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Moving my tomatoes
Hover_fly125
Posts: 13
in Fruit & veg
I planted my tomatoes out in growbags early May and they have already got far too big for the space I have. I currently have 3 plants in a grow bag and they look squashed and cramped. I have also failed slightly with supporting the plants as they grow taller - I have long bamboo canes currently but I fear they will outgrow those. I want to move them to reusable grow bags that I recently bought which have more space and a better support system. I already have unripened fruit on the plants and plenty of flowers. I don't want to shock the plants and make them drop the fruit by moving them. Is this a good idea when the plants are already well established? Should I just suck it up and make do with what I've got or move them? Thanks. (Oh, and I am a novice gardener!)
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Sounds a bit risky to me Hover_fly - tomatoes are brittle plants at the best of times and I fear you may break the stems, leaves or trusses if you try moving them at this size.
Perhaps you could try moving the middle plant from the growbag - at least you would still have two if anything went wrong. Fill the now empty space in the old growbag with compost and the remaining plants will soon send roots into it.
I would not move them. Three plants to a grow bag is ok. Have you been taking the side shoots off? Sounds as though you have not. A six foot cane will be more than adequate for them as you stop them after about 5 trusses. Leave them alone is my advice - moving them is certain death.
I've never moved Tomatoes this late on, but I'd say they'd be fine as long as you, 1) do it now before they have ripe fruits, and 2) are very careful not to disturb the roots. They're not the most robust roots and your Tomatoes might wilt if they detect any disturbance or root damage. So take out as much of the soil surrounding the roots as you can.
Why not try it with one Plant, wait a couple of days and see what happens. If all seems well, then it should be a good sign to go ahead with the others. They should start to perk up and recover after a day or two, but you'll know if something is wrong 'cause Tomatoes are very quick to start a sulk if they're not happy ; )
And make sure to really water them in well once moved, and keep it up. Once settled give them a good feed too and they should recover.
I'm with Blue Dragon, although tomato roots are very sturdy things and can take handling. Even mishandling. I've transplanted a few fruiting plants in my time, transferring from the ground into pots and vice versa.
Wait for the coolest part of the day, take all care, and don't expose the transplant to any direct sun for at least a couple of days. And, as Blue Dragon says, water well.
I'll use my new growbags and supports next year. Thanks for the advice.
If they are very congested chop back some of the leaves on the outside plants to give a bit of room. You can always take a few of the leaves right off.
Yeah, if that's the problem then I agree, take some leaves off. I do anyway 'cause I find it makes them focus and put more energy into the fruits. The larger and older the leaf, the better it'll be for coming off. That's always been what I've done, anyway.