Rescuing leggy toms

[redser]

Hi, I sowed toms in different stages to spread the crop. But the ones I sowed for the main crop have suddenly jumped up and gone leggy on me. There's still a few weeks before I can put them in the tunnel I reckon so I need to do something drastic to get something out of them.
I'm thinking of chopping the tops off and doing pots' milk bottle trick and grow new rootballs.
Or else, take most of the top growth off and try grow one side shoot low down the stem as a new main stem.
Any advice? I'm raging I got the timing wrong.
Thanks

[chilli_grower]

I have the same problem. And was thinking of rooting cuttings from the top of the plants.

I assume this would work?

[SarzWix]

What size pots are they in, and what are you planting them in finally?

[redser]

They will go in the tunnel border eventually. I've thought of burying them deep but they are 2foot tall already. They are rosada and sungold.

[redser]

Sorry, it came in upside down. They are actually leaning on the window for support, very wispy and weak

[SarzWix]

Don't look beyond saving though. You can plant them on their sides, and get most of the stem underground, they'd be über strong then

[SarzWix]

If they're still in 3" pots, which it looks like, I'd pot them up first though.

[redser]

Interesting idea, thanks. I had them under lights and had to keep raising them. Turned into a race. Gerry. My kingdom for a greenhouse!

[redser]

Yeah they need potting up alright. That's only a selection. I have 5 rosada, 10 sungold, then there's the 6 maskotka and 8 Roma. And the rest. All fighting for window ledge space. HELP!

[rustylady]

Too warm and not enough light has caused your tomatoes to get so spindly. They're much better grown cool once they've germinated.

[WendyC]

Think I'd repot them as deep as I can. Have you any of those pots roses come in? They're tall and narrow and might even still fit on your window sill.

[redser]

Thanks rustylady. Not enough light wasn't the problem, I grew them under lights. I just think they are not suited to lights after a certain point, they are too vigorous. My bush types have done fine. But the rate of vertical growth on these was so big that I had to keep raising the lights and they chased it. It's a fine balancing act. Next year ill sow the maskotka early, and the cordons 1 month later than this year I think.
I could pot them deep Wendy but I've no space for them, I thought they would be much smaller after just 7 weeks.

[SarzWix]

Is your tunnel near your house, or on an allotment? I'm thinking they'd be better off in the tunnel once you've repotted them, but they'd need a fleece over them if frost was forecast. You'd be surprised how quickly the stems beef out once conditions are right Mine looked similar to that when I planted them last year, very late (end of June I think) and they came good even with the seriously dodgy weather.

[Two_Sheds]

Tomatoes don't all come at the same time, so I can't see the benefit of succession sowing them

[redser]

Thanks SarzWix. The tunnel is at the allotments, that's the problem. I can't be running up and down all the time. If it was end of may now I'd be happy enough putting them in the ground. But if I add a month to what they are like now, yikes! I'm going to pop a few up in rose pots but ill chop most of them and do the milk bottle trick and hope for the best.
I did two sowings two-sheds. I read that maskotka were a good early fruiter so I did some of those in the hope of getting eating in early June. The bulk of the sowings were done a month later and I hoped these would be ripe for picking in July. But the 2 varieties I picked seem to be particularly vigorous buggers.