please help me with what to do next with my tomato plants

[lighteningmcmama]

hello

i have 2 surviving tomato plants, 1 about 12 in and 1 about 8 in. i have just started to harden them off. but they are drooping, actually they were drooping before i started to harden them off. i think they need a stake and also repotting. can i use a stake whilst repotting, and how do i then transfer to their final destination outside if they are tied to a stake, without damaging the plant because its tied to something?

i hope this makes sense!

thanks

Can you post a pic of them,including pot size? Are they 'leggy'?
You could plant them/repot them deep, so with he soil coming further up the stem.

When were you think of putting them outside? Not for a while yet I presume, unless you're somewhere warm?

Hello, thanks so much for your reply!I will take a pic tomorrow. I was thinking of a couple of weeks hardening off then outside but that was just a guesstimate do please tell me if I'm way off! I'm in London.

This is a pic

Plant them on into a much bigger pot (about 4-5 times as big). Plant a good 5-6 inches of stem into the soil being careful not to touch the stem. More roots will grow out of the stem making it stronger and healthier. Then once in new pot, you can stake them. I sometimes use bbq kebab skewers as interim stakes. Don't tie them too tightly against the stake - loose knot just holding it up is what you want.

That's great thank you!

So when I do this is that just interim repotting? Then I can plant outside after hardening off?

Thanks!

Yes, exactly that. Interim potting to get the roots system set up. You probably only need to garden off for less than a week if it's mild. But I'm a bit mean to my plants!

That's brilliant, thank you! I have to track down some bigger pots now...

Hi I repotted them and now they're looking very sorry for themselves what can I do to save them?

Pic

You're not going to like this but to be honest at this point I would start again. They haven't had enough light and become very leggy. I got a couple plants for 50p each at a plant sale yesterday, markets have cheap ones too.

If you don't want to do that you are going to need much bigger pots and bury pretty much all the stem apart from a couple of inches thn put them somewhere with as much light as possible. Sorry, I know it's horrible to hear when you have been nurturing something.

I agree with Sugar unfortunately. They are 'leggy' as they have not had enough light and so have grown up, too much, in a search for more light. This weakens the plant. They should not need staking when they're that size -they are falling over because they're so weak.

As Sugar said, you should be able to buy plants cheaply at the mo, in markets, in places like B&Q or garden centres, or you might know someone who has too many plants. Or its probably not too late to start from seed again, but you'd obviously need to buy seed If you've used it all up. If starting from seed, you can germinate in a warm place, which can be dark, but as soon as the seeds are up, they need to be moved to a pplace with lots and lots of light. FForgetting to check on seedlings in for eg an airing cupboard can result in very leggy seedlings that can be hard to rescue.

Thanks

That's very sad I tried so hard. I kept themon a sink next to a window but there was a box in front of them,, perhaps that blocked some sun. The window itself lets in loads of sun...Will see if we can get some more plants!