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Tomato planting error - too many plants in one bag...

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  • I've been out and tidied up a lot of the chaos seems there's actually 12 plants in there not 9 - the girlfriend is pretty sure we only had 9 plugs so not quite clear how but they all look like tomatoes. 

    As they're growing pretty well I'm going to leave them as is for now, I've added some feed to the water and will see how they do after a day or two's sunshine. 

    Thanks for the advice so far. 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I think steephill's suggestion is also excellent. You'd just have to make sure you had help shifting it - it'll be heavy!
    It's all a good learning curve. You'll be well clued up for next year  ;)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Ah how I wish I had a spare flower bed or massive planter for @steephill 's very sensible suggestion. 
    It would be a good option. Alas the previous resident decided to plant very spikey hedges in all the flower beds and turn almost everywhere to paving and astroturf. 



  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    That's a shame Steve. It would probably give you the best option of all.
    Do your best, and good luck. Hope you get soem tasty toms out of it anyway  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Hampshire_HogHampshire_Hog Posts: 1,089
    edited June 2019
    I expect what's happened is that one or two have sent up extra side shoots from below the soil surface if you can trace these back down and they appear to be coming from one plant they could be cut out completely but if as you say they are all congested it may not be possible and you want to be sure they are not the main stem.

    Don't be over concerned if you cant do it but next time you will know what to do.

    And as Fairy said if you could do as steephill suggests and you have room in a boarder or somewhere that would be a really good option.

    "You don't stop gardening because you get old, you get old because you stop gardening." - The Hampshire Hog
  • Hampshire_HogHampshire_Hog Posts: 1,089
    I was writing as you both posted so I'm a bit late  :D nothing new there then I hear everyone say  :D:D

    "You don't stop gardening because you get old, you get old because you stop gardening." - The Hampshire Hog
  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    You could try putting a fresh growbag beneath your current one, double decker style. Make sure you loosen up the compost in the new bag first though before cutting matching flaps in the top of the new one and bottom of the old one. That will double the root run and help build stronger plants.
  • steephill said:
    You could try putting a fresh growbag beneath your current one, double decker style. Make sure you loosen up the compost in the new bag first though before cutting matching flaps in the top of the new one and bottom of the old one. That will double the root run and help build stronger plants.
    Thanks for this suggestion @steephill - exactly what we did last weekend.
    With two stacked growbags and some duct and a plastic bag around the seams they now have a bit more growing / root space. 

    We also cut down one plant and moved another that was growing much slower. 

    Really appreciate the suggestion. 
  • Hey folks,

    Thanks for all the advice so far. 
    So below is a picture of the plants after @steephill s suggestion to double stack the grow bags and after a couple of plants were removed.

    There's a good number of flowers on a few of them but still no fruits so far. 
    They're getting regular food with each water top up (in the current heat the feeder is lasting 2-3 days).

    I'm removing side shoots as advised - but I'm concerned now they seem to be getting taller and taller rather than fruiting. 
    They're all around approaching or up above the top of the 1meter support canes.

    Any thoughts?

    Steve


  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,569
    Tomatoes (many varieties, anyway) do keep getting taller.  I usually nip out the tops of mine when they reach the top of the canes (8 feet including the pot depth) which makes them focus on ripening the fruit rather than more growth.  It does make them put out more side shoots though, which take some keeping on top of.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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