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Tomato plants

aaron_eagle6aaron_eagle6 Posts: 3
in Fruit & veg
Hi all,

We have planted some tomato plants brought from our local garden centre yesterday however they seem to have collapsed and gone all droopy. Have they died? Or will they come back?

many thanks
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Posts

  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Not looking good :(. Where are they planted? It's way too cold  for them outside at the moment, and I suspect even a greenhouse would have been too cold over the last several nights unless it's heated.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • aaron_eagle6aaron_eagle6 Posts: 3
    @JennyJ, hmmm I did wonder. Thank you. They are outside in a raised vegetable patch we have made, I think we got a bit excited to plant some stuff.... would you say it’s too cold for anything at the moment as our sweet pepper plants look similar? We do have a plastic cover for it as I’m a bit worried looking at the amount of rain we are supposed to be getting over the next week or so. 
  • TheScottishGardenerTheScottishGardener Posts: 62
    edited April 2021
    I'm not sure where you are, but I am a zone 9 and don't dare plant out my (only the strongest looking) tomato plants until well into the Summer. All my tomato plants are still indoors, I won't even move them out into the greenhouse until the last frost date at the soonest, or when mercury hovers around double figures overnight.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    It's too cold to put out anything tender - tomatoes, peppers, chillies, cucumbers etc -  even with a cover. Even hardier plants will need some protection if they've been growing in sheltered conditions in a garden centre or nursery. You might be in a milder area than me (we have no rain in the forecast for at least a week here) but don't expect to put my tomatoes etc outside until late May. They might go into the cold frame a bit earlier, but I expect to have to close the lid and cover it with an extra layer of horticultural fleece or similar if a cool night is forecast. They really want 10 degrees C minimum.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • CeresCeres Posts: 2,698
    Hi aaron.
    It's not too late to start growing some tomatoes from seed. You can start them off on a sunny windowsill and by the time the danger of frost has passed, you'll have a load of lovely plants for your veg patch. https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-grow-tomatoes/ It's a lot more fun than buying them from the garden centre.

  • aaron_eagle6aaron_eagle6 Posts: 3
    @Ceres, maybe we will give this a try, just a bit annoyed with ourselves as we were so excited about planting and growing our own stuff we didn’t do any research... just don’t want to loose everything we have planted. 
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    In a mild spring you might have got away with it, but we're having a very cold snap just now. I think garden centres etc have a  lot to answer for, selling tender plants without clear obvious signage and labelling about how to care for them. Of course, people who've bought too early for the conditions they can provide and lost them might well go back and buy another lot, so ......
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    @aaron_eagle6   And don't forget to harden them off before planting.  Good luck with your new seeds!
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    I live in the SE UK 10 minutes from the sea, mine are indoors,they go in the green house end of may, way too cold even in a green house
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    Peppers need even more heat 
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