Hi,
I have 3 pots with cherry tomato plants.
They are growing well, but one has very few tomatoes... it is still
flowering.

Should I stop fertilising or continue?

I am in Montreal, so it is also getting cold at night.

Also, as far as trimming, should I do something special to make them stop
growing and flowering? Or, let them be?
I feel like they should stop flowering and concentrate on growing the little
tomatoes that are already there...
Or, by the time it gets really cold here, they will be all half green / red
and no good!

Forgive my ignorance, but these are my first tomato plants.... !

BTW, the ones that have turned red (10) have been super sweet tasting, so I
look forward to more!



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

The Cat Whisperer wrote:
I feel like they should stop flowering and concentrate on growing the little
tomatoes that are already there...

I absolutely agree with that, and you have very good instincts, even if
these are your first tomatoes! I'd pinch off the flowers and let the
existing tomatoes develop. It's not possible to answer whether they
need fertilizing, since only you know how much you've been giving them.
However, tomatoes are heavy feeders, so I don't think you could go
wrong using fertilizer at half strength as frequently as you were
before. Since the heat is lessening their metabolisms will be slowing
down and they won't be able to take in as much nutrients as they did
before.

If you pinch off the flowers and only let the existing tomatoes grow,
all the plant's energy will go into those tomatoes and you should have
a good result.

Bonne chance!

Thanks,
I will keep the new flowering from happening, and let the current flowers
and tomatoes grow.
I started these plants late, only in late July, so I am a month behind.
I will fertilise some more, but a less powerful mixture.

Am I supposed to trim the BIG branches with leaves (without flowers)...?
They seem to grow back very fast, I assumed that by removing them, the
tomatoes would get more sun and nutrients, instead of wasting it on branches
and leaves that don't produce flowers...?!

I googled a bit before I started, but there was so much info, it was
overwhelming!

Thanks again.
Chris

"Sparky Organic" wrote in message
oups.com...

The Cat Whisperer wrote:
I feel like they should stop flowering and concentrate on growing the
little
tomatoes that are already there...

I absolutely agree with that, and you have very good instincts, even if
these are your first tomatoes! I'd pinch off the flowers and let the
existing tomatoes develop. It's not possible to answer whether they
need fertilizing, since only you know how much you've been giving them.
However, tomatoes are heavy feeders, so I don't think you could go
wrong using fertilizer at half strength as frequently as you were
before. Since the heat is lessening their metabolisms will be slowing
down and they won't be able to take in as much nutrients as they did
before.

If you pinch off the flowers and only let the existing tomatoes grow,
all the plant's energy will go into those tomatoes and you should have
a good result.

Bonne chance!




--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

The gardening books that I've read call for decapitating the top of the
vine/bush. In indeterminate vines, in between the branch and the leaves,
you will get new growth (called suckers). These are to be pinched out,
letting all the effort in the plant directed to fruit development. I've
been growing tomatoes for at least a decade and this is the first year
that I've done topping and pinching. The vines are still way out of
control, so don't worry that you'll damade them.

You might try at a local nursery to find some kind of plant cover for
for your tomatoes to keep them warm at night and as the warmth dwindles
down. They are a little expensive but your nursery may be able to tell
you how to use vinyl on a tomato cages to get the same effect.

It may take awhile to get the hang of gardening. I usually need to do
things three times before I get the hang of them. Don't get discouraged.

Bon chance avec la jardinage or, if you are an anglophone, happy mucking
about,
- Bill

In article ,
"The Cat Whisperer" wrote:

Thanks,
I will keep the new flowering from happening, and let the current flowers
and tomatoes grow.
I started these plants late, only in late July, so I am a month behind.
I will fertilise some more, but a less powerful mixture.

Am I supposed to trim the BIG branches with leaves (without flowers)...?
They seem to grow back very fast, I assumed that by removing them, the
tomatoes would get more sun and nutrients, instead of wasting it on branches
and leaves that don't produce flowers...?!

I googled a bit before I started, but there was so much info, it was
overwhelming!

Thanks again.
Chris

"Sparky Organic" wrote in message
oups.com...

The Cat Whisperer wrote:
I feel like they should stop flowering and concentrate on growing the
little
tomatoes that are already there...

I absolutely agree with that, and you have very good instincts, even if
these are your first tomatoes! I'd pinch off the flowers and let the
existing tomatoes develop. It's not possible to answer whether they
need fertilizing, since only you know how much you've been giving them.
However, tomatoes are heavy feeders, so I don't think you could go
wrong using fertilizer at half strength as frequently as you were
before. Since the heat is lessening their metabolisms will be slowing
down and they won't be able to take in as much nutrients as they did
before.

If you pinch off the flowers and only let the existing tomatoes grow,
all the plant's energy will go into those tomatoes and you should have
a good result.

Bonne chance!

