Newbie Plant Mama needs advice

So, my neighbor comes over tonight and gives us three little plastic pods with little tomato plants in them. Why, I have no clue. I also have no clue about what to do with them now, exactly. The first thing I did was put them in the plastic box and water them until the water ran through. But now what? As you can see in the pic, one is green and doing well and the others look dead. So do I keep them in these little plastic boxes until they get bigger, or go ahead and move them to some small pots, or plant them straight in the ground? Will the seemingly dead ones revive? I'm a major newbie to the world of gardening here. I grew up with a big time gardener, but I never paid attention. But the prospect of growing these little plants seems exciting. So any help is appreciated!!!

 

the dead ones look too dead to come back. you want to plant the live one once that soil dries out a bit. if you plant them wet, it will get messy and youll damage the roots.break upthe groung pretty good for it, maybe make it a little mound. once in the ground, you can almost water it every day. keep in mind, the roots need air, just as much as they need water.

 

Thanks Wayfaring. So plant it in a pot or in my yard? I'd prefer in a pot.

 

plant it in your yard,or in a 5 gal. buckit or simular size pots.my tomatos do well in 5 gal. buckits with drainage.tomatos like partial to full sun.good luck keep us posted on the out come of your project so others may learn.enjoy those tomatoes when you get some
sunshine to you

 

Hi ya woodenfroggie

 

hi toad, nice to see ya.hows the garden so far this year?mine is well gonna be allot of garlic this year,just got the potatoes and onions in.in a week or so ill put the rest of the plants in.hope all is well with you,wishing you sunshine

frog

 

Well the banana trees didn't make it through the winter. Not really going to do much this year. Just put out the plants we had brought in for the winter. Know they are loving the sunshine and warmth. Peace.

Toad

 

So, I named the little tomato plant Genie, put her in a big pot with potting soil, and put her outside. I've been trying to make sure the soil stays moist. So far she's not dead yet, so that's a good sign! But I was wondering how long will it take for her to grow up? And start bearing tomatoes?

 

It may take awhile...I have had some near dead plants that came right out of it though. When she gets big...you'll have to stake the plant,by putting a stick of sorts into the soil beside the plant..use something to loosely tie the plant to the stake(I use old panty hose cut into strips). Or else it will break over,due to the wait of the tomatoes.
PS...I name my plants too

 

I bought my two tomato plants a few months ago, they were probably already a foot tall, now the biggest one is about 4 feet tall (its huge )

it's got some red tomatos on it, too


I generally water every day, but then I'm in arizona and I wake up late so by the time I get out there the plants are starting to feel the lack of water


I also sprinkle fertilizer (forest mulch) into the soil every few weeks, not too much, and all of my plants are doing awesome



Somebody suggested a mound, I don't know how big the plant is in relation to the 5 gallon bucket, but if it's really small a little mound around to keep the water in might be a good idea.



Stakes or a cage (a big piece of wire caging rolled up to make a little circular cage) is very impoortant once it gets really big, my tomato plant was HUGE and its... sticks (i have no idea what to call them ) were on the ground

 

it looks like it has a really tall stem, i read somewhere that you should bury tomatoes right up the bottom leaf nodes because they will root out of the stem eventually and gain more strength and foundation.

 

dont always keep the soil moist. you need to give it a heavy watering, then dont water again until the soil is almost bone dry. a little water everyday will rot the roots, and also letting the soil dry out encourages the roots to grow and search for water. a pot is ok, but the ground is better, you may have to use a stake if you have it in a pot, so that your tomatoes dont break the plant. your also gonna want to lightly fertalize a couple times with something organic. the benefit with growing in the ground is that most minerals are naturally there in some amount, and there are bugs and other plants which create more. in a pot you really dont have that so you need to feed the soil a little more often. i think chicken shit grows the best tomatoes, maybe some greeensand too.

 

i never thought of that wayfaring, that it encourages them to grow their roots

 

4 my opinion,plastic container don't have drainage. water stays in the tray
they need good drainage. don't put them in to plastic container in the future.
and before u plant in the garden make sure it's gonna be frost free time

 

Very true.

For more good bucket/pot info check:

http://www.hipforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79929

Peace,
poor_old_dad

 

Well, Genie is still alive but doesn't seem to be growing, at all. Should I replant her in the pot but deeper down? There's quite a bit of stem between the leaves and the top of the soil in the pot.

And yes the pot has many holes on the bottom and is set up on a couple of blocks of wood, so it has very good drainage.

 

i've noticed that when my plants dont seem to be growing - they are actually rooting. you just don't see the roots growing - once the roots are established then you will see a spurt of growth.

if its looking weak - IE could fall over and break - then prop it up on something.

 

I only have a minute, I'll look up the whole story later. Transplanting and cool temperatures, especially at night, will greatly slow a tomato's growth. As long as a tomato plant isn't dead, it's growing.

Peace,
POD

 

can u post pic of ur plant once a week so we can all watch it grow?