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Tomato accident
seyfades
Posts: 146
in Fruit & veg
As it was a sunny day today, I put my plants out to start hardening them off. My tomatoes are in 15cm pot. I'm waiting till the end of the month to transplant them into 45cm pots outside.
However the wind blew one of the pots (the only flowering plant) and the growing tip snapped off; this is upsetting. I immediately transplanted it into the final 45cm pot.
This plant is a cordon variety, will it survive? I don't want to waste the compost and pot if it won't. This is 1 of 6 plants so it won't leave me short.
0
Posts
Let one of the side shoots develop rather than pinching it out and that will become the new main stem.
ps, there is a suitable shoot just below the break. I would also cleanly cut off that damaged top with a sharp knife to help prevent disease entering.
Yes - don't worry seyfades. Follow Bob's advice and it'll be fine.
I'd tie some soft string round the canes so that there's plenty of support for the toms if it's a bit breezy
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Many thanks for the advice above, I have done as advised so fingers crossed.
If any of the others start flowering before the transplant, should I leave the flowers on or take them off?
I read an article that advised to take the flowers off and let the plant concentrate of developing until transplant.
Do you know how true this is? (all my plants are cordon variety)
I wouldn't remove flowers from a healthy tomato plant. They grow fast enough without encouraging them. Seaweed extract is a good tonic to help grow sturdy plants. It's not a fertilizer so you can use it now.
Your damaged plant will recover quickly now the weather is warming up and you'll only notice a knuckle when the plant is fully grown.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.