I am trying to grow a tomato plant in my sunroom, I would like for someone to tell me if it would be ok to cut the top off and see if it would make it more bushy and less lanky and weak? It looks healthy but does not have many stems. Thanks for your help. Flowerlady
Hello Flowerlady-- I have grown toms in several different ways. First of all there are two types of tomato plants: the bushy type and the type that grows as a cordon. If yours is the bushy sort, you won't really have to lop the top off. If it is the cordon type, then you can, but I would use sticks and let it get some height to it first.--the higher it grows, the more bunches of toms you will have developing along it's stem. You can also let the suckers grow on a cordon-type tom plant and may well get some tomato bunches that will develop on the suckers as well. Actually I am sure that you will get flowers. Of that I am sure, but if they will become fertilized and have the time to ripen before the plant dies is another question. I think it's great that you are trying this. It should be possible to do, after all some commercial growers grow them in greenhouses and sometimes on hydroculture--so why not in a serre? Another thing: Many tom plants are self-pollinating but I would still have at least one more plant sitting right beside the one you have already. Good luck...and let us hear from you as things progress. Just out of curiosity--what type of tome are you going to try?
Hello Sjoerd, I donot know what kind of tomato plant I have, it is a volunteer plant from the yard that I retrieved and potted up before cold weather got here. It has grown to about 18" I would guess and doesn't have many branches so I did snip the top out and we will see what happens. Thanks, Flowerlady
Ok Flowerlady. Do keep us posted. It will be great to see how you get on with that tom plant. It should do ok indoors. Write back if it refuses to set fruits and we'll tackle that. My fingers are tightly crossed for you.
I have a patio tomato plant growing in my green house.It is from the the tomato plant I grew in a large pot in my yard this year.It is doing really good.
How Often Do You Talk To Your Tomato Plant? Dear Flower1Lady, Thanks. Tomato plants that you grow inside during Winter months need more Love than usual. a - Have you named your tomato plant? (Henry, Henrietta, Bosco?) b - Do you talk to it every day? c - Do You feed it special Crystal water? NOPE. I haven't lost all my marbles. I read 2 books - "The Magic of Findhorn" by Paul Hawken where Gargantuan tomatoes and other veggies were grown in Canada because people talked to their plants. The 2nd book is "The Hidden MEssages in WAter" Masaru Emoto - He discovered that when words like LOVE and ABUNDANCE were taped to containers of water. The water formed beautiful crystaline structures only seen when frozen and looked at under a microscope. NOW - I not only store my drinking water in glass jugs with these words taped FACING INWARD. (My water tastes better.) When I started watering With LOVE WATER. Or ABUNDANCE Water and talking to tomatoes and flowers on my sunporch - they got Bushier, healthier looking. Less frail and spindly. You won't see this in any Gardening book. (I've been looking) But both ideas have helped my in-door plants. Alan
Thanks-Russian Scientists Talk to Plants Already Hi, Turns out Russian Scientists are ahead of us on this. Amazing studies have been made by hooking electrodes to the leaves of plants. Rhododendron-for example. A - When scientists talked about CUTTING a leaf off - in front of the plant - wired up so they could measure electrical impulses in the leaves. There was an Electrical Spike. (Fear?) B - Flowers around a scientists back patio grew 2 Times as Tall as the same plants in his front yard - when he played them music. Talked to them. And danced around his porch each night. C - Another Russian Scientist was talking on the phone to an assistant - about coming home to water his plants. The assistant noticed the plant EKG spiking. They did some more testing. Discovered the plants had ESP. Could "Hear" him coming several Miles from his house. So when I tell Cindy or Floyd or Agatha - my tomato plants - that I'm going to water them. Or fertilize them. Or make him or her feel lighter - by picking some of the old, heavy, ripe tomatoes. I pat their leaves. Compliment them on how GREEN they look today. Mist their leaves and bring them GREEN MONSTER PLANT Food Treats. I try to keep their Hyper-sensitivity to Emotion and Feelings in mind. Seems to work. My tomatoes get taller and wider than me. And I'm almost 6 feet. Alan
When I plant my tomatoes I always plant the stalk deeper, it will root along the stalk and your plant will be sturdier.
I have been absent from this site for a few months, my Mom passed away on 1/20/09, her brother and brother-in-law passed away the same day on 3/8/09 so I appreciate all of your comments and help. With all that was going on I guess the tomato didn't have a chance at surviving. I will have to try again. Thanks again, flowerlady
I've been growing tomatoes indoors for years. The best advice I have is that tomatoes like a dry spell in between waterings. Also, make sure that you have a large container for the roots to have enough room. You want to avoid root rot. I use no smaller than a 5 gallon bucket per plant.
