I transplant directly into the ground once you're past frost. Toms can be very small when they go into th ground so no need to pot up to a larger size. Use the info in the link below to make protective covers from uncapped small water bottles.

Here is a link that might be useful: Transplanting Tomatoes

Thank you very much trudi!!! :D

I was at Walmart yesterday. I saw a tomato fence for $2. It's the color green plastic. If I recall correctly, shape when installed is triangle. Is this good or should I go with the metal one that looks like an inverted cone?

Im planting mine out today. Gonna rain tomorrow, so Its a good time.

The most important features of a tomato support are sturdiness and height. Most of the cone-shaped wire ones are pretty flimsy. The first time I grew toms, I used those, and they fell over when the plants got really tall. If the triangle-shaped ones are good and sturdy, get those.

Oh Trudi, thank for the link. That was very helpful. I'll go ahead and put them right in after my last frost date. I have been using the tops of my WS 2ltrs as a cap with a hooked piece of coat hanger wire to hold them down.

Thanks dawiff. Is it ok to plant the seedlings 12 inches apart?

IMO, 12 inches is way too close together. I have done 18 in a pinch, but they always end up an overgrown jungle. It makes pruning, removing suckers, etc. really difficult. Hard to tell where one plant began and the other ended. I think at least 24 inches is best. Unless you're doing determinate/bush types, like Romas. I did Romas last year about 18 inches apart, and that worked ok.

The Tomato is a weed. It will grow where and when it wants, with little or no regard for the gardener's intentions.

You can spend big bucks, and lots of time and labor to constrain it to cages, supports and such, or just let it ramble over the ground, or anything in between. In any case, it will produce fruit.

trudi, I was reading the article that you gave to me again. I'm about to transplant them today. However, I have another question. Won't the sun burn them since they will be inside the bottles?

Thanks!

No, they don't burn. Make sure caps are off.

Can anyone recommend a tomato variety which is designed for a patio? [ie container]
I know there are some, but I have never paid attention to the brand name.

thanks,
ellen

Moscow, Tiny Tim, any of the Tumbler series, Silvery Fir Tree--there are others but those are some dwarfs that I do know.

Determinate varieties, those marked as DET, do very well in containers, but do need at least a five gallon planter. Bigger pots do have better results.

I just got Balkan Star at tomato plant swap. I was surprised how short nodes are on this plant and how stocky it s was providing it was small- definitely for containers.
Any grape or pear one will do ok in container. No large beefsteak type.

I'm so excited! I got sprouts, too! I was starting to get concerned about it, and then someone mentioned that they were taking theirs indoors for a day or so, and it worked like a charm!
I got 4 initially, then the other 8 popped up over the weekend. So out of 14 planted, I'll at least have a dozen. Thank you, fran, for your help (which you may not realize how much you've been to this WSer!)

Just an update. I was so worried last night about my sprouts because our temp reached 36F. I looked at them this morning and they were fine. :)

That is good to know too, thank V1rt0,
I have four or five varieties out in the garden with tops on right now.

I have never had any luck with the various tomato cages and tomato stakes. They might be ok for smaller grape or cherry tomatoes, but not for the big beefsteaks I like. The main problem is that you can't sink them deep enough in the ground to support the weight of a 4-6 foot tall tomato plant bearing heavy fruits. This year, I bought a bundle of fence posts (the tall metal ones they use for farm fencing), and we sunk them over a foot deep in the ground. By gosh, if that doesn't hold them up, I don't know what will! Of course, they do produce fruit either way, but it's alot easier to get at it when they're not falling over on each other. (Of course, I don't know how I'll pull the posts up to rotate the tomato crop into the next bed next year, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it!)

No tomato sprouts yet here. I'm thinking I must be in a mini-climate that is later than my surrounding county. We're out in the middle of farm fields on top of a small hill/mound. Thinking this because my bridal veil spirea (well established shrub) is blooming @ week after all those I see in my area.

I'm frustrated by NOTHING in the tomato containers...nothing! I even scraped one little corner hoping to perhaps undig a baby...nothing.

I don't want to take them in at night because I want to see what happens, but nothing is.

Anyone else in zone 5 still having empty tomato containers?

Just looking for some reassurance not to go out and BUY plants.

vvesper, check out the square foot gardening forum for help building super easy and sturdy trellis. I have one and we intend to take it down at the end of the year. I put it all together by myself in about ten minutes.

FINALLY...Happy Dance in Indiana....the very first WS seeds I sowed (Jan 7) have sprouted. Viva Italia Plum Tomatoes. I had just joined WS two days before and before I knew much, planted them in organic garden soil that proved to be very dense. I'd pretty much figured THOSE little beauties would NEVER sprout...but good golly, they're up. Now I'm hopefull for the rest. Sowed 3 other types.
HOORAY FOR WS

Good for you!

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