Do they need a bigger pot?

[ANewGrower]

This is what gave me the gardening bug!

I bought a £5 tomato growing kit from Asda, it included the pot, seeds and compost.

They're looking rather crowded though and I'm wondering if they will need moving, the problem is the plants seem really interlinked and I'm afraid I'll damage them trying to separate them. Will they be ok with a triangular type climbing frame, or should I thin them out do you think?

Also, as you can see, some of the leaves are turning colour on the edges, is this anything to worry about? These are my first growers so are my babies

Thanks in advance for all your help, it has been invaluable

[Alison]

I can't really tell how big that pot is but it looks like about the right size for a single tomato! You're plants look good though

I'd be inclined to dig them up and gently separate - so long as you're gentle they should be OK and plant them individually in separate pots. Don't put them in too big a pot to start with as they don't like all that space in one go though.

[ANewGrower]

Just measured the pot and its a 10" diameter, and has about 10-12 plants in it so definitely too small then

So much for a grow in one pot kit!!

[Nicos]

Oh dear!
Right...You've done a fantastic job with the plants- they look really healthy

Now then- the instructions clearly didn't explain that you need one plant per pot that size!!!

It's not too late to do anything about it- but you're going to need to get some more compost in and some more containers .
(Anything will do which is about the same size- even double thickness carrier bags or rubble bags - with drainage holes cut in the bottom -if you can't get large plant pots)

You'll need to tip them gently onto the ground ( on a plastic sheet or newspaper) and very gently shake off the soil to separate the plants.
It's not ideal to be removing the soil- so try and keep a bit on the roots.
Try to be very gentle with the stems too!
Then pot them on individually- deeper than they were to encourage new root growth from the stems,
Then give them a good watering.
Best to do it in the evening when it's cooler too.

You've done really well with those plants- you clearly have green fingers- so don't worry about potting them on- you'll be fine! You will probably lose one or two thinning them out- but that's fine!
Post a piccie when you've done them!

[Nicos]

Yup- agree with Alison- smaller pots would be better for now- and then finally into larger ones in a few weeks!


Oh - and I'd write to Asda to complain at the extra cost involved and their instructions were misleading- they may well send you some vouchers!!!

[ANewGrower]

Ah thank you for that, that is really helpful I have loads of compost here so will get some pots (am going to try the Morrisons black buckets I've heard so much about!) and will give it a go!

Thanks again

[shirlthegirl43]

If you are going to use flower buckets a few tips:

Don't forget to put drainage holes in the bottoms of the buckets before you plant them up

As the ladies have said, your tomatoes will not appreciate being put into a huge (to them) pot in one go. If you want to save yourself buying lots of different sized pots, put an inch of compost in the bottom of the flower bucket, put in your tomato plant and put compost round the plant, firming gently, up to just above where the soil line was before (hope that makes sense - your tomato will look quite lost in the pot at this point). As the plant grows and becomes stronger, you can 'earth it up' until the pot is nearly full. This lets the tomato plant put out more roots from the buried stem so that it can take in plenty of water and feed to make lots of nice fruit.

[ANewGrower]

Would another option be to thin them out and put them in a growbag, or would that be too big for them too?

I've a lot to learn don't I!

[Two_Sheds]

Two per growbag, if you must (they're too shallow really. Although you could cut the bottoms off two pots and plant those in the grow bags, then plant your tomatoes in the pots)

[shirlthegirl43]

Yes, that would work, you can get special tomato growbags now which are deeper. I think each bag will take 3 plants.

[ANewGrower]

Yes, I've seen the tomato growbags on offer at Tesco 2 for £8 so think I'll go for that

Thanks for your help xx

[Two_Sheds]

£8 ?!
You can get a bale (125 litres) of compost from B&Q for less than that

[womble]

She's talking about the larger growbags, made specifically for tomatoes. These have extra tomato food in them IIRC.

I did use one a few years ago for Garden Pearl dwarf plants and it was quite good. Although I did ring culture in it as well and of course added extra liquid feed after a while.

[ANewGrower]

Yes these are the ones I mean

[Two_Sheds]

She's talking about the larger growbags, made specifically for tomatoes.

Ah, 50 litres for a fiver? Or Tesco 100 litres £8