Tomatoes!

[Tomato Head]

To my surprise, my tomato seedlings are going from strength to strength and I am now having to think about their future I have loads of beginner questions though.

Firstly, I made the classic mistake of not labelling them when I planted the first lot of seeds and they were a mixture of alicante, marmande and gardeners delight. So I have no idea which is which. Will I be able to tell from the growing plants which is which? or do they all look much the same when they're little? I also have some Red Alert and some Red Robin but I know which ones those are.

Secondly, do they need to be a certain size before they go outside or is it ok to put them out when they're still little as long as the weather is suitable? I planted the seeds end of March and they germinated about 5 days later. They are all 4-6 inches tall. They are getting a little long and spindly but I think that's due to them being on window sills? They are looking healthy and new leaves are appearing.

Thirdly, I have some grow bags like this to put them in

Wilko Grow Bag Tomato x 2 46ltr | Grow Bags | | Grow Your Own from Wilkinson Plus

and was planning to put one of these over the top

Wilko Greenhouse Tomato | Mini Greenhouses | | Mini Greenhouse & Propagation from Wilkinson Plus

Will that be enough or do I need a frame? I know they will need canes - do I need to secure those to anything or just stick them in the pot?

Please help - it will make a mockery of my user name if they all die!

[taff]

beefsteak tomatoes tend to have finer, floppier, wispier leaves than normal toms, so you may be able to tell the marmande ones that way.
don't put them outside till the forsts have gone, but you can put them outside in an unheated greenhouse, or harden them off to put in an unheated greenhouse...You can re-pot tomatoes along the length of their stalks if you want, it will produce extra roots, I tend to pot on to the seed leaves, but if they are leggy, you can pot them deeper if you want.
that greenhouse thing will probably be a bit of trial, they aren't called blowaways for nothing, might be better if you can make some kind of contraption from old windows if you can get hold of any (it's only because I'm tight and those things are a waste of money really, and a blight on the enviroment)
anyway, getting off my high horse.....your toms will grow to about 6ft too if you don't stop them, and may grow that big even if you do stop them, so watch out for that too.
Canes really need to be secured in case the blowaway blows away, it's probably a good idea to put three or more pots together and tie them all in together to make a tripod type thing, or a fourpod...more stable than one cane

[Capsid]

It will be difficult to tell the difference until they start to fruit.

I would put the plants into the grow bags when the roots start to appear at the base of the pot. By their size that you describe they are probably ready now. They will benefit from being in full sun outside but they must be protected in the mini greenhouse from frosts. The plants will get very heavy and need strong supports; a sturdy cane should suffice and it would be preferable if you could tie them to the greenhouse. Or you could train them up a piece of string secured to the top of the greenhouse.

Mr Tomato King knows his stuff.

Mr Tomato King: Tying up tomato plants

Water them well and feed every week when the first flowers appear.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Glad you know which are the Red Robin & Red Alert as these are different.

The Red Alert is a outdoor bush tomato as such it will need no support and no 'nipping out'. A good way to grow these is in a hanging basket on a south facing wall or fence.

The Red Robin is a small compact plant than can be grown in a pot on you kitchen window sill again no support and no 'nipping out'.

Don't think of putting them out without protection until the end of May.

Colin

[Tomato Head]

Thanks for the replies - sorry I've not responded sooner (have had no internet access for a couple of days).

So can I put my tomatoes outside at the end of May (so long as risk of frost has passed) regardless of how big they are? They do seem to be growing up rather than out and I think I am going to have to support them with something as they are getting a bit floppy. Some are quite a bit taller than others so I wondered if that was related to which kind they were? They have all been treated the same and put in the same place (moved around a bit so they are not all in exactly the same position). The 2 red alert ones are ridiculously tall and floppy - can hardly hold themselves upright now. There are no roots visible at the base of the pots.

6 feet tall? I'll not be able to reach them if they get that tall!

[rustylady]

They're getting tall and floppy because they're indoors (too warm with not enough light). Do you have anywhere you could put them outside but protected during the day?

[Tomato Head]

Not really but I think I am going to invest in a cheap blowaway and see how I get on with it, so maybe I need to get that done soon then try popping them out during the daytime. It's fairly mild here, although wet.

Meant to ask - will I have any problems with squirrels and birds? do they bother with tomato plants? I get a lot of squirrels, pigeons and magpies out the back where they are going, plus the occasional fox.

[Capsid]

I'd be tempted to start again. It's not too late to sow some more and then once germinated you can put them outside in the blowaway. They sound too tall now and the flower trusses occur every 7th leaf so the taller they are the less room you have for the fruit.

You may get some slug damage but they are mostly untouched by other pests, except when the fruit arrives then it's open season.

[taff]

DOn't know about squirrels but magpies and pigeons don't touch mine, they're too busy eating the bread the next door neighbour buys for them daily....

[Bigmallly]

If I was you and they are getting leggy, I would do this.

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...oes_63970.html

[Potstubsdustbins]

TH just how tall are they? A pic would help.

If they are to tall to plant deep I use another ruse, it sounds daft but I assure you it does work. It costs nothing and you end up with good advanced plants so is better than reseeding at this time.

Cut the leader of the plant off about 6" long, put this in a milk bottle (or other container) so that the stem is immersed in water. 7/10 days later good new roots will have appeared and you can pot up as normal. When you first pot up keep the compost wetter than normal for 2/3 days whilst the roots get accustomed to taking their needs from the compost.

A couple of pics of a Tumbler I had to rescue last year.

Colin

[Florence Fennel]

That's a really good tip Colin, I'm going to try that with a couple of the plants that have become leggy whilst I've been waiting for compost/weather to come.

[Tomato Head]

Here are a couple of photos. As you can see, they are still baby tomato plants but they seem to be growing upwards very quickly and look very frail!

First one is 7 inches from top of compost to tip of plant



Second one is about half an inch taller but, as you can see in the 2nd pic, I have others that are smaller



Those are the tallest ones, although I have a several that are only a little smaller than that. The red robin are a bit taller than that and lean over the side of the pot. They all lean towards the window although I do turn them several times a day. It is less than 4 weeks since they germinated. My plan had been to keep them where they are now until about the end of May then put them into the grow bags or pots, harden them off then leave them outside.

[Bigmallly]

Have a look at the link TH, take the seed leaves off & plant deeper into a deep pot preferably.

[Bren In Pots]

Do what BM says then put some shiny foil behind the plants when you put them back onto the window sill you'll probably have to fasten it to a bit of card to make it stand up but it will help stop your plants getting leggy.