Can I save these tomato transplants?

[TexasGardenGirl]

Two in the same pot -- OK what I do is soak the soil really well -- dunk in a bucket -- the slip the soil out, hold the plants loosely by the mass of roots just below the bottom of the stems where it's a little sturdier, and start moving them back and forth -- up and down, side to side. You are trying to untangle and loosen knotted roots. Twist like door knob in opposite directions too. Small movements -- you don't want to break the roots -- and be patient.

Eventually, two will start to lean away from each other -- a good sign. Hold the rootball even more gently, now you are trying to feel for roots sliding between each other while pulling them apart -- sometimes they are not coming apart because you are HOLDING the critical roots -- steady pull, ever so gently. Keep on with twisting and side to side up and down movements.

That's what I do, anyway.

Thank you very much! I just watered the cherry tomatoes this morning and am letting them drain the excess out so it doesn't get all over. I'll work on making sure these guys are hardened better before I try getting them into their new home. Here's hoping I don't manage to kill MORE plants lol

[MOFishin]

Don't feel bad. This is my second year growing a garden. My tomatoes ALL did great the first year. This year, 2 of my 4 "Early Girl" tomato plants already look like goners.

[TexasGardenGirl]

Don't feel bad. This is my second year growing a garden. My tomatoes ALL did great the first year. This year, 2 of my 4 "Early Girl" tomato plants already look like goners.

Thanks, it does make me feel a bit better knowing I'm not the only one with tomato issues. My first batch I had 6 hybrid plum tomatoes called Health Kick. My damn dog dug them up! The roots didn't look damaged or anything but it killed them. This set I just went and got 4 Roma tomatoes since I just planned on using tomatoes for homemade tomato sauce. We eat a lot of Italian food and go through a lot of sauce. 2 of the 4....well, you saw how pathetic the photo was. Then, I went out this morning and a third one had died. The last one seems to have perked up and seems alright. The stem doesn't seem as limp. I do have a couple cherry tomatoes (two in one pot) that I am gonna do some extra hardening off and plant. I was going to return them but when I saw my other plants not making it I figured I'd give cherries a try. But now I gotta go get more tomato plants. If I want any decent amount of sauce to use and not buy any I'm gonna need a lot of tomatoes haha! But I'm gonna get a food mill and use the cherries for sauces too. But man, I am so sad that I can't seem to get the tomatoes to actually survive. Part of me does wonder if it's getting colder at night than the forecast says it is supposed to. It says it's above 50 but I wonder if the last few nights it's been dipping a little lower which may not be so great for new transplants. I dunno. First tomato growing season. I'll keep a better eye on the weather. It has been pretty weird.