I have never grown tomatoes, I know we are running out of time, I hope to keep these for next year...Is all hope lost??? I would like to keep them in pot? tips? advice? constructive criticism?
I am not sure if I am watering too much/not enough?
Thank you.
Sorry nobody has responded...this is a busy time for many gardeners. I'm not sure if I understand your question. Why do you want to keep that plant until next year? What type of tomato is it? Why do you want to grow in pots?
momstxgarden: I know that El Paso is diff. from Dallas, but the local nurseries here are selling tomato and pepper transplants now. They will need to immediately be transplanted into 'the ground' (dunno if you have raised beds) or can be transplanted into large, prob. 5 gallon size containers. One plant per container.
I hope that answers your question, but not sure that's what you asked. If it is what you're asking, then you also need to consider stakes.
It needs a bigger pot-, but Fall gardens are planting tomatoes now. 5gal pot if you cant plant it in ground. Tomatoes can grow in white rock if they have soil to support a foot of root. Add shredded wood or mulch to the ground also. I think your tomato has seen a lot of bugs, but the leaf color when healthy WONT be a deep green- that would mean nitrogen is too hi and fruit wont form. Set the pot in water for an hour or two and it will drink the water it needs, but dont let it stand in water- remove it and allow it to dry out. Roots are as long as 2' and if it were Spring the plant could reach 12' easy. Tomatoes form on the new branches as it grows, they lower branches wont rebloom and produce, but a new branch that grows from lower down will produce fruit and blooms. Good luck- and have fun
You won't beable to keep the tomato plant for next year. Tomato plants are annuals. They die after a year, But you can still use it for this year into the Fall or Autumn. Just water & fertilize it with plant food. It will die when the weather gets cold.
Tomato plants are grown as annuals, they are actually short lived perennials. They will over winter where the climate is right....I have grown tomato plants in CA for 2-3 years. I know they are classified as annuals same as peppers but botanically they are perennials. They, like peppers only die when it gets too cold. I have no idea why this info is not made clearer.
Ditto: Tomatoes are perennials, but usually die in the frost.
I have build hoops over my raised beds and been able to keep them going until January. Fresh ripe tomatoes until Christmas!
However, in a milder zone, I'll bet you could keep them going for a few years. They are grown as annuals for a couple of reasons.
1) Frost
2) Pests and diseases may build up, and by the end of the season the plants are not worth much
3) Heavy production has taken its toll. The plant has given its all in to the fruit. Combined with the prior item the plant just has no recovery ability.
In a raised bed the sun hits the sides of the bed morning and evening, or else all through the day (depends on how the bed is lined up) so the soil is a bit warmer.
In a smaller container this heat is lost through the night, so I do not think you would be able to keep a small pot (even 5 gallon or 15 gallon cans) warm enough. Perhaps surrounding the pot with something insulating would help.
Any sort of tent such as PVC pipe, wood stakes or whatever, supporting clear plastic can build up the heat during the day, and keep it in at night.
Here is about the smallest bed I would try this with:
3' x 3' x 6" high. 1' high would be better. Dark material for the sides.
Arches made of whatever is handy, taller than the plant (dwarf tomato obviously needs smaller tent than the larger vining varieties)
Look into the red reflective material that you can mulch with. A few years ago they discovered that red wavelengths reflected from the soil up, to the underside of the leaves helped. I do not know if it helps so much that it is worth doing, though. Dark soil will absorb the heat and this might be more important.
Tarp with 4 mil or thicker clear plastic. Secure the bottom really well (shovel dirt over it) where the chilling wind comes from, but leave the leeward side openable so you can open it on mild days.
Secure the tarp well so the wind will not blow it off.
Trellis through the middle, and spread the plant out like espallier, facing south (north, if you are in the southern hemisphere).
Great explanation and ideas Diana. I still wish that when a plant is discribed the actual traits of the plant would be given. I've seen Eggplants discribed as annuals but they are perennials I wish they would put would put what the plant is not how it grows in certain zones. Makes things very confusing.
So many semi tropical plants are grown in zones where they will freeze in the winter that the whole concept of vegetable gardening is based on fast growth, then get it out to make room for the next crop. 'Annual' vegetables that would live over in a milder zone take so much work to keep alive through the winter and grow so fast as soon as the weather moderates that it is a lot simpler just to treat them as summer annuals.
WOW! Thanks for all the replies, Tomatoes till Christmas! Diana this gives me hope : )
Thank you guys so much!
Like I posted above. I used to garden in SoCal and many tomato plants lived more then one year and kept producing, there was no reason to yank them. It wasn't until I moved to Texas that I even learned that they froze. The biologist in me just doesn't understand, calling something an annual when ts the growing conditions that determine this not the genetics of the plant. In Florida, they grow tomatoes in the winter bc the summer is too hot. Many plants say hardy too a certain zone. But I've noticed with tomatoes, most peppers and most eggplant they say annuals. They might be easier to grow as annuals but genetically they are not annuals and I think it makes things confusing. Just sayin...
I always have fresh tomatoes for Thanksgiving. If I freeze is expected I pull all the green fruit, wrap them in newspaper, put them in a paper bag in a dark place. I always have fresh tomatoes for Chistmas but they may not be right off the vine. Lol
I always catch the tomato forum when the folks in Florida are growing their tomatoes through winter. It seems to me that El Paso would be a bit cooler than Florida for the winter, but with some of the protection ideas give above, it would be quite doable to grow a tomato plant on through winter and into the next summer. There is ( or was) also as person from further on north who posts photos of their tomato plants grown in a large picture window each winter. The plants do quite well, but I don't think the actual tomato production is all that high. But I don't think that is the point...
Good luck momstxgarden. Hope you have fun!
Actually El Paso is in Texas regions 2-3 so it gets really cold there. Nothing like Florida. I don't know how tomatoes will over winter there. I'm still not exactly sure why the thread starter wants to over winter tomatoes. It's much easier to grow them during the regular season. It worth a try but it's a lot of work especially in an area that regularly freezes.
Have those plants produced tomatoes before?
Is it really? Wow! Thanks for the info.
I'll see if I can find the link to the spring/fall plant out dates for all of Texas. It's not divided into USDA zones but regions. It is on the A&M site somewhere....its an actual map so you can see where everything is.
I've overwintered tomato plants in the house....probably one reason I'm divorced. Lol
El Paso del Norte is west of the Mississippi River. Different total world from Florida. Seen Black ice many a winter- desert nights, no humidity unless a cloud sits on the road on the way to Las Cruces. Hot dusty still days. The 5gal bucket is for the roots- it would need indoors or in a greenhouse to last so long. This is Fall gardens time and repot can slow growth. Yellow lower leaves are just spent leaves- they can be removed or left. If you were watering too much, the upper leaves would have yellowed as well. Plant looks healthy, - when you move a plant always keep the side that was facing the sun in the east... Still facing the exact same way.
