Best time to move tomato plants?

[blackclover]

I'm a victim of my own success.
I planted s bunch of tomatos from seeds in a small patch without any expectation.
They've grown into a lot of beautiful plants and are now giving fruits.
After the season, I plan to move some of the plants to space them out more evenly and would like to know when would be the best time to do so.

Thanks.

 

[redback]

Probably now because they transplant best when small.

 

[blackclover]

Unfortunately, they are not small, already 100 cm tall. Also, since they are giving fruits, I fear they would suffer from the transsplant and lose them. Not to mention that I would need to trim some low branches to be able to dig them out and lose more fruits that way.

 

[redback]

After the season, I plan to move some of the plants to space them out more evenly and would like to know when would be the best time to do so.

Won't they be dead at the end of the season?
It's best to do it now. If you thin them out the others will grow better. Can you post a photo?

 

[blackclover]

I'm not an expert but I think tomatoes are perennial. I live in Baja mexico so the winter is mild. Sorry about the picture color, it's sunset here now. they are actally very green.

 

[redback]

Wow. Perennial tomatoes are new to me. I can't help with the transplanting times in the subtropics. The growth does look lush. Perhaps when the flowering is finished (?) you can prune hard and transplant then.

 

[YumYum]

Why don't you just start some new tomatoes and leave those alone? Or you could try replanting some suckers cut from them.

If those are determinate then they will only live so long anyways. If they are indeterminate then they may get to be so tall and unweidly to handle before next year at this time.

 

[blackclover]

Wow. Perennial tomatoes are new to me. I can't help with the transplanting times in the subtropics. The growth does look lush. Perhaps when the flowering is finished (?) you can prune hard and transplant then.

Thanks anyway.
That's was my plan, but I'd like to hear from someone who knows more than I do since I've never grown tomatoes before.

 

[blackclover]

Why don't you just start some new tomatoes and leave those alone? Or you could try replanting some suckers cut from them.

If those are determinate then they will only live so long anyways. If they are indeterminate then they may get to be so tall and unweidly to handle before next year at this time.

I want to move them because they are too close together both to grow well and to harvest. I don'tk now the type of plant they are, the fruits are small, like cherries.

 

[Meadowlark]

Transplanting tomatoes is best done when they are small in my experience.

However, I have had some success transplanting them fairly large (up to 3 ft) by removing most of the lower foliage except the very top and then laying the plant down sideways in a shallow trench you have dug for it. Cover with the top end pointing up exposed and you have a very good chance of success.

 

[MiniOrchardDude]

Why don't you just start some new tomatoes and leave those alone? Or you could try replanting some suckers cut from them.

If those are determinate then they will only live so long anyways. If they are indeterminate then they may get to be so tall and unweidly to handle before next year at this time.

I would suggest what YUMYUM mentioned by replanting the suckers once they root.

If they get to tall. You can actually remove the taller vine or main stem and let a lower sucker become the main stem. I currently do hat with my tomatoes. My support is just over 7 feet tall but they grow beyond that. Besides after 7 feet climbing a ladder on a uneven surface is getting scary at my age.

MOD