Rutgers and Jetstar are both large indeterminate plants (Rutgers has a determinate form but the indeterminate is more common) and easily reach 6' or more in height depending on growing conditions provided. They will both need at least 10 gallon pots as already mentioned or planted in the ground. It is possible to cut two plants apart with a sharp knife by just slicing straight down through the root mass. But depending on how much the roots are tangles together it will be better to just sacrifice one plant for the good of the other. You still have time to buy more plants if you want to grow more than one. For future reference the smallest size container recommended for growing tomatoes is a 5 gallon bucket and then only for dwarf or container varieties. Dave

Dora, If these are thrips, they spend most of their time in the blossom because the pollen is the food source. The 'powder' mentioned when thrips are present is the pollen that has spilled out of the sac onto the lower petals. With thrips, if you gently blow on the blossom they will come out to see what is going on (nosy little buggers). It is easier to see them on a darker blossom. They will 'jump' onto leaves and run around too. Thrips aren't fatal. Treatment includes removing all blossoms and spraying three times a week apart. They lay eggs, and that will take care of new hatches. I used Avid. I have also taken plants and put them in a cardboard box. Cut a no-pest strip in half and place in the box for 24 hours, making sure the box is sealed. Do it 3 times, a week apart. I have also heard people putting the plants in a large plastic bag, soaking a paper towel with one of the garden sprays, and placing it in the bag, smae thing, 24 hours, 3 times. I don't remember which spray, but someone else on the forum will for sure. If using a no-pest strip, keep it in a sealed baggie when not in use. Barbara

The roots go a lot further down than an inch, and it doesn't look like that pop bottle has any drainage holes. I still suspect they are too wet most of the time, and probably are not getting enough sun as another poster noted. Lavender is originally from the Mediterranean region, along the coast. Yes, they manage to grow a lot of lavender in England - it is still a Mediterranean plant, however, that grows best in dry, chalky, poor soils. I think the Brits just tend to be better gardeners on average than the average 'merican, LOL! Plus they have lots of chalky coastline ... think the White Cliffs of Dover ... Lavender does NOT do well in soil that is moist all the time. If they are doing "better" since you started daily watering, I shudder to think how they were doing before, because those plants are not doing anything like "well", especially given that you started those plants way back in the spring. Here's a picture of a potted lavender that is doing well: Potted lavender advice Lavender needs 8 hours of sun a day, at least. Full sun in the garden is what they are talking about there. I don't think your plants are getting near that on your balcony. It will only be worse sitting near the window there in your kitchen (or where ever you plan to put them over winter). I understand that you are in an apartment and have VERY limited access to light and space for growing plants. Lavender is a very challenging plant (so is rosemary) for growing indoors. I've never had any luck growing either plant indoors myself. I'm not saying it can't be done; but it is a challenge. Your setup is not adequate to the task at this time. You're not getting nearly enough light; the soil mix in your pop bottles looks too heavy (lavender does better in a soil-less mix, in fact I think potted lavender may be a prime candidate for some version of Al's gritty mix). There are no drainage holes that I can see in that pop bottle and you are overwatering if the soil is never allowed to dry out. Lavender also like an alkaline soil. Adding some lime could help. ESPECIALLY if there is any peat moss at all in your soil mix, or if you are using pine fines as mulch or a soil amendment. So - alkaline soil, allow the soil to dry between waterings - not totally since these are first year plants but it shouldn't be wet or even damp all the time; and it loves the heat but dislikes humidity (hence it does pretty durn well in our dry near-desert conditions in N. Nevada). However at this point in time I hold out little hope for the survival of your plants over the winter, given their stunted condition now. I'm not trying to be discouraging; go ahead and try, you've come this far with them. But you need to repot them in a soil-less mix more suited to the plant and be prepared to supply extra heat and light, else they will not survive. Here is a discussion and fairly clear description of how to make Al's gritty mix. Personally I have found ALL the ingredients difficult to impossible to find. Turface, in particular, I have never been able to lay hands on - and though it is the virtually same stuff as certain types of cat litter or adsorbent, it isn't ALWAYS the same stuff. For instance, Napa Floor Dry has been touted as a replacement - but there are TWO KINDS and only one of them is suitable for this purpose. And I'm too tired to go dig up the links that tell you which is which. Also, having to screen and discard large portions of your ingredient isn't exactly lending itself to being affordable - let alone easy. That said - for this particular instance, I think gritty mix is your best bet - if you can only find the ingredients and get them properly screened and mixed.

Wonbyherwits - that is sort of like I was thinking - maybe a little bigger. Basically, the way the county people described it to me, I should be able to buy the big (10"-12" diameter) black corrugated plastic pipe with Y-shaped "wings" on the ends, that would sort of serve as a funnel to collect the runoff and channel it down into the pipe. But I would want the wings to be only off to the sides, not on the top or bottom, since this pipe has to sit flush on the ground (the ground is too unstable from erosion to dig into it).