How to Transplant Tomatoes?

 

One of the most popular summer crops to grow is tomatoes Nothing tastes better than a vine ripe tomato from your own garden. With so many colors, tastes, sizes, shapes and uses, what's not to love about tomatoes!

                                     Growing Tomatoes

 So it's important to plant those transplants you've invested in properly.  In most zones tomatoes are planted as transplants because of the length of time needed for them to mature and ripen before a freeze.  I grow my own transplants so that I can get the varieties I want plus if started properly they seem to be healthier.

                                     Starting Seeds Indoors 

If purchasing transplants from the store, look for plants with 4 to 6 leaves and good green color.  Avoid leggy, limp transplants with curled or discolored leaves. Bigger is not better: these transplants often struggle to get established and suffer from wind damage and sun damage because there is not an established root system to support the amount of top growth.

A good complete organic fertilizer to use.

Prepping the Bed

Ok, so lets get those tomatoes transplants in the ground!  Hopefully you have prepped your garden beds.  I do this by sprinkling a complete organic fertilizer on the bed and covering it with 1-2" of compost.  If it is an established bed with a good soil then that's all I do.  If you have not been adding compost to your beds each year then gently turn the soil over to work the compost into the bed.

These holes for tomatoes transplants are at least twice a deep and wide as the root ball.

Digging the Holes

Since tomatoes will be planted deeper than the level they are in the pot, I dig a hole twice as wide and twice as deep as the potted tomato.  Add a small sprinkle of complete organic fertilizer and a handful of  a finished plant based compost.  Then water the hole, let it sink in, and repeat this a few times.

A small amount of organic fertilizer and compost is added to the hole and watered in.

Prepping the Tomatoes

I always make a label and record what I am planting and make a layout in my garden journal.  This info is important because if you really love a certain variety and can't remember what you planted that would be sad.  Also if you enjoy heirlooms but find certain ones struggle in your area then you don't want to make the mistake of growing or buying them again.

                                 Keeping a Garden Journal

Planting the Tomato Transplants

Once that info is recorded, I gently remove the tomato from the pot.  Do not water the pots prior to planting so the dirt stays intact when you remove the transplant.  I cut off the lower leaves with scissors. Do not tear them off it will damage the stem.

  We are going to plant the tomato plant a couple inches deeper then it was in the pot.  This is done because the stem has undifferentiated meristem cells which will produce roots if buried.  This helps establish a strong root system that can support the larges vines and fruits of tomatoes.

After Transplanting

After transplanting water the tomato well, mulch around the plant and water again.  In order to protect the transplant from the intense sun and to protect it from disease, we will cover the plant. Tomatoes also need to be caged to support their growth and keep vines off the ground.  I like folding square tomato cages.  They are sturdy and collapsible for storage. 

                               Mulching for a Healthier Soil

A little shade is beneficial for all transplants until they are established.  While the cover is removed once most plants are established, tomatoes do best if left covered until they grow out of the top of the tomato cage. Research has shown that covering or shading tomatoes is very effective in preventing curly top.  

So curly top is a virus that causes the loss of lots of  tomato plants.  The virus is vectored by the leaf hopper.  Leaf hoppers live happily in the grasses or meadows but as the grasses dry up they look for greener pastures- your tomatoes.  They can carry the curly top virus and when they feed on plants they spread the disease.  There are no cures for viruses so the infected plants need to be pulled and disposed of properly.  You cannot prune off leaves etc.  because viruses are systemic throughout the whole plant. Covering the plants seems to make it more difficult for leaf hoppers to find them.

                                         Preventing Curly Top

Caging and Covering Tomatoes

After tomatoes are in the ground, prepare a cage to cover the tomato.  I use a light to medium weight floating row cover cloth to make shades for the tomatoes. Floating row covers allow a % of light to penetrate and are used to protect from insect damage and frost damage. Cut the row cover cloth a couple inches bigger then your cage.  Use clothes pins to secure.  Start with the shade cloth as close to the tomato plant as possible.  Move the cloth up as the plants grow.  Remove completely when the tomato is growing out of the cage.

Helpful Hints

• Fertilize with fish emulsion when  3-4 weeks after transplanting and when flowers appear
• Avoid watering the leaves of tomatoes, it spreads disease
• Prune off lower leaves as they yellow.  Also prune off any leaves that look diseased put them in the garbage not on the ground.
• If you start your own tomatoes, start a couple extras of each variety you like.  If you do lose a plant to curly top or something else you have back ups to replace them.  Be sure to pot up the tomatoes you don't immediately plant.
• Good ideas for companion plants around tomatoes are garlic which is harvested early, and then replace the garlic with carrots.