Tomatoes, herbs and garlic

lily-ella

Hi everyone, I love reading all your posts and you have inspired me to grow my own! I have a few questions I hope you dont mind answering.

I have 2 little tomato plants that are doing well on my windowsill but I am unsure when I should put them outside to grow and in what compost etc. I have a large bucket, if I drill holes in that will that do or should I get a grow bag? I dont have a greenhouse though so they will have to live on the patio

Also I have planted some herb seeds with my daughter, I gave her the seeds and she just sprinkled everything into one pot! Will they all grow together?there is corriander, basil and mint I think.

Finally is it too late to plant garlic? if it isnt can i plant it indoors and how deep?

Thanks for reading

olibearhorse

Hi lily-ela

Well I grew tomatoes for the first time last year and I started to introduce them to outside during the day for a couple of weeks before they lived outside (against my southfacing wall). I planted them in multipurpose compost in pots the size of a bucket, watered and fed reguarly and they produced loads of 'matos! You need to make sure you take out any side shoots (shoots sprouting between main stem and shoot) and limit them to 3/4 trusses.

Re herbs, not an expert but I know that mint can take over rather a lot so you may want to plant that in a separate pot.

Never tried garlic - someone will be along soon I am sure!

janeawej

i see no reason why coriander and basil shouldnt be ok grown together, I would plant them apart if you had the choice but obviously dd has decided that one! the mint may well take over but never mind at least you will have an interesting mix of flavours! 'harden off' your tomatoe plants by putting out at day for a few days and bringin in at night before leaving them out all the time, largish pots should be fine but growbags may be cheaper!

RubyMurray

If possible I would have the coriander seperate from the basil and mint, as it's an annual herb (it will die after it's growing season) and it can grow to a couple of feet tall in the right conditions. The others should rub along together just fine if there is plenty of space.

lily-ella

Thanks for all your replies But whats all this about pinching out and all that?! :eek: What is pinching out exactly, snapping off branches? How will i know which ones to pull off? Sorry I havent a clue! Im going to kill everything I know it! :rotfl:

stilernin

lily-ella wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies But whats all this about pinching out and all that?! :eek: What is pinching out exactly, snapping off branches? How will i know which ones to pull off? Sorry I havent a clue! Im going to kill everything I know it! :rotfl:

.... Pinching out........... tomatoes will grow into a bush if left to their own devices. Some strains we are happy to leave like that, (they are called 'bush' toms), others we want to train into cordons (one single stem). When left, the plant will produce new branches which appear in the angle formed by the main stem and a leaf. When they first appear, they look like new leaves and when they are about half and inch to an inch long you 'pinch them out'. Just carefully push them to one side with your thumb, and they will snap off. Try to do this cleanly without damaging the main stem. You'll soon get the hang of it.

Take care though, the fruit (tomatoes) also come from the angle formed by the stem and leaf and you don't pinch those out or you'll be getting rid of your tomatoes!! You will be able to tell the difference between new shoots and flowers quite easily if you look carefully.

If you put the shoots you have pinched out into potting compost, you usually get a new tomato plant.......... Useful for a later crop if you have space.

Another way of getting more toms, is to allow just the first shoot to grow supported by a cane at a 45degree angle. This plant then has two stems, the original vertical one and the second one growing at an angle. Pinch all the other shoots out though.

...... sorry to have gone on a bit but hope this helps.

flashman_62

Herbs are great fun for the kids - mint can be very evasive in the garden so at some point it might be worth putting it into it's own pot.

Toms see BBC guide http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basics/techniques/growfruitandveg_growingtomatoes1.shtml

lily-ella

I get pinching out now! thanks

I think my tom plants are getting too small for their pots, all the roots are coming through the bottom and one is getting quite tall. Should I re pot them (never done this before, dont want to kill them as dd is quite attached to the plants!) or should i just leave them till they go outside in their big pots? x

Solomon_Broad

If they're going outside soon, I'd leave them as they are, so there's less disturbance. If you're going to have to wait a while before they go into the permanent position, then post them on.

lily-ella

Solomon_Broad wrote: »

If they're going outside soon, I'd leave them as they are, so there's less disturbance. If you're going to have to wait a while before they go into the permanent position, then post them on.

Thanks Im not sure when to put them out though When they get flowers? or when theres no frost? or end of may? Im so desperate these survive Ill be gutted if this doesnt work!

scrimperjan

I wouldn't be in too much of a hurry to put them outside permanently, but as others have said, put them out during the day to harden them off, then bring them in at night. If it looks like being a warm night you could leave them out all night. Tomatoes plants are pretty tough when it comes to repotting - they don't seem to mind at all. If your plants have got a bit too 'leggy' from being in the window, you can actually plant them deeper in the new pot, and they will send new roots out from the stem. Do you know what variety they are? - Some are hardier than others when it comes to planting outside. Once the risk of frost has passed they should be OK.