Tomatoe seedlings - Pinch, feed or neither?

Hi all,

I have some tomatoe seedlings which will eventually go into gro bags (in a couple of weeks probably because they are being hardened off at the mo).
My question is, do I pinch? Do I feed yet with Tomorite?
Also, how many plants per gro bag (normal size)?

here are my seedlings (1 tray only, just 2 different pictures):





Cheers

 

didn't think they looked happy ;-) that's why I asked. Will pot them on. cheers

 

I would certainly pot them on and wait until they are much stronger plants before planting in grow bags. Also, I think that it too early to harden them off or plant outside.
I reckon that you can just about get away with three plants per growbag if you water twice a day: they are thirsty blighters.

 

Hi Bashy
I grew Toms for the first time last year and had a great crop but sadly lost most to blight as it was so wet and I don't have a gerenhouse. I start them in trays like yours but move them to 3" pots once they were about 2" tall. They are now about 4" but strong, green and healthy looking so as the other poster said I think yours need their own space/ some tlc. Mine are in a plastic greenhouse thingy which I unzip on warm days. I wouldn't use a grow bag again this year for a few of reasons (they claim 3 to a bag)
1. They were a bit squashed when they grew.
2. My bag was on concrete so I could only get the bamboo the depth of the bag which was a waist of time as it didn't support anything and hubby had to construct scaffolding (handy chap)
3. If you need to move them for any reason it's blooming awkard.

This year I'm going to divide the grow bag between 3 large pots (with some of my compost mixed in) and grow them there as this wll solve 1-3 above. I also slightly sunk a plastic cup (2")to the side of the plant. In this way water gets to roots and is not lost to evaporation. Also reduces eratic watering which Toms don't like as you can roughly measure amounts. Hope this helps Good Luck Sheelagh :thumb:

 

Good point about not being able to stake the growbags: I had forgotten that! I am inclined to cut growbags in half and produce two "growpots". I suppose that it would be easier just to fill some pots but I have limited space to store empty plastic pots and they escape with every high wind!

 

Given the size they are I would go straight to 4" or 5" pots, I'm sure that will cheer them up.

Feed them when the first truss has set, not before (unless they go all yellow again, if so please ask again)

In terms of cutting a grow bag in half, that also avoids the cost of the pots - which need to be 11" - 12" in diameter, about 10L, and they aren't very cheap. Flip side is that bright yellow "half" grow bag "pots" may not fit in with your colour scheme!

 

My tomato growbags are on a stone floor, but I get round the staking problem with some stands that they sell in the garden centre. They are basically a wire stand with 2 loops at the top, you push the loops together so they overlap, pop your canes in the resulting hole and down into the bag, and then let the frame spring back, it then locks the cane in a vertical position.

 

I used the cane stands last year on my tomatoes in a grow bag on the patio. They worked really well. They were about a fiver for a pack of three I think.