Sorry, I just noticed you said you were going to fertilize your plants,
don't, uh-uh, bad idea, do not feed your plants. Nitrogen will encourage
vegetative growth at the expense of the fruit, phosphorous will
encourage flowering. Check at the nursery for a potassium source.
Chemical fertilizers can burn your plants if directions not followed
closely.

Check URL
http://www.gardenersnet.com/atoz/che....htm#chemistry
- Bill

In article ,
"The Cat Whisperer" wrote:

Thanks,
I will keep the new flowering from happening, and let the current flowers
and tomatoes grow.
I started these plants late, only in late July, so I am a month behind.
I will fertilise some more, but a less powerful mixture.

Am I supposed to trim the BIG branches with leaves (without flowers)...?
They seem to grow back very fast, I assumed that by removing them, the
tomatoes would get more sun and nutrients, instead of wasting it on branches
and leaves that don't produce flowers...?!

I googled a bit before I started, but there was so much info, it was
overwhelming!

Thanks again.
Chris

"Sparky Organic" wrote in message
oups.com...

The Cat Whisperer wrote:
I feel like they should stop flowering and concentrate on growing the
little
tomatoes that are already there...

I absolutely agree with that, and you have very good instincts, even if
these are your first tomatoes! I'd pinch off the flowers and let the
existing tomatoes develop. It's not possible to answer whether they
need fertilizing, since only you know how much you've been giving them.
However, tomatoes are heavy feeders, so I don't think you could go
wrong using fertilizer at half strength as frequently as you were
before. Since the heat is lessening their metabolisms will be slowing
down and they won't be able to take in as much nutrients as they did
before.

If you pinch off the flowers and only let the existing tomatoes grow,
all the plant's energy will go into those tomatoes and you should have
a good result.

Bonne chance!

The information sure is overwhelming, but I think that what you're
facing now is probably a situation you won't face next year, when
you'll be able to start earlier, etc. And you'll have the whole winter
to read up on it. So let's just deal with what's going on now.

What I'd suggest doing is to pinch off all flowers and only leave the
fruits that are developing. Also pinch off any branches that don't
have fruits on them, because they are only taking up energy and aren't
going to do anything beneficial.

Make sure you plant has as much sunlight as it can get, and keep it
well watered. If you have clusters of three or four fruits all
together, leaning up against each other, I'd suggest pinching off all
but one or perhaps two in any cluster. I know it's hard to do, but you
want to get the most out of whatever tomatoes your plant can still
produce.

Next year you can make sure you grow a determinate variety that will
require less pinching. There are also varieties that are engineered to
grow in pots, which could be interesting and much easier to grow. And
as I said you can hopefully get an earlier start, maybe even starting
the plants indoors to make the most of your short growing season.

Thanks to you both...
I will pinch everything now, and for next year, they will be started MUCH
earlier and be in bigger pots!
I am interested in the "made for pots" variety, if you happen to know the
name...

Thanks again!
I am off to trim


"Sparky Organic" wrote in message
ups.com...
The information sure is overwhelming, but I think that what you're
facing now is probably a situation you won't face next year, when
you'll be able to start earlier, etc. And you'll have the whole winter
to read up on it. So let's just deal with what's going on now.

What I'd suggest doing is to pinch off all flowers and only leave the
fruits that are developing. Also pinch off any branches that don't
have fruits on them, because they are only taking up energy and aren't
going to do anything beneficial.

Make sure you plant has as much sunlight as it can get, and keep it
well watered. If you have clusters of three or four fruits all
together, leaning up against each other, I'd suggest pinching off all
but one or perhaps two in any cluster. I know it's hard to do, but you
want to get the most out of whatever tomatoes your plant can still
produce.

Next year you can make sure you grow a determinate variety that will
require less pinching. There are also varieties that are engineered to
grow in pots, which could be interesting and much easier to grow. And
as I said you can hopefully get an earlier start, maybe even starting
the plants indoors to make the most of your short growing season.




--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Almost any tomato can be grown in a large pot with excellent potting
soil, lots of watering (one gallon a day at the height of summer in my
experience) and tons of sunlight, IF you pinch it back remorselessly.
However, some plants seem to do much better in containers - any cherry
tomato of a determinate variety is a good bet. Parks sells seeds of
brands that are supposed to be specifically for containers, although
I'm not sure how they are different from other tomato plants. Try this
link:

http://www.parkseed.com/webapp/wcs/s...&OfferCode=SH1

I've successfully grown "regular" tomato plants (Big Boy, Better Boy)
in large plastic pots, but they are thugs. One thing about tomatoes is
that - like roses - they are VERY heavy feeders. I've found that any
fertilizer with equal amounts of NPK (10-10-10) is good for tomatoes.
I start them indoors under lights about six weeks before I intend to
plant them out, and when I plant them I pinch off all but the two
topmost sets of leaves and plant the tomato in the ground right up to
those leaves. This is one of the only plants you could - and should -
do this with, as it puts out new roots at each axial node, unlike most
plants which would die if you treated them this way.