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Tomato plants - again!

EB123EB123 Posts: 23
in Fruit & veg
Thanks to those who helped advise me on the right instructions to give my neighbour looking after my fledgling tomato plants for 2 weeks while I was away. This is my first time growing anything, so I feel like I know nothing and am guessing a bit at how to do it! The plants have really grown in the last 2 weeks and some are now over 30cm tall (from the top of the soil)! Some definitely need repotting as the roots are poking through.

My question is: what is the final size of pot I need for each tomato plant? And is there a point after which you shouldn't be repotting them? Thanks. 
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  • ShepsSheps Posts: 2,236
    I'm using 11L pots in the Quadgrows.


  • ShepsSheps Posts: 2,236
    I buy GC toms that come in 3 inch pots, I grow them on for a while, then pot them on to 6 inch pots and from those they go into the final pots.
  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy Posts: 6,774
    Sheps said:
    I'm using 11L pots in the Quadgrows.


    I am doing the same. A pot that size or a growbag cut in half and placed end on. The conventional way they tell you to use growbags are too shallow  and they dry out too fast.
    AB Still learning

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    What type of toms are they @EB123?
    Those which are going to bear heavier/larger fruits ,need a bit more support, so a bigger pot is better. Not so much of a problem with cherry toms or similar.
    I've never used anything bigger than around 10 inches diameter, but I only grow plum or cherry types, and they're grown undercover. I've grown then in clematis/rose pots though, especially if it's one that was a bit later to get going, or was grown from a nipped out sideshoot. I generally only pot on a couple of times before they're in the final ones, but that's where the timing comes into it. I now grow them in the ground though, which helps. 
    If they're going to be outside, a bigger pot is better so that they have more weight to anchor them, but choosing a good site is important too - not a windy one  ;)
    There's no real hard and fast rule about final sizes and when you do it - it depends on your conditions, and the sizes as they grow. Getting the supports in early is always a good idea too - depending on how and where you're growing them.
    You'll get an idea as you go along, if you do them every year, as to what suits your site and climate.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    Mine are just in the greenhouse,  but will put the outside ones out in another week. They all go in tubs, as I cannot get down to soil level anymore. All types from cherry through salad to beef tomatoes,  plus mini cucumbers Beth Alpha,  four of which are at the far end in this photo.

  • EscapetothegardenEscapetothegarden Posts: 188
    Wow, everyone’s tomatoes look amazing! 
  • EB123EB123 Posts: 23
    Thanks everyone. They’re cherry toms. My neighbour is moving and giving away a load of 9inch diameter pots so they will work it seems.
  • JacksGardenJacksGarden Posts: 36
    edited May 2023
    Mine are in the ground this year. But last year when all I had was a gravel driveway I grew them in grow bags and they did just fine. Loads of fruit, but I limited them to five trusses per plant. 

    So I'd say any size big pot will do! 

    This year. 



    Last year. 


    Gardener of a driveway pot garden - flowers one side, veg the other and a car in the middle. I am so looking forward to the day we can move into a house with a bigger garden.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    They should be fine @EB123 :)
    If they're looking quite hefty already, and well filled out, you could put them into those just now, and save potting on again. Remember you can bury them a little deeper too, and that helps to anchor them well, and get more roots established. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • REMF33REMF33 Posts: 731
    9 inches seems a bit small to me... If growing in 'normal' (not Quadgrow) pots I would use 30-33 cm (12-13 inches). Quadgrow ones are smaller but I wonder if one can get away with that because they are sort of semi hydroponic? They have a constant source of food and water. I really don't know, though.
    Tomatoes are very forgiving, but you might get a better crop in a bigger pot plus 9 inches is more likely to topple over.
    But perhaps you just meant 9 inches for the intermediate stage?
    Mine are pricked out into 7cm/3inch pots, then potted on into 20cm/8inches (ish) ones and then their final pots as above.
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