Did you have windy weather? Mine blew over in a storm a few weeks ago.

I guess it was a little windy. The containers didn't tip over...just the plants themselves. All in the same spot too about an inch or so above the soil.

Dave,
No, I didn't stake them when planting them because I had a heck of a time growing them to begin with...with a budget of $0 I must due with what I have. I also have limited space to grow because I would say 90% of my yard is full shade. The plants that I put in the ground have regular tomato's so I put the cages I have on them. I knew the cherry tomato's would need to be staked at some point as they were just seedlings when I planted them so obviously I couldn't stake them then. I just thought it was weird that they all fell at once regardless of size. I know they are not ideal growing conditions for some of them, but it was either put some of them in the wrong container or let them die. BTW, I did not over plant them, those were our miracle plants. :) I'm not a seasoned gardener by far. I just thought it would be fun to grow some veggies with the kids. I have very fond memories of helping my mother when I was a child.

i will have to say that with the info provided it is not possible for me to even enter a WAG

Another small/medium size rectangular planter I planted Flat Leaf Parsley on one side and Basil on the other has 2 miracle cherry tomato plants growing right in the middle of it.

Sorry but that's an over-planted container.

I knew the cherry tomato's would need to be staked at some point as they were just seedlings when I planted them so obviously I couldn't stake them then.

Why couldn't you stake them then. Staking when planting is the normal procedure.

The point is that any tomato plant that isn't staked or caged in some fashion is going to fall over wind or no wind. Just gravity.

Dave

It sounds like you are new at growing tomatoes. So I'll explain this in beginner terms.
Tomatoes normally need some kind of support when you grow them. Some people put stakes next to the plants and tie the plants to the stakes, some people use wire tomato cages. Some people grow them next to a fence and tie them to the fence.
Some of the containers you are using might be too small. Normally for a regular size (indeterminate) tomato plant a good size planting container is the size of a five gallon bucket. If you are on a budget, use a five gallon bucket with holes drilled in the bottom. If you have access to any containers, you could still put them in bigger pots now and it will help them to produce more and grow better tomatoes.
Since tomatoes have a flexible stem, falling over shouldn't normally damage your plants. So just stake them up and they'll be fine.

The bigger the pot, the less often you have to water. But potting mix is expensive. My tomatoes that fell over are happily sprawling. I did get some sun burn on the bottom ones. Somehow even though I don't do everything the right way, I have tomatoes all over the counter in boxes.

I searched "tomatoes fell over" in Google and this page came up first. Just so happens I'm a member! Ha.

As for the original post, sometimes tomatoes will shoot up tall and straight, but they are always going to flop sooner or later so that's why you go ahead and stake them in some manner. I plant mine in straight rows with wire (cheap roll of small gauge flexible wire you can get at Home Depot, etc.) on either side (parallel) of landscape timbers spaced every six or eight feet. The wires start a couple of feet from the ground and I run three or four courses up to five or six feet high. As the maters grow I make sure they stay between the wires and later on use panty hose as necessary to train the errant limbs. (For better results pinch off the vines closest to the bottom as they sprout.)

But I came here to regarding seedlings in particular. They flop too and when they do it's game over.

When I first started growing my tomato plants I used a grow light. Then, later when I started buying at the store I forgot all of that. When I decided to grow again all my plants fell over. It nearly drove me crazy! The reason was that I wasn't using a light. (It only took me three seasons to re-figger out the light angle! Dumb dumb dumb!)

The moment the seedlings erupt you need to put them in the sun when possible and under a light of some kind at night. I use a couple of florescent lights.set near to the tops of the new growth seedlings. You do this and they won't flop over. Don't and they will, guaranteed.

There can be other causes for flop, most going back to careless gardening habits. But one is sneaky for the beginner. You must never ever use old moldy growing medium...You know, the half bag you had left over from last year that has fuzz on top this year. That kind of soil will kill baby plants in about a half of a wink. Use fresh, or bake the old stuff, or just be darned sure your leftover hasn't gone over.

Hope this helps. Mystery solved for floppy stringy, tall, dead tomato seedlings. Give 'em the light light light! All day and all night!
Your tomato growing pal,
Norm

This post was edited by TheNorm on Sat, Jan 31, 15 at 14:30

I been growing tomatoes for about 16 yrs,and if it is wilted just at the ground it's a cut worm,one day there normal and healthy about 8 to 10 inches tall so no need to support yet..cut worm will act as a lumber jack and cut just underground and it will wilt and fall over in one night

I would think that if it was caused by a cutworm, then the OP would have noticed that the stem was chewed through.

Concur with nc.

Not all the tomato plant will fall over at once because of cut worms.

When I plant out, if I dont drive in a permanent stake I would use something like a thin bamboo to support them against falling over, temporarily. When they start growing fast then I either steak or cage them.

This is how I support them initially/temporarily

this is how I do it later on.

This is how they look individually