16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes

I know you said you have only the two plants in the whole container, but that one plant looks like it has at least four, if not five, stems coming from the base...which usually means more than one plant.

You need a much larger pot if you want any degree of success. There have been years where I've started too many plants and have simply plunked them into whatever was available and those plants never did produce much.

Agree, much too shallow for a tomato plant. Don't use regular soil in a container. You need a soilless mixture and you need to fertilize on a regular basis when using containers. Make sure you add lime to the mixture and that the fertilizer doesn't have too high of a nitrogen ratio, or you will get lots of foliage and no fruit.
Sharon

It is normal for some of the lower leaves to grow downward.
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Ohiofem,
The op's plant has other problem : i.e. th stem's growth end is pointing downward. Unless it is a genetic characteristic of the variety, that is abnormal and that case plant is not healthy.
JMO

Seysonn: I agree. I was addressing my comment to Lydamay, whose plant looks different.

It's in the ground... I'll try and get a picture this afternoon. at this point it's completely flopped over and taking over the plants next to it. I don't have any cages :(

I think you can carefully lift up the main stem and tie it to a pole or stake.

They look a bit under fed, and over watered, but hard to tell from the photos.

Just curious, did you remove the peat pot before planting?

I planted plants about that size exactly 4 weeks ago. Mine are now about 3 feet tall. Have you fertilized at all? I'll also echo Ed's question, did you leave those peat pots on the Bonnie plants?

The 5x10 sheets are already rusted sitting at Home Depot, is it ok to use them like that as I've seen ones standing and they are no longer rusty, or do you have to paint them or just not use?

Remesh (aka CRW)? Yes they usually rusted and used that way with no problem. It is just an appearance issue not one of function. Rust (iron oxide) is a normal component of soil. But sure you can paint them if you want to.

There are many different kinds of galvanized fencing that can be used too as in Korney's pics above. Big hardware stores and lumber yards will have a wider selection of options than HD does. And how many cages you can get out of one panel or roll all depends on the diameter you want them to be.

OTOH if you are talking about cattle panels being rusted, that would be very unusual.

Dave

Do you have local Tractor Supply?

In my area the CRW is cheaper and a heavier grade than HD or Lowes.

You might also want to check Craigslist or another local advertizement place. We have the SC Market Bulletin here, which is all farm related.

I picked up a 100' roll of CRW and a 75' roll of galvanized steel fencing for $50 from a Craigslist ad a few years ago!

sometimes, after a few cool overcast days, when the sun shines bright, new growth wilt a bit. But they will bounce back and get adjusted.
some wilting may be caused by lack of water too.

Yeah, if the mix is very fast draining, and the plant is large, it can dry out in a hurry and the plant will begin wilting from the top.......but recover very quickly after a good dousing.

Looks like 2-4D damage as opposed to Roundup.

It looks like something from Dr. Frankenstein lab :-)

Everything the plant lost was newer growth, and it lost all the newer growth it had at the time. However, current new growth is healthy and damage-free.

Only leaves were damaged; stems were not damaged. [I can't tell whether younger fruit were damaged or not.]

What does that?

I'm leaning toward edweather's Can't help but think something got splashed on it -- and yet, the stems weren't damaged....

I can't imagine what could have gotten on it! An acid rain bubble directly over that plant? ;)

I did cut the babies off last night and re-tied the stems so we'll see how it goes from here.

*side note: picked a few greens from another plant and had our 1st batch of fried green tomatoes for the summer. Mmmmm.

Could you please clarify/confirm a few questions please?

1. Only pinch suckers below new flowers?
2. When to start pinching?
3. Pinch all suckers or just some (since caged)?
4. Top off....pinching all new growth and flowers when it's reached the height you want?
5. How often to fertilize?
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Before I answer your questions, I have to give a brief introduction.
There are two schools when it come to growing tomatoes:

SCHOOL 1: don't you dare to touch that plant ! :-)
SCHOOL 2: Prune the heck out of that plant and keep it down to size. lol.
SCHOOL 1: let the nature do its work. Tomato plant knows better than you do how to grow, what to grow.
SCHOOL 2: You are the master of destiny in your garden: You should decide , not the mother nature nor the plant.

It is no secret that I am a student of SCHOOL 2. So what I will say will be according to the principles of that school. Also, let me make it clear that we are talking about INDETS.
1st question: " Only pinch suckers below new flowers?"
I make a distinction between "Branching" and "Suckering". By that , any lateral growth under any flower cluster is a sucker. Branching take place above all flowers. They(branches) are as strong as almost the main. So I would pick and keep those.

Question 2: "When to start pinching? "
Earliest is the best. This way there will be no wasted energy and the plant will not get shocked.

