A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum The Tomato Forum Tomato in a pot

So I've been reading that planting Basil next to tomato's makes them taste sweeter. This is something that I'd like to find out first hand for the simple fact that I'm new to gardening and I'm all about trying new things right now.

So the way I want to do this (since my garden is full) is by planting a tomato plant in a pot with some basil in the pot as well. I've gotten a big enough pot, but I just want to know what type of soil I should use. Should I use potting soil? Or should I use compost with topsoil in the pot?

If someone could let me know I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks

Depending on the type of tomato, you'll likely need to stake it at some point.
A good quality potting soil would be best, and if you have good compost, that would be great to mix in, but don't bother with the bagged stuff. I'd get a product like Plant Tone or Tomato Tone and add a couple of tablespoons to the soil. In some climates you may have to water once a day with a potted tomato, and every couple of weeks, I'd probably water with a half strength liquid fert like fish emulsion or miracle grow. If you get a potting soil with fertilizer added, you would be better off waiting a month or 2 before adding more fert.

I ended up getting miracle grow with fert added. I'm sure it's not the same as an organic, but it'll do me for this year. I plan on staking when I need to, but I was going to let the plant grow as is for now.

The type of tomato that I'm growing in the plant is Big Cherry Tomato. I will keep the half strength liquid fert in my mind and be sure to do that as well.

Thank you

Dave I was thinking of doing the same thing,,
I don't have room in the back yard for planting tomatoes ,,
I was going to use 20 gallon plastic buckets with holes drilled in the bottom and place the buckets on bricks on ,my patio as that is where it will get the most sun morning til around 12 and again from 4-5 to sundown
I have my own made compost/ and mushroom compost and potting soil, and cages
The tomato starts I have are
heirloom : Purple Cherokee and Mr. Stripey
Hybird:Beef steak

Will these three work in the containers I mentioned,, or should I just give Jimmy ( JV) My starts and let him grow them for me??

does basil really work for making them sweeter?

We grow tomatoes in pots all the time. As for staking, I just use ordinary tomatoe cages placed right into the pot.

We also do Upside Down Tomatoes which we made ourselves using food quality buckets we got free from a restaurant. Just drilled the hole in the bottom and added a chain to hang it, and et voila! It is a wonderful way to grow tomatoes and avoids many of the issues one encounters with in-ground planting. Also, you can add flowers to the top of the bucket as well, even something that hangs down the sides to help make the arrangement more eye-appealing.

I use quality potting soil which I amend with tomatoe growing stuff sometimes.

And of course, you do not need to fill the entire huge pot or bucket with soil! We use empty 2 liter bottles in the bottom to help with drainage and to take up space.

Oh yes, one other thing. Watering is essential for any container gardening. Think of this: the wind hits the container from all sides, and since the soil is above ground, it can dry out far more quickly than anything in-ground.

Merme

Diane I think yours should do just fine as you have planned.


Merme

I have 2 large pots on my deck that get full sun. I plan on putting a tomato plant in one and a flower in the other---

but now I wonder if I should be adding a basil plant???

and BTW---Rod is going to buy me the tomato plant--it was all his idea
that got him points

I bought some patio tomato seeds online but not one of them has germinated so I think it was the seeds.

Well, the issue of companion planting isn't well researched, and there is no reason to think that you HAVE to plant basil or anything else with the tomatoes, but it would sure be great to have fresh basil to use with tomatoes, fresh or cooked!!!!!!!

Companion planting (from what I have been able to find) has only been proven (and I'm not sure how "proven" it is) to repel bugs. Or at a minimum, interest the bugs before your vegetable or fruit.

This is why I wanted to try and find out for myself how much "sweeter" the tomatoes will be. Unfortunately, I found out that the type of tomatoes I had to test did not grow well in pots. So I ended up planting them in my garden since I had a plant die and had one open spot left. I have two beefsteak tomato plants in seperate corners of my garden. One has basil planted next to it and the other has a banana pepper plant next to it. So if it really does work I will gladly let everyone here know.

Since this is my first year gardening, I don't know how reliable my findings will be since it could be something I did to my garden to make one spot taste different then the other (if that's possible).

