Cocktail tomatoes are the perfect choice for the snack garden on the balcony. They thrive in pots, balcony boxes or even hanging baskets. Find out how to plant and care for the popular mini tomatoes here.
How do you plant and care for cocktail tomatoes on the balcony?
To plant and care for cocktail tomatoes on the balcony, you need a planter with drainage, vegetable soil, fertilizer and a climbing aid. Choose a sunny, rain-protected location and water generously. Fertilize and root out weekly and harvest from August.
Planting time on the balcony starts in May
Tomato plants cannot take frosty temperatures well. Therefore, they are only planted when there is no longer any risk of ground frost from mid-May. Specialist retailers have plenty of pre-grown young plants available at this time. Enthusiastic hobby gardeners don't miss the opportunity to grow cocktail tomatoes indoors in February/March. At 18-24 degrees the seeds germinate within 10-14 days.
Cocktail tomatoes are planted in a sufficiently large planter that has a drain in the bottom. Place a drainage system made of crushed pottery shards over it. A suitable substrate is commercially available vegetable soil (€13.00 on Amazon), which you can enrich with compost, horn shavings or guano. Don't forget to leave a pouring edge. A sun-drenched spot on the balcony is ideal as a location, ideally airy and protected from the rain.
These care tips pave the way to crisp, fresh fruits
Successful cultivation of cocktail tomatoes on the balcony depends on protection from rain. Only if this aspect is guaranteed can cultivation be successful. Otherwise, sooner or later the omnipresent brown rot will strike. If the location is not already covered, clever hobby gardeners can simply build the rain roof themselves. All other maintenance work is easy:
- Water cocktail tomatoes generously, but never over flowers and leaves
- fertilize regularly with compost, horn shavings, guano or nettle manure
- optionally use a mineral-organic liquid fertilizer for tomatoes in the dosage according to the manufacturer's instructions
- draw out weekly if larger fruits are desired
- offering climbing aids to climbing varieties
With good care, the harvest begins at the beginning of August and lasts until autumn. Bring the last tomatoes into the house in time before the first frost. Green fruits can ripen easily in a warm, dark room.
Tips & Tricks
Plant your cocktail tomatoes on the balcony in an innovative 'hanging basket'. The decorative lattice baskets are excitingly planted from above and all around. This attribute offers plenty of scope for creative planting ideas with different colored tomato varieties.
