It is unknown if the patio will receive enough sun to have high yielding plants, but there is only one way to find out :)

Use a container that holds 5 gallons of potting mix or more for a good size tomato. Use a good quality potting mix, no compost or actual soil in containers as they do not drain well and this leads to plant health/performance problems. To start out with look for a potting mix that has a good amount of perlite in it (white rock looking things).

Next, you have to provide fertilizer to your plants. You can either purchase a fertilizer than you mix with water (such as Miracle Grow) or you can purchase controlled release fertilizer such as Osmocote which you just mix into the potting mix and it releases nutrients over time. Just follow the instructions on the package for the amount to use and how often to use it and you should be just fine.

Water the container anytime the top 2 inches are dry. When you water you ideally want a small amount to drain out of the container. This helps keep the fertilizer in the mix from accumulating salts that would eventually become toxic to the plant roots.

You will probably want to purchase a plant from a nursery or garden center. For high yields ask around locally, but most of the plants sold at garden centers should yield well for you.

Lastly, you need some way of supporting the plants. Eventually they get fairly large and loaded with fruits. It is OK to let them 'spill' over the container and onto the patio, but if you wish them to take up less room then you will have to tie them to a support of some kind (loosely).

Good luck, I think you will find tomatos to be very enjoyable and rewarding to grow.

Some tomatoes are more comfortable in containers than others. Try to find a tomato labled "patio" type or at most a determinate. Some tomatoes can get very large and their feet require more room to grow to produce the best tomatoes. Any good nursery should have tomatoes grown specifically for containers.

I'll bet this is a good time of year for you to grow things such as lettuce. Leaf lettuce is very easy to grow in pots and I think a great beginner plant. You can grow in a container as justaguy2 noted above. Simply fill a container with a good potting MIX (NOT SOIL), sprinkle the seeds on top and very lightly cover with a small amount of soil. Keep watered and in a little over a month you can start to pick fresh lettuce leaves. If you only snip off the leaves, you can harvest over and over. When the temperatures get too warm, the lettuce will begin to bolt and turn bitter...this is a good time to then plant that tomato.

If you are interested in trying some leaf lettuce, shoot me a note with your address and I will send you some seeds to try out. Kim

Here's a list of miniature and dwarf tomato varieties that you can grow in containers on your patio if you have the sun. Perhaps you can move the containers to the southwest portion of the patio, where you will capture the most sun during the day. Each of these varieties are prolific and will keep your salad bowl full (check at a local garden center in spring--I am very sure they will have at least one of these cultivars): Droplet, Early Salad, Patio, Pixie, Presto, Pretty Patio, Red Cushion, Salad Top, Small Fry, Tiny Tim, Toy Boy, Tumblin' Tom. Try the link below for a a full list of vegetables for container growing.

Here is a link that might be useful: HarvestToTable.com

Sandydee, go to the link below and scroll down and you will see many varieties of small, container grown tomatoes. The Tomato forum posters here at GW can give you advice about the best producers.

have fun!

jsn

Here is a link that might be useful: Nelly's Small Container tomatoes

Sandydee,
Well bless your heart for wanting to try your hand at gardening! It's a lot of fun, but don't get depressed or discouraged if everything doesn't grow for you. It happens to us all!
Tomatoes labeled "patio" are best for containers; try a mesclun lettuce mix in a large container--when you pick you have instant salad; and spinach will grow well in a container.
Try to place your containers where they will get maximum sunlight and minimum wind--containers dry out quickly!
Good luck, and let us know how green your thumb is.

Hi Sandydee,

You're an inspiration to us all! Here's hoping we all have the courage to take on new endeavors when we are as young as you are ;-)

Having said that, we're all trying to make sure your first venture into this is pleasurable, thus the many web links and suggestions. One I'd like to add is that you also post this question to your own state forum, click on this link, to the California forum, since local folks in your can often give the best advice on what tomatoes work in your area....

Happy Gardening,

Tom - from Florida