I dont think they would survive but I may be wrong. I'll be waiting to see what others have to say. Good luck with your move

Looks to me like you don't have any choice. You might be suprised. I have moved some might big plants. How about going to buckets or container right now with about half of them, Leaving the rest to pick from?

I have to agree that I don't think they'd survive such a late transplanting but if you can delay the move until Sept. then your season in zone 4 would be just about over anyway, right? In the meantime you'll get tomatoes from them.

Another alternative would be to root some cuttings from the existing plants and then plant them in the 5 gallon buckets to take with you.

Dave

I am in KY, zone 6a. I moved two 3' plants from one raised bed to another that gets more sun last week. So far they are OK. It has been very hot this week (highs in the mid 90s). I have watered them every day (which I don't usually do for tomatos). I would consider transferring some into buckets now and maybe some more later. Good luck.

I'm not a very experienced gardener -- this is only my second year. But last year I transplanted some tomato plants in July because I stupidly hadn't anticipated the shade from a tree that, when I originally planted the tomato plants, had no leaves on its branches. By July, the plants had already started to flower, but were very small compared to some other plants I had that were thriving in the sun.

I transplanted them to another in-ground spot, and they still gave me more tomatoes than I could eat by myself. (Though they didn't begin flowering again after the transplant for a little while--so my crop from them was a little later than the plants that I already had planted in a sunnier spot and never moved). I don't know if transplanting them to buckets would have any different of an impact.

I may have just gotten lucky, but I just thought I'd share.

If you're not going to move very far, you may want to work out something with the new owners. Maybe something like you tend the garden, and they get some free tomatoes. Also, I remember reading something about a law governing ownership of crops. I don't remember if it was a state or federal law, but I think it said something that would mean you still own the tomatoes you planted. I could be wrong though, since it's been a while since I read it, and I'm not a lawyer.

The first thing I'd like to clarify is what type of tomato plants we are talking about.

1) normal planting in ground
2) tomatoes already planted in 5 gal containers resting on the ground
3) hanging in containers, upside down or right side up

I'd say if he sold the property on April 31st that the contract is null and void!

You've all given me useful advice & I'm going to try all the different methods. I have enough plants & even propogations, that I don't think I'll be too emotionally scarred. Now. To divine a way to transplant my peonys & shy little Day Lilies.

Nonsense.... tomatoes thrive when transplanted, they actually do better... Just do this.. go get those huge gray containers like this...

and put them together in one.. and go buy a bale of peat moss at home depot and alot of potting soil. And soak the heck out of them prior to digging them up, and then again when put in the peat moss, and keep them in shade the first few days.

I know that this thread is getting a bit dusty, but I'm just curious as to how many tomatoes can planted in the storage containers. Two heirloom's seem about right.

Lastly, how would these compare to black 15 gallon growers pots. I've been told that black is a no-no. Opinions?

Thanks

I agree with DICLEMEG and :
I would suggest that if you decide to trans-pot them, do it to containers like those shown in DICLEMEG's post and do it as soon as you can. So the plants do not suffer double shocks BOTH from trans-potting and moving. The reason I like those in DICLEMEG's photo is that it will be much easier to organize the roots in those than in a 5gal bucket.

Also , if you decide to do it, think of some kind of support to protect them both during and after the move.

I have done once a similar thing: I dug up my tomato plant, wrapped it in some tarp, loaded onto the truck, took it to the new location and planted. I harvested a lot of tomatoes from that plant till frost and never had even wilting problem with it.

It will be much simpler if you are going to keep them in the pots for the rest of the season.

Good luck !