Kitchen Garden Forum

Hello, I have been a bit remiss in the care of my tomatoes in my propagator and slot of them have become very tall and spindly. Is it worth planting these toms out in the greenhouse, will they bear fruit or is it not worth the bother. Many thanks in advance.

Hi TF99

How tall is tall and how spindly is spindly

If the answer is "a bit" they should cope with being planted deeply - the stems will soon put out new roots and you should get a crop

The other alternative, which I did a few days ago with a spindly tomato plant was to snap off the top four inches of the plant, put it in some very moist compost in a cool shady place and allow it to develop new roots and become a fresh plant. I tried this for the first time last year when a squirrel snapped off the tops of two of my tomato plants. Somebody on here - I think it may have been Johnboy - suggested doing this and I couldn't quite believe it would work, but to my amazement it did. The secret, I've found, is not to panic when the new shoot droops very badly at first. Just keep it in a cool shady place out of the sun with moist compost for a few days to allow it to recover.