Organic Gardening will upgrade its login and registration system on
December 11. The new system is needed to support some of the major site
enhancements that we are currently developing. The new system is shared with
other Rodale sites, including Prevention, Men's Health, Runner's World and Women's Health.
Click here for answers to the most frequently
asked questions related to the new system.
All right, I know I shouldn't do this, but I have a TINY patio and there's no option.
I have three tomato seedlings going into pots, two slicing (heirlooms) and one cherry. There are really only two places that these tomatoes can be planted, and these spots are only five feet apart. Not much sun in my patio, gotta make do with what I've got!
My questions are: should I plant the cherry or a slicer seperate of the other two? What can I expect when they're cross-pollinated? How can I reduce the possibility of cross-pollination? (Remember, I'm lazy as heck and I'm out of the garden 6 days a week; I'll pollinate by hand only if forced to. Got a gun?)
I always plant my tomatoes close to each other--cherry, paste, and beefsteak all share a 12-foot row in the garden together.
My understanding is that unless you want to save the seeds, cross-pollination doesn't matter much to this year's crop. I'm pretty sure you can't get a cherry tomato plant to produce beefsteaks just because it got pollinated by one. However, you wouldn't want to plant the seeds from that cross because you wouldn't know what you'd get the next year.
Maybe others have different experiences, but it's always worked fine for me.
I agree with kaytee. I have always planted all different kinds of tomatoes close to each other. Never a problem. I also plant different hot pepper plants together also. I try to plant as much of a variety as I can in the space I have.
