Transplanting Tomatoes

Spring has sprung! Birds are chirping, bees are buzzing, and Love Apple Farms' Tomato Plant Sale is always just around the corner. So we wanted to share a great tip with you to help you get bigger tomato plants this year: tomato plants benefit from being transplanted into a gallon container before they are planted in the ground or larger container, especially if you transplant them deeper than they were in their small pot. That's because all the small, fuzzy hairs on the stem of the tomato plant become roots when they contact the soil. Bigger root structure = bigger plant = more fruit. Hey, I like that math!

Here's how you do it: Once your tomato plant is 6" - 8" tall, take it out of its small pot and sit the root ball at the bottom of a 1 gallon pot. (If you are re-using a pot, make sure you sterilize it with a bleach solution, as tomatoes are more susceptible to diseases than other plants.) Then pinch off any lower leaves that are below the lip of the 1 gallon pot.

Next, fill the pot up to the top with good organic potting mix (we use G&B Potting Soil), burying the part of the tomato stem that is inside the pot.

 

Water the tomato plant well, and don't forget to transfer the label with the variety name to the gallon pot. When we plant our tomatoes out in the garden or in a bigger container (15 gallons minimum), we plant them deep again, up to the top leaves, with two-thirds of the stem underground.

Sounds a little weird, no? Don't just take our word for it: Sunset Magazine did a study a few years back growing two tomato plants--one that had been planted deep and one that was planted without burying the stem at all. And the deeper one was twice as big! If it's too early and too cold to plant a tomato in your area (it is in ours!), you will still benefit from acquiring your plants now and transplanting them to gallons. They should be put out in the sunlight in the morning and brought into a heated structure, like your house, at night. The earlier you start your tomatoes, the earlier you will get fruit. So come on down to the sale and get growing!

Want to learn more about the wonderful world of tomato growing?  Sign up for one of our Tomato Masters Classes.

 You can find more information all about tomatoes on the World Tomato Society website.

Comments

[jansen]

I always put a fish head in my soil, find it works wonders. Stumbled across your blog and I am really impressed by the advice that you give.

Many thanks

Jansen

[Love Apple Farm]

Trevor: I do recommend putting in the fish head, etc. in the hole. But this blog post is just about potting them up into bigger containers and how each time we do (even out into the garden) we plant them deeper than they were originally. Here is my blog post about How I Plant a Tomato: http://www.growbetterveggies.com/growbetterveggies/2010/04/repost-how-i-plant-a-tomato.html

[Trevor]

Hi there- I thought I read recently that you recommended putting aspirin in the soil around the tomato plant when planting in the ground. Do you not put them in the ground with the fish heads anymore? Thanks for all the help and info you've provided.