To preface, my grandma was a gardener to her core and her favorite thing to grow was tomatoes. She passed suddenly and I want to begin my gardening journey in honor of her. I am very much a beginner so any advice is welcome. I know it’s very late in the season to get tomatoes, but there is one that’s growing (pictured). Really the only thing I am hoping for is just this one tomato to become ripe.
It’s been cold here (Boston) the past two weeks, so maybe that’s why it’s turning yellow? I only water it maybe once a week and it has gotten a bit of rain that reached the pot. It gets lots of direct and some indirect sunlight throughout the day. Last night it was 35°, so I brought it inside. Should I have done that? Please help!
by awdweeeee
6 Comments
Looks like overwatering. Might want to give it some nutrients as well. Mix in some worm castings into the top layer of dirt and go easy on the watering. Good luck 👍🏼
I’m sorry for your loss! I would think of growing tomatoes annually in her honor. She would be proud of you for carrying that on.
It kind of looks like a typical end of season tomato plant. Mine are usually done by this time. I’ve never brought a potted tomato plant in doors. They can be sensitive to fungal diseases so even though it’s warmer indoors, the airflow and humidity changes aren’t probably too good for it.
Perhaps start looking into seeds to grow next season? A couple that your grandma would like? There are some great varieties out there.
Very sorry for your loss, OP.
You may want to consider taking some cuttings of the tomato plant and putting them in water to root. That way if you keep taking cuttings you can have some plantable ones in May when tomatoes can be planted outside.
If you have space inside you can look up something called a grow tent and put this plant in there to grow through the winter. If you do this you should probably consider amending the soil with some organic dry fertilizer, worm castings and or compost. Since this is a container plant, nutrients can runout more quickly than in a garden.
Do you know the name of the variety? If it is not a hybrid then once it grows some tomatoes you can save the seeds and keep planting and saving seeds each year to keep up the line from your Grandmother’s tomato plant.
Hey! So tomatoes are warm weather plants. You’ll want to keep it inside from now on and maybe water it a little more regularly because it won’t have access to rainwater. I can’t tell what kind of tomato it is but if it’s an intermittent plant it’ll grow as long as you keep it warm and watered and probably get it a grow light for when DST changes in a couple of weeks.
If you harvested any tomatoes off it you can save seeds or take a cutting or 2 off the plant to overwinter 🙂
Am I the only person who replants tomatoes every year? I didn’t realize that people “kept” tomatoes.
You could probably keep it indoors with a grow light. Tomatoes need a minimum of 6 hours a day of direct sun. They’re also very heat dependent and need warmer soil and weather to thrive.