tomatoes in container- have i somehow ruined it!

[xyz123]

hi

had my first go at veg this year. grew some gardeners delight tomatoes in pots. attached some pics. pots are on a south facing garden in london. i have so far seen few flowers and one very tiny small green tomato! few questions if someone can help.

1) is my container too small?
2) some of the leaves are becoming "curled" towards inside, still green. i am watering the plant twice daily. the compost is free draining as the water tray at bottom fills up with excess water. i am feeding once a week with tomoato feed for last 3 weeks.
3) have i let it grow wrongly. it seems to have 3 main stems. not sure if i needed to "pinch" the growthtip or not?
4) at the base of the stem, there are some "goose bumps (for lack of better word)" and some leaves at very bottom are turning yellow. i am not sure if this is a sign of any disease.

thans for ur help

[roitelet]

In answer to your questions,
1 the pot could do to be a bit bigger.
2 if you have a tray under the pot to college surplus water once a day watering should be enough. I think that you are over feeding at this point. You don't usually feed until the tomatoes begin to set.
3 gardeners delight are usually grown as cordons that is one stem.
4 the goosebumps at the base of the stem are embryo roots.

If you can manage it repot into larger pots and plant deeper. That will encourage the new feeder roots to develope and try to prune down to one stem and don't feed until you see baby tomatoes.

Best of luck.

[Thelma Sanders]

Depends which variety it is, whether you should have pinched it out or not - do you know? (oops didn't see the gardeners delight - yes it should be a single stem plant) but it looks a bit late to put it right.

Maybe it could do with a bigger pot, with the amount of foliage on it, I'd suggest you use garden soil if you do put it in a bigger pot. The weight of the soil will help stabilise the pot and will hold a little more water.

Bottom leaves go brown, nothing to worry about. The nodules on the stem are the start of roots, also nothing to worry about. If you put some compost /soil around the stem (or repot deeper) the plant will root out into the soil.

[bario1]

No sign of disease there, it looks very healthy. Leaf curl is normal, as are the bottom leaves dying off, and the knobbly bits on the stem.

At this stage I would nip out the ends of two of the three main stems and try to pinch out any 'armpit' stems you see forming between the stem and the leaves. Otherwise it's going to keep getting bigger and bigger, and then it'll definitely need a new pot!

[muddled]

....and don't worry about only having one small green tomato. Most of mine are in a greenhouse and are only just flowering! It's very early yet for homegrown tomatoes....they'll come when they're ready

[jacob]

Look OK to me. Although gardener's delight is a cordon, I'll usually let them have two or three main stems, and this doesn't seem to be a problem. It's still quite early and once they set you'll have new tomatoes appearing every day. I'd only worry is the flower (not just the petals, but the whole thing) drop.

[Scoot]

Look OK to me. Although gardener's delight is a cordon, I'll usually let them have two or three main stems, and this doesn't seem to be a problem. It's still quite early and once they set you'll have new tomatoes appearing every day. I'd only worry is the flower (not just the petals, but the whole thing) drop.

To get more than 1 main stem, do you just let one or two of the first side shoots grow rather than pinching out?

I would have done this this year but I got all my gardeners delight and money maker seedlings mixed up somehow, so I'll not know which are which until the tomatoes have set so it's a no no for this year.

[jacob]

I find that the plant will naturally grow a strong second stem (usually just above or below the first set of flowers) and I let this one go, pinching out the rest.

[Scarlet]

I find that the plant will naturally grow a strong second stem (usually just above or below the first set of flowers) and I let this one go, pinching out the rest.

Me too, after planting deep I let the first side shoot grow on. Though as soon as I get the first flowers set I take a lot of the lower leaves off to get a bit of air flow. It can get quite mad in the GH

[rustylady]

To get more than 1 main stem, do you just let one or two of the first side shoots grow rather than pinching out?

I would have done this this year but I got all my gardeners delight and money maker seedlings mixed up somehow, so I'll not know which are which until the tomatoes have set so it's a no no for this year.

Gardener's Delight and Moneymaker are both cordons so not too late

[Scoot]

Gardener's Delight and Moneymaker are both cordons so not too late

Oh well, I may leave a side shoot to grow away then.

What the hell is a cordon anyway lol? Does it mean indeterminate tomato plant?

[Scarlet]

Yes

Indeterminate Toms are usually grown as cordons - a single stem with side shoots removed. Though no harm in training two stems.
Determinate Toms are grown as a bush - much shorter and more compact than then the cordon variety, no side shooting required.

[Jungle Jane]

One of my gardeners delight tomato seeds didn't want to grow as a cordon when it germinated,it had two sets of seed leaves,all seeds in the tray sowed at the same time,but you can see its smaller than the others & growth is slower,compared to the single cordon plants growing. Interesting to see how it grows.

[Thelma Sanders]

Siamese twin tomatoes lol

[Scarlet]

It looks like two seeds have germinated at the same time and fused together.