This year’s Contra Costa County Master Gardeners Great Tomato Plant Sale supplies easy-to-grow and delicious tomato and pepper varieties for container gardening. Small spaces container tomatoes though require some specific best practices that you will find in a UC ANR article (Contra Costa is defined as Zone-C). Peppers have similar needs to tomatoes.
Patio containers are a different growing environment than in-ground beds. Overall sunlight and temperature reflection by your home’s exterior walls will warm your growing space up to ten degrees more than surrounding air temperatures. Containers also lose water more quickly due to heated container walls and porous soil mixtures inside. If you utilize drip irrigators, you should run at least 2 emitter lines to each plant in case an emitter clogs. Container plants need water applied more frequently than in-ground veggies, often in small increments each day during hot weather.
Both tomatoes and peppers form deeper root systems than other summertime vegetables. Your containers should be tall enough to hold at least 16 to 20 inches of potting soil. Support taller-growing tomato varieties with a small trellis or wire tomato cage. Taller, unglazed terra cotta pots have porous walls and can supply essential air into the potting soil. Grow bags are also popular with new gardeners since they are light and transportable, they self-regulate the soil temperatures, and cannot be overwatered, since they expel excess water through their fabric walls.
Many of the best container tomato varieties share the qualities of compactness and are “determinate,” which means the fruit tends to ripen all at once. For West County container gardens, our experience has shown that the best varieties for cooler, moister climates have shorter ripening durations (55-65 days.) Great options include Toy Boy, Gold Nugget, and Small Fry cherries. In East County, look for low water requirement varieties, higher heat requirements, and longer days for ripening, such as Better Bush Hybrid and Patio Hybrid. Central County patio gardeners have more flexibility and can grow most tomato varieties depending on their placement in shadier or sunnier parts of their space. Other good varieties for containers are Aurora, Baby Boomer, Black Russian, Black Sea Man, Bush Champion II, Italian Roma Bush, La Roma III, Legend, Lizzano, Siletz, Super Bush, and Washington Cherry. Review online descriptions to select types that best suit your space and needs.
Fun fact: Did you know that many pepper and chile varieties can thrive for years if moved to a protected indoor location during colder months? They produce best when soil is at least 70 degrees and daytime air temperatures are 75-85 degrees. Good chile pepper varieties for our climate include Aleppo, Garden Salsa, Habanero, Jalapeno, Paprika, Padron, Poblano, and Shishito. Good bell pepper varieties for Contra Costa patio gardens are Ace, Etiuda, Flavorburst, and Orange Bell. Here’s a link to a UC ANR article on growing great peppers in Northern California: https://sonomamg.ucanr.edu/Vegetable_of_the_Month/Peppers_in_a_drought/ .
With planning, proper care, and a bit of luck, you’ll be harvesting great container tomatoes and peppers all summer!