Hi.
I am growing Tumbling Tom Red Tomatoes in containers...how many plants can exist in a given container? Maybe a better question is, how far apart should they be?
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rainbowgardener
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I looked up the tumbling tom which turns out to be a "compact" determinate cherry tomato, designed to trail over hanging baskets (hence the tumbling). Spacing is given as 18 - 24". Not having done it myself, I would still suggest one per container. If you really are growing it in hanging baskets, those tend to be quite small containers (otherwise to difficult to hang!). And hanging baskets being up in the air, exposed to wind, sun, etc tend to dry out even more rapidly than regular containers. But even if you aren't doing hanging baskets, 1 per container unless your container is really huge.
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The Helpful Gardener
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The Helpful Gardener
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Oooops....
I have 10 (yes you heard right) plants beginning to grow fine in a small 5 inch or so container, 2 and 2 together
They´re already at about 4-5 inches tall and seem to be growing fine at the time.
I want to take 1 or 2 and put in a large container. Would you reccommend moving/planting the whole thing in a larger container and cutting those on the outside and leave just 1 plant in the middle OR should I try to seperate 1 on the outside and move that to a larger container? I really don´t know the art of being modes when sowing hehe.
1 more......there are only leaves already.....do I have to do something special to start the tomatoes growing? Do I pinch something off or what?
I have 10 (yes you heard right) plants beginning to grow fine in a small 5 inch or so container, 2 and 2 together
They´re already at about 4-5 inches tall and seem to be growing fine at the time.
I want to take 1 or 2 and put in a large container. Would you reccommend moving/planting the whole thing in a larger container and cutting those on the outside and leave just 1 plant in the middle OR should I try to seperate 1 on the outside and move that to a larger container? I really don´t know the art of being modes when sowing hehe.
1 more......there are only leaves already.....do I have to do something special to start the tomatoes growing? Do I pinch something off or what?
Hi, about a month ago I planted tomato seeds and they have come up in threes. They are about three inches in height right now. I need to start transplanting them in a bigger container. When I put them into a bigger container, should I seperate them individually at this point, or plant them together until they get a little bigger? Thanks for any info about this, since I am a first time tomato plant grower!!!!! 
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rainbowgardener
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Tammy if your tomatoes are three inches high they presumably have at least a couple sets of true leaves. In that case separate them now and plant them individually. The bigger they get the more roots they will have and the more entangled the roots will be, thus the harder and more damaging to separate them. Do it now! Water them very thoroughly so the soil will be loose and you should be able to gently pull them apart with little damage.
However, it seems very late to be starting with little baby tomato plants, especially in Alaska. I have no idea when frost sets in again for you, but I'm guessing it's earlier than for me here in Ohio. Do you know that from when you plant your tomatoes out in the garden it's probably more than two months before you have ripe tomatoes? Are you planning to do them indoors or in a green house?
Actually I guess I should qualify that, I don't know anything about growing in Alaska. The two months is based on Ohio experience. I have heard that things grow much faster where you are, because of so many hours of daylight in the summer.... so good luck!
However, it seems very late to be starting with little baby tomato plants, especially in Alaska. I have no idea when frost sets in again for you, but I'm guessing it's earlier than for me here in Ohio. Do you know that from when you plant your tomatoes out in the garden it's probably more than two months before you have ripe tomatoes? Are you planning to do them indoors or in a green house?
Actually I guess I should qualify that, I don't know anything about growing in Alaska. The two months is based on Ohio experience. I have heard that things grow much faster where you are, because of so many hours of daylight in the summer.... so good luck!
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rainbowgardener
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See message above to tammy re separating the little tomato seedlings. It doesn't really matter which ones you take, but you do want to get them separated and in to their own containers ASAP.
You didn't say where in the world you are gardening, but take note that for many places in the US, it is late to be starting with baby tomato plants (but definitely not all, desert places like Arizona, it might actually be a little early, the heat of summer there can stress them and they do better through the fall once it cools down a little).
Re getting the tomatoes to start: you don't have to do anything, nature takes care of that, but it does it on it's own time. And probably your plants won't make blossoms until they are a couple feet tall or so.
You didn't say where in the world you are gardening, but take note that for many places in the US, it is late to be starting with baby tomato plants (but definitely not all, desert places like Arizona, it might actually be a little early, the heat of summer there can stress them and they do better through the fall once it cools down a little).
Re getting the tomatoes to start: you don't have to do anything, nature takes care of that, but it does it on it's own time. And probably your plants won't make blossoms until they are a couple feet tall or so.
Tammy, I second what the rainbowgardener said. Separate them in to fairly good sized pots. 1 per pot. started mine from seed and you wouldn't think something that small could get so big, 2 of mine are over 5' now. Took awhile to blossom but they did. I now have around 80 green mators on 7 plants with alot more blossoms. 1 of the most important things I learned is patience (well getting better at) and it pays off. Good luck and happy gardening 