If they are 4 foot tall/long I'd just root some cuttings from them and pitch the rest of the plant.

Dave

Dave has the right idea, unless you want to dig long trenches for planting.

It looks like you are in zone 7, do you have enough time to take cuttings?

When I want to take cuttings, I put some potting mix in a cup or pot, poke a hole with a pencil while wigglinig it slightly to enlarge the hole and to pack the potting mix on the sides of the hole somewhat. I usually clip the top of the plant so that I have 2 or 3 sets of leaves on the stem and remove any below that. Then put the cutting into the hole as deeply as possible, almost to the lowest leaves. I water well, and then put the container in a flat with about a half-inch of water, so the plant is rooted in very wet potting soil and will not suffer shock when like it can when rooted in water then put into soil. (Best of both methods that way.) Each day I make sure there is that half inch of water in the tray. The cuttings will droop badly for a few days then perk right up. When they perk up they have some roots, and I let the tray dry and water them the way I normally water seedlings.

Are your plants leggy because they are reaching for light? If so try to get them some good lighting, like an inexpensive shop light. Put a fan near so that it can blow on them, preferably with a timer, and run it on them for an hour or two a couple of times a day. That will help give you stockier stems.

Hope that helps.

Bets

Yes, Dave has the right idea. I do it all winter with an ultrasonic cloning machine which speeds things up, but it's not necessary. Use the main tip and as many suckers as you want. But don't trash the plant, leave the last sucker on.(lowest), and allow it to become the new main stem. This one should grow quite rapidly due to the large root structure. You can find more information in the propagation forum and in the hydroponic forum. Good luck
~Ken~

You already have roots and a stem. Plant them horizontally in trenches, would be a waste try to root cuttings.

would be a waste try to root cuttings

Why? Easy to do. Quick to do. And you end up with a stronger, healthier plant in the long run without all the leggy handicaps.

Dave

Plant them in a trench. I've done it before with plants started in February and not put in the garden till July for a fall garden. They end up with a great root system and grow of nicely.

there is no "too far back" for tomatoes...I've had them cut down to nothing by a cutworm or broken by a dog running (just a stump sticking out of the ground) and come back a week later to find a new branch sprouting (another reason to plant deep, you have leaf joints low!).

And, to chime in with the people who have suggested rooting cuttings, once I accidentally snapped off a sucker (a sweet 100 loaded with blossoms) and in frustration, I took a stick, popped a hole in the ground next to the plant, stuck the sucker in the ground, and popped the sucker in the hole. "take that!" Well, the next day it was wilted...but the next day it rained...and then...it perked back up, and it became its own plant, didn't even drop its blossoms!

I would take the top of the plant, put it in some moist seed starting mix, (like bets suggested. If your plants are VERY leggy, you only want the very crown of the plant).

Likewise, you can take any of the crowns of any suckers (if the plants are indeterminate). Then trim the potted plant down to a bonsai :) let it heal a day or so, and then introduce it to the sun if weather temps permit.

4' tall...wow. ;) You'll have to tell us how you did that!

As an aside, you do have the option of trenching or letting the plants sprawl and send roots out into the ground, but I think 4' trenches would get old real fast, and disease for sprawling would be very difficult to maintain, as well as picking fruit and weeding. Ick!

moms_helper_2008, you are most welcome.

scslim, I suppose you could plant the leggy plants as deep as you wish to dig the hole, put a sturdy stake in it (a 2"x2" with the bottom 18" or so painted with linseed or tung oil or even mineral oil to slow the penetration of moisture so that the stakes will last longer) set the tomato plant in next to the stake and tie it up fairly securely so that it would not get damaged by wind, then back fill the hole and water well.

Quite frankly, I would be very concerned about the damage the plant might get while being hardened off. Personally, I'd take the cuttings which may set you back about a week, but in your zone does not amount to much in the grand scheme of things.

Bets

agree trenches .and them suckers will grow quick

I also have skinny tomato's and will try try the trenching method.

I went to the Home Depo today and their tomato plants were about as tall as mine but were thick, as in big as my thumb thick when mine are thinner than a #2 pencil.

What gives with the thickness disparity?

I also wondered how they get those tomatoes so thick and stocky!

They are grown cool.

What do you mean grow cool? how cool?

This is a very old thread Julie - usually it means 55s -60s.

Dave