Tomato plants help

Gers

In my efforts to become a gardener (first time garden since childhood) I bought two small tomato plants - one a tumbler and an ordinary one. I've repotted them and in doing so took off the labels and muddled them up.

Is there any way of telling which is which? Do I just treat them both as needing staked?

Thanks.

Badrick

There may be a slight difference in leaf shape as the plants develop.
Tumbler has slightly less of a point at the leaf tip than the majority of indeterminate tomatoes (the ones where you take out side shoots ).
Tumbler example HERE
Standard tomato HERE

It's not a hard and fast rule though, being dependent on the variety of the other plant.

wallbash

Treat both to be staked, you won't do any harm.
Were you thinking of a hanging basket for the tumbler?

Gers

Badrick wrote: »

There may be a slight difference in leaf shape as the plants develop.
Tumbler has slightly less of a point at the leaf tip than the majority of indeterminate tomatoes (the ones where you take out side shoots ).
Tumbler example HERE
Standard tomato HERE

It's not a hard and fast rule though, being dependent on the variety of the other plant.

Thanks - will look for this.

:T

Gers

wallbash wrote: »

Treat both to be staked, you won't do any harm.
Were you thinking of a hanging basket for the tumbler?

If I can't get them by the leaf shape then I will stake them both. Was thinking about just a big pot for the tumbler toms.

Thanks.

Primrose

Pot them both into a bigger pot. By the time they get to abiut six/eight nches tall yiu should findnthat the tumbler is starting to develop more sideshoots and look bushier. Incidentally, don't take the sideshoots out of the tumbler as these peogressively go on to bear more stems and tomatoes.
Don't know which part of the country you are in but don't put them outdoors at night for anither two weeks at least as a cold night or a frost will finish them off or damage them to the point where they never really recover.

Gers

Primrose wrote: »

Pot them both into a bigger pot. By the time they get to abiut six/eight nches tall yiu should findnthat the tumbler is starting to develop more sideshoots and look bushier. Incidentally, don't take the sideshoots out of the tumbler as these peogressively go on to bear more stems and tomatoes.
Don't know which part of the country you are in but don't put them outdoors at night for anither two weeks at least as a cold night or a frost will finish them off or damage them to the point where they never really recover.

Great advice, thanks. Am on the west coast of Scotland, not so much frosty as cold so will put them in the steading overnight.

Cheers

Gers

Here's a pic of them both side by side:

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A close up of the one on the right:

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And finally the one on the left:

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The leaves do look different and perhaps one is becoming more of a bush already...

wallbash

Certainly look healthy enough.
I stopped growing Tumbler a couple of years ago, skins were a little tough.
Trying Garden Pearl this year.

Primrose

I,m puzzled because I would have said that the one with the early flowers appearing, ie the one of the right would have been the tumbler but I wouldn,t have expected its height to be that much greater at this early stage. I would keep them going like this for a while . Normally tumblers flower and start to crop earlier than the cordon varieties which makes them less susceptible to blight. You still have a good three weeks or so before you have to out them outside and decide their final locations. By then I am sure all will be clearer

Gardeners are always making mistakes like this . Last year I sowed a load of dwarf french beans and climbing beans in modules. They look pretty identical too in their early stages . It,s making mistakes like this which remind you how important it is to label everything and not trust to memory!

wallbash

Problem is that we don't no when they were sowed.
The only ones that are anywhere that height, are the Gardeners Delight,
the rest , including money maker are half that size. And the Garden Pearls are much , much smaller. All sown at the same time.