Can my plant be saved?

February 24, 2010 5:33 PM

Can someone suggest how to help my poor tomato plant which has keeled over or is it too late for it already?

I've had this tomato plant (not a cherry tomato one) for the most of this academic year so far. It sits happily on my windowsill except it's grown too fast! Right now, it's supported by a broken plastic hanger, the long/rod part. I accidentally tied the stem to the support too tight one day then I noticed that that part of the stem had an indentation. I undid the tie but then, the plant immediately keeled over. It looked like a broken straw! Now, a week later, that part of the plant shows no signs of healing, in fact it looks like it's getting worse. However, the area above this part of the stem is completely healthy and the stem is actually much much thicker up there. Is there anything I can do so that the stem heals or will it just be a matter of time before I lose half this plant? It's currently being held together by a tiny hair clip where the "claws" hold it in place snugly, but not tight at all.

I also have another tomato plant growing right beside it that's fine. How can I avoid this situation with that plant? I know tomato plants aren't really supposed to be grown side by side, the plants are actually somewhat intertwined now, nor be kept in a pot indoors, but seeing how I'm a student in the dead of winter in Chicago, this is the only way it's going to be.

posted by astapasta24 to Home & Garden (3 answers total)

Lots of variables here. First of all, what variety of tomato is it--determinate or indeterminate? Indeterminate ones tend to get really lanky. How much light is it getting? Light from a window in Chicago is probably not enough, and when tomatoes don't get enough light, they can get lanky. How fertile is the soil it's in? If there aren't enough nutrients in it, the tomato can get lanky.

So what to do. If your pot is big enough, start by burying the plant more deeply--roots will sprout anywhere along the stem if it's under dirt. I've even curled the stem up a little bit in the bottom of the pot. This will anchor the plant more firmly. Then go to your garden supply place and seek out a fertilizer intended specifically for tomatoes. Use that as per the directions, or perhaps a bit more sparingly. While you're at the garden supply store, if you don't already have a grow light for these two plants, check out their selection and buy one. Set it up above the plants and rig it to a timer so you don't have to constantly remember to turn it on and turn it off.

Even with these steps taken, it is unlikely that you will get tomatoes in the winter in a windowsill. If you do, congrats!

Good luck.
posted by miss patrish at 5:59 PM on February 24, 2010

You will not grow a tomato in your windowsill in Chicago in the winter. Period. Toss it.
posted by kirst27 at 6:53 PM on February 24, 2010

I agree with both of the two immediate previous comments, but there's a third way here. If you want to try to keep the thing going anyway, you can merely bend the stem (gently, gently, a bit at a time over some days) so that the portion above the wound is touching, and then covered, in soil. Let the thing root and, eventually, remove the old crown from the equation.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 3:33 AM on February 25, 2010