Repotting guide

When & how to repot Sweet 100 Cherry Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum 'Sweet 100')

Also called Sweet 100 tomato, Sweet 100 cherry.

More about sweet 100 cherry tomato

About Sweet 100 Cherry Tomato

Solanum lycopersicum 'Sweet 100' · also called Sweet 100 tomato, Sweet 100 cherry · edible

'Sweet 100' is a vigorous indeterminate cherry tomato famed for very high sugar levels and enormous yields of small, round, intensely sweet red fruit borne in long branching trusses of a hundred or more. The tall vines crop prolifically from midsummer until frost. A frost-tender warm-season annual needing full sun, support and steady moisture.

Mature size: 1.8-2.4 m tall by around 0.5-0.6 m wide when cordon-trained.

How to tell sweet 100 cherry tomato needs repotting

Repotting on a calendar is less reliable than reading the plant. For sweet 100 cherry tomato, watch for these signs:

Roots circling the bottom of the module or pot, or poking out of the drainage holes.
The seedling dries out within a day and growth has visibly stalled.
Roots are white and matted in a tight spiral when you tip the plant out.
It has outgrown its current container for the stage of the season — pot sweet 100 cherry tomato on before it becomes hard root-bound.

For the underlying biology of a pot-bound root system and why it stalls a plant, see our guide to spotting and fixing a root-bound plant.

How often to repot sweet 100 cherry tomato

Pot on seedlings as they grow; not a perennial repot. Sweet 100 Cherry Tomatois grown for one season, so the question is really “how often to pot on” — keep moving it up before the roots circle. Indeterminate (vining) habit, growing tall and cropping continuously until frost; requires tall support, a cane or string, and side-shoot management..

What size pot to step sweet 100 cherry tomato up to

Pot sweet 100 cherry tomato on gradually — a seedling jumped straight into a huge pot sits in cold, wet, airless soil and stalls. Step up one or two sizes at a time as the roots fill each container, finishing in a large final pot or the ground. The aim is roots that never circle and never check.

Not sure of the exact diameter? Our pot size calculator takes the current pot and root spread and tells you the right next size — it deliberately recommends a single step up, never a big jump.

The best time of year to repot sweet 100 cherry tomato

Pot sweet 100 cherry tomato on through the active growing season, whenever roots fill the current container — there is no single date, just "before it becomes root-bound". Avoid potting on during a cold snap.

Step-by-step: repotting sweet 100 cherry tomato

Pot on before it is root-bound. Check sweet 100 cherry tomato regularly; move it up as soon as roots reach the edge of the cell or pot, not after they have circled.
Step up one or two sizes. Choose the next container up — not a giant one. Cold, wet, unused soil around a small root system stalls seedlings.
Knock it out gently. Support the stem, tip the pot, and ease the rootball out without breaking it. A little teasing of circled roots at the base is fine.
Pot into rich mix. Set it into fresh rich, fertile, well-drained loam at the same depth (tomatoes are the exception — they can go deeper to root along the stem).
Water in and grow on. Water well, keep it in good light, and resume feeding once it is established and growing again.

Aftercare

Water sweet 100 cherry tomato in well and keep it in bright light; a freshly potted-on seedling can wilt for a day while roots settle, so do not overcompensate by drowning it. Do not fertilise for about 1 week — fresh mix already carries nutrients and feeding freshly disturbed roots scorches them.

The right soil mix for sweet 100 cherry tomato

Sweet 100 Cherry Tomato wants rich, fertile, well-drained loam. Fertile, organic-matter-rich soil with slightly acidic to neutral pH (around 6.0-6.8) and free drainage. Tolerant and productive in large containers with quality compost. Always use fresh mix when you repot — reusing old, broken-down soil reintroduces the compaction and poor drainage you are repotting to fix.

Repotting sweet 100 cherry tomato — frequently asked questions

How often should you repot sweet 100 cherry tomato?

Pot on seedlings as they grow; not a perennial repot for sweet 100 cherry tomato. Sweet 100 Cherry Tomato is a seasonal crop, so you pot it on as a growing plant rather than repotting a perennial. Step seedlings up gradually into rich, fertile, well-drained loam so the roots never circle the cell, ending in a large final container. A root-bound transplant stalls and never fully recovers.

What size pot does sweet 100 cherry tomato need?

When is the best time of year to repot sweet 100 cherry tomato?

Can you put sweet 100 cherry tomato straight into a much bigger pot?

No. Even a fast-growing sweet 100 cherry tomato should only go up one pot size at a time. A vastly oversized pot holds a reservoir of wet soil the roots cannot reach, which stays cold and soggy and rots the roots — the opposite of what you wanted.

Should you fertilise sweet 100 cherry tomato after repotting?

Not immediately. Wait about 1 week after repotting sweet 100 cherry tomato. Fresh mix already contains nutrients, and feeding freshly cut or disturbed roots burns them. Resume your normal feeding routine once you see new growth.