Whether on the balcony or the terrace - growing tomatoes in containers is common, but sometimes fraught with difficulties. Underplanting can prevent diseases such as late blight, keep irrigation water in the soil longer and protect the tomato plant from pests.
What can you use to plant tomatoes in a pot?
Tomatoes in containers can be planted with herbs, flowers, alliums and lettuces that are smaller than50 cm,shallow rootedandPartial shade Tolerate, be planted under. These plants, among others, have proven themselves:
- Parsley or basil
- Tagetes or marigolds
- Chives or garlic
- Rucola or lamb's lettuce
Planting tomatoes in the pot with herbs
With herbs as underplanting for your tomato plants in the pot, you're in the right place. Just make sure that the herbs don't get too sprawling and that they tolerate the nutrient-rich soil of the tomato. The benefits you get with herbs are promising: thanks to the essential oils they contain, they keeppests away,intensifythearomaof tomatoes and prevent variousdiseases. Suitable items include:
- Basil
- parsley
- cress
- Peppermint
- Dill
- Savory
- Lemon Verbena
Planting tomatoes in the pot with flowers
Flowers aretempting to bees, the hard-working pollinators of tomato plant flowers. With their help, the laterharvest will be higher. But that's not the only reason why it's worth planting flowers underneath. They beautify the lower part of the tomato, which usually becomes increasingly bare over the months, and some flowers such as marigolds can even strengthen the tomato plants. The following specimens are ideal for planting tomatoes in containers:
- Sun Beauty
- Tagetes
- Marigolds
- Carpet Thyme
- Nasturtium
Planting tomatoes in the pot with leek plants
Allium plants are not particularly visually spectacular. Nevertheless, they have a purpose as underplanting tomatoes in containers. Theyreducetheriskoffungal diseases such as late blight. You can even harvest chives regularly as underplanting and enjoy them until autumn. The following leek plants go perfectly with potted tomatoes:
- Chives
- garlic
- Wild garlic
- Cut garlic
Planting tomatoes in the pot with salads
Depending on the type of tomato, a mixed culture in a container with salads is also conceivable. Lettuces have shallow roots and can tolerate some shade from the tomato plant. However, since they require some nutrients, it is important that you regularlyprovide the tomatoes with fertilizersuch as a special tomato fertilizerhere a selection of salads that look great at the foot of the tomato plant in the pot:
- Arugula
- Plucking lettuce
- Lamb lettuce
- Baby spinach
- Lettuce
Tip
Planting bush tomatoes or stick tomatoes?
A bush tomato is more difficult to plant under than a stick tomato. Bush tomatoes can only be planted under low, ground-covering plants, otherwise their leaves will be covered and late blight can occur. Stick tomatoes, on the other hand, are slimmer and usually bare underneath. There is enough space here for underplanting.
