Linny
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Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2008 3:50 pm
Location: North Florida

Transplanting Tomatoes

I started eight Brandywine tomatoes from seed. They are about three inches tall now, have three to four sets of leaves and look healthy except that the main stalk is really thin. I have heard that I should "lay them down" when I tranplant, just leaving the leaves above ground. I live in North Florida and don't think I can put them in the ground just yet. They are still in the little bitty peat pellet I started them in. I was thinking of moving each one to a larger pot for now. Should I "lay them down" or not when I move them to a bigger pot, or should I even transplant them before putting them in the ground? Any advice on that? Please forgive me if this has been addressed already.

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atascosa_tx
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Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2008 5:19 pm
Location: Atascosa

If they are still in the peat pot..strip off all but the top leaves and transplant them into a lil bigger pot (20oz or so)..and put the potting mix all the way up to the first set of leaves at the top. If the stem is really thin sounds like a condition called leggy..not enough light. If that isn't the situation transplant as directed. When transplanting them into the garden..there is a method called trenching...which is what ya mentioned,,,ya dig a trench and bury the entire plant leaving only the upper leaves exposed..they will turn up right..and aim for the light.

Linny
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Posts: 61
Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2008 3:50 pm
Location: North Florida

Thank you very much for your reply. They are still in the peat pot and not enough light probably is the problem. So I will strip the bottom leaves tomorrow, and bury them to the top leaves in the 20 oz containers. Thank you for your help, and trenching sounds a whole lot more professional than "laying them down"! :oops:

Linny

tshelley
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Joined: Tue Mar 18, 2008 2:25 pm
Location: Canyon, TX

For future growing .. tomato seedlings need 16-18 hours of daily .. you will need grow lights to keep them from getting spindly .. but the trenching does work quite well as a solution

opabinia51
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Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 5:58 pm
Location: Victoria, BC

Probably to late but here is the skinny on transplanting tomatoes. (It sounds drastic but, really and truly works and will give you strong, producing tomatoe plants.)

Pinch off all the leaves along the stem except the top leaves of the plant and bury the stem in the hole where you want to plant the tomatoe. Spread a bit of kelp meal in the hole and fill with soil. I always add some rotted manure in the hole with soil. Then spread a handful of kelp meal around the plant and water it again.

This will provide you with a full and firm root ball that will hold the plant high and be able to acquire nutrients from the soil.

As the plant grows sucker all the new growths between the main branches and the stem.



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