Looks like they needed to be hardened off before planted outside.just keep them shaded from direct sun ..slowly release the covering in a few days they will harden up to outside temps and exposure. Sometime s the dry soil around the root ball will wick the water from the roots. Try soaking the planting hole first , and check the drainage. Be sure the roots don’t sit in water. the soil looks a bit dry and clay and maybe adding some amendments to the soil will help the roots adjust too it’s new home and keep the roots moist during the hottest time of the day.
Hiya Mel, yes sometimes I piggyback the black and clear containers— I can put more water in. Some of the clear bottles are cut off too short, so the extra black pot means I can put more in. I make a distinction between giving water and giving liquid food. The water goes in the black or clear containers which are situated over the root ball. I usually give liquid feedings along the buried stem which is indicated by the little stick on the ground. Actually Mel, you summarised it perfectly at the end of your last posting. I don’t think its you, but rather my less than ideal writing skills. My Bride would agree with this. haha.
Hi KK. I was thinking about your Tom that is looking a little sad right now. ( at about 2 am when I can't sleep and dream of gardens ) Do you think perhaps, with your unique hot climate and high humidity, that it may be worth trying to plant your next toms in a hole rather than lengthwise? My thought on this is that the root ball will be deeper and perhaps cooler? You could plant similiar to how you pot on...bury the stem and plant it on the deep side. It's just a thought. That soil on the surface may be a little too warm for your new Tom.
No Mater I don't think it is transplant shock or soil pH. I do not have a pH meter so I would like to believe that the pH is fine because the other plant is just beside it and is using the same mix. The second plant is doing very well and had grown a lot so no it is not following the first plant. It is now double the size of the first plant. The first plant seems to recover a little today. Thanks for your opinion. Pancorwest all the plantlets were harden off before transplanting - The drainage is good and I did water the root ball before burying it. The soil mix in the hole is 50:50 earth to compost mix - Yes the earth is clayey and is dry around the plant because I only water it through the watering hole and hoping that weed growth will be minimal. Thank you for your comments. I am sorry Mel I hope that my toms are not keeping you up I have had toms planted the way you described but I was not happy with them because of the hot weather here it did not last long and the yield is miserable. Normally when I dig up the earth, they are not hot or warm but much cooler than the surface. I really want to see this through and what results I can get. The principle of doing this is really good, having water up take roots and feeding roots. The second plant is doing really well and the first had recovered a little. Thank you for your thoughts and have a good night rest. Sweet dreams
OMG!!! My beautiful tom had been attacked by birds and I am so furious ... GRRR ... Now my only hope for this tom is that the only possible sucker will take over. A quick fix to prevent further possible attack. From now on I'll have to protect the two remaining plantlets when I transplant them. I started out with 5 plants in mind but now the possibility is only 3 plants. If the latest casualty of bird attack also failed, then only two remain. Hmm ... if I were to start another three then these new ones will be fifty days behind. I'll decide latest by tomorrow.
Oh no! Best of luck with the rest of your tomato plants. Wildlife can be so garden destructive at times.
That is discouraging news, KK. It seems that you must always be mindful of marauders. It is dreadful, but there is still hope. Don’t give up.
Thanks Droopy, you are right that wildlife can be destructive at times but then again it is nice to have some of them around. The one that was attacked is still doing great so I guess it will be ok. Yes there is still hope, thanks Sjoerd and I will make sure that all my seedlings will have protection from now onwards. It is too late because the parts all wilted to beyond saving. Thanks for the suggestion Netty.
I have one last plantlet to transplant and I am going to do it this evening. I was thinking of removing the very first one that I transplanted which is not growing at all because it suffered some kind of a problem. Should I plant this last plantlet in this place? Maybe it is not a good idea to do that, how about planting a cucumber there instead.
Those darn birds KK....I'm so sorry to hear this. I am curious...do you still have seeds for this variety that you've chosen for your climate? Are you able to start some more? You've done so well and learned so much. What ever happens only adds to your knowledge for next time. The picture you posted of the protected tomato...it looks SO HEALTHY. Way healthier than mine do at the age. I'm going to sleep now KK....zzzzz
I guess it is part and parcel of gardening when one is living at the edge of a primary jungle. Yes I still have seeds for this variety Mel and I decided not to start some more at the moment because the new batch will be like 50 days behind. Anyway I'll be planting them again during the third quarter of this year. Yes I have learned so much from this little fun adventure. Mel thank you so much for your encouragement and hope you had a good night rest.
Yesterday evening I transplanted my last tom plantlet into the grow bed with the others. Before I did that I decided to transplant a cucumber into the spot where the first tom was planted. It had not shown any growth since day one it was transplanted. The cucumber seedling was from another bed which I directly sowed 2 seeds in each spot in the bed. I dug out an extra seedling and planted it here instead of culling it. Since the tom had no growth at all I removed it. The final tom was planted exactly the same way with the same soil mix as all the others and the flower buds are still intact. Done complete with protection from the birds. The cucumber is a bonus
That protected set-up looks good, doesn’t it KK. That should give them a chance to grow tall now. BTW— will you have to net the adult plants to protect the toms later? I was looking at that first pic with the tiny cucumber plantlet next to the damaged tom. I can’t tell what the distance they are from each other, but it ought to be 2-4 feet. These are two plants that are heavy feeders and may compete with each other for the food available. How warm is it there now? I am just curious, because we still have fairly cool weather at the moment.
@marlingardener you think you're jealous;my tomato are just a weeks old. I got to wait till mid May to transplant outside. @KK Ng I wish you much success I know you are working hard at this.
