Double planting?

Master Shake · November 17, 2020

Hello peoples,

Does double planting cherry tomatoes make much difference is increasing/decreasing overall yield?

I have some different cherry varieties double planted in little 10cm x 10cm pots, i was going to pull out the weakest and leave the strongest but they all grew roughly the same, so i'm deciding if i should just plant them out in pairs, kill one or separate them (damage some roots).

Thanks.

PaulF · November 17, 2020

This has been asked before but I don't remember what the answers were. My poor old memory tells me that when I have double planted there was not an appreciable increase in yield. Something to do with only so much nutrition, water and sunlight in a small area so that planting zone can only have so much output. I imagine I am wrong again.

Fusion_power · November 17, 2020

Nah, you got it right. A cherry tomato is generally more vigorous than most large fruited tomatoes so it needs plenty of room to sprawl and grow. Since cherries are vigorous, it does not really hurt them much to separate the plants, even if you have to cut through the roots to do so.

Master Shake · November 18, 2020

Thanks for the replies.

imp · November 18, 2020

A late reply and I am no expert, but have never had trouble ( knock on wood) separating the tomato plants. I just water them well and then after an hour or so, ease them apart from each other as best as I can. I have used a knife to cut the root mass before without any noticeable effect especially on cherries.

Dark Rumor · November 22, 2020

For regular tomatoes, do doubles produce more than singles, what are the pro's and con's. I have noticed that with my doubles, one produces a lot better than the other.

KarenO · November 22, 2020

If you are concerned about untangling the seedlings, just make sure the root ball is good and wet and gently wiggle/ pull them apart. Alternatively, just snip one off but tomato seedlings are tough and tolerate some tearing of roots quite well.
In regard to later on, I think you can be successful planting two plants together. I do it all the time deliberately to increase my options for selections in my breeding projects. On a small scale if you are conscientious about feeding and watering, you can grow two varieties together to increase to number of varieties you can grow in a season which is fun.
There are no hard and fast rules. Do what you want it’s your garden and cherries are quite forgiving of crowding in my experience as long as you select varieties that are not super susceptible to disease you’ll have more than you know what to do with usually with cherries no matter how you grow them. Feeding and watering and support are the main challenges to keep in mind so it depends how high maintenance you are willing to go as well.

KarenO

slugworth · November 22, 2020

Some places actually sell plants in the spring 2 per container very close together.
I separate them as soon as I get them home.
Regular vendors I try to find containers that have 2 or 3 plants for the price of one.

Master Shake · November 23, 2020

Thanks for all the replies.

Labradors2 · November 24, 2020

Wow Karen! What a GREAT idea! I'm going to try growing some doubles next year

.

Linda

JRinPA · November 28, 2020

I have double planted sungolds the last few years. That is, two starts planted a foot apart with the same cage over them, and lots of light at that spot. They produce an astounding amount of cherry tomatoes that mostly go uneaten, by people at least. They are not pruned at all, I just tie the vines that sprawl back up to the cage. One plant may well produce nearly as many, but I believe doubling the nutritional uptake area helps, just like trenching helps.

Actual twins from the same pot/soil block that would have the roots directly competing/intertwined? I expect they would produce the same as single plant. For cherries.

For big tomatoes, I have grown to like to space the plants closely and limit their leaders. I think it leads to a larger crop of earlier tomatoes than growing 1/3 of the plants in that same space and letting them sprawl more. Next year I'm planning to force many of my plants to one vine per 6", one for each CRW vertical wire. I had it halfway accomplished this year and it allows for very easy suckering once accomplished. For a round cage of wire, I can see maybe every other vertical for 5 or 6 per cage.

In general, I may plant twins when I can't decide which start is stronger, but I try to make a decision within a couple weeks of transplanting. Tomatoes get snipped without much worry because they are vigorous. I had some pepper twins this year that did not get culled back to one. A few of them had two good plants. One had noticeably varied stems, a big and a small, with only a few branches and peppers off the small side. It occurs to me that one was probably a cull that I cut down to the soil level. I think it grew a new shoot from the roots.

slugworth · November 29, 2020

probably closer to nature than the traditional planting methods.
I plant in "clumps" in the spring when I run out of space.Survival of the fittest.

November 17, 2020	#1
Master Shake Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: australia Posts: 117	Double planting? Hello peoples, Does double planting cherry tomatoes make much difference is increasing/decreasing overall yield? I have some different cherry varieties double planted in little 10cm x 10cm pots, i was going to pull out the weakest and leave the strongest but they all grew roughly the same, so i'm deciding if i should just plant them out in pairs, kill one or separate them (damage some roots). Thanks.

