Can anybody give me some hints about growing a small-fruit tomatoe in a basket, please? I have a large basket available, around about 42 cm. Suggestions for variety and how to grow....ie do they need nipping out as they grow, etc.
Any info really appreciated, thankyou.

Lynne

Lynne, this may sound like an odd question but are you talking about hanging baskets?

Yes, of course !

lynne, my favourite cherry Tomato is Baxters Early Bush and it would do well in a hanging basket. Make sure you have a good mix of half compost and half potting mix and water well. Yes, I would pinch the laterals out as it grows so you would have to have it hanging where you could access it easily.

Hope this helps
Beverley

My gut feeling was that you shouldn't remove the laterals. If you do you will have a single stem rather than the cascading effect of lots of branches. I have checked a few websites and none of them say anything about pinching out laterals (but, on the other hand, none say not to do it either!) I think you need to choose a dwarf tomato rather than the tall sort that need staking and you don't remove the laterals from dwarf tomatoes.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/28/2007 08:58AM by PennyG.

The purpose of removing laterals is to make sure that the growth goes into producing good fruit and isn't wasted on random growth that isn't going to produce anything worthwhile, it has nothing to do with what shape the plant itself will become.
I have an "Early Girl" Tomato plant with 4 trusses of flowers on, it has grown 2 very strong stems on which fruit will be produced and I have been pinching out the laterals since the first one appeared.
Up to you, lynne !!! I recommended Baxters Early Bush Cherry Tomato to you for the simple reason "bush" is the relevant description. It has a spreading habit which made me think it would be ideal for your basket.
If you don't remove the laterals, you will not get maximum benefit of fruit from your plant.

Happy gardening !!!!
Beverley

The purpose of removing laterals is to make sure that the growth goes into producing good fruit and isn't wasted on random growth that isn't going to produce anything worthwhile, it has nothing to do with what shape the plant itself will become.
I have an "Early Girl" Tomato plant with 4 trusses of flowers on, it has grown 2 very strong stems on which fruit will be produced and I have been pinching out the laterals since the first one appeared.
Up to you, lynne !!! I recommended Baxters Early Bush Cherry Tomato to you for the simple reason "bush" is the relevant description. It has a spreading habit which made me think it would be ideal for your basket.
If you don't remove the laterals, you will not get maximum benefit of fruit from your plant.

Happy gardening !!!!
Beverley

sorry, finger was too eager !!!

But the laterals will have fruit as well.

Okay, Penny, you sound like you know what you are talking about, maybe you have a degree in Horticulture, I am just a backyard gardener, taught well by my Dad who grew vegetables when he retired for the pensioners who lived around him and were unable to grow their own.
Let's agree to disagree, you let your Tomatoes grow without removing the laterals and I will do it my way. I would like to compare crops at the end of it !!!!

Carry on lynne, I am sure you will get a lot of pleasure out of your experiment, no matter what you do.
Cheers,
Beverley

p.s. Quality beats quantity hands down every time in my book



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/28/2007 09:53PM by Beverley.

Thanks, Bev, the Garden centre also rec. the Baxter and I've planted that in my basket. Will see how it goes.
Cheers

You go, girl !!!! Gee, I'm blushing :-)
Seriously, lynne, you will get an enormous amount of pleasure out of trying something different, remember, it's trial and error sometimes.
Happy Gardening
Beverley

By the way, lynne, remember to feed your plant once a week once the first truss of flowers appears and keep watered. The confined space of growing in containers of any type uses the nutrients up much more quickly, so they have to be replenished. I water in a commercial Tomato food.
Cheers !!

Yes, Bev,
I have 25 baskets in the Summer, with Begonias, mostly, but also mixtures of petunias and pansies and all sorts. Know all about feeding and watering. Like having a mass of little Babies. A real "trust in friends" when we go away for a couple of Days in the Summer.
Cheers!

Isn't it a great time of the year, lynne !!!
My Tomatoes are looking great, can't wait for that first seasonal bite !!!
Cheers
Beverley

I'm going to throw this into the melting pot then run like hell. You won't find me!!

But... I naaaahhh. I can't..

I have to. It's my duty.

Just remember I have a great deal of paranoia going on in my life at the moment.

Over the last few years with my tomatoes I have found the ones where I nip out the laterals succumb to diseases whereas the ones I leave untouched don't. I have begun to wonder if having inflicted an open wound of the plant, whether I have opened it up for airborne nasties or creepy crawlie nasties to infiltrate..

