For this activity, you’ll need:
- 2-3 trailing cherry tomato plants
- A hanging basket and liner
- Compost
- Slow-release fertiliser
- Tomato feed
Step 1: Getting your basket ready
- Choose a basket that’s strong – a wire metal one works best
- Then add your liner making sure it covers the whole basket
- Fill your basket with compost and mix in some slow-release fertiliser
Step 2: Planting your tomatoes
- You’ll need 2 or 3 plants
- Make a hole in the compost for each of the plants and make sure they’re covered right up to the stems
- Loosen the soil around the roots before you plant them
- Once you plant them, give them plenty of water
Step 3: Find the right spot
- Once your hanging basket is ready, you’ll have to find the right spot
- Tomatoes need about 6 hours of sun a day
- Keep it away from the shade of trees or roofs
- You might need to keep it in a heated greenhouse or in a porch until the weather is hot enough
Step 4: Watering and feeding
- Your hanging basket will probably need watered every day
- On warmer days, they might even need watered twice
- When the yellow flowers start to appear, they’ll need fed too – any tomato feed will work, just get an adult to help you follow the instructions on the bottle
- They’re ready to pick when they turn bright red
What can I do with my home-grown tomatoes?
Cherry tomatoes are small, sweet and perfect for snacking. But if you want to be a bit more creative, here are some ideas:
- Use them to flavour pasta
- Add them on top of homemade pizzas
- Create a colourful salad
- Grill them on toast
- Add them to kebabs
- Use them to make your own tomato sauce!
We’d love to see how your tasty tomatoes turned out. Take a picture and share them with us by using #DobbiesLittleSeedlings and tagging us
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