A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 CAN U TRANSPLANT TOMOTO PLANTS FROM OUTSIDE TO INDOORS???

We've had such a strange summer here so my tomato plants are at least 1 month behind. I just got my first tomato 2 weeks ago. My plants are filled with unripe tomatos and tonight we are suppose to have a hard freeze - temps in the 20's F. Is it possible to dig them up, put them in 5 gallon buckets with holes in the bottom, and bring them inside under 'grow lights' so I can keep getting fresh tomatos?

I think you should be able to. Be real careful with the roots when you dig them up. I would also remove a few of the bottom leaves and plant it a little deeper than it was outside. It will grow extra roots on the stem,and help strengthen the plant.

Hope this helps!

Karen

How many 'grow lights' would be sufficient? Do they come in varying degrees of strength? Do they have to be above the plants or can they be at the sides?

Sorry I'm so full of questions but I've never used grow lights before.

I hope this reply is not too late for you.

Tomatoes are deep rooted vegetable and as such requires a bigger container. Try container that is at least 16 inches deep and 20 inches wide at the top. See also Gardenmom's comments above.

I use commercial potting soil for container gardening. Try to keep the pH range at 5.5 to 6.8.

If you locate the tomato plant inside the house, place it near a window that gets at lot of light. Tomatoes need at least 6 hours of bright-direct light per day.

I can't answer your question about grow lights because I never use them, but here's a link where you can compare different Grow Lights .

Thanks for your help! I didn't get to do it this year, but will bookmark the information for next year. The info about grow lights is something I've been interested in for some time now.

I dug two small ones up I'm planning to put back out in spring, they came up where I'd tossed some old tomatoes.