Hi Kim,
You and me are on the same page,just a week or two apart ;-)

I just used my regular potting soil/raised bed mix that I use for all of my beds, and they are all tickled pink ;-)

Use whatever you have on hand,they will be fine and besides they will be in the ground in no time ;-)

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How cute are those! But on the topic of these two plants, how close together do you plant them? I was reading that square foot gardening book, and he recommended putting them way closer together than I did last year. This year I have regular bell peppers, and the tomatoes are cherry tomatoes and romas. I want to avoid killing off my plant children as much as possible! :)

You are a crack-up and I just love your posts ;-)

Peppers should have lots of space between them ("lots" is relative) ,I space mine at 16" o/c and staggered too... The tomatoes depend on the variety,you remember my Single SunGold tomato from last year (I'll post the pic to remind you ;-)

But it took over this part of the country and they had to send in the National Guard,to rescue small children from its grasp ;-)

Unless it is a Hybrid like SunGold 2' o/c is fine ...

I made this 7' tall circular Trellis with a 3' square chunk of property for my SunGold this year (I learned from my mistake).

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The Beast

I cut this thing down 3 times during the season to 8' tall,it just wouldn't stay down...Incredible ;-)

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Hey Jon, do you pull/cut the 'suckers' off on your toms? I used to have out of control tomato trees where you practically had to crawl inside to gather the tomatoes. I started being very vigilant about pinching off all the suckers, and what a difference. No unruly plants and greatly increased production. Maybe you already do this, just curious.

No... I once heard about that,but never really understood it, what do you do exactly ???

It's real easy once you do it a few times and can recognize the suckers. I put a link down below to an article that does a good job of explaining it, and has a picture. Basically, when a new branch starts forming in the V shaped intersection of two other branches, you pinch that off. It really helped my plants a lot. I start doing it once they are pretty well established in the ground, maybe like waist high, right before they start to produce tomatoes. They say you can do it too much, but I've had those giant jungle plants before, and it was never too much. Helps reduce excess foliage and concentrate on bigger fruit, rather than a lot of smaller fruit. Maybe experiment on one this summer, see how you like it! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: sucker free tomatoes

Thank You Sleepy33,
I will try that this year ;-)

I'm going to try the pruning technique. Thanks for the link! I've never done it before, but keep hearing about it. My plan is to grow 8 indeterminate plants on stakes in my 4 X 8 bed. This is my first garden after about 15 years, so I'm a born-again newbie. Not sure if that will be too much. Thoughts?

8 is a significant amount, but not bad. I had 12 full size indeterminates one year, and whoo boy. That was a job. I hope you and your family and friends all love tomatoes. :) I would consider looking into some sturdy cages, but that's just my preference. The thing to remember is how heavy full-grown, laden tomato plants are.

Whoa! Jonhughes, that thing is on a little shop of horrors scale. Massive. And dumb question here, but what do you mean by "o/c" (16" o/c)

Sleepy, I have heard a lot about trimming the suckers as well. I may try it this year, with my romas. Last year I got a little carried away, and planted 11 tomato plants. I was giving them away to family, co workers, even the baristas at Starbucks. Crazy.

Kim

Hey Kim,

I grew tomatoes forever and never did this, until a year or two ago. But I definitely am convinced of the benefits now. No more errant branches going every which way, no more giant plants pulling the cage over. They do still grow straight up, though, so eventually I get to the point where I have to lop branches off the top, but at least everything is organized down below. Only thing, I have heard that it is not recommended to do with your determinate varieties, like romas. But if you grow any indeterminates, like the beefsteak, big boy varieties, those are the ones to try it on.

Oh, and my name's Aubrey, btw. I guess I never signed it before like some of you do, and it seems kind of silly everyone else being called a normal name and me being Sleepy. :)

Hi Kim,
Sorry about that ;-)

o/c is a building term... it means on/center..
Like for example :

2" x 4" Studs that frame up your wall are 16" o/c ,which means from the center of one stud to the center of another stud is 16"

Aubrey, it is nice to know your name. lol. I must have read somewhere that romas are indeterminate, but looking at the seed package, I guess not. My other variety, sweet 100, is a determinate too, so I guess I won't have to worry much this year.

And Jonhughes, I'm shamed not to know what o/c meant. With my dad being the ultimate handyman, and enduring countless 'This Old House' episodes, I should've know that. haha.

Kim

Question re: pruned suckers. If I prune suckers in say, June, is it a good idea to perhaps root the prunings (a couple or so is all) to have fall tomatos? I know tomatos root very easily.

Susan

I finally potted up! Here's some pics of the bell peppers, sweet 100 tomatoes, and roma tomatoes. Hope the pictures show...

Kim

Here is a link that might be useful:

wow Kim, your maters look great : ).

Did you plant them in dry soil?

Just curious.

