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Tomato mishap
Jade4
Posts: 2
in Fruit & veg
Hi everyone. I've recently bought a house and finally have a garden and greenhouse. I thought I would grow some veggies and plants so in March I started to grow tomato seedlings, courgettes and chillies. The courgette beasts and chillies(taking a while) seem fine however I have messed up with the tomatoes. I grew several seedlings in one pot. I tried hard to separate when I repotted but it was too hard. I now have a bush of about 10 plus individual plants. They are about 12 inches tall and the leaves are healthy. No sign of fruit. I don't know what to do. Any tips? Thank you all so much x
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They won't grow well, if at all, in such an overcrowded world so you need to take out all but one tomato plant. They are greedy plants and do not like competition. Be brutal but be careful not to damage the one you want to keep. One plant per pot is the rule if you want something to eat at the end of the summer.
Good luck.
Ok, I know for next time. Thank you so much!!
Jade, they're going to end up throttling each other. The toms, particularly, and the chillies are very sturdy and can cope with a surprising amount of root disturbance, particularly at the stage they're at. In fact, one of the reasons for potting up toms is to give the root systems a bit of a shock. It stimulates them.
I'd tip out the pot and go to work. Trace the stems down to the roots and prise them apart with your fingers or something fine and sharp like a knitting needle. You'll do some root damage but it shouldn't matter. In fact, if you happen to sever a root system completely, treat the plant as a cutting. Put the stem into a glass of water or poke it into some damp potting mix and keep it out of direct sunlight for about a week. It will grow new roots.
Successfully separated plants can go into individual pots with damp potting mix, again kept out of direct sunlight until they recover from the trauma. Damp doesn't mean wet.
I agree with Italophile
and following on from what he's said, plant the tomatoes deep - you can plant them so that the compost comes right up to the first set of leaves - the stem below the soil level will grow extra roots and be strong and sturdy - and of course you'll put a cane in the pot with them when you pot them (avoiding the roots)
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I think if you leave them together you'll end up with a mess and no toms!
Do you know the variety?
Most toms are cordon where you need to remove the side shoots that appear where the leaf joins the stem. Some are a bush variety where you don't remove the side shoots.
IF you can separate them, then that's the best plan. Select the sturdiest, not the tallest. Try and keep as much root from the selected plant, and as suggested above plant deep, even with the 1st set of leaves below the compost. This encourages feeding roots to develop from the stem.
Don't use any feed until the first tiny toms appear.
If they're too tangled, use scissors and snip off the stems at compost level of all but the sturdiest and re-plant.
I think if it were me, I'd go and buy some plants for this year and try again (with your new knowledge) next year.
Good luck!
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.