My tomato plants in one of my gardens got hit hard by quarter sized hail. Many had branches broken off and most of them have the tops broken off. They "were" looking great and were about 18" tall before. Now they are beat up and about 10" tall.
Question: will they "sucker out" and still produce or should I dig them up and try to replant? I've never had this happen before. (By the way, my peppers have nothing left but the stems.)
Thanks.
Yep, the bottom should definately stay growing
and putting out more branches...
Anddddddd if you stick the top that broke
off back into the ground, that one should
root for you toooooo!!!
**dip it in a little rooting hormone powder
on the stem.. should help it alot more too.**
***or stick it in the ground and give it some
fertilizer with a high middle number,
my personal favorite is Schultz Plus 10~60~10.***
And even spray on some of that type of fertilizer on the leaves as a foliar spray on the one still in the ground to help with shock.. and that type will also help with the fruiting processes too...
(**Just don't do it on a hot day, do it in the
morning time..or overcast day**)
Let me know how you make out with the ole
maters!!!!
I still haven't even planted mine in the beds yet.
Ugh, so behind!
Thanks Weezie. But you better get moving! Summer is upon us!
Oh yeah, tomatoes are one of the closest
things you'll find to WEEDS!!!!!
I am pulling out HUNDREDS of thier volunteers
right now...
If any of you lived closer to me, you'd
NEVER HAVE TO BUY ANOTHER TOMATO PLANT AS LONG
AS YOU LIVED!!!!
I had told this story along time ago...
but it relates here...
My dad was sick and couldn't put in the normal
100+ tomato plants one year, but I wanted them to have a garden... so I came up with a bunch of buckets from my friends pizzaria and drilled holes in them and planted tomatoes...**they love
fresh picked tomatoes* and grew some lettuce and some peas too...
Well, my mother had a planter bench, the one's with one seat on either end.. and I decided to put two plants there she bought that were already huge.. Got the first one in, no problem...
and went for the second one, and something happened and it slipped and I went to grab it,
and snapped off in my hand... **I felt really bad*
cause most of it was in my hand, not still planted...
But I thought hey, I know they root from the stems, give it a try.....**You know me, always experimenting**, so I mixed up some fertilizer solution, (Schultz Plus 10~60~10) gave it a good dose it...in the soil, on the leaves that were left on the plant in the pot/container..
Then I took the one that snapped off.. and stuck it back into another pot/container, and gave it a good dose of the stuff... also on both a good foliar feeding...told my mother to do that for
every day for 3 days.. ***The mixture is not full strength and the dirt is always moist before putting on the plant..***
But it lived, both lived, both went on to produce
to very nice tomatoes.. and we were tickled pink to get something that year...
As an aside, instead of using hormone rooting powder, you can use honey to encourage roots to form on cuttings:) (Probably more expensive than the powder though these days.)
