Few tomato questions

[Dorothy rouse]

Never really grown tomatoes successfully before, so am trying again, all outside on top balcony 4 floors up.

Gardeners delight, are already beginning to produce flowers, should I leave them or remove, plants are about18inches? Have been pinching out side shoots. In tomato bags.

Red pear, how big will these grow? In flower buckets

Tumbling toms, I have 2 in hanging baskets, but others just in ordinary pots, about 7/8 inch across , and now wondering if I should quickly move these to the bigger 'flower buckets', and also is it ok to have these on the floor? Tiny flowers also forming

The others I have are Minibel, assume same conditions as Tumbling toms?

I potted them up, a couple of weeks ago, so assume don't need feeding just yet?

Thank you

[Bigmallly]

Don't remove the flowers Dotty, they're your Toms.....................it may be a good idea to put you tumblers into flower buckets if that is going to be there final home. Start feeding when the fruits form.

[Bigmallly]

This may help you for next year Dotty:

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ato_11405.html

[Goldcrest]

All my cordons are grown outside on the patio in 18 inch+ terracotta pots (which are about the same size as flower buckets I think). I usually let them grow to the top of the supporting cane (about 6 feet) then top, so they can concentrate on fruit not height

[The Goatreich]

I don't want to thread hijack, but this doesn't warrant it's own thread really and it's a related subject. I have 3 pots of tumbler tomatoes which are around 14" tall. After seeing this thread I'm wondering if I should have pulled out the growing tip before now to get more horizontal growth. Should I still look to do this?

[Potstubsdustbins]

Short answer Yes pinch out the top leader this will make for a sturdier more compact plant. I topped my Tumbler about a fortnight ago and already have a small tom.

[taff]

leave the flowers!!
from memory, the red pear grew very tall, so if you want a more compact plant, take out the main stem, and let it bush a little bit.
As long as you keep on top of the sideshoots and don't let them go mental it'll fruit just as well on a few of those than on one tall stem.

[bario1]

I'm growing Red Pear too, from goggling it, it's unclear what kind of tomato it is - some say it's a beefsteak and some say it's a cherry.... ?

[Dorothy rouse]

Done what you said, BM and Potty, now watching them grow!

[Dorothy rouse]

Think the packet said 'May need support' , and intermediate, bushy I thought, only grew them cos the seeds came free, doing ok.

[bario1]

Pretty sure it's indeterminate (cordon) type.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Red pear is a cordon tom plum type, grew them two years back but changed to black cherry as they go better with mature cheddar.

[taff]

um...the ones I grew were a cherry plum tomato. There's a yellow variety too.