Planting Cherry Tomatoes!
Updated: Apr 22, 2022
Do you have a tomato lover in your house? My oldest dragon's favorite food is cherry tomatoes. He eats cherry tomatoes almost everyday either as a snack or with a meal. I buy 2lbs of organic cherry tomatoes every week from Costco. So, when I saw National Tomato Day was in April, I knew we should plant cherry tomatoes. It's a great Earth Day activity as well. Teaching kids how to grow their own food is a life skill everyone should have. I think the recent pandemic has really shown us how important being self reliant can be when there are food shortages. Besides, you can pick your tomatoes at the peak of freshness, save the world from more discarded plastic food containers and save money!
It just so happens that spring is the perfect time to plant tomatoes. And, cherry tomatoes are perfect for kids and new gardeners. They are easy to grow, and fun to pick!
One plant should have a steady stream of tomatoes for the whole season. I remember as a child my Grandpa grew cherry tomatoes and I would head straight for the plants in the backyard when I came over to see if there were any tomatoes to pick.
We have dabbled in a little gardening here and there, but we haven't planted any tomatoes since the kids have been old enough to remember. So, we are excited to get started. Our garden area isn't quite ready for planting yet so we are going to use upside down tomato planters. These are no hassle planters. They take up little space and are off the ground away from little critters.
Watch how easy it was for the kids.
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The only thing you need to get besides the container is soil and either seeds or a small plant. Seeds are best for the Topsy Turvey and a plant is best for the other containers. I recommend organic potting soil that says that is suitable for edible plants. You can visit your local nursey and find some soil to suit your needs or order something like this from Amazon.
Gardening is such a great family activity and kids who plant their own food are more likely to try it. Tomatoes are a healthy addition to a kids diet. Read more about the health benefits here. Remember, cutting cherry tomatoes in half lengthwise is a good way to prevent choking. I always make sure my kids are sitting down when they eat them also. You can always get one of these handy tools also!
Happy Planting!
Dragon Mama
P.S. If your kids don't like to touch the dirt, you can always get some gardening gloves and tools.