Do these look too big to separate? I'm still a few weeks out from when I would like to transplant these guys, last frost date here is February 3rd. They are growing much faster than I expected, I was using normal potting soil after germinating in seed starting mix in previous seasons and they grew so incredibly slowly. This time I mixed about 1/3 bagged crappy compost (basically half composted wood chips), 1/3 soil from my yard (glorified sand, really), and 1/3 soil from my tortoise pen (a little sand and a lot of tortoise poop and food they stepped on instead of eating), and they are growing faster than the actual weeds for once. I'm glad they are growing quickly, but I am concerned that the pot size isn't sufficient for one plant, much less two.
Should I just snip the weaker one in each pot? Can these still be separated and is it going to damage their long term growth if I do? When is a good time to separate tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants if I do?
Bonus question, any ideas why these plants are growing so quickly but look a little unhealthy with yellowed new growth? Included a picture of a little older, bigger container tomato to really show the yellowing.
Thanks for any insight, folks.
by ipovogel
12 Comments
They don’t look too big to separate.
If you’re only a few weeks out, id leave them and separate them when you plant. Have you ever bought veggies at a greenhouse? I would always be happy when I got more than one tomato plant in a single pot; bonus. Nowadays, i grow my own seed but same philosophy.. if I end up with more than one plant in a single pot, maybe I’ll just leave it and separate when I plant out.
They can be separated. Tomatoes don’t mind their roots being disturbed the way many plants do.
Pull them out of the pot and tease the roots apart as best you can. Minor root damage is OK, just plant them deep and keep the soil moist for a few days while they recover.
You in south Florida? Starts for tomatoes up my way in the northwest of the state ain’t till end of Feb. I will be starting peppers next week, waiting on Johnnys order. Everything looks healthy. Just take your time separating and bury them deep like others stated.
Very easy to separate and repot these seedlings! 🍅
I use a trick for separating out larger seedlings. Fill a container about double the volume of the seedling pot halfway with water. Pull the entwined seedlings out of the pot, knock off as much potting medium as you can (on a surface and save it), plop the plants into the water and wiggle until more medium falls out. Gently wiggle the seedlings in all directions – and helping fingers to pull gently- until only the tiniest hairs are tangled. Once you are able loosen one seedling, the other can stay in the water while the first is up potted. And with tomatoes I always bury deeply to establish more roots.
It gets messy, but the plants seem to appreciate having less trauma and lots of water.
Peppers did okay with this method, but tomatoes are best.
No, crack on and gently peel them apart
Tomatoes? Never too big. They’re weed-like in their resiliency.
Just pull them apart or cut the soil. Tomatoes root so easily, they won’t mind.
https://www.reddit.com/r/gardening/s/QxAJYEhdwL
Your “yellow new growth” in the 3rd photo is normal. Very healthy
Fine to separate. They look great.
No