November 17, 2020	#2
PaulF Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brownville, Ne Posts: 3,284	This has been asked before but I don't remember what the answers were. My poor old memory tells me that when I have double planted there was not an appreciable increase in yield. Something to do with only so much nutrition, water and sunlight in a small area so that planting zone can only have so much output. I imagine I am wrong again. __________________ there's two things money can't buy; true love and home grown tomatoes.

November 18, 2020	#5
imp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Wichita Falls, Texas Posts: 4,832	A late reply and I am no expert, but have never had trouble ( knock on wood) separating the tomato plants. I just water them well and then after an hour or so, ease them apart from each other as best as I can. I have used a knife to cut the root mass before without any noticeable effect especially on cherries. __________________ I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are missing.

November 17, 2020	#3
Fusion_power Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,250	Nah, you got it right. A cherry tomato is generally more vigorous than most large fruited tomatoes so it needs plenty of room to sprawl and grow. Since cherries are vigorous, it does not really hurt them much to separate the plants, even if you have to cut through the roots to do so.

November 22, 2020	#6
Dark Rumor Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Southeast Texas Posts: 287	For regular tomatoes, do doubles produce more than singles, what are the pro's and con's. I have noticed that with my doubles, one produces a lot better than the other.

November 22, 2020	#7
KarenO Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Vancouver Island Posts: 5,922	If you are concerned about untangling the seedlings, just make sure the root ball is good and wet and gently wiggle/ pull them apart. Alternatively, just snip one off but tomato seedlings are tough and tolerate some tearing of roots quite well. In regard to later on, I think you can be successful planting two plants together. I do it all the time deliberately to increase my options for selections in my breeding projects. On a small scale if you are conscientious about feeding and watering, you can grow two varieties together to increase to number of varieties you can grow in a season which is fun. There are no hard and fast rules. Do what you want it’s your garden and cherries are quite forgiving of crowding in my experience as long as you select varieties that are not super susceptible to disease you’ll have more than you know what to do with usually with cherries no matter how you grow them. Feeding and watering and support are the main challenges to keep in mind so it depends how high maintenance you are willing to go as well. KarenO

November 22, 2020	#8
slugworth Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: connecticut,usa Posts: 1,150	Some places actually sell plants in the spring 2 per container very close together. I separate them as soon as I get them home. Regular vendors I try to find containers that have 2 or 3 plants for the price of one.

November 23, 2020	#9
Master Shake Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: australia Posts: 117	Thanks for all the replies.

November 24, 2020	#10
Labradors2 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Ontario Posts: 3,887	Wow Karen! What a GREAT idea! I'm going to try growing some doubles next year . Linda

November 28, 2020	#11
JRinPA Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: SE PA Posts: 963	I have double planted sungolds the last few years. That is, two starts planted a foot apart with the same cage over them, and lots of light at that spot. They produce an astounding amount of cherry tomatoes that mostly go uneaten, by people at least. They are not pruned at all, I just tie the vines that sprawl back up to the cage. One plant may well produce nearly as many, but I believe doubling the nutritional uptake area helps, just like trenching helps. Actual twins from the same pot/soil block that would have the roots directly competing/intertwined? I expect they would produce the same as single plant. For cherries. For big tomatoes, I have grown to like to space the plants closely and limit their leaders. I think it leads to a larger crop of earlier tomatoes than growing 1/3 of the plants in that same space and letting them sprawl more. Next year I'm planning to force many of my plants to one vine per 6", one for each CRW vertical wire. I had it halfway accomplished this year and it allows for very easy suckering once accomplished. For a round cage of wire, I can see maybe every other vertical for 5 or 6 per cage. In general, I may plant twins when I can't decide which start is stronger, but I try to make a decision within a couple weeks of transplanting. Tomatoes get snipped without much worry because they are vigorous. I had some pepper twins this year that did not get culled back to one. A few of them had two good plants. One had noticeably varied stems, a big and a small, with only a few branches and peppers off the small side. It occurs to me that one was probably a cull that I cut down to the soil level. I think it grew a new shoot from the roots.

November 29, 2020	#12
slugworth Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: connecticut,usa Posts: 1,150	probably closer to nature than the traditional planting methods. I plant in "clumps" in the spring when I run out of space.Survival of the fittest.