Tomatoes are a popular choice with the home gardener. Almost everyone loves the idea of freshly picked tomatoes to use as part of their summer diet. The biggest obstacle to growing tomatoes is the space required. For those trying to grow tomatoes on their patio or balcony, using a container to grow tomatoes still takes up valuable space, and you are usually restricted to using some of the smaller varieties of tomatoes, like the ever popular Patio tomato. These varieties have small vines and don't need a lot of staking, but usually don't produce the large juicy tomatoes that we all dream of picking.

A recently popular alternative to container growing tomatoes is to use a hanging tomato planter. They range from simple bags from under $15 that hold a single plant, to a free standing garden that holds 4 plants and assorted herbs and radishes as well. The idea is simple enough, you start a tomato plant growing in the container, either by transplanting a tomato plant into it or germinating the seeds in the planter while it's not upside down. You then hang the planter up on some hook, taking care to put it high enough that the variety you have chosen will have enough room to grow.

Advantages of Hanging Tomato Planters:

These advantages include:

• No need to stake your tomato plants
• Few problems with slugs and other soil based pests
• Soil borne disease is significantly reduced because you can use fresh potting soil
• Weeds are almost no problem, especially if you choose a soil-less mix
• Air movement around the plants is improved, so you get good pollination, and few problems with rot

But if you choose to use an upside down hanging tomato planter for your patio or balcony, there are a few things you need will need to do differently...