1. Planting: Your garden kit includes everything you need for a successful garden. Your garden is an outdoor garden that can be moved around for optimum growth. When planting a tomato plant, remove the bottom few sets of leaves and dig a hole deep enough so that most of the plant is buried in the planting hole. A tomato plant will produce roots along the buried part of its stem, developing a strong root system and hardier plants.

Your garden will thrive with at least 6-8 hours of direct sun every day and enjoy cool evenings, as long as the temperature doesn’t dip below 50 degrees.  If the weather is forecasted to be over 90 degrees or below 50 degrees, we recommend moving your garden inside for brief periods. 

2. Watering: Check in on your garden every morning until you get a feel for how often it needs to be watered. Always take advantage of rainwater by letting nature help ease your workload by delivering the best water around.  Tomatoes love moisture, but don’t like to sit in water. You want to maintain consistent moisture for your plants. The best rule of thumb is to check the moisture of your garden every day by putting your finger into the soil, if it is dry two inches down, you need to water.  During hot summer days you may need to water your garden twice a day. It is important to water directly on the soil and avoid wetting the foliage.

When temperatures soar over 90 degrees, you’ll need to hydrate your garden every day. Your grow bag will drain excess water, so there’s no fear of overwatering.  

3. Fertilizing: Your Patio Tomato Garden Kit includes all the plant nutrients you need throughout the season. Remember to mark your calendar for the 30 day and 60 day feeding schedule.

4. Harvesting: You can begin enjoying your tomatoes 50-65 days after planting and your herbs will be ready for their first harvest 14-21 days after planting.  Up to 60% of the herb can be harvested at one time. Harvest your herbs early in the morning before the heat of the day for the best flavor.

5. Pruning: Pruning tomatoes is an optional technique that we recommend. It will help keep the plants tidy and can speed ripening. Pruning your tomato plants can improve the airflow for the plant and will make it less susceptible to disease. Remove the lower leaves when planting so you can bury plants deeply into the soil and remove all flowers on the plant at the time of planting, so energy can go into leafy growth instead of fruiting at the early stage. You should also remove all leafy suckers beneath the first fruit cluster. Suckers are the shoots that form in the spot where the leaf stem attaches to the main growing stem. Remove suckers when they are small enough to pinch with your fingers. 

Pruning herbs keeps them growing strong. Pruning or cutting off leaves and parts of the herb stems will signal the plant to continue growing and keep your garden thick and lush. Regular harvests will also keep you in tune with how your garden is thriving. Pruning can be accomplished by pinching with your fingers for the smaller stems or using clean shears for heavier work.  

6. Pollination: Tomato plants are self-pollinating, meaning they have flowers that contain both the male and female parts, so more than one plant is not required for reproduction. The pollen falls within the flower to pollinate itself. Wind normally moves the pollen around for tomatoes; however, when high temperatures and excessive moisture or humidity occur, poor pollination may result.

Let your plants feed the pollinators. Tomato and herbs are among the best plants for the bee population. Bees are valuable pollinators and carry on the cycle of nature. With the decline in the honeybee population, identifying one or two of your herbs to be pollinator plants is a welcome idea. Bees are attracted to plants that flower in full sun, so your herbs that thrive in the sun and produce tiny flowers are a wonderful way to attract the pollinators.