I really don't know what I'm doing...tomato help, please!

ruby.gitane

I understand I'm supposed to put my tomato plants in bigger pots soon, but how do I know when they need supporting? Do I just put a cane in the pot now, or wait until they gets bigger (currently about 6 inches high, with a load of little seedlings/young plants from a later batch about an inch tall)? I'm guessing if they start looking like they need support it's too late?

And do I need to do anything special with the aubegine? It seems happy in it's pot, but I really wouldn't know if it wasn't until it started dying.

I've never grown fruit or veg before (fairly obvious that), so my only green experience is a long suffering Peace Lily which has been revived from certain death numerous times.

Thank you all you green fingered types! And I'm sorry if this is already on the board, still learning to navigate on here!

Zazen999

Put a cane in now and tie it in. You'll need to add more ties as it grows.

foxgloves

Aubergines are not the easiest crop even if you have a greenhouse but they do seem OK in grow bags or large pots. If you start getting flowers you'll know it's happy. As soon as tiny fruits start to form after the flowers, start feeding it with tomato feed. When you've got 5 reasonable looking fruits per plant, nip off the rest of the flowers so all the energy goes into producing some decent size ones.

stilernin

Definitely support now- use a small cane in the small pot and a much stronger taller one when you move to a bigger pot. Actually I use 3 canes and make a tripod around the plant in the final pot. Don't underestimate how heavy the plant will be once it is supporting mature fruits.

The smaller seedlings will all have to be potted into their own pots. Sooner rather than later.

When potting on tomatoes; plant them deeper than they were in the old pot. I plant mine right up to the bottom leaves. Roots will then come from the buried stem. More roots = stronger plant.

Water from the bottom so the stem doesn't sit in wet compost. Also best not to water too late in the day (so they don't go to bed wet!) and to water with water that has been standing for some hours so it isn't freezing cold from the mains. I keep bottles of water in the sun for this purpose. I do everything to keep them feeling warm - they do come from South America after all!!

A little bit of care and they will be fine. Just have fun.

ruby.gitane

Thank you both. Next daft question, do I need to cane the chilli plants in the same way as the tomatoes?

Zazen999

Chilis don't grow as big [are they growing in a greenhouse or outdoors?]....I use those thin green sticks rather than a cane.

ruby.gitane

Actually, confession time, at the moment everything is growing on the windowsills. Is this wrong?

214jay

I would not worry too much about them being indoors! I grew all my chilli plants last year on the windowsill with great success. I have a load of chillis and tom's on the windosill this year and they are healthier than ever Just make sure they are not getting root bound (see if the roots are coming out the bottom of the pots), if they are you need to plant up in bigger pots.

Just keep them well watered and well fed (I use organic seaweed fertilizer to great success) and you should have some very happy plants!

Zazen999

ruby.gitane wrote: »

Actually, confession time, at the moment everything is growing on the windowsills. Is this wrong?

no problem, it;s just they grow bigger indoors than out - so sometimes don't need stakes if outside.

Farway

What is the variety of the tomatoes? Some are naturally small & bushy, others are 5 feet tall

Jake'sGran

Farway wrote: »

What is the variety of the tomatoes? Some are naturally small & bushy, others are 5 feet tall

I have three or four grown from seeds from a Morrison's vine tomato. They seem to be very easy to grow. It's the watering that worries me every year but we always have lots of tomatoes. Last year I grew various types of chillies for my son and coriander.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that your tomato plants will develop extra growth in the axils i.e. the angle between the main stem and the side shoots and you need to remove these neatly. Just nip them out with your finger and thumb.. You can grow these as new plants in another pot if you want that many plants. It's great, growing things.