how big is your tomato plant?

[4390evans]

I was wondering how big are people's out door or unheated tomato plants?

I had to start mine off again about 2 month ago after my flimsy green house flew down the garden and wrecked my original lot. The 2 I have atm is about 4-5 inches tall loads of little leaves and is in a unheated lean to. Should I bring it indoors? Will it grow faster then?

In in the north east UK

Thanks guys
jen

[BertieFox]

Later sown tomatoes are quick to catch up once the season advances, so I wouldn't worry. You will still have plenty of tomatoes by the end of the season if you are growing these under cover. I'm a bit worried about your 'loads of little leaves' description as you need to keep all indeterminate tomatoes (as opposed to bush types which are determinate) to a single cordon or stem, so remove any sideshoots which appear between the main leaf stems.

Our best tomato plants which are still in pots inside the greenhouse are around a foot high now, but we still have plenty more which are hardly bigger than yours from later sowings and rooting sideshoots. These will all produce fruit later.

[Bill HH]

Once things warn up they will romp ahead so I wouldn't worry, at worst you may be a couple of weeks later with your first toms.

[Smithyboy100]

With the sideshoot that you pinch out can you repot them and will they become a new plant?


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[lottie dolly]

Yes,put them in a little water till you see roots emerge,then pot up.

[Smithyboy100]

Oh brilliant


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[WeedItAndReap]

OK, silly question alert. "Sideshoots" are not every shoot which comes off the main stem, but the 'diagonal' shoot which forms between the main stem and the right angle shoots - am I correct?

[WendyC]

You only need to remove sideshoots from cordon tomatoes. Bush tomatoes need to be left well alone. The sideshoot is the shoot that grows between the main stem and the leaves. I'm not sure what right angle shoots you are thinking of.

[Martin H]

OK, silly question alert. "Sideshoots" are not every shoot which comes off the main stem, but the 'diagonal' shoot which forms between the main stem and the right angle shoots - am I correct?

I think I get what you are saying, in which case yes.

The "right angle" shoots are eithe leaves or flower trusses. Leave them alone, obviously.
The shoots that grow diagonally upwards in the angle of a leaf that look like entire baby tomato plants are the sideshoots. These are the ones that you can pinch out if your tomato is a cordon type.

[WeedItAndReap]

Thanks - and yes that is what I meant.

[Bill HH]

OK, silly question alert. "Sideshoots" are not every shoot which comes off the main stem, but the 'diagonal' shoot which forms between the main stem and the right angle shoots - am I correct?

When you say right angle shoots, those are the leaf stems, the shoot you pinch out grows in the junction beteen the leaf stem and the main upright stem Think of it as an upside down armpit. The fruit trusses grow off the main stem too but not in that arm pit.

[Bigmallly]

A picture often tells a thousand words:

[4390evans]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtFnORJBQ90


or a vid. I was a bit lost also on which shoots to remove

[MrsHippo]

Mine are massive!! They have been growing in my conservatory since March time and one of the three plants already had a little green tomato :O) I attempted to grow some outdoors last year and they struggled.. these ones indoors are doing wonderfully though!! x

[4390evans]

Im quite jealous mrshippo :/