This is a really good looking raised tomato planter from a company that specialises in well-designed pieces for the garden.
The Tomato Planter is part of the Living Larder Range that provides stylish containers, plant supports and protection for small-scale vegetable and herb growing. The planter is delivered partially assembled and flat-packed and putting it together was very straightforward, except for one of the fixings which wasn’t quite aligned and couldn’t be fastened. This didn’t seem to affect the overall sturdiness of the planter – which is solid as a rock. The trough area is lined with strong landscape fabric with drainage holes.
This is a really good looking raised tomato planter from a company that specialises in well-designed pieces for the garden.
I’ve positioned my planter in the courtyard outside the kitchen, filled it with well-rotted garden compost mixed with multipurpose compost and planted it with eight home-raised San Marzano tomatoes which are all growing very happily in their new home. There are hooks inside the rim of the planter and along the top bar to thread with the support string (which is also provided). There was plenty of string to make each support double thickness to ensure it would bear the weight of the vines plus their fruit. The plants are nearly large enough for me to remove the supporting canes and tie the tomatoes to the string.
I do like the sturdy supporting frame which will hold the weight of even a bumper crop and may also come in useful if tomato blight threatens later in the summer. I regularly lose outdoor tomatoes to this, but if I prop a couple of sheets of polycarbonate against the supports I can turn the planter into a mini-greenhouse – and greenhouse tomatoes are much less vulnerable to blight. Perhaps the clever people at Sparrow & Finch will devise something like this as an accessory for the planter? Anyway, if you are looking at a well-made, attractive tomato planter this one definitely fits the bill. At £195 it isn’t cheap, but the makers state that the finish is durable and long lasting, so it should be growing tomatoes for several years to come.
View the Living Larder Range
