leggy tomatoes

I'm growing my tomatoes in different window this year because I'm painting my kitchen. They've gotten rather leggy and they won't get in the garden until Memorial Day. I know once I get them in the ground I can plant them sideways but does anyone have a suggestion as to what I can do until then. Can they be pinched back?

Some of mine that got a bit too tall have been cut back. However, it is the top part that I keep. I just dip in rooting hormone and plant in another pot. It doesn't take them long to root, but you do have to expect them to wilt for a few days.

Good idea Brugie. I sometimes move them up into bigger pots and in the process lay the roots sideways and "spiral" the long stem so more and more of it is in the dirt...makes a great root system. Might not work for you elsie, depends on how much room you have in your house for all those extra pots.
If they are leggy but have nice thick stems they should do fine tho...maybe you could put them outside each day to make sure they don't get leggier striving for more light.

I got several plants into much larger pots and they're out on the patio. I just hope the weather stays like it is now. I coiled the stem and I'm hoping for the best. I couldn't cut the tomatoes - I think it would have hurt me more than the plants. Thanks alot for your help.

HAH! I know the feeling elsie...hard to hurt them babies, eh?
Well, if your weather is nice leave them out...if it gets too cool bring them in, you'll be fine. (plus finish painting the kitchen too! more room there maybe?)
Keep us posted...I'd like to hear how they do!

Thanks for your encouragement. So far, so good-everything looks great. Now that kitchen is an entirely different can of worms. My kitchen redo might end up on one of those TV shows in the category - don't do it this way. Actually the kitchen is painted. I am now painting the cabinet doors and have very little space to let them dry so it's become a much longer project than I had anticipated. At one point I had considered leaving the whole thing just primed, but I have painted the walls with a feather duster ( have to use it for something) and I really like the way it turned out. I do think this year's tomatoes will be in the garden before I finish the kitchen. Thanks again for all your help.

Brugie......I recommend not planting your tomato seeds until around the 10th of April in your neck of the woods. The plants will be just the right size for transplanting into your garden around 20th of May then.....believe me:)

Owen

Guilty here too! This is my first year growing tomatoes from seed. They look great, but them and their pots are sprawling all over the kitchen. LOL! I even have a few tomatoes set on already. I just hope they adapt to transplanting since they are so big. Next year I'll know better, and will resist the urge to plant them as soon as I get the urge.

Joan....unless you have them in large pots so the root system is keeping up with the rest of the plant, I figure you will get smaller than normal tomatoes from those that are set on already. Best to just not plant the seeds so early, although I learned the hard way myself to resist the temptation:)

I only planted 5 seeds....Stupice variety....early this year, and then kept transplanting them into successively larger pots, under grow lights. They are now outside hardening off in gallon size pots, and have blossoms on them:) My main crop of tomatoes were planted April 1st, and are ready to go outside now, but are the ideal height of about 8 inches only.

Owen

Yeah, I figured I'd not get the best tomatoes, but I learned a valuable lesson that I will remember for the rest of my life. These are my first try at heirlooms too, and I'm not sure I'll even be able to save seeds from them. Will they be inferior? This is one newbie mistake I'll never make again. (I don't think!) Ü

Joan,

It's actually better to pinch off any blooms and tomatoes currently on the plants. And continue doing so until you have transplanted them.

Flower and fruit set takes energy away from plant growth, which is why you want to pinch them off. In addition, if you let the current fruits be, they will actually delay the onset of other fruit once you do transplant.

Will these fruits be inferior? I only have one experience with this, so can't say definatively. But on two plants (two different varieties) which I let early fruiting alone last year I found the tomatoes to be really poor. And those plants then did not set additional flowers and fruit until almost three weeks later than the others.

Your later fruit set will be normal, and you can certainly save seed from them.

Alrighty then!!!! I don't feel so bad. Here's another newbie that was chompin' at the bit and planted seeds WAY!!! too early. I have moved them up to larger pots (only 3" peat pots) once so far. They were actually looking really good up until a couple of days ago. The only problem is, I HAVE 60 OF THEM!!!!!! That's alot of replanting. But, I will try my best! Thanx for the info about pinching off the blossoms. (don't have any yet)

Celia,

If you're only in 3" pots you've got a ways to go.

I just transplanted (found a window between the monsoons) because I had no choice. Some of my plants were nearly 30" tall.

My regular procedure is to repot twice: When the seedlings first show true leaves I repot into 5 oz cups. Then, when they are a few inches taller, with several sets of true leaves, they go into 16 oz cups.

This year things got away from me, and the choice was either transplant (even though the ground really isn't warm enough), or repot once again, into gallon containers.

Is this a lot of work? You betcha. But it builds strong, healthy plants.

I went through this procedure for about 52 plants this year. Not quite as many as your 60, but certainly enough.

What do you use for the gallon container? Are you planting all 52?
I'm giving most of mine away to family and friends, as I really don't have any place for them in my yard. Not enough sun. I'll put some in pots on the deck.
Thanx again!

Normally I don't have to go past the 16 oz cup size. I ran out and found some gallon pots at Big Lots. Designed to hold house plants, I think, because I had to drill drain holes.

But then I got that window of opportunity, and transplanted instead.

If I planned on going up to the gallon size, I would meely save milk jugs and bleech jugs through the year. Cut off the tops so there is a large enough opening for the plants and soil ball to slide out, and repot into them.

I would also, if going for the gallon repotting, consider changing my mixture. I'd go with half soilless mix and half potting soil or compost, so the plants get used to standing in the garden.

No, I'm not planting all 52. I'm growing 3-4 each of six varieties as main crops, and one each of two different cherry tomatoes. The rest were either given away or sold.

This actually is a short year for me, tomatowise. Normally I grow out at least 12 varieties, and pot/repot about 125 seedlings. But I needed the room for other things.

Brook - thanks for the info on pinching off the blooms. So far I have never had a bloom before they get in the garden. But I'll remember that. I guess the goal for next year is plant later or get them in the garden earlier - hopefully wall-o-waters. Do you by any chance have a favorite tasty early variety?

Celia - just in case you didn't know you can pinch the lower leaves off and plant the stem deeper in the larger pot or the ground.

Thanx, elsie, I did know that. I think I will transplant a few into larger containters just in case the weather gets even goofier and I won't be able to hold onto them.
I took 1/2 dozen into work today to give to a friend. Everyone was impressed with how strong and healthy they looked. So far so good.

Elsie, take a look at my posts on the adjoining cold climate tomatoe thread. There's something I posted there about not worrying about blooms.

Don't know how right or wrong it is, but it's something worth considering.

Thanks for the info on pinching off the blooms and small tomatoes Brook. I'm going to do that tonight.

Go to a landscaping service...some big nurseries have them...they'll give you pots for free,or at a tiny cost.I got 150 gallon,black nursery pots for 10 cents each.