Keriann~

Awesome ! ! !

Is this too fun or what ??????

Do you have room for all these plants ??? Are you freakin' out as to where you are going to plant them in a couple of weeks ???

Woo Hoo ;-)

You go Girl ..... YES ;-)

To cut the suckers off or not--interesting question and there is a definitive answer. It depends on the variety of tomatoes you grow.

There are 2 different kinds of tomatoes. Determinate and indeterminate. Indeterminate are vines, and determinate are bushes.

When growing indeterminate or tall vining tomatoes you cut the suckers off to promote top growth. You want the plant to get tall before setting fruit to get maximum production

When growing determinate or bush tomatoes you don't prune. The plant will only get as tall as it was meant to be and if you prune you are throwing away fruit.

Oilpainter vs Sleepy

I'll bring the jello ;-)

If what you are saying is correct oilpainter, then maybe I shouldn't cut off the suckers, this beast was 12' tall and I cut it down to 8' so I didn't have to use such a tall ladder to harvest, but it grew back three times and I finally gave up. There is no way it could possibly provide more fruit,it had to have at least a million tomatoes on it ;-)
So, is that what trimming off the suckers do,make it taller ??? Oy Vey ;-)

Maybe I should go back and re read sleepy's post...I don't want it taller ! !

and By the Way... I'll keep the jello handy ;-)

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Not necessarily taller Jon:

What it does is make a more managable plant and bigger fruit. You keep it growing like a vine and when it gets as tall as you want it, then you cut the leader and it stops growing and just sets fruit.

The trouble you had last year is that when you lopped the leader off the suckers took over, so it grew taller. It made it look more like a bush and not a vine.

I mainly posted what I did for newbies, when I saw lopping off suckers. I could just see a new gardener cutting off suckers on bush tomatoes and getting no fruit. I know someone who did just that.

Yes, Jon, I am freaking out about where I am going to plant them all! I have twelve that won't even fit under the lights!

And Keriann, yes, I planted them in dry soil. I watered the plant before transplanting, repotted, and then watered the new container until water came out of the bottom. (Had to poke holes in the bottom by heating a corn sticker on the pilot light). Talk about work! ;)

determinate varieties. I also mentioned that, after suckering, all I had to do was lop branches off the top to manage the height. So, yeah, pretty much consistent with everything oilpainter said in such a nice, succinct post. :) And I completely agree with her assessment that suckering leads to bigger (not more) fruit and a more manageable plant. Which...is I think what I've been saying all along.

Oops, full message should have read: I mentioned to heirloom above when she discussed using the technique on her romas that suckering wasn't recommended for determinate varieties. I also mentioned that, after suckering, all I had to do was lop branches off the top to manage the height. So, yeah, pretty much consistent with everything oilpainter said in such a nice, succinct post. :) And I completely agree with her assessment that suckering leads to bigger (not more) fruit and a more manageable plant. Which...is I think what I've been saying all along.

Kim:

If you are out at yard sales and you see a soldering iron or wood burning kit or tool snap them up.

I use my son's old woodburning tool to poke holes in my pots. My neighbor uses a soldering iron. Both burn through plastic in seconds leaving nice neat holes

Okay, so I now have 12 tomato seedlings that won't fit under the lights. Can I alternate them and the other plants for time under the light? I'm worried they might not get enough. I have a roofed sun porch with windows all around. Can I put them out there? Can I start to harden them off now? I don't have the room for them in the garden, but I would at least like to give them away. It's amazing how fast a plant will start to droop when away from the light. ;)

Kim

Kim:

If it's 2 or 3 weeks to your setting out, frost free date, then go ahead and harden them off. Keep them in the sunroom when it's not possible to set them out. The light may not be ideal, but it won't hurt for a day or 2. If it's sunny, but cool, with a cool wind then rig something to protect them from the wind. You'd be surprised How that will change the temperature for them. Any other time the wind is good, so don't protect them all the time

So....... What you are trying to say is "forget the jello" ????
What a rip ;-)

Hey Kim, I just started giving away all of my extra peppers and Tomatoes ...tis the season.... go girl go ;-)

I suppose I could do that. But I feel like I'd have to give a 10 page care guide and set up visitation rights. haha. Maybe a few wellness checks?? I'm nuts...

Kim

Hey, ladies and gentlemen =:)

Half way through this post, pinching the suckers turned into pruning the suckers.

I have always pinched or snapped my suckers off. Works like a charm. I've never heard of pruning them. I'd have to be more careful so as not to cut another part of the plant. Plus, I'd have to take time to go get the pruners. Just pinch them, it's much faster =:)

Pinching is what's done, unless you don't see the sucker/get to it in time, and it becomes branch-sized. Of course, you probably run more of a risk of introducing fungus and other bad stuff when you prune off a bigger branch like that, but knock wood, I've never had a problem.