If that’s not an option, we like to use tubs to sit the plant in. The plant will wick the water up through the bottom of the plant.