So what's in my pot now is Big Cherry Tomatoes. I do have basil growing in there with them though. If all else fails, I use basil in a lot of stuff that I cook on the grill and it appears to be a staple in a lot of tomato based stuff.

Yep, I agree, at worst you'll have both tomtoes AND basil...I believe the issue of companion planting is entirely valid, but it is one of those issues that gets all muddled up with eccentricity and "spooky science!"
Not that these things, like planting by the Farmers's Almanac, arent' valid, their is just a lot of misnformation out there, I have to say that I can't imagine a truly great tomato out there that would taste beter thanks to a companion planting. The 2 plants should do well together at the least, until the basil bolts, and you've got the makings of some GREAT sauces and salsas....
//concentrate on getting the best results from your maters, don't fall for feaux science, if you know what I mean!

I've never noticed that planting Basil next to tomato's makes them taste sweeter. Although,I do like the scent of basil plants when I brush them while tending for my tomatoes.It's true that certain vegetables seem to do better when planted next to each other, because those plants have similar needs and both benefit from that need being met that season (similar light, soil pH, watering pattern, heat..).

I like the idea of having the herbs around my plants for the reason that I'll use them. flowers make the thing look nice and maybe take the aphids before the plants, but do you use them?

It will also give me something else to do while I'm out there in the garden.

Don't tomatoes come in varieties that are sweet, sweeter, sweetest... without worrying about companion planting to make them sweet. They taste good to me.

I know that there are different types of tomatoes, but I'd have no idea which ones are sweeter. I bet some of the mater guru's here probably could have suggested something better then what I planted. I'm really doing this because I want to start an herb garden next year and just wanted to dable into herb growing this year. But I figured why not test the companion planting theory.

This is neither my experience, given my research on the research, nor my overall impression. I appreciate that the companion planting issue is somewhat tangential to this original post, but I believe that companion planting is well-researched and documented. Maybe I'm not clear on what you mean here. Could you clarify?

It's one of those issues that has evidence supporting both sides, like whether butter is better, blah blah, I tend to lean toward experience and tradition a bit more than funded studies, but you know how these things get stirred up every few years and "disproved", etc.
Lots of things like whether basil makes tomatoes sweeter are often passed on through various media or through tradition, without having been observed through control based, scientific experiments, or at any rate, without mainstream science accepting the findings. I have no argument against traditionally practiced methods, and I'm not saying these traditions aren't right, it's just that so called "proof" is lacking for many practices.

I have read that basil does have the potential to repel tomato hornworms, however, basil does not improve the flavour of tomatoes significantly (if at all) to untrained food tasters. My Italian neighbours insist on growing basil next to their tomatoes, and told me that their family's been doing that for as long as they can remember and said that it was easier and saves space (basil can be tucked under tomatoes to act like a living mulch). Most people that I've talked to, and some teachers, say that it's more of a convenience to have basil next to the tomatoes rather than having to drag a bucket of tomatoes to get basil. If you looks up tomato+basil+planting at google scholar, you'll find LOTS of papers lol

Thanks for starting a thread on this topic; I was about to start one when I found this thread.

I have heard to that basil is supposed to be an excellent companion plant for tomatoes and I've been trying to figure out why?

I've heard allegations like other have said that basil is supposed to make tomatoes taste sweeter; it sounds like that may be a myth. The way they say it, gives me the impression that they mean that simply growing basil near a tomato plant can make it sweeter; this sounds suspiciously like malarkey; it seems others here seem to agree with my suspicion. I'm wondering if this apparent myth got started by someone who likes to make tomato and basil salads and they said that basil makes tomatoes taste better; and that maybe someone assumed that they meant as a planting companion instead of as a salad companion. (Like they say context means everything)

The reason I got interested in basil is because I've heard it alleged that basil repels mosquitoes, flies and some other insects. I'm hoping that if I got basil in my tomato plant containers around my deck that it will help keep mosquitoes and other pesky insects away. I'm wondering if the living planet itself in its natural state is the repellent or if you have to rub the leaves on your body before the alleged repellent effects work?

I also got some rosemary that I'm planting separately that I've heard allegations that it repels mosquitoes. I similarly was wondering if the plant itself in its natural state repels mosquitoes; or does the leaves have to be rubbed against the skin for the repellent properties to be effective?