How To Grow Hanging Basket Tomatoes

Have you ever tried growing cherry tomatoes in a hanging basket before? If not, I'm here to tell you to try it!

So, let's explore why you should, and also how to grow cherry tomatoes in hanging baskets.

Why Grow Tomatoes in a Hanging Basket

Hanging baskets give you a new spot to grow tomatoes, leaving bed space free for regular tomatoes or other crops.

A few varieties of cherry tomatoes have also been bred and selected just for growing in hanging baskets.

Varieties like tumbling tom will spill over the edges of your basket, and both look great and provide a huge bounty.

Varieties To Grow

Tumbling Tom is the classic hanging basket tomato and is well worth growing, but many others work well too.

Hundreds and thousands is another great basket tomato and is the one you can see in the photo for this post!

Other notable cherry tomatoes that are great in baskets are:

• Cherry falls
• Lizzano F1

Planting Up The Basket

So how do you go about planting up a cherry tomato hanging basket?

To start with, you want one that will hold moisture well. A plastic hanging basket with a solid bottom is an excellent place to start.

If you want to use a coir basket, then add a lining of plastic to it. Some cut-up plastic from an old compost bag works well.

This is because tomatoes are very thirsty, and when you water a coir basket without a lining, a significant amount of water drips through and is lost.

• Step 1 - Fill halfway with multi-purpose potting compost.
• Add some slow-release fertiliser.
• Plant the tomato in the centre of the basket, only one plant per basket.

Feeding

Tomatoes are hungry beasts, and cherry tomatoes are no different.

They will require regular feeding when in a hanging basket because they will quickly deplete the limited nutrition in the soil.

A good idea is to add a slow-release fertiliser to your compost mix as a first step.

Ongoing feeding

You can keep renewing the fish blood and bone every four weeks by mixing more into the soil.

When flowers appear, you want to use a tomato fertiliser to maximise your harvest.

Pruning & Ongoing Care

Tomatoes grown in a hanging basket will not need pruning. Cherry and cascading varieties will naturally cascade down the sides of the basket.

You can remove any dead or diseased leaves as you see them, but little work will be required in this regard.

Even in a hanging basket, tomatoes can get heavy with fruit. Ensure your basket is sturdy and well-anchored, especially in windy conditions. If the vines get too long or heavy, you can gently loop them back into the basket or use soft ties to secure them.

Tomatoes in hanging baskets are generally less prone to pests like slugs, but you still need to watch for aphids, whiteflies, and fungal issues like powdery mildew. Keep the foliage dry when watering and remove any diseased leaves promptly.

Tomatoes love sun! Ensure your basket receives at least 6–8 hours of direct sunlight each day. If sunlight is limited, consider rotating the basket or moving it to follow the sun if it’s not in a fixed spot.

Water Water Water

This is where the downside of growing Tom's in baskets comes into play. They will require frequent watering, possibly even daily, in sunny conditions.

You can do a few things to help, such as adding vermiculite or water-absorbing gel to your soil mix. Both work in the same way - soaking up water to release it back into the soil later.