Tiny balcony tomatoes finally ripened after I tried the bucket trick

I've been trying to get tomatoes to ripen on my 4x6 balcony in Chicago for two summers now and they always stayed green until frost. Then my neighbor who grows stuff on her fire escape told me to put the pots inside a black plastic bucket to trap heat. I tried it back in August with just one plant and three weeks later those cherry tomatoes turned red. The bucket kept the roots warmer at night I guess and the dark color absorbed more sun during the day. The other plants in regular pots still have green tomatoes so it definitely made a difference. Has anyone else messed around with heat trapping tricks for small space growing?

2 comments

2 Comments

fisher.taylor25d ago

The "bucket trick" is pretty smart. I've tried something similar with a dark plastic mulch around my peppers. It held in ground heat at night and the soil stayed warmer. With a balcony setup you could also try wrapping the bucket in bubble wrap for extra insulation. That might help push them through the last few cool nights before fall hits.

charles_wilson23d ago

@fisher.taylor I used to think insulation didn't matter much for potted plants, but your bubble wrap idea makes total sense. The way you explained keeping soil warm on a balcony really changed my mind about how small tweaks can extend the season. I'm going to try that wrap trick myself next time we get a cold snap.