Clickable link to the OP's photo:
http://flic.kr/p/buJiJu

Raistlyn, is that the final pot? Do you know how wide and tall it is?

How much space will there be between the plants? Space is the real determiner for whether or not to prune your plant.

Have you thought about how you're going to support the plants? (Stakes, tomato cages, Walmart's ring-thingies,etc.)

===

To make a clickable link at the end of your post, as I've done below, just paste the link in the "Optional Link URL" box, then put a title (anything you want, or just repeat the URL) in the "Name of the Link" box below that.

I don't know about posting from flickr, but this link tells how to post from Photobucket:

[I make clickable links, italicize, etc. by means of a free Firefox add-on called BBCodeXtra. You can also use that to put photos in your post.]

Here is a link that might be useful: Raistlyn's photo (same as above)

I keep reading about people pruning their tomatoes but I'm not sure when I should start pruning or if I even need to do so!

Don't know where you have been reading but if you search this forum for 'pruning' you'll read about all the folks who do NOT prune - at all - ever. :)

Pruning is purely optional. It is not required. Whether you do it or not all depends, as missing said above, on the plant spacing you use and how you support the plant.

I sure hope that isn't the final pot for that plant unless it is one of the dwarf cherry varieties. What variety are you growing?

They are in good soil with compost now

What exactly are they planted in? You don't use soil in containers because of the drainage problems it creates, use only soil-less potting mixes.

Can you give us more info please?

Dave

*sigh* OOOPS! and all that.

And here is the link that shows how to post from Photobucket:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/hosta/msg0513322013993.html?14

Thanks everyone!

I have to confess, these tomatoes were bought in a herb and veg starter set for my husband to get him more active in the garden (Ive done all the work so far though!) so I reckon it is one of the small varieties. The company is called Radis and Cappucine if that helps...

I intend to stake the plants when they start fruiting and actually am not sure if I want to replant in the ground as I don't have much of a garden and I've heard that small varieties can be grown in pots?

They are being potted in a typical potting mix from the garden centre for starting veggies. Should I be repotting in a soilless mix? They seem quite happy so far...

Thanks again! This is really helpful to a horribly new newbie!

Well it all depends on if you are treating it as a fun experiment or if you really want a productive plant with the best possible success? Transplanting it to a much larger container and using a soil-less potting mix will assure the best success.

Sure small varieties can be grow in in pots but pots can mean lots of different things. Something the size of a 5 gallon bucket is the usual minimum recommendation.

All the website tells you is it is something called "Organic Cherry Tomato" which tells you nothing. While there are a few small cherry varieties, most cherry varieties are huge plants, well over 6-8' tall so all you can do in this case it watch and see what happens.

At the very least it won't need pruning for awhile yet but it may quickly become rootbound in a pot that small..

Dave

Thanks for the advice Dave. I am definitely serious about my plants and want to get the best from them. I checked the bottom and the roots have not grown out yet - is this a good indication for whether they are rootbound?

Also, I'd like to fertilise them. When is a good time to start doing so? Do tomatoes require any special treatment?

Thanks again!

Raistlyn: One suggestion if you want to get your husband into gardening. Get him into super hot peppers such as Bhut Jolokia or Butch T Scorpions or habs. That's what got me interested, and I know many other guys find the super hots peppers very interesting even when you don't like to eat them. They are enough of a challenge, something to brag about and have fun with, and sometimes toys (which guys also like) such as heat mats and controllers, lighting systems, hydroponic etc also piques their interest as well as building things like raised beds and stairs for pots to sit on.

It happened to me, and now I look after all the vegetables, indoor and out, fruit trees, berries etc. and I love it. My wife looks after the ornamentals. I keep adding more vegetable beds and containers, and we are self sufficient for fruit and vegetables for much of the year, including freezing many of them. I also got into cooking doing things like salsa and hot sauces as well as other things that can be made out of the fruits of our labor. Every guy has the farmer gene in him. Looking after a couple of tomato plants in a window or on deck is not quite what we need to turn that gene on.

I checked the bottom and the roots have not grown out yet - is this a good indication for whether they are rootbound?

No they don't grow outside the pot, the roots begin to circle inside the pot, tightly going round and round. The only way to tell if it is rootbound is to lift the whole plant out of the pot rootball and all. This is why starting out with the proper size container is recommended because once the plant is established, begins to bloom and set fruit it doesn't tolerate re-potting at all. When it begins drooping it is rootbound.

