Progressive potting

Please pot us up!

All good things take time - right?  Time to grow, time to become something more...  or in the case of tomato seedlings - time to get so darn big they shade each other out, drink all their water in a day and just become generally unruly in their behaviors.  It's at that point that you know it's time to graduate them to a larger size pot.

I started all the tomato varieties this year in a 72 cell tray knowing that they would go to 4" pots and then to 1 gallon pots (if necessary).  The selection is rather eclectic too.  I went with several standard fare hybrids to help with crop production if the summer is a mess like last year with rain and blight - so there's some Celebrity, Big Girl, Sweet 100 Cherry, Roma and a couple others.  Then there's the heirloom or non-hybrid varieties...  grown not for disease resistance but rather taste and texture.  On that side we have San Marziano (go to your pasta sauce section in your local grocery store and find the most expensive can of whole tomatoes you can - you will see this variety), Brandywine, Black Krim and again - several others.

Now - the plan isn't to have all 72 tomatoes make it onto the ground - I over planted by about a dozen or so simply because you expect several to grow poorly, have issues, or just generally not be interested in feeding you.  It's like anything in nature (or what your mom always said) - there are good seeds and there are bad seeds.  That let's me select for the best growing and biggest plants.  because, they should produce more fruits (yes - a tomato is a fruit).

So what's the process?  Well - like anything - you can make it as easy or as difficult as you want to.  I opt for easy because even potting up 60 of them, plus peppers, plus everything else going on (peas, potatoes, onions and other seeds...) - time matters!

So I used a very simple system this year (hence the selection of the square 72 count flats).  I took the potting soil mix (plug in for ProMix BX) and tossed it into a big tub.  Add water, stir and let it set for about 10 minutes...  that lets the material soak up the water and swell to final volume.  Then - the process is super simple - put a short 2x2 in the middle of the pot, pack the soil around it and remove the stick.  The result is a perfect hole sized just right to place the tomato seedling down deep in and bury about 1/2 of the stem (tomatoes will grow more roots from a buried stem).

The perfect size

Once all the pots are full it then super easy to pluck the plants from their tray cells and stick them into the hole just waiting for them.  I have found over the years this plucking process works best if the soil is rather dry.  then gently squeeze around the roots and grab the base of the stem.  gently pull up as you continue to mush around  on the outside of the roots.  The whole seedling should come right out (don't yank so hard you damage the plant).

Growth FAIL

Once you are done transplanting the best of the best you will want to place the tomatoes under lights and not under direct sun.  Chances are you likely will have damaged some roots and the whole process is rather stressful for the plants - so just hedge your bets in your favor and let them have 24-48 hours without direct sun.  After that - get them under the best natural light you can offer them...  it's now time for them to really start growing!

The work goes pretty fast once you understand the process and is really rewarding to move so quickly.  I do recommend you save the cast offs for a few days just in case something bad happened during the transplanting...  a small tomato that originally seemed to be a failure might just turn out to be a savior if a bigger one didn't make it.  That said - after a few days...  well...  those little guys that didn't give it their best shot from the beginning can become compost for later in the season.

Comments

[Homestead State of Mind]

Great tips! Never would have thought of it in a hundred years. The video was great, so much easier to watch than to try and understand directions.

[Andy]

Thanks! I'd like to do more videos but I haven't had a lot of luck with one take shoots - this being the exception! Hope the trick makes your life easier.

[Shirley Zundell]

As usual, the info you provide is educational and helpful. Many thanks.

[Andy]

Thanks Shirley!