Growing Lettuce , Cape Gooseberry and Tree Tomato in the Backyard Edible Garden

John shows lettuce that was just planted out in the backyard as well as a cape gooseberry (aka incan or poha berry) plant and also the tree tomato (tamarillo…

Question by Audrey ♥WJA♥: Why are my tomato plants growing so tall?
From the time they were seedlings they were all very tall and thin. They are now about 5 weeks old and are probably 14 inches tall.

Why are they so tall? This is my first year growing tomatoes and I’m starting to wonder why they are so tall, since the tomato plants at the garden store are shorter and leafier.

Best answer:

Answer by Larry E
I’ve tried growing them from seed twice and each year they done what yours have done so I gave up and just buy starter plants anymore. I’m curious to see who knows the answer.

Give your answer to this question below!

14 Comments

  1. Man take care of your garden! everything is dead! All insects have eaten your plants….

  2. It will not vine on its own. You can train it by tieing or clipping to a trellis. I would encourage growing it vertically and training it as they can get wild!

  3. Hey John, I started growing poha berry from kitazawa seeds. It was growing straight up then all of a sudden, it bend over and now its growing sideways. Do I need to stake it? I know its kinda like a vine so I grew it along a trellis, however it does not seem to vine along the trellis. Please help!

  4. Hey John, what do you use to treat the Aphids? Thanks for the vids!

  5. I had luck with them for a few years when they were in the ground. 1st and 2nd and maybe 3rd year they did well. I am lax on protecting my trees in frost…I lost the tree. I did purchase another one that was living in the greenhouse and doing fine. Then I moved it outside. the frost de-leafed it. then I moved it into the greenhouse, and it came back. The frutis were not super delicious. I prefer the fruits of the easier-to-grow litchi tomatoe, that has more possibility surviving the winter

  6. Hey John, have you had any luck with the tamarillo, or “tomate de arbol” (as I learned in Ecuador)? Have they fruited? Also, did you grow that tree from seed?

  7. I live in Zone 8b or 9, depending on the database.

  8. Your gooseberry overwintered, what hardiness zone do you live in? Nice video. Thanks!

  9. I am addicted to Incan berries!

  10. Looks like you have a nice variety of interesting edibles in that little space. :) Thanks for sharing!

  11. Some varieties of Tomatoes grow very tall. I have seen cherry tomato plants grow 14 feet. As long as they have good study stems, they are fine. The garden centres choose the more compact type of tomato plant because they are easier to transport and handle. Tall plants break easily with too much handling.

  12. it depends on the season,sun,and soil.soil enriched with hydrogen will make your plant tall but not thick which will eventually break later on.But oxygen and the sun rays will strength the roots.
    That means your soil had fertilizer before but it took a while to absorb the nutrients.Thats good you’ll get tomatoes early.I know this because my biologist teacher has done this before.College.

  13. They are reaching for the light my guess, I keep light about 1 inch from the top of the plants as they grow i raise the light not much you can do now, when you plant them dig the hole deep enough that only 3 or 4 inch is above ground and give them lots of lime good luck

  14. Not enough sun…thinking you are trying to grow them inside, won’t work well.

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