Also, I'd like to fertilise them. When is a good time to start doing so? Do tomatoes require any special treatment?

Yes plants grown in containers require regular consistent feedings because the nutrients leach out each time you water it. A routine often discussed here is liquid fertilizer of your choice diluted to 1/2 strength every 7-10 days.

You can read a great deal more about the issues associated with growing in containers over on the Container Gardening forum here.

Dave

Thanks Dave! The 5 gallon pots have been bought! Will transplant them later.

Capoman: your message made me laugh so hard! I sent it to my husband who laughed as well..
We are trying to unleash his farmer gene ... He has said that a bigger more 'proper' garden might motivate him, but in any case hes been assigned the maintenance of the compost and management of the rather sad blackberry plant.

There was some discussion on this in a recent thread. I asked that question because here in 8b it gets HOT HOT HOT in the summer, and I'd rather not have cherry tomato vines that have stretched out to 8-foot length. That's pretty much what they do. (They are 3-feet tall now!) I'd rather have the action be going on closer to the soil, to make it less difficult for them to pump water.

I think the answer is that if you top cherry tomato vines, you might get branches, but those branches won't be as strong or productive. I used to snip off early flowers, to concentrate energy into the developing plant, but I now think that's the wrong idea. What one is encouraging is vine length.

Were it not for the intense heat stress, I certainly would have no inclination to prune them.

The 5 gallon pots have been bought! Will transplant them later.

Keep in mind that 5 gallon pots are the MINIMUM recommended size. Doable but still prone to several problems. If that is what you use you will have to monitor the plants closely.

Dave

Hello Raistlyn,

I am surprised no one has mentioned that you should not prune determinate tomatoes. The number of cherry tomatoes that are determinate is a pretty small percentage of the cherry varieties, but from the sound of the description what you have might be a determinate. If you prune determinates, you'd be cutting off the part of the plant that makes the tomatoes and you may get a very reduced crop.

Did you watch their video? Those are some very long leggy seedlings even at 75 days. I would expect them to leaf cover and branches at 10 weeks.

Yours look much better.

Determinate or "bush" tomatoes grow to a compact height, usually under 4 feet tall, and they bear a majority their crop over a short time period, then die back or go dormant. Some varieties will continue to produce a few tomatoes or have a second smaller crop later (perhaps it is related to the length of the growing season, I don't get a second crop in my zone 6 garden.)

I hope that helps.

Betsy

Here is a link that might be useful: To prune or not to prune

Hi Betsy,
Thanks so much for your helpful email. i do think that mine are determinate tomatoes too, judging from the limited information on the packet.
Was surprised to see that they put 2 seedlings in that tiny pot! No wonder they are so leggy...
Now i am getting to the stage of thinking about bringing them outdoors. The weather isnt great at the moment but we do at some sunny days. I tried putting them out for one afternoon - one did fine and the other 4 kinda bent over and wilted! Luckily they recovered when I brought them back inside - but it proves that they arent ready to go outside?
They are now all repotted to huge pots, fertilised and watered carefully!

Hi again Raistlyn,

Before you put them outside permanently, you need to harden them off gradually. (They can be sunburned or wind burned just as humans who don't go out get burned.) Start with an hour or two in shade and gradually increse the amount of time they spend outside, and gradually move them into full sunlight the same way. By the end of 10 - 14 days, mine are ready to face full time in the garden.

Betsy

Here is a link that might be useful: Hardening Off and Physiological Changes

Hi Betsy or whoever might still be reading this!

So my tomato plants are all between 40 - 50 cm tall now and ive started to sometimes put them outside when the weather is good and taking them back inside at night. A few of them have started to produce flower buds! (the buds are quite small still)

Is this too early?? I read elsewhere that I should pinch them off so they can concentrate on growing but that sounds a waste if these buds could flower and become fruit.

Currently, I fertilise every alternate watering. So one watering with a tomato specific feed followed by one normal watering, and then a feed again. Is this ok?

Thanks for any help! I hope I am doing ok so far with my first try!

Just leave the buds. They won't hurt anything and probably won't set fruit anyway. Fertilizing once a week is the usual recommendation. More often than that is normally not needed unless they are in very small pots that require daily watering.

Also keep in mind that moving plants in and out and in and out isn't hardening them off. They have to readjust each time. I don't know where you live but if the night time temps are in the 50s consistently then they can stay out. If not then it may be too early to harden them off.

Dave