Big boy- no lower branches

[vinniek15]

Does this look like a healthy plant that will provide fruit? There are no lower branches. It's been rainy and temperature wise mild for July 1st. Just wondering if I need to change my feeding/watering habits.

[rainbowgardener]

No, not really thriving.

Issue isn't so much lower branches (I usually take those off anyway, so that nothing touches soil), it is that it is spindly and leggy - thin stemmed, long internodal spaces (between branches).

Here's a couple pictures to give you an idea of what healthy thriving tomato plants look like:


https://bonnieplants.com/wp-content/uplo ... ch-web.jpg


https://www.greenhousesensation.co.uk/I'm ... 09%201.jpg

Things I know of that lead to leggy tomato plants like yours:

1) Not enough light. They stretch out reaching for more sun. They need minimum 6 hrs a day of direct sun, preferably 8 hrs.

2) Stunted root systems, from staying in too small pots for too long

3) Over fertilization with high nitrogen fertilizer. This can make them stretch out, but usually would also make them leafier, which yours are not.

4) Growing temperatures are too high, but this mainly affects young seedlings

It always helps to tell us where you are located. There are hardly any garden questions that can be discussed without regard to location.

I can say that your pots are too small for them. One tomato plant needs to be in at least a 5 gallon bucket sized container, preferably twice that.

So I'm guessing some combination of not enough hours of direct sun, maybe too much cloudy/ rainy, and too small pots.

It will eventually produce a little bit of fruit, but probably not a very productive crop.

Welcome to the Forum!

[rainbowgardener]

P.S. If you move them into bigger pots, bury a whole bunch of that long trunk. Tomatoes are pretty unique in that they will sprout roots from all along the buried stem. That helps increase their root system, which is what you need.