A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 Attack of the Giant Tomato Plants!!!

Well, as usual I got carried away and planted too many vegetables, but I really messed up this time. I planted lots of tomatoes in containers and faithfully fed and watered them, waiting for vacation to move them to their permanent locations. But I waited too long to do it and because the pots were so close together, I now have giant skinny plants, nearly as tall as me, with few side branches. If I trim these down from the top, will they bush out for me, or do I need to hit the gardening shop for ultra-long stakes? TONY

You don't say how big the containers are. If they are at least 3 gal. size, you can place a wood lathe or two inside the edge and tie your plants to the lathes for support. Then water as needed and they will produce fruit. If the containers are small, dig a trench and remove and lay the tomatoes in the trench and cover, just leaving the top 6-10" sticking out. They will develop roots all along the buried stem and will produce fruit in time for harvest. It is still early enough. When planting in the trench, I'd suggest watering with a weak miracle grow solution to reduce transplant shock. Good luck.

Thanks Big Boy for the advice. The pots are plenty big enough, so I think I'll go the support route. I just was wondering if trimming the tops some would result in more growth lower down. TONY