Question 3: " Pinch all suckers or just some (since caged)?"
I already answered it in part 1. But it is up to you if you want to keep some EARLY ones, if you have enough space and long growing season.

Question 4: "Top off....pinching all new growth and flowers when it's reached the height you want?"

It depends. There is a matter of your convenience and your growing season. Do you mind getting a ladder to look for tomatoes ? The other factor is the length of your growing season. Let me just tell you my case. I have 5 months of growing season (plant out to FFD) It takes almost 2 1/2 month to get the very first ripe tomatoes. Now then I have another 2 1/2 month (= 75 days) left. Studies indicate that under favorable growing conditions it takes about 50 days from bud to ripe fruit.
So this tells me that ANY GROWTH and ANY NEW BUDS AFTER 100 DAYS INTO THE SEASON (50 days before FFD) ARE JUST WASTEFUL.
Knowing that, I give it another 10 days (benefit of doubt) and start topping my plants.

DISCLAIMER: This is the practice that I have adopted after some years of experience and with the reasoning that I have behind it. So , in NO WAY I am claiming this is the best method.

This post was edited by seysonn on Fri, Jun 20, 14 at 1:50

Thank you all.

Seysonn you are quite the character lol thanks!

I grow Patio almost every year along with other smaller varieties in (real) EarthBox containers. Commonly sold cages that are typically about 40" to 44" tall and apx 14" square fit in the EB very well, and are also good for in-ground use. Since these usually have 8 legs, I end up cutting off 4 legs that would be outside the EB, but for in-ground use, I naturally leave the cages intact. Cages control Patio and even larger bush or ISI varieties like Better Bush, Husky Cherry, etc. very, very well.
-WC2K8

Here is a link that might be useful: typical standard size tomato cage

My Patio tomato is about three feet tall and bushy. Loaded with green tomatoes that I hope will taste tangy beefsteak-y good. I had it propped against a patio roof post but a gust of wind blew it over. Luckily no stems broke. I tied it to the post top to bottom. It's so bushy and the stems so thick it's hard to part the branches looking for tomatoes. One tomato has some color and I have my salt shaker ready !

Hi Carolyn-
Thanks! Google is where I also started, but found no reference to the breeder other than the UK reference. I want to see if they have a red version in the works. The habit of the yellow junior is ideal for my purposes, but unfortunately, the tart taste is not to our liking. I start these in February, and by mid-June, they are producing like crazy. For me, some have a bit of sweetness, but most are nearly sour. These grow very well in a 12" basket.
-WC2K8

Found it! Unfortunately the breeder is mostly working on indeterminate varieties with no "Tumbling Junior Red" in the works at this time. Looks like back to "Tumbler." I've started some original Tumbler and Tumbling Junior seeds side-by-side so that I can compare their growth habits. If necessary, I guess that I can prune Tumbler a little to keep it under control in the cold frame. Anyway, Tumbler is always very early for me, so maybe this is the best choice.
-WC2K8

Are you referring to plant growth being faster for cherries, or if cherries ripen up faster than non-cherries,

Fact is that many cherry varieties have DTM's, meaning time to ripe cherries, have DTM's that are way longer than larger fruited varieties.

It all depends on which specific cherries grown and which specific large fruited varieties grown

Carolyn

There are also bush and dwarf type cherries. But, I think indeterminat cherries like S100, Sun Gold grow somewhat lanky, faster and taller. But again, there are slicers that also grow real tall. So your question does not have a simple answer. JMO

For those who bought the short rings and need something taller, one possibility is to attach a second (same diameter) short ring to the first, but upside-down. Attach them with 3 cable-ties (aka zip-ties).

GWebber rnewste does that with his homemade EarthTainers. [I think he uses the short ring-cages because the long legs (which usually go into the ground) are how he fastens the cages to the tops of his containers. And since the legs are entirely above the growing medium, he can use the entire height of the cage to support his plants.]

Well, when Op talks about "out of control" it means something at least not very convenient, As a gardener you must be the master and keep things as you want and like. This true about growing flowers, roses, shrubs and TOMATOES.
If you are 5'4"(example) and tomatoes are 7',6", that is inconvenience. Plus you are running more risk of the plants falling off, breaking at high winds etc. There is nothing wrong with topping but it has to be done early on. So the plant will have more side branches and can stay shorter. This method is easy to be used with cage than stake.

when we were kids and granny sent us to gather tomatoes none were so good as those unwashed with a bit of dust and mud oh, you mean does the soil affect taste? Just kidding. Sometime I've a longer story about carrots.

"Agricultural extension specialists in New Jersey that an experiment there using seawater on tomatoes also yielded better flavor."

I live a long way from the ocean. But I read somewhere, maybe here, that some people add salted water to their plants. I'm not that brave though!

I do add Epsom salt, I'm not sure that it helps but it doesn't seem to hurt!