My grand dad who grew them for a living never nipped anything out and none of them got blight and they always were prolific producers of fruit. They had to be or he wouldn't have survived long financially.

My scientific husband tells me I'm certifiably nuts for even thinking this. He will nip out with the best of them and his always go black and crumply looking. Okay, they have bigger tomatoes than the ones I grow, but mine are sweeter too with all the struggling for survival.

I'm not the world's most industrious gardener so not nipping and stuff really really appeals to me. I also rather like weeds as I feel they protect many plants and provide moisture in the heat of Summer.

They're coming to take me away...ha ha...

Life is very much "horses for courses", do what works best for you. Gardening is no different.
If you pinch out the laterals on a wet day, you are asking for trouble. I do it only on a fine day, because of what you mentioned, greebies getting down through the exposed stalk where the lateral has come out.
I am very much a believer in "if it's not broke, don't fix it"

Happy gardening
Beverley

In the words of "ol" blue eyes" ....... "I did it my way"

Ahh yes Beverley.. Very true.. It's always wet in Auckland, even when it isn't raining. Therein lies the answer most likely.

My upside downer I planted in a 4 litre water bottle at the end of Summer, eventually produced two marvellous bunches of Cocktail sized tomatoes in the middle of Winter. They were the sweetest. The container was always drying out as the root system had taken charge of the container. Weeds were growing on top and there were days when I thought I was wasting my time, but everytime I fed it or watered it, forgiveness was in the air and it is still going strong, although no fruity bits evident.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/2007 12:28AM by Kerry.

No, I don't have a degree in horticulture but in my reading have found that there are 2 types of tomatoes - the tall ones which need staking and the dwarf ones that sprawl over the ground. The books i have read y recommend that you pinch the laterals off the tall ones but not the sprawling ones. I grow the tall ones and pinch out the laterals but I thought that since dwarf tomatoes are more suitable for baskets the laterals should be left on. WHy don't you grow 2 and pinch the laterals off one of them?

Reading is good, but doing the practical stuff is best !!!
I currently have14 different Tomato plants all healthy and growing well, of various types and not a lateral to be seen.
It's not a big deal, Penny, you do what you think is best. I was merely responding to lynne's post.

*hanging the "subject closed" sign up* :-)

HAVE A HAPPY DAY !!!!! I certainly intend to !!!!

Beverley

Gloves off!! Ladies, after being away for a week and a half, so good to see this forum brings the passionate gardeners out of the woodwork. So consider this. Do I plant out my flowerless, no laterals tomatoes tomorrow or wait until the hail and the 9deg weather has passed through Chch? Small country, massive diversity in opinions and gardening situations. That's what makes sowing a few seeds take on such a fascinating life of its own. Well done!!

Yes plant them tomorrow! The way the weather is at the moment you can guarantee there will be more of the same over the next few days. If you wait for good weather your plants might have tomatoes on them before they have even been planted!

Wonders will never cease I see Morris and James have an upside down pot. It is in the latest Gardener magazine, especially made for upside down tomatoes etc. The ad says it will be on sale at the International Flower Show.

Still have tomatoes inside. Waiting for tonights 3 deg to pass. No sign of today's 9deg and hail, so definitely tomorrow is planting day....now I had better check the moon to see if it is the right time!-just kidding-in they go tomorrow boots and all!

Hi Kerry and Penny G , well Im up for trying something new.........
Im going to stop pinching the laterals out this year ( after 40years) let them all hang loose. and Im going to try a tomato plant in a hanging basket.
love your posts , ta

I'm with Penny. Grow 2, pinch out 1 and see which is best. Actually I think I'll give that a go myself. I guess i'll have to wait until next year now, presumably it's a bit late to get started now.

Joanna.
Give it a go it is not too late. Last year I was still putting in tomato plants just before christmas and they did well. I have some in now but will still put more in.
Jean

Jean

I never plant my tomatoes until just before Christmas. We go away for about a month so this way the fruit is just ready when we return.

And with the season changes, I really don't think the Labour Weekend planting is a hard and fast rule now. We planted some in Labour weekend, and just planted a dwarf into a hanging basket this week - surrounded by chives - am waiting on that one to see how it turns out.
Also put a Roma in this week and if I remember rightly last year our timings were the same and had a huge crop from all plants.

It also depends on the variety. Some mature earlier than others. I planted an "Early Girl" the week before Labour Weekend and it has already reached it's maximum height and the first truss will be ready to eat before Christmas, it's ripening as I type !! Areas differ also and the location of where you plant your Tomatoes has a bearing on it as well.

Happy gardening

Beverley