In those glorious grocery displays of salad ingredients I usually ignore the cherry tomatoes — all round, red and tasteless. I prefer to grow cherry tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum var. cerasiforme) in containers.

        Whatever their pedigree, all cherry tomato fruits are round, and usually dangle from the plants in ropelike clusters. And, of course, cherry tomato fruits are small, the size of a quarter being the standard.

        Seed catalogs refer to “determinate” and “indeterminate” varieties of tomatoes. Determinate varieties bear at the tips of the shoots; indeterminate varieties bear laterally, along the shoots. Ignoring growth habits, most people prefer the indeterminate varieties because they, supposedly, bear the better-tasting fruit.

        To grow cherry tomatoes in containers, buy a good “soilless” mix, but be sure to add nutrients, such as a 5-10-5 fertilizer. Or mix equal parts of compost, builder's sand and good garden soil with a handful of cottonseed meal.

        Excellent cherry tomato varieties for containers include:

        • Tiny Tim — grows only 8 to 15 inches tall and will flourish in a hanging basket.

        • Sugar Snack hybrid — produces long clusters of perfectly round, deep red, incredibly sweet fruits.

        • Christmas Grapes — produces 10-20 sweet, rich fruits per cluster.

Tips for novices

• Tomato plants need 1-2 inches of water a week.     • Staking or using tomato cages will support plants and increase the yield of good fruit.

        • Sun Gold hybrid — golden orange fruits with a tangy, sweet flavor.

        • Little Girl — produces attractive “ladders” of fruits, 1 inch in diameter (determinate).

        • Super Sweet 100 hybrid — a multiple branched plant with long clusters of sweet fruit on vigorous vines.

        • Gardener's Delight — an old German favorite that should be staked. Excellent flavor with 6-12 fruits per cluster.

        Remember that tomato plants in containers need more water than plants grown in the garden. You may have to water daily if containers are on a deck or patio in full sun. And tomatoes need all day sun.

        But avoid watering late in the evening — you don't want foliage to remain wet all night (that will encourage disease) — and in the middle of the day — when plants are transpiring. Make sure water reaches the bottom of the pot. Feed plants once a week by using a half-strength, diluted water-soluble fertilizer.

        Contact Tim Morehouse by Web site: www.getmoregarden.com; mail: c/o Cincinnati Enquirer. (If writing, enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope.)
       

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