• Grow tomatoes in creative containers.tomatoes image by Horticulture from Fotolia.com
  
  Tomatoes contain many vitamins in addition to adding color and flavor to hundreds of classic dishes, salads, soups and sandwiches. They are also remarkably easy to grow, making them a popular plant for beginners and children. They grow quickly and thrive in warm, sunny, moist conditions, adding color and variation to your landscape. However, not everyone has a backyard--or enough space in the backyard--to plant tomatoes. That's where creative container planting comes into play.
  
  

Upside-Down Tomatoes

• Many people have seen the advertisements for upside-down tomato planters. They save room and offer an original way to grow your tomatoes. However, you can save money by making your own upside-down planter. It requires a 5-gallon plastic flower pot with hanging ropes, lightweight humus potting soil, a drill with a 2-inch drill drum, denim fabric and a utility knife. The gardener drills a 2-inch hole through the bottom of the flower pot and places a circle of denim inside the pot over the hole, which prevents soil loss. An X-cut into the fabric over the hole lets the tomato plant's roots pass into the pot from underneath. The gardener fills the pot with humus soil and hangs it by its rope. An adventurous gardener may plant herbs in the top of the pot for added visual interest.
  
  

Stair Trellis

• Tomatoes grow on vines that either crawl along the ground or climb eagerly up trellises. If you have no room for either creeping vines or trellis installation, consider your stairs as an alternative. Simply plant a few tomato plants in several small terra cotta pots and place them on your front or back porch stairs. Gently weave the vines through the railing to the side of the steps as a built-in trellis. Not only does this give you easy access to your tomatoes for watering and harvesting, it also gives your stairs a natural, wild look.
  
  

Staked Indoor Tomatoes

• This tomato planter makes a lovely and practical addition to an indoor garden. Plant one or two tomato seedlings in a terra cotta pot and drive a wooden garden stake into the soil as near to the plant as possible. The vines will creep up around the stake, trellising themselves. Place the planter in a sunny bay window to add height and visual interest to an existing display of indoor plants. Cherry and grape tomatoes work best for this kind of planter. They are less likely to take over their pot or smother themselves on the garden stake. Plus, you can eat them right off of the vine.