Tomatoes spacing and transplanting help
- Thread starter abc2101
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You will be better off by snipping off the two weakest plants. A 5 gallon container is the minimum size container for 1 tomato plant. The roots of those plants are tangled and intertwined and separating them will lead to root damage, stunting and possible death, but if you want to try get the garden hose and wash away all of the soil from the roots and very gently try to separate them. Do not let the roots dry, work with them underwater.
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I never plant more than one tomato seed in a pot as I always get great germination and I don't like disturbing the root ball at all if I can help it. All that BS about planting more than one seed per pot is just marketing hype to sell more seeds. Like Chuck said use some small scissors and snip off the two weakest plants. Here's a pic of 24 seeds I planted that resulted in 23 plants.
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Not to pile on to what Chuck and Smitty said, but you have a couple problems...
1) Your tomatoes are too close together. Tomatoes need 1.5 to 2 feet of space between them and yours are too crowded
2) Even if you only had one plant, tomatoes get very large. The pot you have is too small for one plant, much less three plants.
This is why they are saying to at least transplant to a larger container, and either snip the weaker two at the base of the stem (easier, more realistic). Or if you want to be riskier, you can take the pot off the soil and try to wash away the root ball soil with a hose, to separate them.
When you do transplant or whatnot, don't pull the plants up by the stems. Instead support the soil on the top with one hand, and turn the pot upside down so you can pull the pot off the top of the soil. It's best to do this right at the spot where you're gonna put it into the soil, so you can go straight from the pot to the soil (hole already dug and depth measured by putting your pot in the soil hole.
When you pull the pot away from the soil, it will probably stick a tad since you have some roots, and it would be best to do this when the soil is medium moist to prevent it breaking apart too much.
Good luck!
1) Your tomatoes are too close together. Tomatoes need 1.5 to 2 feet of space between them and yours are too crowded
2) Even if you only had one plant, tomatoes get very large. The pot you have is too small for one plant, much less three plants.
This is why they are saying to at least transplant to a larger container, and either snip the weaker two at the base of the stem (easier, more realistic). Or if you want to be riskier, you can take the pot off the soil and try to wash away the root ball soil with a hose, to separate them.
When you do transplant or whatnot, don't pull the plants up by the stems. Instead support the soil on the top with one hand, and turn the pot upside down so you can pull the pot off the top of the soil. It's best to do this right at the spot where you're gonna put it into the soil, so you can go straight from the pot to the soil (hole already dug and depth measured by putting your pot in the soil hole.
When you pull the pot away from the soil, it will probably stick a tad since you have some roots, and it would be best to do this when the soil is medium moist to prevent it breaking apart too much.
Good luck!
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Here are some of mine potted up, I generally plant first week of June. They are under lights right now due to lousy weather but they've already spent some time outdoors and that will continue as often as possible as they grow much better with sunshine and a breeze compared to behind a window or under lights.
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I have never got on with using a hose to separate plants, I hold them by the foliage, tap the root ball, and jiggle them whilst gently spreading them apart. Take your time and never pull and tear the roots apart, the success rate can vary according to the soil they are in, but potting composts in bowls are usually good.
Hold by the leaves, plants grow new leaves easily, they are continually being replaced. The bit to be really careful with is the stem, they only have one and it is essential for transport between leaves and roots.
If I want tomatoes in containers I use builder's buckets, they are pretty cheap. In the UK we usually keep our plants pretty small, pinching out side shoots and stopping them by pinching out the top when there are 3 or 4 trusses of flowers, but I know some people in the US grow them huge, it depends where you are and what the climate is like, either way they want way more volume of earth than that.
Hold by the leaves, plants grow new leaves easily, they are continually being replaced. The bit to be really careful with is the stem, they only have one and it is essential for transport between leaves and roots.
If I want tomatoes in containers I use builder's buckets, they are pretty cheap. In the UK we usually keep our plants pretty small, pinching out side shoots and stopping them by pinching out the top when there are 3 or 4 trusses of flowers, but I know some people in the US grow them huge, it depends where you are and what the climate is like, either way they want way more volume of earth than that.
Personally, every time I've spaced my tomatoes farther apart the better they do. Started at 2 foot, then 3 and last year 4 foot apart. Last year was the first time I didn't get black death on my plants.