Would it work if I brought my tomatoes indoors?

[Herbsandveg]

Having originally decided I didn't have anywhere in my garden to grow tomatoes in that I don't currently have a green house, I eventually got a few of the surplus plants from my partner, and device to give it a go.

Most of the plants were really very late to go out in the garden, and I didn't hold out much hope them given that they'd quite a lot of growing time to catch up on, and were only fairly spindly, fairly unpromising looking plants which had a look of being out of place and out of time when they first went out into the open.

Undaunted by my lack of faith and (to my shame) my full attention, they nonetheless completely filled out and duly grew into string and healthy plants, and now completely fill the pretty big pot in which I sited them out in the garden.

My one big worry now is that summer will end too soon for them, and as they're only just getting flowers, I have fears that all their valiant affords will be thwarted buy the rapidly advancing Autumn chills.

Would there be any possibility at all that they might yet flower and fruit if (in a couple of weeks) I transplanted them inside into my house? I'm just wondering if that might just be an answer, and whether I might yet get a few tomatoes, and the effort might not be wasted despite my shockingly late and inattentive attitude. What do people out there think on this, and does anyone know of anything similar being any sort of success? I'd be very keen to hear what everyone's thoughts might be on this.

[Penellype]

If your plants are only just starting to flower you will struggle to get ripe fruit outdoors before they succumb to either blight or frost. Cherry tomatoes might just manage to produce fruit, anything bigger is unlikely at this stage.

It depends a bit on how big the plants are and what sort they are as to what would happen if you dug them up and brought them inside. I think if you have to cut the roots back a lot to fit them into a pot the plants would suffer a severe check from which they may not survive. You will also have difficulty keeping them upright if they have grown quite tall as tomato plants naturally fall over. Even if you haven't staked them, if they are touching each other it is likely they are propping each other up.

However I have transplanted the very small varieties of tomato (Balconi) half way through fruiting, to give them a bigger pot when I was able to move them outside. The fruits which were just starting to form did ripen but they were very small (the size of large peas). The plants are fine though and are now producing the more normal large cherry sized tomatoes.

Maybe it is worth experimenting with a couple of plants and see what happens. There probably isn't a lot to lose.

[Bren In Pots]

I think you've got nothing to lose by bringing your toms indoors because like Penellype says it is getting late for you to get anything toms from plants that haven't yet flowered.
I grow toms from armpits in a south facing bedroom window overwinter they seem to do fairly well I've even picked toms at Christmas a couple times.

[Herbsandveg]

If your plants are only just starting to flower you will struggle to get ripe fruit outdoors before they succumb to either blight or frost. Cherry tomatoes might just manage to produce fruit, anything bigger is unlikely at this stage.

It depends a bit on how big the plants are and what sort they are as to what would happen if you dug them up and brought them inside. I think if you have to cut the roots back a lot to fit them into a pot the plants would suffer a severe check from which they may not survive. You will also have difficulty keeping them upright if they have grown quite tall as tomato plants naturally fall over. Even if you haven't staked them, if they are touching each other it is likely they are propping each other up.

However I have transplanted the very small varieties of tomato (Balconi) half way through fruiting, to give them a bigger pot when I was able to move them outside. The fruits which were just starting to form did ripen but they were very small (the size of large peas). The plants are fine though and are now producing the more normal large cherry sized tomatoes.

Maybe it is worth experimenting with a couple of plants and see what happens. There probably isn't a lot to lose.

Thank you for your reply, Penelope

I have the plants (3 of them) in a very big pot, but I could get it into the house, and would just hope they'd benefit from the warmth and eventually flower and then fruit. As you so rightly say, there's not a lot to lose, and quite a bit to gain of I can learn from the big lesson that I didn't need a greenhouse, so I could have had them out much earlier than I did!

Thank you again for your advice.

[Herbsandveg]

I think you've got nothing to lose by bringing your toms indoors because like Penellype says it is getting late for you to get anything toms from plants that haven't yet flowered.
I grow toms from armpits in a south facing bedroom window overwinter they seem to do fairly well I've even picked toms at Christmas a couple times.

A very encouraging message, Bren, thank you.

I'll persevere with them, and even more so now that you've mentioned the possibility of picking them at Christmas!

[Penellype]

Tomatoes are perennials, so if you can keep them warm enough they will survive the winter. The big issue is light in the darker months of the year.