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| I have four cherry tomato plants that were especially developed to grow in hanging baskets. Unfortunately, the same nursery that told me to overcrowd my bell peppers also gave me bad advice about my tomatoes. I have them two to a basket, and since they aren't growing much despite looking just fine, I checked the website of the company who developed them, and they're supposed to be planted 12" apart. Oops! They are just too crowded! 1 to a basket would be perfect. But the thing is, they've been in those baskets for a month now. I'm afraid that if I separate them, I've kill them all. These are annual plants, so should I just settle for a tiny tomato harvest and make better plans next year, or should I take a chance at losing everything and repot? |
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| If you want to keep them together...thin them to a couple main branches each. With tomatoes...good air flow discourages all the fungal/bacterial issues tomatoes are prone to. Fertilize (low dose) regularly. You will be fine. PS maximize hours of sun! |
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| It would help to know the actual name of the variety. That way those of us with experience with that variety's growth patterns could be of help. It would also help to know the size of the basket. But even after a month many varieties can still be separated and transplanted. That is what I would do. Pruning (thinning) most basket varieties - which are not indeterminate varieties - to one or 2 stems is more likely to kill them than transplanting will. Dwarf plants require max foliage to produce fruit. Dave |
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- Posted by carol6ma_7ari zones 6 %26 7a (My Page) on Sat, Apr 5, 14 at 9:48
| I hope you told that nursery about their bad advice, preferably in a letter so they couldn't later say they didn't get the information. I get angry when I hear about nurseries giving poor advice to gardeners. Carol |
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- Posted by GreenDreamhome none (My Page) on Fri, Apr 11, 14 at 10:28
| They are Garden Leader's Gourmet Basket Boy. Each pot has one red and one yellow. I was finally all ready to separate them -- got more baskets, soaked some peat moss, screened some dirt, made worm tea for fertilizing -- and then the yellow ones started to get some big tomatoes that turned yellow. Now I'm reluctant to mess with them. I would hate the lose the tomatoes I know I already have. |
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| Size of pot? That will determine how much extra care, feeding, and watering they will need. Otherwise about all you can do now is leave them and hope for the best. That variety has little to no info available about it from any reputable sources. Apparently something developed by Garden Leader's, a company with no website I can find, and sold only wholesale as plugs to nurseries for public sales. Dave |
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- Posted by GreenDreamhome Zone 9 (My Page) on Mon, Apr 14, 14 at 10:40
| Digdirt: The pots are 12" at the top, 8.5" at the bottom, and 7" high. |
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| These are tumbling tom tomatoes, special for hanging baskets. I put two plants in each basket and they do wonderful. I wouldn't worry about it if they are for hanging baskets.
I have 50 to put into hanging baskets any day now, but first we have to get rid of this cold weather! Jay |
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- Posted by GreenDreamhome Zone 9 (My Page) on Thu, Apr 17, 14 at 12:33
| Jay -- Your baskets look like they are the same size as mine (12" at the top, 8.5" at the bottom, and 7" high.) I wanted to plant Tumbling Tom, but the nursery didn't have them. Your plants are much bigger than mine. Mine have the leaves and stems growing much closer together; you can't see space through them. |
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